April 13, 2011 167 Comments

The Passion of Gary Vaynerchuk

Gary Vaynerchuk

I’ve known Gary Vaynerchuk for a bunch of years now, pretty much a few months after he started making a big splash. As he just pointed out to people on a stage in Norway, we’ve really only shared physical space together for a few hours tops. But we’ve stayed aware of each other’s lives and presences via Twitter and Facebook and emails and texts and whatever for a while. And I’m going to make a confession.

Sometimes, it’s easy to tease Gary.

He is SO passionate, and he’s such a great hustler (his language, but I’m bought into it), and he’s the first to tell you that he’ll shamelessly sell what he’s selling as hard as he can. That’s easy to tease about. Gary swears like a sailor, no matter the context. That’s so easy to tease about. I can follow Gary, not swear, and feel smug that the audience thinks I’m more of a professional.

And if you’ve teased Gary about this too? (And maybe you have.) It’s okay. First, Gary doesn’t give a shit if you tease him (cursing for you, Gary, but then again, Julien curses, too). Second, Gary’s right, no matter what we think. More often than not, Gary is right.

Gary Vaynerchuk is Right

Moments ago (when I typed this), Gary was talking about a person in the board room who was hounding him, “What’s the ROI of social media? What’s the ROI? What’s the ROI?” Gary’s answer, when he’d finally had enough? “What’s the ROI of your mother?”

The audience, mostly Norwegians, laughed appropriately. (And let me give you context: Norwegians are wonderful and smart and nice and have senses of humor, but it’s not very Scandinavian to laugh out loud, I’ve come to observe.)

And he’s right. Gary goes on to say that ROI will be coming. I’m sitting beside Avinash Kaushik, who is pretty close to this answer. I think Olivier Blanchard has some insights on this. But it’s still kind of early. And Gary’s not wrong even when the definitive answer comes out, our mother has a strong ROI that’s hard to put on paper, and that’s what he’s saying about social media.

Gary Doesn’t Have to Give You the Answers

One mistake people make with keynote speakers is that they, the audience, often criticizes a keynote speaker for not giving details. I hear it all the time. Scroll down on my professional speaking page to the GenBlue speech and watch it (if you’ve got a minute). I give a few details, but mostly, I paint with a broad brush.

Gary doesn’t HAVE to mention the details. He’s pushing the emotion down your throat and into your gut. He’s selling the emotion so hard that I (someone who’s been involved in social media since 1998) feel like jumping up and screaming “Hell yeah!”

Instead, Gary’s giving us the context. He’s setting up the stage so that we can learn what we have to do with it. And that’s what is and will be important. He is ending with this message: “You will not catch up with money, because the people who have the emotional relationship will stay ahead.”

Say What You Will

I’m a fan of passion. I’m a fan of people who humanize business, and Gary is that 100%. No matter what, Gary is human, and so, I’m a fan. Thank you, Gary.

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  • http://twitter.com/cencoastsocial Chuck Kossuth

    Gary helps keep my passion going & I love the “What’s the ROI of your mother?” quote – along with several more that he uses. Gary and ‘Crush It’ are the main inspirations for starting my business.

    If interaction, engagement and building trust on social media are at the core of what businesses must do, then how can we be expected to measure the ROI? Aren’t the conversations and interactions truly the results of the investment of time and caring. Scott Stratten asks, “What’s the ROI of a conversation?”

  • http://twitter.com/thebrandbuilder Olivier Blanchard

    Thanks for the nod! It isn’t every day that I find my name next to Gary and Avinash. :)

    I just want to clarify one little thing: ROI is what it is. It isn’t my opinion. It’s a basic and universal KPI/measurement that is as true of investments in social media activity as it of investments in stocks, capital improvements or real estate. But the bigger picture, and I think all four of us agree on this, is that the ROI conversation isn’t necessarily the most important conversation we should be having.

