We’ve got an exclusive interview with Bob Burg, co-author of the international bestseller, The Go-Giver, with over a million copies sold, consistently in the Top 25 on Porchlight’s Business Book Bestsellers List since its release, was on HubSpot’s 20 Most Highly Rated Sales Books of All Time, and was rated #10 on Inc Magazine’s list of Most Motivational Books Ever Written.
Bob believes that conducting business “The Go-Giver Way” leads to greater value for customers and more functional, profitable companies. For 30 years, he has helped companies, sales leaders, and their teams communicate their value more effectively and grow their businesses based on Endless Referrals. Bob has addressed audiences ranging from 50 to 16,000 and shared the platform with notable thought leaders, broadcast personalities, Olympic athletes, and political leaders, including a former US President.
Tune in as Bob shares his expertise, experience, and what it means to be a Go-Giver in the world of private money.
Key Takeaways:
- What kind of person is a Go-Giver?
- The Go-Giver in the world of private money.
- The Go-Getter & The Go-Giver
- The Five Laws of Stratospheric Success
- The Law Of Values
- The Law Of Compensation
- The Law Of Influences
- The Law Of Authenticity
- The Law Of Receptivity
- The bad first question to ask about a venture.
- The dos and don’ts of finding a mentor.
Connect with Bob:
Website: https://www.Burg.com
Subscribe to his Daily Impact email: https://www.Burg.com/Daily-Impact/
Check out my book: 7 Reasons Why Private Money Will Skyrocket Your Real Estate Business and Help You Build Incredible Wealth!
Get it here for FREE: www.jayconner.com/moneyguide
Sign up for the Private Money Academy and get 4-weeks free: https://jay-conner.mykajabi.com/offers/AMM4hCPW/checkout
Sign up for the Private Money Academy Conference: https://www.JaysLiveEvent.com
Timestamps:
0:01 – Raising Private Money with Jay Conner
0:55 – Today’s Guest: Bob Burg
6:05 – Who Is A Go-Giver?
9:07 – The Go-Giver In The World Of Private Money
12:25 – The Go-Getter & The Go-Giver
15:46 – The Law Of Values
25:07 – The Law Of Compensation
25:45 – The Law Of Influences
26:42 – The Law Of Authenticity
27:35 – The Law Of Receptivity
28:53 – The Bad First Question To Asked
34:31 – How To Find A Good Mentor
41:09 – Connect With Bob Burg: https://www.Burg.com
41:33 – Subscribe to Bob’s Daily Impact Email: https://www.Burg.com/Daily-Impact/
Exclusive Interview With Bob Burg, The Coauthor Of The International Bestseller, The Go-Giver!!!
[00:00:00] Jay Conner:
On today’s episode of Raising Private Money, you’re about to meet one of my most impactful mentors, a gentleman who co-authored writing a book that changed my life, both personally and professionally, and not only my life but the lives of over 1 million people. This book is so impactful. It’s been translated into 30 languages and this book, I have given away hundreds of copies to other people.
[00:00:33] Jay Conner:
I’ve gifted it to them more than any other book that I’ve given away. Now, if you want to discover how Living the Go-Giver way can transform your level of happiness and exponentially grow your business, then you don’t want to miss it. One second of this episode. You’re going to meet one of my mentors, my hero, and the co-author of the bestseller, The Go-Giver, Mr. Bob Burg, right after this.
[00:01:03] Narrator:
If you are a real estate investor and are wondering how to raise and leverage private money to make more profit on every deal then you are in the right place on raising private money, we’ll speak with new and seasoned investors to dissect their deals and extract the best tips and strategies to help you get the money because the money comes first. Now, here’s your host, Jay Conner.
[00:01:43] Jay Conner:
Oh, my lands. Welcome to Raising Private Money, Bob.
[00:01:48] Bob Burg:
Hey, Jay, great to be with you. Thank you for that kind introduction, and I love how excited that audience was to see you and welcome you the in that video clip.
[00:01:58] Jay Conner:
I’ll tell you, Bob, before the show started when we were talking in the Green room, I just can’t tell you how thrilled I am to have you on the show because.
[00:02:08] Jay Conner:
I know from personal experience through getting to know you through reading your books, I know the impact that you’re going to have on my audience. Now, before we dive into the Go-Giver’s way of life and the book, The Go-Giver, and all the success that it has had, I just want to share real quick how it is that I came to know you not too long ago. I’m in this Mastermind. I’m currently in this mastermind called the Collective Genius. And the Collective Genius is a mastermind of some of the top real estate investing professionals in the nation. And one of the members, a colleague and a dear friend of mine, his name is Scott Myers.
