I really do love this book – Enchantment by Guy Kawasaki. It basically reiterates what I believe, thatEnchantment by Guy Kawaski - image in order to be successful, you have to be human, you have to be authentic and you have to be nice (Ha! I KNEW that would come in handy some day).

All the things I’ve been noticing with delight about social marketing.

Delight? Yes! We finally have permission to have fun while doing business!

Here are a few of the steps to become Enchanting, and consequently creating a loyal following and selling more products and services!

Achieve Likability:

  • Smile! But smile for real. “Crows feet are in” according to Guy (another plus for me). If you’re not REALLY smiling, you’re only fooling yourself.
  • Dress to tie. That is, dress to be EQUAL. Don’t under dress, you’re saying “I don’t respect you.” Don’t over dress,you’re saying “I’m above you.” Dress equal and say “We’re peers.”
  • Shake it: Have a great handshake. Use eye contact, use an appropriate verbal greeting, smile (like you mean it), have a good grip and firm squeeze, have a cool, dry and smooth hand, use a mid point position, and for heaven’s sake, a medium level of vigor for 2 or 3 seconds. (Have you ever shook someone’s hand and thought they were going to pull your arm out of your socket??)

Achieve Worthiness

  • Be TRUSTING! Example: Zappos.com. I just sent my son in Boston an Easter basket (hey, I’m a kid at heart). I included a Zappos gift certificate with the chocolate and jelly beans. He loves Zappos– he knows if the shoes he buys don’t fit his size 14 feet, he can send them back at no cost and no questions asked. Zappos TRUSTS it’s customers.
  • Bake don’t eat: Huh? Here’s the analogy – Eaters want a bigger slice of an existing pie and bakers want to make more pie. Eaters think if they win you lose, and bakers think that they can always make more pie! (This is true – I love to bake, the more someone eats, the better…)
  • Disclose your interests: Have you ever signed up for a free e-book only to get bombarded for the next few months with offer after offer for the most AMAZING products in the entire universe? That’s likely because that person offering you the “free” e-book has relationships with other people selling their products and earning a commission. Some people say they’re incredibly successful doing this (meaning they make tons of dough), however MANY people find it annoying and consider it sleazy. 
  • Be a Mensch: This is on page 29 of the book and it’s worth reading. Be someone who always does the next right thing, cares for others and keeps your word… You’re honest, fair, kind and transparent. Everyone who knows you, knows this about you.

Get Ready

I love this. There’s so much hype these days about how to get RICH QUICK on the internet. The truth is, you need to be DICEE!

  • Deep: There’s a lot more to your product and service than meets the eye. Your customers are in for a surprise. You’ve anticipated what your customer needs as they move up the channel.
  • Intelligent: Your product or service is SMART. You’ve thought of problems that you can solve uniquely.
  • Complete: Service, support and a string of enhancements.
  • Empowering: You’re enabling your customers to do old things better and new things they couldn’t do at all. You give them confidence and the ability to control their own life!
  • Elegant: You CARE about your user, their experience while using your product or service. You can just SEE them smiling as they are empowered with what you’ve sold them. (Think iPhone, iPod, iPad, think Audi, think Dyson)

Launch!

  • Tell a Story: This quote, found on page 55 sums it up: “People don’t want more information. They are up to their eyeballs in information. They want Faith – faith in you, your goals, your success, in the story you tell.” — Annette Simmons, author of Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins
  • Plant Many Seeds: “The nobodies are the new somebodies.” A direct quote from the book. There are zillions of people on the web. Trying to find the “important” folks and catering to them is a lost cause. All it takes is for someone to become a loyal follower of your blog, or your FaceBook page to start spreading the word… if you HAVE a great product or service and follow what you learn in “Enchantment” you have a great chance of becoming viral (this doesn’t happen fast) and increasing your bottom line.
  •  Get Your First Follower: “The first follower jumps in and legitimizes the movement.” Guy refers to the following video in the book…. you’ll get the idea (disclaimer – it’s a little crazy.)

Derek Sivers: How to start a movement movie at TED.com

So, it’s here that I’m going to stop, and give you the link to the presentation “Enchantment” by Guy Kawaski.

Can you answer this? Are YOU Enchanting?

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.