Newton Chamber of Commerce

July 31, 2010 · Filed under: Business, Organizations

In May we posted the story of the Carlsbad, California Chamber of Commerce and their enthusiasm for our book. Must be catching. We just heard from Darrell Sarmento, who is the recently appointed Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce in Newton, Iowa. Newton is famous in part for its historic role as location of Maytag, the venerable company who recently vanished form the American industrial scene. Newton is making a brave new start in the twenty-first century, as Darrell tells us.

I just bought a copy of The Go-Giver for each of my board members, and it is the Chamber Recommended Business Book of the Month for August.

My wife believes she first heard about the book from a Mastering the Management Buckets seminar she took from John Pearson. Both my wife and I were leading a non-profit at the time and were very moved and challenged by The Go-Giver as it related to fundraising.

I was active in three different Chambers of Commerce, and it encouraged me to keep building meaningful relationships with folks, whether it led to an immediate donation or not. We referred it to one of our board members at the time, who is currently the head of the Placer Valley Board of Tourism in California—and he made it his next staff training book!

We are the former headquarters of Maytag. This town has had its challenges, but I believe great days are ahead with the right attitude.

As I got to know Newton Iowa and the challenges it has gone though, your book was the first thing that came to mind. This community has faced some real loss with Maytag, which was a real source of economic stability and community pride. The challenge now is not letting that loss define the future and to believe great days are still ahead.

Darrell Sarmento, Executive Director, Greater Newton Area Chamber of Commerce

Posted in Business, Organizations | No Comments »

David T. Applegate, M.D.

May 30, 2010 · Filed under: Law of Value, Organizations

One weekend in late April, Dr. David T. Applegate II happened to spot The Go-Giver at a Barnes & Noble in Ohio where he lives. He bought a copy, took it home and read it, and promptly wrote us a note. “Enjoyed it very much,” he wrote us, adding, “—okay, I thought it was awesome!”

David had a specific purpose for writing: he wanted to know how he might purchase 100 copies of the book at a bulk rate. He went on to explain:

One of my current privileges is serving as President of Ohio’s Coroners Association. In Ohio, coroners are physicians, elected to investigate deaths. Not the most politically active bunch of elected officials, as you can imagine, but still, with opportunities to improve and influence life in Ohio!

In two weeks, we will be holding our annual state continuing education session in Cincinnati. We have 88 counties in Ohio, and coroners from all those counties will be attending. I would love to put a copy of your book in the hands of each of them. Even if just half or three-quarters of them read it, it would make that much difference.

So I’d like to get 100 copies — one for each of our state’s coroners, and also a handful for me to hand out to a few friends and relatives.

We connected David to our rep Aaron Schleicher at 800-CEO-Read, who sells in bulk to the corporate market. Although this was barely a week before the conference, David acted quickly. A few days after the conference he wrote us this report:

Last week, all 88 physician-coroners in Ohio were presented a copy of your book. While many of the docs already give of themselves, we shall see how many find the passion to serve (as in public service) again. I have had many a thank-you, and I already have coroners calling me about giving and being a “value added” public servant.

It has been a perfect message to my peers: not just to investigate death as the law instructs us, but using this knowledge and compassion to help the living. Giving — the ultimate business deal with the public. And I believe we will receive respect and appreciation in return (something not many government figures earn these days).

I know you wrote it with a “business” purpose, but it is truly is a little gem for general principles in life. When I tried to give my wife a copy, it turned out she had already read it. Great job — thank you!

I have also used your message on occasion in the office (I am a family doc in my other job). The message of not keeping score is powerful to those with marital or relationship problems.

David is too modest to say so, but he is more than “a family doc in his other job.” Before retiring his obstetric practice in 2000, he delivered more than 1,600 babies. Now, in addition to his work as coroner, he is also a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at OSU College of Medicine and past chairman of the department of medicine, Methodist Hospital.