[00:02:49] Jay Conner:
Scott is an expert in the field of self-storage. He was speaking at the mastermind meeting and he was talking about a mission that he was going on and he was inviting us fellow Mastermind members to go and he told us, Bob, standing on that stage, That the book that had impacted him the most to start serving other people and leading with a Servant’s Heart was your book.
[00:03:16] Jay Conner:
Wow. The Go-Giver. And on that stage, there were 150 or 175 of us in the audience. At that stage, he had. A huge box of your book, the Go-Giver, and he gave every one of us a copy of the book. I wasn’t familiar with it. And in addition to that, he said whoever in the audience, because of the impact the Go-Giver had on him, whoever in the audience wanted to join him on the mission trip, was going to pay. For the trip. Wow. For us to go with him.
[00:03:49] Jay Conner:
That’s how much of an impact the book The Go-Giver had on Scott, and so I took that book with me. I got on the airplane to fly home, Bob, I could not stop reading the book. I love how it’s written in the story form. Changed my life. I was I thought I had a giver’s heart.
[00:04:14] Jay Conner:
I thought I had a heart of giving, but when I read this story in The Go-Giver and how the story is weaved and the lessons learned, it just, I just can’t tell you how much it impacted me, and that’s how I got to know you through your authorship.
[00:04:29] Bob Burg:
Wow. I’m first, Thank you. I can’t even begin to express how much that means to me to know that, and I’m sure you have that, that giving heart, that servant’s heart.
[00:04:38] Bob Burg:
In terms of the story, reading it as it did, I had a. Fantastic co-author by the name of John David Mann, who is the lead writer and storyteller who just is magnificent. So, I always said I felt lucky just to be able to work with him on this project.
[00:04:54] Jay Conner:
And, I got the thinking of course. I wanted to have, I wanted to have you on the show and the name of my show here is Raising Private Money specifically, for real estate. And I got the thinking how can my au you know, my audience is, first of all, gonna think why are you having.
[00:05:11] Jay Conner:
A co-author on the book about the Go-Giver and what’s that got to do with real estate and what’s it gotta do with raising private money? I’ll tell you, it’s got everything to do with whether you’re raising private money or whether in relationships, et cetera. And I’ll talk more about that in a moment.
[00:05:29] Jay Conner:
So people can get a context of the book. What would you say in your words as the co-author, what’s the premise of the book, and what is, or who is a go-giver?
[00:05:43] Bob Burg:
Yeah. I think that’s a great question, to begin with. A go-giver would be someone who understands that shifting their focus, and this is really where it all begins, shifting their focus from getting to giving.
[00:05:56] Bob Burg:
Now, when we say giving in this context, we simply mean constantly and consistently providing immense value to others. Understanding that doing so is not only a more fulfilling way of conducting business, it’s the most financial. Profitable way as well. And not for any kind of way out there. Woo, woo, magical, mystical reasons.
[00:06:21] Bob Burg:
Not at all. It makes very lo logical, very rational sense when you think about it, because when you are that person who can take your focus off of yourself and place it on serving, Others discovering their needs, their wants, and their desires when moving off of yourself and onto solving and helping other people solve their problems and challenges.
[00:06:43] Bob Burg:
Mainly when you can move from a focus on yourself to a focus on helping move other people closer to happiness. People feel good about you. They feel great about you. They want to get to know you. They like you, they trust you. They want to be part of your life. They want to do business with you. They want to tell others about you.
[00:07:04] Bob Burg:
They want to be your walking ambassador. And so really that’s what it’s about. It’s understanding human nature and Carnegie said it best in his 1930, I think 1937 classic if I have the year right, and I think I do, but I could be off a year how to win Friends and Influence People.
[00:07:24] Bob Burg:
And this is where he said, ultimately people do things for their reasons, not our reasons. So I often, when I’m speaking at a sales conference I’ll say to the group of salespeople, nobody’s gonna buy from you. Nobody’s gonna do business with you because you have a quota to meet. They’re not gonna do business with you because you need the money. And I guess we could say they’re not gonna lend you money cuz just cuz you need the money, they’re not gonna do so just cuz you’re a nice person. Ultimately they’re gonna do business with you because they believe that they will be better off by doing so than by not doing so.
[00:08:04] Bob Burg:
And this is great news for that person, for that entrepreneur who understands that their job is to find ways to focus on and be of value to that other person.
