His breakout business phenomenon, The Fred Factor: How Passion in Your Work and Life Can Turn the Ordinary into the Extraordinary has touched the lives of millions of people since first published nearly ten years ago.

Mark Sanborn, CSP, CPAE’s New York Times Bestselling book, based on his new postman named Fred, actually spurred a movement of people who would never again accept good enough as…good enough.

Finally, he has released Fred 2.0, journeying even wider and deeper with The Fred Factor philosophy, with principles, strategies and tactics that will help you – and the Fred’s you lead – increase effectiveness, earn more, and touch more lives with exceptional value.

Mark is a man of wisdom…and himself a definite Fred.

Enjoy our chat!

For as long as I’ve know him, I’ve said that Mark is one of the best speakers in the world. That is no exaggeration. His list of clients includes Harley Davidson, Costco, Cisco, ESPN and First Data. And, he certainly hit a grand slam home run at our 2012 Go-Giver Retreat. If you are looking for a fantastic speaker for your next event, be sure and contact Mark either directly through his website or via your favorite speakers bureau.

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In a free-market based economy, money is simply an echo of the value that’s been provided. After all, why should anyone willingly give you their money unless they feel they are receiving value equal to or — even more preferably — greater than the money they are exchanging it for?

The key, as I posted recently on my Facebook page, is to focus on the giving of value…and allow the receiving. Remember, not only must we breathe out, we must also breathe in.

As part of an exchange with entrepreneur, Duane Adolph, he asked:

“I’ve been thinking about this for a while, as well. in order to aid ‘focus’ which ‘Metric’ would you use to measure Value Delivered? Income Statements and Balance sheets measure only echoes’.”

I responded: Duane, thank you for your question. Value is ALWAYS in the eyes of the beholder and is measured by THEM. When THEY see “it” being of value, that’s when the echoes begin to form.

Duane replied:

“Agreed. And they “vote” with their wallets. Thus the “Metric” or “KPI” (Key Performance Indicator) I was looking for to determine if we the company are delivering value can be measured by the Metric “REVENUE”. So when we as a company ask ourselves…”Did we Deliver Value today?” we can look at our Daily Revenue number to determine how much.”

I appreciate  how he phrased that. One important point, however, is that the value provided and the resulting monies don’t necessarily occur on the same day. So, there can be a lapse in that regard.

Which is why, whenever I’m asked for examples of companies that are “Go-Giver Companies” my answer is always to simply look at any company that has a record of sustained profitability.

The reason is that, assuming they are operating in a truly free-market economy — without benefiting from cronyism or corporatism — the only way they can sustain profitability is by providing exceptional value to many people on an ongoing, consistent basis.

And, yes, that value is judged by the consumers and only by the consumers.

And, as Duane so eloquently put it, they vote with their wallets.

On a recent interview I stated that one cannot “make” a sale.

This because — in a market-based economy — you can’t make anyone do anything they don’t want to do. You certainly can’t make them buy from you.

What you can do is create the environment where that person makes the decision (based on their self-interest) to buy. And, when that happens, you are there to receive the sale.

In response, a listener wrote:

“I especially enjoyed your idea that you can’t “make” sales, only receive them.”

Thank you. Remember, though, that this receiving does not occur in a vacuum. We must first provide the value which creates the environment where the person chooses to buy. And, continue to magnify that value through the excellence, education, attention, empathy and other elements involved. This is not passive, but active; very active.

In other words, action is key! (And, it’s why we should be both Go-Givers AND Go-Getters…just not go-takers!)

Yes, in the interview I said the key is to focus on the giving (of value) and allow the receiving.

But, please don’t confuse receptivity with passivity. The receiving is earned; through action; through providing value.

In this case, the correct focus leads to the correct action, and that’s what creates the proper environment.

Have you found this to be true? How do you provide value in the sales process in order to create that environment? Please feel free to share?

In a recent post by Certified Go-Giver Coach, Linda Ryan, she suggested some great ideas for bringing yourself out of an emotional funk.

One of her readers wrote, “Why not just decide to be happy?”

It was an excellent question. And, knowing the reader personally, I know he is a successful business person with a great attitude and, I assume, happy, as well.

And, while there are those who really can simply make that decision and…be happy, that is not true for everyone; at least within their present life model.

For example, let’s take a person who has grown up in a family where they were taught life is miserable and all you can do is your best to survive. And, that happiness is not a natural state but simply something that only some lucky people have.

And, now, they are learning that is not necessarily the case. They are reading good books, listening to positive audios and ready to make a change based on this new information.

But, they’re still learning.

If that’s the case, he or she might need some “tools” that help them to apply that decision. Sometimes, just taking a personal accounting of all one is grateful for is enough to do it. And, sometimes, because life can really get us down, it’s important to — as Linda suggested — prepare in advance with that “bag of tricks.”

Of course, I totally agree with the reader that the first step is to simply make that decision! At the same time, don’t hesitate to use whatever “tools” you need to make it happen.

What do you think?