PUTTING A FACE TO THE NAME
why customers love
to read about YOU! Mindy Gibbins-Klein
Let’s face it, we love to know about other people’s lives, particularly those who are in the public eye. But is it all about sensationalism or are there very real, tangible business benefits to business leaders and CEOs sharing their stories with the world through a book? A business leader said something astounding the other day. He said he would rather speak to an audience of ten people than write for an audience of a thousand. I thought that sounded a bit strange, so I challenged him on it. It turned out that he had written an article for a magazine with a good circulation, but he hadn’t had any feedback at all from it. He felt he had spent his time crafting a wonderful, informative piece that no-one appreciated. He also felt that if that message had been delivered in person, he could have seen the response from people immediately, in their eyes and their body language. It’s true what my colleague said, so how can we justify putting time into writing when we don’t get feedback? Well, that is the nature of writing. Sometimes you get to find out what your readers think of your material, and many times you don’t. The same applies with a book. If you think about the time invested in creating tens of thousands of words without any idea how people will
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respond, it’s no wonder many people never get round to writing a book! A QUESTION OF TIME…. With such hectic schedules and economic pressures to keep business ticking over, can CEOs and leaders really afford to take the time to write and publish books, I hear your say? My response is simple. They can’t afford not to! It’s precisely when times get tough that customers start scrutinising their purchases and looking for the best value for their money. In a market that is already competitive, shrinking demand means fewer pounds flowing around, and those pounds will go to the exceptional companies, those that stand out. And these days, people look to the leader of the company to see what he or she has to say, and whether or not they give the market confidence. One of the best ways to encapsulate your knowledge and wisdom is in a book. If I asked you to pick out some key business leaders that immediately spring to mind, I bet most of them have a book. This is because to really appreciate someone as a thought leader, you need to get into the heart of who they are, what they stand for and what makes them tick.
Ultimately, we buy from people we like. We also like to read about them too! All serious business leaders have put books out and are undisputed experts or thought leaders in their fields. In fact, if they are not vocal and opinionated, regularly interviewed or quoted in the press, they are at risk of being forgotten in this unforgiving and competitive market.
But you don’t have to be a famous face to gain the benefit from writing a book. As the CEO or leader of any organisation, you have a unique story to tell that can only be told by you. Just because the world doesn’t know about it yet, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t need to be told.