Game Plan
The Definitive Playbook for Selling in the Connection Culture
by
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Looking back at a January 2011 article in the New York Times, Facebook’s company value was conservatively estimated at $50 billion, which made it worth more than other industry leaders eBay, Yahoo, and Time Warner. The article also predicted that the company’s overall value would increase exponentially in the future, pending a public offering of its shares. That prediction was right on! Regardless of Facebook’s future, I believe every astute businessperson should learn from their past. In a span of less than a decade, Facebook has grown from a creation spawned in a drunken college dorm room to a well-known commodity used throughout the biggest boardrooms in America. The company has transformed itself from something used by college students with too much time on their hands to a vast advertising network companies spend millions with. In the end, Facebook has become an international icon, and the website has greatly changed the way our constantly evolving, technologically savvy world communicates. It sparked a revolution in how people brand or market themselves as well as the way they connect and communicate through technology. While social networking sites like MySpace and Friendster came before it, Facebook employed strategies that allowed it to become the social media juggernaut it is today, far eclipsing those precursor sites. With this understanding, here are the two most important takeaways from the Facebook phenomenon that every businessperson needs to remember and embrace moving forward: 1. The dramatic growth of Facebook as a company, and the continued increased popularity of the website (its product), have everything to do with “connecting” people in an era where many feel more disconnected than ever before. 2. In the beginning, connectivity was always the primary motivation and focus of Facebook. The bottom-line profits eventually followed, but generating dollars was never the foremost focus of Facebook’s creators and innovators. Mull over those two items for a moment. Re-read and contemplate them. And remember this: they are not only applicable to Facebook or other forms of social media, but they apply to virtually every business, no matter how large or small. Regardless of the current state of the economy, the present stability of your company, or the condition of your particular industry there are essential factors you can influence to better your company’s chance at success. Your ability to form connections with customers and clients and to develop a connection culture within your business will determine your business’ future outcome. Making and maintaining connections with individuals and customers has always been extremely important. Despite the way sites like Facebook and other forms of social media have made connecting easier, the increasing distractions of the world have made it harder. Also, our idea of connecting with others today is far different than the face to face interactions your Grandpa’s Grandpa had. Toyota has a great commercial that demonstrates this point. The commercial shows a young lady sitting at her computer, as she looks up at the camera and states that she “read an article, well, the majority of an article online about how older people are becoming more and more anti-social”, because of this she says that she was “really aggressive” with her parents about joining Facebook. She then goes on to demonstrate that it is so sad that her parents only have 19 friends while she is up to 687 friends and that “this is living”. During the whole commercial the camera keeps flashing to small clips of her parents out connecting with people, living their lives to the fullest. Your challenge in our digitally connected world is to leverage technology while still making lasting personal connections with people.
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About the Book
ABOUT GAME PLAN Building relationships is essential in having a successful business. We are living in the “connection era” where there are a variety of ways to build relationships, but for some reason we feel we are more disconnected from each other than ever before. Barhorst uses real life examples, compelling facts and humor to teach life lessons and techniques for building lasting relationships that can last a lifetime. Warren Barhorst is an entertaining, straightforward, smart entrepreneur that has an impressive, rare ability to teach you how to make your business and business relationships successful. Barhorst was not the best athlete, but in 1988 he took down the Heisman Trophy Winner. He started his business career with practically nothing, and today he has built an empire of insurance agencies. He simply utilized and perfected his skills. This is not an insurance book. It’s an engaging, challenging, inspiring and entertaining book that shows the importance of connecting with people on a deeper level can enhance your business. If you have a vision grow your business and relationships to a new level, Game Plan will take you there. The principles in this book- along with the continually updated and accompanying website www.gameplanbook.com - have been tested in the real world. These are more than theories; they are proven recipes for success. Following the step-by-step road map that Barhorst describes will take you beyond your wildest expectations. Some books are written to inform; this one is designed to transform you and your business to connect with others on a deeper level.
About the Author
Warren Barhorst is the founder and CEO of Iscential, a Texas-based risk management, insurance, and financial services firm. Warren holds a bachelor of science in industrial distribution from Texas A&M University and holds the LUTFC designation. He is a licensed risk manager, General Lines property casualty agent, General Lines life and health agent, as well as a FINRA Series 6, 7, 24, 63, and 65 registered representative. Warren is a qualifying lifetime member of the prestigious Million Dollar Round Table. Iscential is nationally recognized with the highest accolades from its industry and associations, including the honor of being listed as one of the Best Places to Work by Texas Monthly magazine and the Houston Business Journal. Iscential was also named one of the Best and Brightest Companies to Work For by the National Association for Business Resources. The company is frequently featured on Inc. Magazine’s five thousand fastest-growing private companies list and Warren was honored to receive Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year award for the Houston Gulf Coast area in business services. Additionally, Iscential was featured on the cover of the June 2012 issue of Smart Business magazine with an article titled “E is for Enthusiasm” detailing how the firm’s core beliefs and values have driven its success. In late 2013, the University of Houston conferred on Warren an honorary diploma for excellence in mentoring. Wonderlic, the employment assessment company, recently released their 2014 Most Engaging Leader chart, and Warren topped the list. Warren volunteers his time to Texas A&M University and serves as a past president and current vice chairman of Jackie Sherrill’s Twelfth Man Kickoff Team Foundation. Warren is also a member of the Twelfth Man Foundation Council of Athletic Ambassadors, the Texas A&M Medical School’s Rapport Society, as well as the University’s Industrial Distribution Degree Industry Advisory Board. He also serves as a mentor for the University of Houston’s Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship. Warren’s passion for financial literacy and business success frequently has him presenting from coast to coast and from fourth-grade classrooms to executive boardrooms. He is driven to educate others about how to make wise choices that will positively impact their personal and business financial future. Rusty Burson is the director of membership and communications at Miramont Country Club in Bryan, Texas. He previously spent sixteen years as the associate editor with Twelfth Man Magazine at Texas A&M University. Burson, a 1990 graduate of Sam Houston State, originally began his career in journalism with newspapers in Galveston and Fort Worth. He has written sixteen other books, including one other publication with Barhorst. Burson and his wife, Vannessa, reside in College Station, Texas.