David is also an instrument-rated pilot who received the National Aeronautical Association’s prestigious Volunteer of the Year award in 2004 for flying blood from Oklahoma City to New York City on the night of September 11, 2001. Also in 2004, his peers in the Ohio Association of Family Physicians selected David as the Family Physician of the Year, and since 2005 he has been listed in the national Best Doctors in America register.

Thank you, David!

Posted in Law of Value, Organizations | 2 Comments »

Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce

May 23, 2010 · Filed under: Business, Law of Influence, Organizations, Uncategorized

In April 2010 we got a note from Colleen Gibbs, Director of Communication for Southern California’s Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce. Colleen told us that the Chamber’s CEO, Ted Owen, was about to write a column on their experience with The Go-Giver. Sure enough, the following week a review appeared in The San Diego Business Journal. Here is an excerpt from that column:

Ted Owen, CEO, Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce

As the nation’s economy continues to recover, business owners want to know why some of their competitors grow at a faster pace. What makes the difference between their sales and the other guy’s?

When I am asked that question, I simply state that we have trained our “go-getters” how to become “go-givers” …

That is the simple answer to a sometimes complicated question. It really isn’t the education, geographic location, age or sex of the salesperson; it is simply the fact that giving is better than getting, or to rephrase an old adage, “Give and you shall receive.”

[Here Ted mentions The Go-Giver, lists the Five Laws of Stratospheric Success, and then continues:]

I will illustrate how we teach this to our members. The action or thought to move from getter to giver is best illustrated in the networking committees at the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce.

The art of giving is taught by instilling in each committee member (the current members invite others to join the committees) that the purpose of the panel is to be one another’s sales force and assist in seeking out business opportunities for the other members of the group.

You are taught not to accept an invitation to join with the goal of gleaning business for yourself, but to be the marketing force for the other members. Each member is taught the five laws and then asked to put them into practice. At the beginning, the committee members spend as much time (if not more) finding business for their fellow committee members as they do for themselves.

As you spend more time in attending the meetings, the skills needed to sell for the others are honed. When the group issues an invitation to a new member, the group is actually hoping that the new member will be a reflection of their own personal characteristics—in other words, their clone. …

# # #

In one of her emails to us, Colleen Gibbs noted, “We are big fans of The Go-Giver over here at the Carlsbad Chamber.” In our response we said: “I think we just became big fans of the Carlsbad Chamber!” To which Colleen replied:

We’re awesome (officially). In a down economy when other chambers in California are losing members like water from a sieve, we have managed to be in growth mode every month. I think we all agree that this is because we are go-givers. I have never worked with a group of people who so consistently give and give and give.

Have a marvelous day. Get out there and give! — Colleen

Posted in Business, Law of Influence, Organizations, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Julie Sando

May 13, 2010 · Filed under: Business, Law of Compensation, Organizations, Schools

Julie Sando’s grand plans to become a graphic designer took an unexpected detour more than a decade ago, when she began working with Trent, a 4-year-old boy with autism. A part-time job turned into a life-long passion. After Julie spent the next two years training in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), a family she knew sought another path in a course of treatment called The Son-Rise Program®, offered by the Autism Treatment Center of America. Julie kept an open mind, and the profound results she saw there made her a believer. Within a few years she completed their training as a Child Facilitator and Teacher. Today, through her own company, she empowers parents to reach their autistic children in ways that once seemed unimaginable.

Julie and Trent (now a teenager) today

I have read The Go-Giver book three times. One of those times I read one law a night along with my two best friends. Each day we put that law into practice.

I had recently started my own company, Autistically Inclined. Through my company, I get to work with families who have children with autism.

When it came time to practice The Law of Compensation, I decided to write a note on Facebook to all the families I have connected with through my company, sharing some free advice for common challenges that come up. This was my way of reaching as many people as possible at once.

In my post, I wrote about how many kids on the autism spectrum can be overly controlling, and how we can help them become more flexible by being the most predictable people we can be around them, thereby giving them a sense of more control.

At the end of my post, I wrote:

“I would love to hear stories of how this impacted you, your child, and your team. Tell us one example of what you tried and how your child responded. And feel free to post any questions if anything feels unclear. You have a whole team of people here to support you!”