[00:08:20] Jay Conner:
Based on what you just said, really genuinely becoming interested in the other person, really being curious about their needs and their wants, and putting their interest ahead of yours.
[00:08:32] Jay Conner: I practice it and I teach it, and I have been sent that principle that is since 2009. I was relying on local banks to fund my deals. Bob and I lost all my lines of credit. In January 2009, I learned about raising private money from individuals, and people ask me all the time because they hear me talk about it, they say, Jay, how do you raise all this money for real estate deals without asking for money?
[00:09:04] Jay Conner:
And I say it’s really simple. I put on my teacher hat and I teach people, individuals, what private money is, and how they can get high rates of return safely and securely. And so the application that I am making here to the principal that you just referred to, Bob, is. When we go to raising private money the way we do, there’s no rejection.
[00:09:28] Jay Conner:
You’re an awesome sales educator and trainer. I always say ask for the business. Ask for the business. I’m a little different in the world of private money, I never asked for money. I never asked for money. I teach people what private money is, how they can get high rates of return, safety, and security, and so there’s no rejection.
[00:09:49] Jay Conner:
Here’s the deal and the connection that I’m attempting to make on what it is that people learn by reading the Go-Giver. And that is as long as you are serving that other person, looking out for their best interest in my world of private money, teaching them what private money is and whether they wanna do business with me or not, they got value, they learned, they got information that 99.9% of the time.
[00:10:15] Jay Conner:
They never heard anywhere else, right? And so that’s the point I’m making, whether it’s raising private money, and we buy a lot of foreclosures. And here’s just a, I wanna dive into the go-giver here in a second, but another example of putting into practice the Go-Giver and my audience, I want you to listen to me right now.
[00:10:37] Jay Conner:
Putting into practice the principles of the Go-Giver. Here’s another example. Right now, foreclosures are at an all-time high since. 2007, eight, and nine. We market to a lot of foreclosures, and people in foreclosure when they respond to our marketing. One of the first or one of the very first questions we ask is, do you want to keep your home?
[00:10:58] Jay Conner:
And if they say yes, then we can give them an idea of how to keep their home like a deferment program or a modification and they can keep their home. Is there anything in it for us directly? No. One thing, the Go-Giver emphasized to me, Bob, was the law of reciprocity.
[00:11:16] Jay Conner:
Because as we say here in the South, what goes around comes around and as Zig Ziglar says, if I’m helping other people, I don’t have to worry about it. Myself, enough about me. I love Bob. How the book, the Go-Giver is written. The book is written. It’s not like your normal non-fiction book.
[00:11:36] Jay Conner:
The book is written in a story, maybe a parable. And Joe, Bob, you got two main characters. You got two main characters that I got to know very well in the book. You got Joe. Who’s the go-getter at the, trying to rise in the corporate ladder? And then you got Pindar or the chairman that’s got a solution to Joe’s Big problem.
[00:11:58] Jay Conner:
Tell us about Joe and tell us about the chairman.
[00:12:02] Bob Burg:
Yeah, so Joe is the protagonist and he’s the guy at the beginning who, he’s a go-getter, which we like, cause we like go-getters of course, because go-getters take action. And as you can have the greatest ideas, best thoughts. The most fantastic intent, but without action, nothing’s gonna happen.
[00:12:19] Bob Burg:
So we love go-getters. The challenge was Joe is also a go-taker. He was that guy who was very focused on himself and what he, what was just in it for him, and who owed him what? And it was all about meeting his quota and, so everything was about Joe. So he was a go-getter, which is good.
[00:12:36] Bob Burg:
But he was a go-taker, which isn’t so much and he met Pindar and Pindar shared some lessons with him. He also introduced him to some people. And what Joe learned, Was that if he could take that opposite look o of life and understand that, that again, it wasn’t about him, that the world didn’t revolve around him, and that if he wanted to do well, he was gonna have to place his focus on how he could be of value to, to others, and it had to come from a genuine place.
[00:13:07] Bob Burg:
One of the laws of the law of authenticity, but there were five laws, the law of value, the law of Compensation, the law of influence, the law of authenticity, and the law of receptivity. So it wasn’t just about the giving, it was also about being able to receive, which also people can have a difficult time with.
[00:13:27] Bob Burg:
And so once, once Joe learned those five laws, and of course a big part of it was the application, right? Jay the Pindar, the mentor one condition of mentorship was that Joe had to apply every law that very day before he went to sleep at night. So it wasn’t just a matter of learning them, he had to also apply them.