    My focus on properly defining ROI hasn’t been fueled by a religious-like devotion to finance, or an obsession with making social media financially profitable. Personally, I would much rather work with an organization whose members and leaders understand that humanizing their business and building stronger relationships with their customers and fans is good for everyone. Good for them, good for their fans, good for their industry, even good for their quality of life and their perspective on life. There is more to this industry, to success even, than financial gains.

    Having to explain how to think about ROI in relation to Social Media is something I enjoy doing – and I am lucky to be able to do it fairly well – but it’s a lot like teaching someone how to surf by explaining the physics of boards and waves rather than how to “feel” the wave and find the sweet spot. Know what I mean? ;)

    That’s why when Gary asks “what’s the [bleep] ROI of your mother?”, I cheer along with everyone else. Some things, you cannot put a price tag on: Friendships. Real relationships. Knowing that you’ve improved the lives of one or even millions of people with a product, an idea, or even a bit of insight. Social media has the power to transform markets, politics, culture, society and business. Ultimately, THAT is what matters. It’s the bigger picture. The big end game. In comparison, questions about ROI may seem trivial and even gauche. But let’s not confuse financial objectives with non-financial objectives.

    Every time a CEO asks me about the ROI of a social media program, it is an invitation to reframe the conversation and talk about goals (financial and non-financial). The financial goals, we address with ROI. The non-financial goals, we address outside of the ROI conversation. ;)

    As long as we remain aware of the distinction between physics and feel, left brain and right brain, financial gains and non-financial gains, we’ll be okay. ROI is simply too limited a term to encompass it all properly. ;)

    Cheers,

    Olivier.

    • http://twitter.com/Ilana221 Ilana Rabinowitz

      Oliver, I’m so glad to hear you say what you did. (I just ordered your book by the way). I especially like your phrase “financial gains and non-financial gains.” Not everything valuable is measurable with numbers.

    • Midori C

      Olivier it sounds like we are sharing many of the same thoughts! Would be curious to see if there is any overlap with my trainings and tools on sustainability.

    • Midori C

      Olivier it sounds like we are sharing many of the same thoughts! Would be curious to see if there is any overlap with my trainings and tools on sustainability.

    • http://twitter.com/Chris_Eh_Young Chris Eh Young

      The problem with calculating ROI on relationships that you can never be 100% certain when and if they’ll cash in. Some relationships pay dividends instantly, some take considerably longer, and some never cash in at all.

      The first step to calculating relationship ROI is making sure that your goals are in line with your processes.

    • http://twitter.com/Chris_Eh_Young Chris Eh Young

      The problem with calculating ROI on relationships that you can never be 100% certain when and if they’ll cash in. Some relationships pay dividends instantly, some take considerably longer, and some never cash in at all.

      The first step to calculating relationship ROI is making sure that your goals are in line with your processes.

  • http://twitter.com/susangiurleo susangiurleo

    Gary is right.
    And Chris pulled out probably the most important quote of Gary’s keynote….

    People do business with people.
    People do business with people who make them FEEL SOMETHING.
    People do business with people who STAND FOR SOMETHING.
    People do business with people they like and want to hang out with.
    People do business with people they have relationships with.

    It is nearly impossible to measure any of those statements above.
    I’m a psychologist, studied statistics and measurement and research theory for years. I have colleagues who have dedicated whole careers to measuring that shit up there…and you know what? We can’t do it. People will pull out some freaking whamawhingding correlational wizardry and at the end of the day it’s not going to tell you who really will do business with you, share your content, come back for more, evangelize.

    I know many people disagree with this. But someone show me the research that spending the time optimizing your sales page trumps the same amount of time building relationships. I want to see that research.

    Whether we recognize it or not, we are all in the business of relating to people. I don’t care if you sell social media or lumber…last I checked only humans have actual money you can use.

    We may use machines to use the media, and numbers can give us a piece of the story, but you can’t take the social out of the people who decide you are worth their time, energy and hard earned money.

    ROI on passion, caring and relationships? Priceless. Rock on, Gary…
    (and, yeah, I may be a little passionate about this topic) : )

    • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

      I agree with you. I mean, I do measurement where it makes sense, but I totally agree with you.

