Here is a brief excerpt from a recent post by Josh Linkner at his website. To read the complete article, check out others, and sign up for email alerts, please click here.
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In just 60 seconds, Taylor Swift sold out all 18,200 seats at Madison Square Garden. Her music, and the experience she creates for fans, is irresistible. Fistfights have broken out as eager customers battle it out to get a pair of Nike limited editions kicks.
In contrast, think about the cover band in the lobby of the nearby hotel, playing to a half-full room of apathetic listeners who offer neither money nor applause. Or the wide selection of athletic shoes available and readily in stock for under $30 at your local Walmart.
In nearly every industry, there are products and services that are bland, boring and basic. And then, there are the few that are irresistible. Bill Clinton has earned more than $100 million delivering speeches, yet most public speakers are lucky to earn a chicken dinner at the local Rotary Club.
So what makes Taylor Swift, Nike, and Bill Clinton irresistible, and how can you harness the same verve for your business? Here are four key ingredients:
o Go to extremes. Irresistible products, services and people are typically extreme cases. They offer the absolute highest quality. Or lowest price. Or most extreme experience. They are the loudest or quietest; the biggest or smallest. Rarely do you find irresistibility in the middle of the pack.
o Become unapologetic. Costco doesn’t try to be a plush retailer. Floyd Mayweather doesn’t pretend to be humble. Being irresistible means being authentic and unabashed. Take a stand, and never try to be all things to all people.
o Tempt with exclusivity. The fear of missing out on something scarce boosts your irresistible factor. Limited editions, exclusive offers and scarce supply drive demand. The more rare, the more results.
o Create emotional connections. Delivering on basic product or service expectations doesn’t create differentiation; being competent is merely the ante to play. Creating meaningful experiences with each interaction leads to being irresistible. Do you and your offering delight all five senses of your customers, audience or colleagues? If not, time to take it up a notch.
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Josh is passionate about helping people and organizations seize their full potential. Consistently ranked as a top innovation keynote speaker, he brings the perfect balance of an energizing performance blended with real-world experience and credibility. He not only inspires, but moves audiences to action by offering practical and effective approaches to driving better business outcomes. Josh is a venture capitalist, tech entrepreneur, a top-rated keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling author of Disciplined Dreaming: A Proven System to Drive Breakthrough Creativity and The Road to Reinvention (2011): How to Drive Disruption and Accelerate Transformation (2014). As Founding Partner of Detroit Venture Partners, he helps startups disrupt the old guard while helping to rebuild his hometown of Detroit, Michigan. Josh is on a mission to drive creativity, innovation, and reinvention. And he also plays a mean jazz guitar. For more, visit JoshLinkner.com.
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