Last night, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band came roaring into The Palace of Auburn Hills, and absolutely earned every penny of every $91 ticket.
It wasn’t the first time I’ve seen them live, and won’t be the last. My first Springsteen concert was September 4th, 1985 at the Pontiac Silverdome. I was 8 years old. Even then, I knew I witnessed something special, and it began a life-long love affair with music.
There are very few special people who have the ability to naturally influence the masses. Bruce is one of them. In fact, if your looking to build a loyal client base that spans generations, buys repeatedly, and refers religiously, then Bruce is a great model for your business.
A great place to start is by modeling his live show...
The performance always exceeds the hype.
The new album is fantastic. Rolling Stone gave it five stars. Sirius Satellite Radio turned channel 10 into E Street Radio with 24/7 Springsteen songs, concerts, news, and updates from the tour. BruceSpringsteen.net posts videos and set lists from each show. There is a ton of hype.
Even with all the hype, the live show always exceeds expectations.
Your company is trying to build “hype” too. The company is working hard and spending money to create an image with its website, advertising, PR, and marketing materials. Does your “live show” meet or exceed the hype that the company is creating for you? Most of the time, the interaction with salesperson is far below the perception the company creates. Instead of a person matching the dynamic, engaging perception the company creates, you get some robotic, apathetic call center moron.
Be as dynamic and engaging as your company’s hype.
He makes you think throughout the entire show.
Bruce starts every show with a question that requires a response. His new single is Radio Nowhere, and he asks the question, “Is there anybody alive out there?” Appropriately, Bruce opens the show by asking, “Is there anybody alive out there?”, eliciting a massive response from a packed arena.
Throughout the night, his songs push you to contemplate love, life, the government, and your responsibility as a human being. That’s not by accident. That’s the desired outcome.
Are you engaging your clients to think about their situations throughout your entire interaction? Are you spending 80% of the time engaging them by asking thoughtful, open-ended questions? Do you know what kinds of responses you’re hoping to elicit with your questions? Do the responses move you closer to creating a win-win relationship? Are you listening to the responses and taking notes?
Treat your clients as the intelligent, creative people they are. You don’t have to give them the answers. They have them. Your job is to get them to think about their situation and come up with the answers on their own. Getting them to adopt your ideas as their own is true influence.
Start every interaction by asking a phenomenal question. Go deeper and make your clients think by asking questions starting with: can you tell me more about..., what made you decide to do..., how do you feel about..., would you be willing to...
Passion, energy, enthusiasm, belief, preparation and focus all combine with incredible talent raw talent.
Bruce holds himself and the band to an incredibly high standard. His rehearsals are storied to be long and demanding. He’s been doing it for nearly 40 years and has the same energy on stage he had when I first saw him in 1985. He’s having a great time. Watching him, you realize he’s exactly where he’s supposed to be. All the preparation allows him to be in the moment and focus on the crowd.
I recently had a client ask me, “Do you feel like you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be?” I responded, “I really do. What made you ask that question?” He said, “I can tell you love it and feel like you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.”
Is that the impression you’re transferring to your clients? Are they attracted to your passion, energy, enthusiasm, and belief? Are you thoroughly prepared with your material so you can focus entirely on the client?
Prepare like crazy. Get to know your product or service inside and out. Your preparation isn’t so you can dump your knowledge on your client. It’s so you can focus solely on your client and only talk about the benefits of your product or service that benefit the client when the time is right.
Fans feel energized, engaged, renewed and inspired when they leave the show. You can’t wait to see him again.
My wife and I played Springsteen on the iPod the whole drive home from the show. I’m playing a live Springsteen album as I’m writing this. Instead of feeling like I’ve had my fill, I want more!
Do your clients feel this way after meeting with you or are they happy you’re gone? Are they eagerly anticipating the next meeting or would they prefer to stick a needle in their eye over talking with you?
Record and listen to your phone calls. Take a partner to your next client meeting and have him or her give you feedback after. Videotape your next presentation and watch it. The film doesn’t lie. If you can’t stand it, neither can your clients.
What do you do about it? Re-read the above for starters.
Thousands of people saw the same concert I did. Most allowed themselves to feel, but didn’t think about why they felt the way the did. Most certainly didn’t take the time to relate it back to what they do.
What’s the difference? Passion.
I’m passionate about influencing. I’m passionate about learning more about what makes someone a great influencer. I’m passionate about becoming a better influencer. I’m passionate about making you a better influencer.
Inspiration is everywhere. Passion is the decoder that makes it visible. Think about your business a lot. Raise your level of awareness to the world around you. If you have passion, you’ll see things differently.
Influence Like "The Boss" - To learn more about this author, visit Brian Macias's Website.
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