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5 Laws To Cultivating a Go-Giver Mindset | Think Cloud

Hosts Leon, Paul and Dean are joined by Bob Burg Author of The Go-Giver

5 Laws To Cultivating a Go-Giver Mindset - With Bob Burg

If Bob Burg were to describe himself at a dinner party, he would say that he speaks at conferences and conventions and writes books on personal development, sales and communications skills.

In our latest podcast hosted by Leon, Dean and Paul, special guest Bob Burg reveals that the best way to achieve lasting financial success is by refocusing on customer service and satisfaction; this outlook brings greater joy and helps business owners reap higher rewards. He has assisted companies, sales leaders, and their teams for three decades to convey their value proposition better while selling with minimal resistance at higher prices. He also empowers them to develop a booming business through endless referrals.

The American Management Association has duly awarded him as one of their 30 Most Influential Leaders, and Richtopia also declared him among the Top 200 Most Influential Authors in the World.

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From Getting to Giving

Although for years Bob was best known for his book Endless Referrals, it's his business parable, The Go-Giver (coauthored with John David Mann), that captured the imagination of his readers, including Leon, who feels it is one of the books which had the most profound influence on his own life.

The book explains how shifting your focus from 'getting' to 'giving' and giving value to others is a more fulfilling and profitable way to conduct business. Bob is an advocate, supporter and defender of the Free Enterprise system, believing that the money one makes is directly proportional to how many people one serves.

The Five Laws

The five laws in the Go-Giver book are value, compensation, influence, authenticity, and receptivity.

The law of value states that your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.

The law of compensation states that your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you do them.

The law of influence states that your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people's interests first.

The law of authenticity states that the most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself.

The law of receptivity states that the key to effective giving is staying open to receiving.

These five laws will help you gain the insight and understanding needed to provide added value while achieving greater success in your business. When you give more than you take, you benefit from increased revenue and growth in your business and the satisfaction of making a lasting impact in the lives of others.

Understanding the Difference Between Price and Value in Salesmanship

Bob explains how The old English root of the word sell was sellan which meant to give. So when you're selling, you're literally giving.

When you sell, you give that person time, attention, counsel, education, empathy, and ultimately immense value. Ask questions to discover that person's needs, wants, and desires, understand their problems and how your product or service can help them know what's going to bring happiness to them through you, and then you connect the benefits of your product or service with that. And so really great salesmanship is always about the other person, and when we look at it this way now, we can feel really good.

Understand the difference between price and value. It's what the customer may be willing to pay or may not be; the value, on the other hand, is the relative worth, and it's what the customer gets out of it. Value is the heart of sales. As you give greater value, your prospects and customers will be willing to pay more for your service or product because they believe the benefits outweigh the cost. That's why understanding how to create value and communicate it effectively is essential in any successful sale.

Influence, Lessons and Habits

The 3 Books that have most influenced Bob's life include How to win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. Psycho-Cybernetics, written by Dr Maxwell Maltz, and published in 1960, was the first book that showed Bob that it's your belief systems and that you can never accomplish more than your most limiting belief, and Peace, power, and plenty by Orison Swett Marden all three made the most significant differences to Bob when he first started getting into reading and studying personal development.

Bob has always found it hard to accept change, preferring to become highly skilled at one thing and keep things the same. However, life is constantly transforming, and successful individuals understand that no matter how desperately you want something to remain as it is, if it isn't meant to be, there's nothing you can do about it. This was a difficult lesson for Bob, but he eventually learnt that when the right time comes, he has to welcome changes whether or not he genuinely likes them.

Conclusion

Bob Burg's success is not just down to luck; he has identified what works for him and developed habits and mindsets that have helped him succeed. When asked what drives him to succeed, Bob says, "I know I can make a difference by sharing my experiences with others.' And like Zig Ziegler says, 'you can have everything you want if you'll just help enough other people get what they want.'

His advice to young people starting out is to listen first, and understand the difference between price and value in sales. Be open-minded enough to admit when you are wrong. Having the courage and conviction to stay true to your values despite what others say is also important, as is having a clear sense of purpose and drive. Bob's success has been built on hard work, dedication and staying true to his core beliefs. Applying these lessons and techniques to your life can open the door to success through giving as well as receiving!