      • http://twitter.com/susangiurleo susangiurleo

        Thanks, yes, some measurement makes sense and should be done. But we can’t measure ‘human’ and what really drives the behaviors we hope to initiate.

  • http://www.kherize5.com Suzanne Vara

    Chris

    My dear did you expect anything less from a Jersey boy, who bleeds green and also has a last name that starts with “Va.” I mean come on now it is like we were separated at birth.

    Gary is very intense and that intensity is what grabs the audience and keeps them coming back for more and more. The passion and emotion does leave you walking away all pumped up and wanting package that emotion and passion and put it to use in your own work. That is what he is selling – he is selling us on us. Some walk away and carry it though where others leave it at the door.

    • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

      You know it. : )

  • http://briancarteryeah.com/ briancarter

    If talking to your mother is your business strategy, you live in her basement.

  • Midori C

    As a frequent speaker/trainer on the concept of strategic sustainability for business, I had to relentlessly defend the value and ROI of sustainability in business.
    First of all, if an organization invests a measured amount of time or money (or both) with a clear goal/outcome in mind, they can assess ROI. It’s that simple.
    So, with sustainability initiatives, we measure the returns in three categories of people, planet and profit.
    We can then also translate returns into various categories for social media efforts, depending on the purpose (networking, awareness, customer service etc). It’s all a matter of knowing why you’re doing it, what you want out of it and what you’re putting into it.
    As for ROI of my mom? Well, I invested lots of time being a good kid and following rules. My returns were being fed, clothed and housed. Now that’s what I call ROI.

    On another note, I actually wish more keynotes were less about inspiration and more about how to do. Just my measly opinion though. I’m probably a bit jaded after seeing 800,006 keynotes :)
    Midori

    • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

      See, I was feeling that way too. Until I watched Gary again. I’d been moving a bit more towards how-to, but that’s not the function of most keynotes. A keynote is a stage/tone setter. It’s the bookend. And then the rest of the presentations are supposed to support the main points, in their own detailed way. In the way I develop content when I run a show, that’s how we do it. There’s a major theme point or two, and everyone threads to that. The other presentations, the non-keynote (but just as important) tend to support and flesh out the bigger stream ideas.

      But that’s just one way to do it.

      • Claudene

        To me, the keynote guys like you, Chris, and Gary are like the main character in the movie Limitless — you’re 50 moves ahead of everyone else.

        And because you’re 50 moves ahead, you guys are *exactly* the type of keynote speaker I’ll pay for. Because it’s your passion that got you 50 moves ahead. Your passion has driven you to decode the past and present and predict the future. And that’s the how-to I need and want from a keynote — I want to understand how you think about trends and predict the coming big picture. The more detailed how-to’s I can get from some of your other content. And I, personally, want you to deliver this information to me with the passion that drives you and fuels you. I want you to inspire me with the fire that keeps you running through brick walls.

        If anything, keynote speakers in general might be served by literally stating to the audience what you said, Chris, about keynotes being the tone setter, the bookend for strategic details to come. And because we’re all so hurried and results oriented, it might be helpful for a keynote speaker to literally say that they’re going to give actionable take-aways, but they’re going to be take-aways from 30,000 feet, not 3 feet. It’s a little bit of that “tell them what you’re going to tell them (and WHY), then tell them, and then tell them again what you just told them.”

        To a point we all need a sense of the 30,000 ft. view — I just think people in their hurry and overwhelm forget that they’d be well served by understanding the big picture a little better than they do.

        After all, it’s that understanding of the big picture — along with an incredible work ethic and commitment to your plans and dreams — that got you and Gary to being 50 moves ahead of the others, right?

        I want passion in keynote speakers like you and Gary. If you want to just give me a fish or two, well, I’ll certainly take them — but what I really want and what I hope I’ve paid for is for you to give me a glimpse into how you know where the fish are, and for you to *teach* me to fish, with the inspiration and passion that have driven both of you to such impressive heights. Make sense?

      • http://twitter.com/GreenA_V Midori Connolly

        Orator/speaker v. educator/facilitator. Fair point! Thanks for responding!