I was amazed to see the response: within the first six hours, people posted 25 comments. That’s pretty good for having had my business up and running for only 5 months!

It sparked a lot of interest in the book as well. These families run their own businesses as they have a team of therapists working with their kids day in and day out.

Reading The Go-Giver and putting it into practice has changed my path in a huge and exciting way, and I share it with as many people as I can!

Julie Sando, Founder, Autistically Inclined

Julie with Griffin

Julie with Eric and David

Posted in Business, Law of Compensation, Organizations, Schools | 10 Comments »

Tara Gignac

May 12, 2010 · Filed under: Business, Law of Authenticity, Law of Value, Organizations

Tara Gignac, ND, is a naturopathic doctor who practices in Collingwood, Ontario. We recently received this letter — yes, on paper, in an envelop, mailed with a stamp and everything! (Nice to know people still do that.)

I just finished Go-Givers Sell More — I loved it! What a breath of fresh air.

Working in the alternative health care industry in a culture where “you don’t pay for health care,” selling my MacGuffin can oftentimes feel very “schmarmy.”

Reading the book has reframed sales for me into a context that I can do. The nature of what I do every day is to focus on the patient, listen to them and add value to their life. Every time I would think about sales — developing my “pitch,” contacting prospects, dealing with objections, closing the sale — it would make me cringe. Now I know why: it takes the focus away from the other person, which goes against the very grain of my training as a naturopathic doctor.

Go-Givers Sell More has given me permission to stay in my core genius as a naturopath when thinking about growing my business — focus on the other person, listen and add value. I will definitely be recommending it to my colleagues who are struggling with this part of their business and careers.

If ever an endorsement by an ND is of value to you I’d be happy to oblige.

Keep up the good work!!

Posted in Business, Law of Authenticity, Law of Value, Organizations | No Comments »

Alex Hines

May 5, 2010 · Filed under: Family & Friends, Schools

My name is Alex Hines. I am 12 years old, in the 7th Grade and I disobeyed my mother, so she decided to require me to read your novels and write a summary on what I read. I would like to share my thoughts with you. Since I really enjoyed your first book, will you please send me a autographed copy?

After receiving this note, we did indeed send Alex an autographed copy of The Go-Giver—and we were blown away by his book report. In more than two years since the book’s release, Alex is the very first person to write to us with insight on why we chose the name Pindar for the mentor in the story, and what its implications are. Remarkable insights. Keep your eye on this young man: he’s going places. Here is the report:

The Go-Giver
By Alex Hines

This is a story of a man, Joe, who learns the 5 Laws.

My understanding of this book is that Joe is learning all these laws and putting them into everyday life. Once he learns all of them and does that, he receives great things, in his case a major part in a business.

He learned through Pindar, but I don’t think Pindar is the person who is teaching them, I think that it is many people who pass on the 5 Law philosophy once they have learned it from their own Pindar.

For example, in the end of the book, Joe took Claire, a seeker of his secret, to Ernesto Iafrate’s Café so she as well could learn. So in my mind, Joe just became another Pindar, and after Claire learns, she will become one as well.

Pindar is also a very symbolic name for the teachers. Pindar is a Greek poet and philosopher who taught many life lessons through his stories. Pindar is described as someone with a great storyteller’s voice in the book. I think Mann and Burg purposefully picked that name for the group of people.

Another thing that led me to have this view on the book: on the Internet, Pindar’s age was never revealed and nobody knew his last name. Do you want to know why? Because the author purposefully wanted you to see that it was a passed down philosophy for success that everyone can learn and teach.

Now I can go by Pindar’s laws and become a Pindar myself.

Posted in Family & Friends, Schools | 4 Comments »

Heather Battaglia

April 6, 2010 · Filed under: Business, Law of Influence, Law of Value, Organizations

In the fall of 2008, Heather Battaglia was a director and vice president at CitiMortgage, in charge of a very successful and profitable division that she saw as recession-proof. Just before the end of the year, as the economy tanked, she was laid off.