[00:13:50] Jay Conner:
As you’re recapping the overview of the story, I just got a picture in my mind of Joe, the go-getter, go taker before he learns the lessons. I can see him walking into Pindar. Mansion of a house sitting down with the coffee and pen’s wife, whatever she made, cookies or muffins. I don’t know what they were.
[00:14:15] Jay Conner:
It’s funny how, as you’re recapping the story, I can just see in my mind the story unfolding and I’m so tempted. To do the spoiler alert as to how this book ends, but I’m not going to, the way this book ends, it’s like that on my lands. I didn’t see that coming, but I’m not going to reveal it.
[00:14:32] Jay Conner:
So you just referred to it, Bob, in the story. Pindar introduces Joe. To five people. As I recall, each of those five people, Pindar had mentored, I think. But anyway, he introduces ’em to these five people and each of these five people. Give applications to the five laws that Joe learns in the book and you just ran through them.
[00:15:00] Jay Conner: But if you don’t mind, take a few seconds or a minute or whatever you want to and just and just drill down a little bit and explain a little bit what each one of those laws means because they are. Powerful when put into practice.
[00:15:17] Bob Burg:
Thank you. Yeah. So the first law, the law of value says that your true worth is determined by how much more you, you give in value than you take in payment.
[00:15:27] Bob Burg:
Now, when you first hear that, it’s a little counterintuitive sounding because it seems like a recipe for bankruptcy, giving more in value. Then you take in payment. So it’s important to understand the difference between price and value. Price is a dollar figure. It’s a dollar amount.
[00:15:43] Bob Burg:
It’s finite. It is what it is. Value, on the other hand, is the relative worth or desirability of a thing, of something to the end-user. Beholder. In other words, what is it about this thing, this product service concept, idea, what have you, that brings so much worth or value to another person that they will willingly exchange their money for it and be glad they did while you make a very healthy profit?
[00:16:09] Bob Burg:
Very quick example. Could be the accountant who you hire to do your taxes and she charges you with just name a round figure, a thousand dollars, that’s her fee or her price, a thousand dollars. But what value does she give you in exchange that makes it so worthwhile for you to do business with her?
[00:16:27] Bob Burg:
She saves you $5,000 in taxes. She saves you countless hours and she provides you and your family with the security and the peace of mind of knowing what was done correctly. So she gave you well over $5,000 in value in exchange for a thousand dollars. Price. So you feel great about it.
[00:16:49] Bob Burg:
And of course, she made a very healthy profit herself because it was worth it to her to trade her time, her expertise, her knowledge, her energy, and so forth for that fee. In fact, in any. Free market-based exchange. And when I say free market, I simply mean no one is forced to do business with anyone else In any free market-based exchange, there should always be two profits, the buyer profits, and the seller profits because each of them comes away better off afterward than they were beforehand.
[00:17:18] Bob Burg:
But the key is the focus. She was not focused on her fee, she was focused. On the immense value, she was providing you, and that’s what’s so important about it. This is why John, David, man and I say that money is simply an echo of value. It’s the thunder, if you will, to values lightning, which means nothing more than that.
[00:17:41] Bob Burg:
The value must be the focus. The value comes first. The money you receive is simply a natural result of the value you’ve provided.
[00:17:52] Jay Conner:
Along those lines, before you go to the next one, you said a word or a phrase a moment ago. I want to come back. Back to what you said essentially part of the value that the CPA provided to the client was how she made them feel, or how she created an outcome. That made them feel, I don’t know, secure at peace or whatever. And so would you say how you make somebody or how you lead someone to field as part of the value you provide?
[00:18:26] Bob Burg:
How do you help someone feel that they received? Much more in value than what they paid for.
[00:18:37] Bob Burg:
Right? And it and what we’re talking about is the entire experience. And that’s from the moment you meet that person, whether it’s an outbound call, inbound, whether you’ve met them in person somewhere it’s from first meeting them through the relationship building process, the follow-up, the follow through the sale that refers, every part of the process.
[00:18:57] Bob Burg:
How do you make another person feel about themselves? Do they come away from every conversation and every point of contact, feeling better about themselves and their situation than they did beforehand? When we think about the ways to bring value to another person’s life, it really, there are hundreds of ways to communicate value, but they tend to come down to five, what John and I call elements of value.
[00:19:20] Bob Burg:
And those are excellence, consistency, and attention. Empathy and appreciation, and to the degree that you can communicate one or more, hopefully, all five of those elements of value at every single touchpoint, that’s the degree to which that person’s buying experience is extraordinary.