        • http://profiles.google.com/jlevin7 Jessica Levin

          I think what Midori was trying to express is that, why can’t it be both? Why can’t someone inspire AND teach at the same time. Why can’t a keynote get everyone pumped up and also teach them how to do something. Why can’t an opening general session be something other than a standard keynote and why shouldn’t speakers take some responsibility in helping to define what that “something other” is?

          As far as being jaded, that’s a problem for speakers. We all have seen SOOO many presentations that all look the same that we think that’s how it should be done. Maybe we should look at it and say how can it be done differently? Maybe it’s easier for me to see this because I both hire speakers and am a speaker so I have a different perspective. Maybe we all need to look at it from the attendee perspective.

          Of course, this doesn’t really have much to do with the point of the post, or does it?

  • http://twitter.com/reachstudents Luke, Reach Students

    Impressed that the question ‘What is the ROI of your mother’ has been received as a koan!

    So it wasn’t just a ‘your mother’ joke?

    *Hits self with stick*

  • http://twitter.com/reachstudents Luke, Reach Students

    Impressed that the question ‘What is the ROI of your mother’ has been received as a koan!

    So it wasn’t just a ‘your mother’ joke?

    *Hits self with stick*

    • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

      He says no. I thought that, too. : )

  • http://socialbutterflyguy.com/ DJ Waldow

    I’m also a huge Gary V fan. Huge.

    “He’s pushing the emotion down your throat and into your gut. He’s selling the emotion so hard that I (someone who’s been involved in social media since 1998) feel like jumping up and screaming “Hell yeah!”"

    Pretty sure that quote by you (Chris) sums up my feelings on Gary. I’ve heard him speak live 3x. He brings it strong every single time. He bleeds passion.

    Does he have all of the answers? Nope. Is he always right? Nope (but I’d agree with you that often he is). Does he go out of his way to reply to people’s comments – both the good and the bad? HELL YES. All you have to do is skim the 77+ comments on this post. Major kudos to Gary for engaging in the conversation.

    I know that Gary rubs some people the wrong way. Some people hate the cursing. Others take issue with “What’s the ROI of your mother? type comments. Some will criticize him with the “protection” of a blog post or twitter or comment on a blog. They are all certainly entitled to their opinions.

    Gary is who Gary is. He does not hide behind anything. He tells it how he sees it. He genuinely cares about people.

    Did I mention that I’m a huge Gary V fan? I don’t even like wine (I’m a beer guy).

    Hope you both enjoyed Norway. My wife’s family was all born there. I hope to make over there some day.

    Skol!

  • http://socialbutterflyguy.com/ DJ Waldow

    I’m also a huge Gary V fan. Huge.

    “He’s pushing the emotion down your throat and into your gut. He’s selling the emotion so hard that I (someone who’s been involved in social media since 1998) feel like jumping up and screaming “Hell yeah!”"

    Pretty sure that quote by you (Chris) sums up my feelings on Gary. I’ve heard him speak live 3x. He brings it strong every single time. He bleeds passion.

    Does he have all of the answers? Nope. Is he always right? Nope (but I’d agree with you that often he is). Does he go out of his way to reply to people’s comments – both the good and the bad? HELL YES. All you have to do is skim the 77+ comments on this post. Major kudos to Gary for engaging in the conversation.

    I know that Gary rubs some people the wrong way. Some people hate the cursing. Others take issue with “What’s the ROI of your mother? type comments. Some will criticize him with the “protection” of a blog post or twitter or comment on a blog. They are all certainly entitled to their opinions.

    Gary is who Gary is. He does not hide behind anything. He tells it how he sees it. He genuinely cares about people.

    Did I mention that I’m a huge Gary V fan? I don’t even like wine (I’m a beer guy).

    Hope you both enjoyed Norway. My wife’s family was all born there. I hope to make over there some day.

    Skol!

  • http://www.rizzotees.com/ Chris @ Rizzo Tees

    Jim Cramer also has alot of passion. The difference is that Gary is RARELY wrong. Cramer is wrong all the damn time.