Heather thought she would have no trouble finding a new job. She had strong academic credentials and an impressive résumé of corporate experience. But as she began going through her connections, cold calling and doing whatever else she could think of to find her new position, no job materialized. A month went by, then two, then three. Here is how Heather tells it:

I had never been unemployed before; recruiters were always finding me. Now nothing was working.

Eventually I got together with seven other laid-off executives who all belonged to a networking group and created an event for executives who were looking for work.

A couple of people in the group had your book, and they said, “Whatever we do for our event, we need to make sure we are helping others and giving first.” Here we were, all out of work — and our conversation revolved around how we could help others find jobs!”

The newly formed ExecNet of St. Louis adopted a mission statement and a vetting process for new members that included the question, “Are you committed to helping other executives first?”

By the spring of 2009, we had over 150 members in our group — and we were all focused on helping each other first. Many of our group had landed new jobs, others were in final stages of interviews, and others were just getting started. Our group was only three months old and already moving mountains!

Heather and her colleagues were in dire straights — but instead of giving in to recessionary anxiety, they took control of their own state of mind. In focusing their efforts on providing value to others, they created their own booming economy — and it paid off handsomely.

We reprinted this entire exchange in Go-Givers Sell More. A few weeks after the book appeared in the spring of 2010, Heather gave us this update:

We are changing our name to ExecLink, and now have standing-room-only monthly meetings with 500 members, and a regular 130+ executives attend the meeting. Can you believe it has only been a year?!

And here’s the best news: all the original seven founders have landed new jobs and continue to participate in the events.

Thanks, Heather, for the fantastic story for our book — and for the inspiring example!

Posted in Business, Law of Influence, Law of Value, Organizations | 1 Comment »

A.C. Moore

March 25, 2010 · Filed under: Business, Law of Influence, Law of Value

One of the wonderful endorsements on the back of Go-Givers Sell More comes from Rick A. Lepley, President and CEO of the half-a-billion-dollar giant A.C. Moore Arts & Crafts, who wrote:

“In today’s economic climate, influencing the culture of a retail company is a daily challenge. In our company, The Go-Giver has helped us move the whole organization toward providing more value and better service. We had all our store General Managers read it—and Go-Givers Sell More will be the next book we give them!”

Rick is a true go-giver — and a man of his word:

We just heard from Jennifer Roelke, Director of Human Resources at A.C. Moore, that Rick is retiring at the end of next week to the quiet joys of farm life with his family — and that before he does, he has asked Jennifer to make sure to buy copies of the book for all their managers.

How many is that? we wondered. She told us:

“We have approximately 140 General Managers, 12 Regional/District leaders, 10 corporate-office field support positions, and another 100 or so Assistant General Managers. All told, we ordered 200 books — and will more than likely be ordering more as the year goes on.”

We wrote back to thank her and Rick, and here’s what Jennifer replied:

“Your book is a part of our culture. Just to share another tidbit, it is actually woven throughout our brand new General Manager-in-Training Program as a sales resource.”

And to demonstrate her point, she sent us an excerpt from the company’s winter newsletter:

# # #

Are you a “Go-Giver”? If not, take note of what some of your peers are doing in their stores to show their associates that “the secret to success is giving.”

In Fredericksburg, Virginia (Store #102), children who pass through the checkout receive a free coloring page. The children are encouraged to return the colored page to the store for a trip to the Treasure Box, which holds small toys for the children to take home. General Manager Bob Horn shared the below story with us.

“We had our second birthday party and when I came in [to work] I found a small stack of our free coloring pages (nicely colored) on my workspace. I asked my Activities Specialist what they were for and she told me that the girls at the birthday party had enjoyed their craft, but were much more excited to get a coloring page and free trip to the Treasure Box. It made an unexpected and apparently much enjoyed addition to their party.”

Bob says, “This program practices the Law of Value by giving more to the customer than we receive in payment. On a personal level, it allows me to practice both the Law of Value (giving something extra to the company) and the Law of Authenticity (by giving my ideas).”

