Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Become a Marketing Rock Star In Your Industry

I just returned from the Glazer-Kennedy Insider Circle Superconference in Nashville. What a great event! It was a gathering of 1,200 like-minded entrepreneurs who understand the power of marketing.

One of the main speakers was Gene Simmons of the rock band Kiss. This was a big thrill for me because in my younger days (when I had more hair) I was a huge fan. Today, I'm still a huge fan but in terms of his marketing expertise instead. Here's your truly with the God of Thunder.

Gene has created a marketing empire with the KISS brand with over 3,000 licensed products. As he says, KISS from cradle to grave - KISS condoms to KISS caskets and everything in between.

One of his main projects at the moment is the marketing of the Indy car series. He has rebranded it with the tag line of "I am Indy". His goal is to connect with more people and make it cool and accessible again. It will be interesting to see if he will be able to make any headway against the NASCAR brand. We'll wait and see.

He also told his life story, especially about his mother who raised him without a father and how she shaped his life. We all have someone like that in our lives but we often take them for granted. Gene certainly doesn't. He had many comments that were very insightful and right on target for entrepreneurs:

  • Your most important asset is you, yourself and once you learn that you’ll make a lot more money.
  • Put your personality into your work and add a personal touch that makes an emotional connection.
  • The harder you work, the luckier you get.
  • You might not like rich people, but when was the last time a poor person gave you a job.
Gene also stayed and presented a photo opportunity with about 400 people. He was accessible and friendly to everyone. The man definitely understands what it takes to market and sell. Also on the platform was George Ross, Donald Trump's deal maker and judge from the apprentice. George talked about negotiation and how it is not about winning, it's about making a deal. He shared with us that it is about your personality and a knowledge of human nature.

However, what was most powerful was answer when someone asked him about his philosophy of business. He quickly and confidently answered; Failure + Perseverance = Success. Simple yet profound. Everyone must fail to succeed no matter what you do.

Both of those guys were great! But the real star was Nido Qubien, entrepreneur and President of High Point University. He challenged everyone in the audience to be change their thinking from being "Transactional to Transformational". Make a difference with what you offer people just don't sell them something to create a transaction. A visit to High Point will show you just what he means.

There were many other great speakers and marketing experts throughout the 4 day event. I highly recommend this conference to anyone who markets and sell any kind of product or service. I'll keep you posted with information on next years conference when it becomes available.

Until next time - Keep on marketing like a rock star!

Coach Ron
www.TD-Marketing-System.com

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