  • http://kriscolvin.com Kris Colvin

    Great post. :-)

  • http://kriscolvin.com Kris Colvin

    Great post. :-)

  • http://twitter.com/drewdagostino Drew D’Agostino

    I’m in the process of creating a new blog about people that are imperfect and unafraid to dive headfirst into their work, mistakes and all. Gary is a perfect representation of the kind of drive I’m talking about.

    How do I know this? Before I finished his latest book, I stopped reading and started this little idea that had been rolling around my head for a while. Made a couple of hundred bucks with it in a week, now I have to finish the last chapter of the book!

  • Terry Vermeylen

    Yews …its mostly about making people passionate, emotional and believing!!

  • http://dannybrown.me Danny Brown

    I think it depends on how you’re measuring, Gary. If you’re relying on the standard ads and hoping you get foot traffic, then yes, measurement can be a crapshoot, mate.

    If you’re using vanity URL’s for different publications, or a QR code, or a SMS shortcode to send a text to, then you can measure the bejeezus out of it and see which publication and ad is being effective.

    There’s definitely a lot to be desired with traditional ads – but there’s also a lot of great measurement and future strategies to be built if you approach the traditional ads with a little bit of smarter thinking. ;-)

    • http://www.techguerilla.com/ Matt Ridings – Techguerilla

      I think the challenge Danny is that the ‘all things should be measured’ approach is itself an issue. Just because something *can* be measured doesn’t mean it *should* be measured. While that sounds counter-intuitive, it’s quite often the fact that the cost of doing the full measurement has a negative ROI.

      So if it costs more to measure an activity than you would make from that activity should you still do it? Of course not. Does that mean that activity isn’t deriving value? Of course not. Some of these long tail relational activities are simply too expensive to measure to such a finite level.

      We pay a lot of money to buy an executives ‘gut instinct’ in those cases.

      Cheers

      • http://dannybrown.me Danny Brown

        Agree, Matt – some things don’t need measured. But the important ones definitely do, and that’s where you rely on smart management and leaders to make sure you’re measuring what you need to measure.

        Of course, then you could turn it around and ask what’s more expensive – the gut instinct or the measurement? Which then can lead to a new opportunity that you wouldn’t have had, had you listened to gut.

        Nice little quandary… ;-)

  • http://thesocialjoint.com/ Lucretia M Pruitt

    I personally love Gary. I love his passion and yours. What I love best is that it translates into people who are sitting there in an audience thinking “okay, what am I getting out of this conference?” walking out of it thinking “Yes! This is what I came here for – to remember how much I love doing this!”

    ROI is important – but so is tapping into that part of our souls which makes us *want* to go to work each day. Gary’s really, *really* good at that second one.

    On a side note, I’m beginning to wonder how many people read what you write carefully any more Chris. Which is sad, because there’s a lot of things to be gained by taking the time to pay attention to the details you write into a post.

    The line “his language, but I’m bought into it”? It makes sense that you, the author, might miss that. (Proof-reading is harder when its your own material.) But I’m suspecting that a high percentage of people read the title of this then skimmed the rest and proceeded on to either comment the equivalent of “Fuck yeah!” or “Here’s why you’re wrong…”

  • http://SocialVideoLabs.com Steve Elerick

    Chris, you should be and are commended for writing such a passionate post for a good friend and colleague. This is as much about you as it is Gary. One complements the other. I get the concept. I took that from a comment or two you were having with others.

    A little disclaimer before I continue: By no means am I saying this should be Gary. I am merely using his truthfulness as a like it or not approach to make a point.

    Our members of Congress should take notes from Gary V. Stop sugar coating everything hiding behind their (elected title) and start giving gratitude to the people of this Great Nation.

    Don’t forget the disclaimer: If we had more in office, the President included to be as passionate about their audience (citizens of the US) we wouldn’t be in quite as a big predicament. Please before anyone gets upset to listen up. Passion is not what you say or due to get elected. How you conduct and lead oneself after elected dictates the care or not.