[00:19:41] Jay Conner:
An example of that and I’m in no way patting myself on the back when I say this, but I want to give an example of what you just said and that is showing you give value to people.
[00:19:51] Jay Conner:
And it was the fifth point you made, showing honest and sincere appreciation. We have a lot of people from everywhere who order my book, where to Get the Money Now on private money, and it occurred to me a way that I could show honest and sincere appreciation. With no hook. No hook, no nothing. Honest.
[00:20:14] Jay Conner:
Under Appreciation is everybody that orders my book. I have an assistant that calls them within 24 business hours and sends them a text. And the only thing, seriously, the only thing we do is to say, Jay asked me to give you a call. Thank you for ordering his book. We wanna let you know it’s being shipped out to you today.
[00:20:37] Jay Conner:
Wonderful. That’s it. Great touch. No, no hook. No, and I stop and think, and again, I’m not patting myself on the bat, it’s just an example. Oh, you
[00:20:45] Bob Burg: should, it’s great, it’s a great thing you do. And that distinguishes you from pretty much everyone else who doesn’t do that. And that’s why it’s those, it’s those little things that we can do, people think to add additional value to people must cost so much money.
[00:20:59] Bob Burg:
Not really. Most things are very simple. But it’s those little things that, you know, to Tom Peters who wrote In Search of Excellence and who written a ton, ton more books and the Excellence Dividend and some great books. He always says excellence is the next five minutes. It’s that thing you say it’s that.
[00:21:17] Bob Burg:
It’s that. The encouragement you give someone who wasn’t expecting it. It’s reading over your email before you send it, or that text before you send it to make sure it says what you want it to say. It’s that li you know, it’s those little things that you do that make the big, that make the big difference.
[00:21:33] Bob Burg:
There’s also one, all one, also a very important point when it comes to value. And that is understanding that value is always in the eyes of the beholder. Remember, price is something that’s, it’s just there. Value is relative. It’s that relative worth or desirability of a thing, right? Of something.
[00:21:54] Bob Burg:
So as human beings, we live our lives subject to an unconscious set of beliefs that we accepted from the time we were babies and grew into. And we and it’s pretty much unquestioned and unconscious. We tend to think that people see the world the way we do and that they value the things that we value.
[00:22:16] Bob Burg:
And it’s not necessarily the point. So we always have to ask ourselves, is what I’m about to say or do or whatever, is that person gonna find this to be of value? Now, on a mass basis, you can’t always do that. But in a one-to-one type of thing, you can. And that’s where asking questions and then listening deeply is so very key.
[00:22:42] Jay Conner:
There’s a fresh thought, Bob, how about listening? Yeah. So and I was guilty of it myself for years, how often have you been in a social situation? You’re talking with someone and they have checked out and they’re looking around the room. So let’s continue with the other four laws.
[00:23:01] Jay Conner:
Pindar and I’m gonna do my best not to interrupt you on the next four. Cause, I got some more powerful questions for you. So drill down, if you will, for a moment on the next four laws lessons, if you will, that Pindar introduced Joe to.
[00:23:16] Bob Burg:
I’ll make these real quick. The law of, so we had the law value, the law of compensation says, your income is determined by how many people you serve.
[00:23:26] Bob Burg:
As well as how well you serve them. So where law number one said To give more in value than you take in payment law number two tells us that the more people whose lives you touch with that exceptional value, the more money with which you’ll be rewarded. So while value represents your potential income your actual income is based on how many lives you impact.
[00:23:49] Bob Burg:
Okay. Law number three. The law influences your influence and is determined by how abundantly you place other people’s interests first. No not in a doormat way and not in a marrish way, or a self-sacrificial way. Not at all. It’s simply understanding as Joe, the protege learned from several of the mentors in the story, the golden rule of business of sales is that all things being equal, people will do business with and refer business to those people they know and trust.
[00:24:18] Bob Burg:
And there’s no faster, more powerful, or more effective way to elicit those feelings toward you from others than by genuinely. Moving from that, I focus on my focus to that. Another focus, or as Sam one of the mentors advised Joe, it’s making your win all about the other person’s win. On number four is the law of authenticity that says the most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself. And this part of the story, Deborah Davenport, shared that a very important lesson she learned early in her career was that all the skills in the world, the sales skills, technical skills, and people skills, are as important as they are, and indeed they are very important.
[00:25:01] Bob Burg:
They’re also all for not if you don’t come at it from your true, authentic. Core, but when you do, when you show up as yourself day after day, week after week, month after month, people feel good about you. They feel comfortable with you, they feel safe with you because they know who they’re getting, and this is a key to both creating trust.