About a 100 miles away, in Frederick, Maryland (Store #41), another management team was also inspired by The Go-Giver. The team gave each associate a “Fourth-Quarter Survival Kit,” which included some of the following:

1 Yellow Highlighter — to highlight your accomplishments.
1 Black Sharpie — to remind you to be sharp and aware of your surroundings.
1 Rubber Band — to keep things together.
1 Smiley Face Sticker — to remember to keep smiling.
1 pack SweetTarts — to remember to be sweet to our customers.
1 $100,000 candy bar — what you are worth to your team
1 energy bar — to pick you up.

With the holidays just around the corner, the associates were delighted that their managers thought about them and put their interests first by practicing the Law of Influence. The Survival Kit showed the team how valued they are by their managers, and at the same time, it reminded them to provide Quality Customer Care.

# # #

Thank you, Rick — and have a fabulous time on that Ohio farm!

Posted in Business, Law of Influence, Law of Value | No Comments »

Within Organics

March 15, 2010 · Filed under: Business, Law of Value, Sales

Laura DeVeau Smith, who is one of several owners of a company called Within Organics that sells organic cotton tee-shirts with affirmations (printed on the inside!), wrote this in her company’s blog:

Photo: Laura DeVeau Smith

Not too long ago Nikki, my Within Co-Owner, told me about a book called The Go-Giver. She also announced that she wanted to be our “Director of Customer Experience.”

I thought that was a very cool title, and really true to what Nikki was already doing.

Of course we are a company with a product, but the experience around that product is equally important – everything from posting inspiring quotes and videos on Facebook and Twitter, to handling shirt exchanges and answering emails. It’s all a part of what makes us Within Organics, beyond our clothing. It’s where we really get to interact with people, whether or not they are customers. And Nikki is the finest “Director of Customer Experience” I’ve ever seen. That girl truly, truly cares and pours her heart into every tee shirt she folds and ships and every newsletter she writes. It is an honor to work with her, and she constantly inspires me.

Photo: Within owners Laura, Amie and Nikki

While reading The Go-Giver, it became clear that Nikki had taken this book to heart. In a way, I’d heard it all before, but the way this book explained it got me really excited about giving.

Reading this book reinvigorated the way I look at Within and what we’re doing. We’ve always thought about it as more than selling a product, and now I truly understand what that means and what it takes. I’d rather wake up in the morning and say, “How can make someone’s day?” instead of, “How can I convince people to buy what I’m selling?” Ew, that second question is not the best motivator for me.

It was so easy to go out and test the theory by randomly giving, or contacting someone I hadn’t spoken to in a while and telling them something I always liked about them. It was amazing to watch how it spiraled into all kinds of wonderfulness, and I was touched by how the simplest gesture could make someone’s day.

It seems at the same time I started getting free help from respected mentors and in-demand consultants, as well as sincere compliments back from the people I had reached out to. It is so easy and so perfect and really the way the world should and can be.

Posted in Business, Law of Value, Sales | 2 Comments »

Jeff Tomaszewski

March 13, 2010 · Filed under: Business, Law of Value

Jeff Tomaszewski, of Overload Fitness (in the greater Cleveland, Ohio area), sent in this story:

I was recommended The Go-Giver by a business colleague. I read the book over a weekend and immediately started implementing the Five Laws.

The first thing I did was to make over-deliver our quarterly theme for the third quarter of 2009, in order to implement the first law, the Law of Value: “Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.”

I gave each of my staff the book and had them read it immediately. At our next staff meeting, we implemented over-deliver. At the end of each week, each employee was required to submit two ways in which they had provided more in value to their clients.

We continued this for four weeks. The catch was that you could not use an over-deliver method that you or someone else had used in previous weeks. This made everyone get very creative.

After four weeks, the staff had mastered the First Law — and now it is a part of the fabric of our company. This is just the way we do business, and it has helped our company to thrive in these rough economic times.

Thanks, Bob and John, for such an amazing and business-changing, life-changing book!

Posted in Business, Law of Value | No Comments »

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Newton Chamber of Commerce

David T. Applegate, M.D.

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