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David
Glickman -
The Humor Advantage
One of the best tools for creating
promotion for yourself is to use "The
Humor Advantage." "The Humor Advantage"
is the immediate and exponential
advantage you gain over your competitors
by using humor in business. If a
prospect is considering five people
offering the same product or service
that you offer - all at the same
quality, and all at the same price -
the person who
will get the business is the one who is
the funniest. And by funny, I
don't mean you have to be a standup
comedian. Rather, you have to
incorporate humor into many (if not all)
areas of your business.
I've trademarked the phrase "Be More
Funny, Make More Money" because I have
seen countless examples of how humor can
make this happen. Here's a fact:
'We do business
with people we like. We like people who
can make us laugh.' Once you begin
injecting some humor into different
aspects of your business, you can
leverage those laughs into countless new
opportunities and connections.
Where do you put your humor? On your
website? On your outgoing voicemail
message?
On your business
card? In your
promotional materials? Jeffrey Gitomer
has talked about the power of humor for
years. The humor doesn't need to be over
the top-it can be subtle. Your goal is
to get the prospect to find some
amusement in what you did - even if the
result is only a smile. The fact is that
your inclusion of humor in your business
is going to be something that 99% of
your competitors won't be doing-thus
giving you "The Humor Advantage."
Here's one of the most powerful uses of
humor in business you can use: whenever
you're at a networking event where
everyone goes around the room and
introduces themselves and says what they
do, most people simply say their name
and title. You need to say your name,
followed by something funny. Perhaps a
fake job that's a parody of something
topical. Or a fake job that ties in
humorously with an introduction that
somebody before you just said.
After you get the laugh, follow it with
the words, "No, I'm kidding. I'm
really.... and then tell the crowd what
you really do. You will stand out
amongst the crowd because you are the
only one who got a laugh during what is
traditionally a fairly boring exercise
at networking events.
Here's another way to use humor in your
sales strategies. You've probably seen
CD- ROMs that are in the shape of
business cards. Many people give them
out and the CD-ROM has a mini-website
about their product or service. Your
business card can also be a CD-ROM, but
spend the money to produce a one or two
minute funny "commercial" or "mockumentary"
about your product or service.
Yes, it may be
somewhat pricey to get it done
initially. And, yes, you're probably
going to have to pay for it out of your
own pocket if your company doesn't give
you any personal branding tools other
than a standard business card. But so
what? Who else in your line of work is
handing out a business card that has a
funny movie about their product, their
services, and themselves on it?
What makes this work so effectively is
my theory that "the more specific the
humor, the more terrific the humor."
Again, you're not trying to be a
stand-up comic here with a generic
routine about airplane travel or your
pets. Your humor is relevant, about you
and your wares, and gives you the
incredible "humor advantage" over your
competitors.
If you're reading this and saying to
yourself, "But Self, I'm just not that
funny" -- not to worry. You can
outsource the humor! There are plenty of
professional humorists like myself that
you can hire to write (and produce) the
script for your CD-ROM video, or create
the humor for your sales presentations
or marketing materials. If you go that
route, remember: the prospect has no
idea that you "bought" the humor (and,
frankly, doesn't care). All they'll
remember is the fact that they saw
something about your business, and they
laughed. (And now they want to do
business with you.)
David Glickman works with organizations
that want to add some "comic relief" to
their events in order to make them
REALLY fun and memorable. He's been the
opening act for The Beach Boys, has
worked with Steve Martin, and even
performed at Gloria Estefan's birthday
party. He is the author of "Punchline
Your Bottom Line: 76 Ways To Get Any
Business Audience Laughing". David also
works with CEO's and Sales Professionals
to "punch up" their speeches and sales
presentations with humor. You can order
David's book or contact him through his
website,
www.DavidGlickman.com or by
phone, 813-920-8283.
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Your Business Card
Humor
Outsource Partner: www.showoffcards.com
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