[00:25:27] Bob Burg:
And also sustaining trust. And then law number five is the law of receptivity. This says the key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving. This means nothing more than understanding that yeah, you breathe out. You also have to breathe in. It’s not one or the other. You breathe out carbon dioxide, you breathe in oxygen, and you breathe out, which is giving you breath in, which is receiving, giving, and receiving.
[00:25:57] Bob Burg:
Despite the so many anti-prosperity messages we get from the world around us giving and receiving are not opposite concepts. Giving and receiving are simply two sides of the very same coin, and they work in. Tandem. It’s not, are you a giver or a receiver? No! You are a receiver and a giver.
[00:26:22] Jay Conner:
Thank you for recapping those five laws. I remember reading the book for the first time, and yes, I read it more than once. I remember reading for the first time. That concept that you just went over, I love the analogy you breathe out. If you don’t breathe in, you can’t breathe out any more.
[00:26:40] Jay Conner:
Yeah. You gotta fill your basket back up so you can be giving others out your basket. Now there was a quote, there is a quote in the book, the Go-Giver book that stopped me in my tracks. I wanna read you the quote and then I want to ask you a question about the quote. Okay. The quote is, And I’m on paraphrase reading up to the quote.
[00:27:05] Jay Conner:
Sure. So leading up to the quote, the context of it, in the story in the book was, you’re considering a new venture. You’re considering doing business with someone you’re considering a project, you’re considering something that’s going to take your time. All right. And you asked your question quote, does it make money?
[00:27:29] Jay Conner:
And in your book, Yours and yours in John’s book. In your book it says, that’s not a bad question. Does it make money? Not a bad question. It’s a great question you say in the book, but in the book, you and John say it’s just a bad first question. It’s a bad first question to ask. Does it make money? Please explain.
[00:27:59] Bob Burg:
Yeah. So here’s the thing. It goes back to why people are gonna do business with you. If you ask if something’s gonna make money again, now it’s an important question, but it comes second. If you ask, is it gonna make money it’s all about you.
[00:28:14] Bob Burg:
It’s not about the consumer. It’s not about the person who’s gonna buy it. So what Pinder said to Joe is first to ask, will it serve? Or we could say it another way. Will it bring value to others? We could also say, is there a marketplace for it? Is there a market for it? Because, if there’s a market for it Then then you’ve also gotta ask, will it make money?
[00:28:40] Bob Burg:
Be in business anyway. That’s the thing. So it’s two ways. So you start with will it bring value? Will it will it serve? If the answer’s yes, if it’s no, then like you said, you don’t have a business anyway.
[00:28:51] Bob Burg:
But if the answer’s yes. Okay. And by the way, it could be a readymade market or one that you might be able to create that wasn’t the issue in that he was talking about. So let’s assume there’s a market for it. Okay? Or one you’re willing to develop. Now you’ve gotta ask, will it make money?
[00:29:08] Bob Burg:
Because if it doesn’t, then all you’ve got is a hobby. Okay? So yes, it’s important. Will it make money? It’s just, it just can’t be the first question. Because again, no one’s gonna buy from you because you want it to make money.
[00:29:27] Bob Burg:
If you ask first, will it make money? That’s just, that’s not the key to whether people are gonna buy from you.
[00:29:34] Jay Conner:
I wanted you to drill down on that for a moment. Cause I know a lot of people out there looking to get into business or entrepreneurship, that’s the first question they’re asking, right?
[00:29:44] Jay Conner:
Yes. And when you pivot that to asking will it bring value first? That’s the whole philosophy, the go-giver, right?
[00:29:52] Bob Burg:
You’re giving first. Yeah, and there’s, again, there’s nothing about that is self-sacrificial and I wanna make sure people understand that it’s.
[00:30:01] Bob Burg:
It’s how business is done in a free economy. Now if we’re talking about cronyism and people buying special favors from the government and people have to buy cause they can’t buy it from that’s a different thing. That’s not what the book is about. We’re talking about people operating as I guarantee all of us are who are watching this, right?
[00:30:18] Bob Burg:
No one’s forced to do business with us. No one’s forced to buy from us, nor should they be. So for us to profit. We’ve gotta provide value. That’s just how it is. And you look at any sustainably successful business, that’s what they have to do. They have to that’s why free market capitalism, is not to be confused with cronyism.
[00:30:39] Bob Burg:
Free market capitalism is the only economic system where the onus is on the seller to prove to the buyer why the buyer should choose to do business with them. Love it.