    Gary has been elected for his influence, care, passion and immense knowledge for his subjects and audience!

    Imagine having a Gary V someone with a real backbone and a surrounding cast with the same let’s do the right thing with that burning fire in the gut and sorry if we hurt or bruised your feelings. However, we must take care of the audience (people.) Could you imagine the feeling of appreciation the people would have back? Oh, you will always have a few that want it soft, warm and fuzzy and that’s okay they too deserve to be treated with dignity and appreciation.

    I hope you realize I was using the above to apply Gary V’s “The Thank You Economy” principle in his new book because once again he is right, and we have to be thankful.

    See this is why so many yearn to be in Gary’s circle. He does tell it straight with no B.S. As it should be.

    A true winner has the passion and will (Hustle) in order to get the (V) victory.

    Once again, Chris, thank you for the fantastic post it was most enjoyable.

    Steve

  • http://SocialVideoLabs.com Steve Elerick

    Chris, you should be and are commended for writing such a passionate post for a good friend and colleague. This is as much about you as it is Gary. One complements the other. I get the concept. I took that from a comment or two you were having with others.

    A little disclaimer before I continue: By no means am I saying this should be Gary. I am merely using his truthfulness as a like it or not approach to make a point.

    Our members of Congress should take notes from Gary V. Stop sugar coating everything hiding behind their (elected title) and start giving gratitude to the people of this Great Nation.

    Don’t forget the disclaimer: If we had more in office, the President included to be as passionate about their audience (citizens of the US) we wouldn’t be in quite as a big predicament. Please before anyone gets upset to listen up. Passion is not what you say or due to get elected. How you conduct and lead oneself after elected dictates the care or not.

    Gary has been elected for his influence, care, passion and immense knowledge for his subjects and audience!

    Imagine having a Gary V someone with a real backbone and a surrounding cast with the same let’s do the right thing with that burning fire in the gut and sorry if we hurt or bruised your feelings. However, we must take care of the audience (people.) Could you imagine the feeling of appreciation the people would have back? Oh, you will always have a few that want it soft, warm and fuzzy and that’s okay they too deserve to be treated with dignity and appreciation.

    I hope you realize I was using the above to apply Gary V’s “The Thank You Economy” principle in his new book because once again he is right, and we have to be thankful.

    See this is why so many yearn to be in Gary’s circle. He does tell it straight with no B.S. As it should be.

    A true winner has the passion and will (Hustle) in order to get the (V) victory.

    Once again, Chris, thank you for the fantastic post it was most enjoyable.

    Steve

  • http://SocialVideoLabs.com Steve Elerick

    Chris, you should be and are commended for writing such a passionate post for a good friend and colleague. This is as much about you as it is Gary. One complements the other. I get the concept. I took that from a comment or two you were having with others.

    A little disclaimer before I continue: By no means am I saying this should be Gary. I am merely using his truthfulness as a like it or not approach to make a point.

    Our members of Congress should take notes from Gary V. Stop sugar coating everything hiding behind their (elected title) and start giving gratitude to the people of this Great Nation.

    Don’t forget the disclaimer: If we had more in office, the President included to be as passionate about their audience (citizens of the US) we wouldn’t be in quite as a big predicament. Please before anyone gets upset to listen up. Passion is not what you say or due to get elected. How you conduct and lead oneself after elected dictates the care or not.

    Gary has been elected for his influence, care, passion and immense knowledge for his subjects and audience!

    Imagine having a Gary V someone with a real backbone and a surrounding cast with the same let’s do the right thing with that burning fire in the gut and sorry if we hurt or bruised your feelings. However, we must take care of the audience (people.) Could you imagine the feeling of appreciation the people would have back? Oh, you will always have a few that want it soft, warm and fuzzy and that’s okay they too deserve to be treated with dignity and appreciation.

    I hope you realize I was using the above to apply Gary V’s “The Thank You Economy” principle in his new book because once again he is right, and we have to be thankful.

    See this is why so many yearn to be in Gary’s circle. He does tell it straight with no B.S. As it should be.