[00:30:53] Jay Conner:
One last question for you, Bob, before we come to a close of the show, and then I’ll turn it over to you as to the best way for our listeners to get in to continue the conversation and to get the Go-giver, et cetera.
[00:31:06] Jay Conner:
So my business career transformed the first time that I got my very first mentor. And I didn’t get my very first mentor, an official mentor, believe it or not, until 2009. And I’m already 62 years old now. I wish I had woken up about this mentorship thing, but my business tripled the very first year I got a mentor.
[00:31:33] Jay Conner:
Bob, you’re one of my mentors, but you became one of my mentors. Because a friend of mine, Scott Myers, was speaking on stage and gave me a copy of yours in John’s book. That’s how you became one of my mentors. What’s your advice on someone that’s starting out or not starting like me, like I was years down the road looking for a mentor?
[00:31:58] Jay Conner:
How do you recommend they find a mentor and just as, or maybe more importantly, What should they not do on looking for a mentor?
[00:32:07] Bob Burg:
I think finding a mentor is valuable. A good mentor can cut your learning curve by years. So I highly suggest it. I think one of the biggest mistakes people make that I see in trying to find a mentor is that they will approach someone.
[00:32:24] Bob Burg:
With whom they, don’t have a relationship. The person doesn’t necessarily know who they are. And they’ll say something like hey, I need a mentor. Would you be my mentor? And first, a mentor-protege relationship is a relationship. So, it takes time to develop, but also, when you just come right out and ask that person who you know to be your mentor it’s almost like saying, Hey, would you share 40 years of your knowledge with me?
[00:32:53] Bob Burg:
And wisdom with me, even though you don’t know me from a hole in the wall? It doesn’t. Necessarily place you in a desirable light as someone they would wanna mentor. Plus, if you are asking that person to be your mentor, the chances are a whole lot of other people are as well. And they only have a limited amount of time and so forth and energy and the, and asking that way again doesn’t distinguish you.
[00:33:15] Bob Burg:
At least not in a good light. Now that said, you can approach anyone whether you know them or not, but what I would do is maybe approach in a different way, and this is whether you are, whether it’s in person or email or however it happens to be that you’ve, you can connect with this person is to say something like, I know, I understand you are very busy, so if this is something you either don’t have the time to do or for any other reason, just would not want to, I understand.
[00:33:45] Bob Burg:
I’m wondering if I might ask you one or two very specific questions. I. Now, what have you done when asking that way? The first thing is you respected the process and you communicated that you understand this is a big ask. It’s not something you’re entitled to. It’s, but it’s something that you realize is a big thing.
[00:34:07] Bob Burg:
Then you gave him or her an out or backdoor right away, let them know if this is something you don’t have time to do or for any reason just would rather not do. Understandable. An out is very important because it’s that emotional escape route you’ve given someone. And typically the bigger the out or backdoor you give someone to take, the less they’ll feel the need to take it because they realize that you are someone who is gonna respect their time.
[00:34:32] Bob Burg:
So, it takes some of the fear out of it. For them. But the third thing you do is you finish with if I may ask you one or two very specific questions, this is so much more meaningful to them than someone saying, I want to pick your brain. This is so general and sounds like a waste of time, and sounds like the person doesn’t know what they want.
[00:34:56] Bob Burg:
In this case, this person’s saying, all right, this person, aside from being respectful and of my time and my, they know what they want. They have an agenda. They know what they want to ask me. And so when you speak with them and they’ll problem not always but most people will say, sure, go ahead and, what Have you.
[00:35:14] Bob Burg:
Now, when you do have your conversation with them first, you wanna make sure that you research everything about them so that you don’t ask them anything that you could have found out. Independently. But assuming that’s the case, you’re not gonna keep them on very long. You’re gonna thank them profusely for their time and let them know that you that you’re gonna, put their wisdom into action right away.
[00:35:36] Bob Burg:
And if it’s okay, I’ll circle back with you and let you know how to update you on how things are going, and they’ll say, yeah, oh yeah. Please do. Now what I would do the moment this conversation ends, again, whether it’s a phone in person, zoom, or what have you, is I would write a.
[00:35:50] Bob Burg:
Personalized, handwritten thank you note very briefly. Amen. Amen. Amen. And just say, hi whatever, Mr. Or Ms or however it’s been, thank you so much for your, for taking time out of your busy schedule. Your wisdom is priceless. I’ll apply, I’ll be applying it right away. And again, I’ll let you know.