    A true winner has the passion and will (Hustle) in order to get the (V) victory.

    Once again, Chris, thank you for the fantastic post it was most enjoyable.

    Steve

  • Anonymous

    Hi Chris,
    Great post about Gary.
    He is one passionate dude.
    Thanks for carving a path that many benefit from!
    I have so many questions to ask you, will just have to wait till my blog is massive and then maybe I will speak at a conference you are.
    Currently I speak on real estate all over the place and have achieved great things in that area but have now converted over to blogging/community and I’m at about 2,000 visits a day and it’s building fast but I’m sort of walking uncharted territory in my industry and that’s why I’m keen to ask you some questions one day but hey I’ll be patient :)
    Thanks so much for all you do and keep up the great work!
    Mat

  • http://www.ryanhanley.com/about Ryan Hanley

    Is there anything more inspiring than a passionate person? Gary is a prime example. Whether you believe in his brash, curse filled opinions or not you can’t help but be inspired by them.

    Crush It was a great book.

    Thanks Chris.

  • http://www.facebook.com/jackie.t.ewing Jackie Thorpe Ewing

    Would have loved to have been at this conference. A lot of my fave people to follow and learn from. Someday soon. Thanks for sharing Chris.

  • http://www.facebook.com/jackie.t.ewing Jackie Thorpe Ewing

    Would have loved to have been at this conference. A lot of my fave people to follow and learn from. Someday soon. Thanks for sharing Chris.

  • Vicki

    Hell, yeah, Chris….You’re message is spot-on! “Being human” trumps a sole focus on bottom-line analytics in business success any day!

    With my clients, I find that the small-to-medium sized businesses “get” this much more so than the large businesses. I think when you become beholden only to stockholders, you lose sight of the real reason you likely started your business in the first place: because you loved the type of people who were or would become your customers.

    Social media shows that you care about your customers. Maybe you can’t put an ROI on that, but what’s the ROI of making someone laugh during a sales presentation? Well, according to some research I did for my last book, whens someone laughs, it lights up the SAME part of the brain that is activated when someone makes a buying decision. So, if you make someone laugh myriad times in your social media posts, you are lighting up the “sales” parts of the brains of potential clients several times. Do that enough, and eventually they will buy. This is a perfect example of how you can’t draw a hard-and-fast line between human emotions and number of sales closes, but it remains a strong factor.

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  • http://profiles.google.com/hareydouglas harey douglas

    Flawed and without fear about their jobs, errors, and all diving headfirst to the new people I’m in the process of creating a blog. Gary is a representation of the type I’m talking about the driver is excellent. Do you know how much of it? I stopped reading his latest book is finished and has been in my head around the idea of rolling this small. It has been a few weeks, now the last section of the book, one hundred dollars to finish.

  • http://nathanhangen.com/blog Nathan Hangen

    Big fan of you both, but I really wish we could move beyond this “social media” term and talk about it in the manner it exists, which is as a way of life.

    I know Gary has said many times that he hates the term, and I’m guessing you feel similarly. It’s just sad that we’re still talking about social media like it’s something different an exists on an island.

    So glad your blog has evolved and stayed away from that trap Chris. Same with Gary. Sadly, much of the world is stuck.

    As for the how-to vs motivation/why, let’s be honest – the how to is super simple. It’s the why and the nuance of how that really matters, and that’s where people like you and Gary shine.

  • http://nathanhangen.com/blog Nathan Hangen

    1/1,000,000

    To quote Jim Carrey:

    “So you’re saying there’s a chance!”

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  • http://twitter.com/AgentMagnetic Jason!

    This is an interesting [insightful] side of Gary that I didn’t know. Thanks for posting Chris.

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  • http://www.bigjobsboard.com/ Brad Jobs

    Thanks for sharing a short article about this guy’s story. I think it is a great opportunity to hear this gentleman talk on stage.

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  • http://www.howtogetridofacnescarsblogs.com home remedies for acne

    This is an interesting [insightful] side of Gary

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