[00:36:07] Bob Burg:
I’ll keep you up to date on how things are going. Again, many thanks. Best regards, sign your name, hand stamp hand write the envelope, send it out. Now what I would also do Is make a small, doesn’t have to be anything big. Make a small donation to their favorite charity. And again, they’ll be notified of that.
[00:36:25] Bob Burg:
Okay. And you’re not doing it to kiss up or anything, but again, just to let this person know. I want to also be of value to you. I appreciate you. I wanna make sure that you’re right. And so then again, it doesn’t have to be big. And then, you follow up a few weeks later and you might have another question and let them know how things are going and this kind of maybe continues.
[00:36:47] Bob Burg:
And if it’s supposed to happen, you might have an ongoing mentor, mentor-protege relationship. It may be that you’re only gonna have one in conversation with this person or three or four, and there’s gonna be another. But if you. Introduce yourself to people and ask this way. You’re always gonna have people who will be willing to give you their time and energy and wisdom.
[00:37:09] Bob Burg:
And eventually, if you happen to come across that, you know again, that one person who’s gonna be your long time, great. Doesn’t always happen that way. My feeling is to go through the process, as I just suggested, but don’t be attached to the results. However, it’s supposed to work out. Is what’s gonna work out.
[00:37:28] Jay Conner:
Bob that is, and those are phenomenal tips. And of course, underlying all that is one of the laws. Be authentic. Bob, you and John, your first book together, the Go-Giver, and then since that time, you have a series and I’ve got ’em. You got the Go-Giver influencer. Both you and John and I wanted to talk about how it is a person to become known as an influencer, but we ran outta time, so y’all gotta order the book to learn that.
[00:37:57] Jay Conner:
Bob, what’s the best way for people to get the books connect with you? Final thoughts? My mentor.
[00:38:03] Bob Burg:
Yeah. Thank you and I’m honored that you feel that way. Thank you. Visiting www.Burg.com. Probably the best way to do it, they can get the first chapter of any of my books, just go to where it says books at the top of the page.
[00:38:16] Bob Burg:
They can also, if they’d like, subscribe to my Daily Impact email, https://www.Burg.com/Daily-Impact/ which is a very quick, brief email I send out very early every morning designed to impact your day and give you strength and encouragement and a little bit of how to along the way. And I just appreciate being in your program.
[00:38:33] Bob Burg:
You’re doing such great work and you are a mentor to so many people, and it’s just a fantastic thing to see.
[00:38:39] Jay Conner:
Bob, thank you so much for joining me One more time because we have thousands and thousands of people listening and not watching. So first of all visit Bob at www.Burg.com.
[00:38:53] Jay Conner:
And I love the gift that you are giving away there, Bob, of your Daily Impact email and you can sign up for that at his website https://www.Burg.com/Daily-Impact/ and you’ll see that at his website. Bob, I am so honored to have you come on, and thank you so much once again for joining me.
[00:39:18] Bob Burg:
Ah, thank you, Jay. What an honor.
[00:39:20] Jay Conner:
God bless you. There you have it, my friend. Now, you’ve been listening here in this episode about what it means to be a go-giver about what it means to serve. I believe in the law of attraction. We are attracted to being around people that are like us, and therefore, I believe that you.
[00:39:39] Jay Conner:
Whether you’re watching or you’re listening to this episode on iTunes or Spotify, I believe you too, have a servant’s heart and you as well want to be a go-giver. How can you be a go-giver and add value to your connections? Share this episode. It’s that simple. Share this episode because it will, as you have already experienced, make an impact in your connections’ lives, and for us to have more amazing guests.
[00:40:07] Jay Conner:
We’ve had today with Mr. Bob Burg be sure and share, subscribe. If you’re watching on YouTube, be sure and click that bell. If you’re listening on iTunes or Spotify, be sure and follow. Because it’s when you follow, we’re able to have more amazing guests like we have today. I’m Jay Conner, your host, also known as the Private Money Authority.
[00:40:28] Jay Conner:
Wishing you all the best here’s to taking your business and your personal life to the next level, and I look forward to seeing you right here on the next episode of Raising Private Money.
[00:40:42] Narrator:
Are you feeling inspired by the knowledge you gained in this episode? Then head over to www.JayConner.com/MoneyGuide. That’s www.JayConner.com/MoneyGuide and download your free guide that shares seven reasons why private money will skyrocket your real estate investing business right now. Again, that’s www.JayConner.com/MoneyGuide to get your free guide. We’ll see you next time on raising Private Money with Jay Conner.
