Written By Nicholas Cardot15 Comments
An Awesome Interview with Chris Brogan
Commanding Influence: Build A Strong Online Presence
Chris Brogan is a New York Times bestselling author of the book Trust Agents.
But if you think that’s why I’m excited to be interviewing him then you’re mistaken. Chris Brogan is amazing not because of what he’s done or accomplished but because of who he is and what he believes.
What I love about Chris is his strong approach to bringing relationships back to online sales. The concept is incredibly powerful and incredibly simple.
Below you’ll find a few questions that I asked Chris. His answers are absolutely a must read for every person who’s working to build an online presence.
Does Being Friendly Really Make Sales?
Me: You’re an adamant supporter of bringing our friendly human face back to the internet. You want to make sales while at the same time actually caring about people and working to take care of their needs.
I’ve heard a lot of people actually reject this idea as weak marketing. Some people I’ve spoken with have argued that this style will actually lead to a lower income. How would you answer this?
Chris Brogan: I’m making more money than ever before. It took me a lot of work, but what I’ve learned is this: the method of shoving sales prospects into a funnel and grinding them down until someone cries uncle and buys is done.
I’ve found that relationship-based selling yields plenty more than the cold, hard boot of traditional advertising/marketing, when done with positive intent.
Me: What is your number one pet peeve when it comes to working with people online? What do people do online that really gets under your skin?
Chris Brogan: I’m really frustrated by armchair critics. I see a lot of people ready to trash other people’s efforts, but when I dive into what they’re doing, I don’t see any body of work on their websites. I don’t see them taking to stages. I don’t see them advancing the cause.
If you’re going to earn the right to complain and moan, do it by being better than the person you’re trashing.
Trust Agents: His New York Times Bestseller
Me: You recently co-authored a book called Trust Agents. What is it that separates Trust Agents from other books that deal with online business? Why should my readers and I purchase that book for ourselves?
Chris Brogan: Trust agents isn’t about tools, for one. It’s a book about how to be human at a distance. We show the mindset behind how we found our own success. Hopefully, with some experimentation and effort, you’ll be able to recreate what we’ve discovered.
This book won’t give you some formula for success. It’ll give you the heart behind the actions. And it’s 67% better than SkyMall.
Group Discussion
Chris is working hard to bring a human side back to the internet. He’s an advocate of strong ethics, honesty and a genuine desire to add value to the lives of people we do business with online.
I highly recommend that you incorporate his philosophy into your online presence.
What about you? Are you chasing sales or building relationships? Are you trying to make it big online or are you working to bring value to the people around you?
Let’s talk about it.
Nicholas Cardot
Nick uses his blog Site Sketch 101 to express his passion for helping bloggers and webmasters connect with real people through brilliant designs, unique content, and genuine creativity. Nicholas Cardot has 187 post(s) at Site Sketch 101
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Dana @ Online Knowledge said:
I am chasing relationship for sure. And i believe with strong relationship you can sell any thing and get a great result from it.
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chandan said:
Hi Nick nice interview, I am regular reader of Chris blog, His overnight success blog post are really very nice.
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David | ilcantone.com said:
Great interview Nick.
I didn’t know Chris Brogan, but I’ve just visited his site and watched some of his videos and seems good stuff.
Thanks.
jan geronimo said:
Cool interview. Chris B. writes one of the best conversational blog posts ever. But the amazing thing is that his newsletter is even meatier in breadth and scope than his posts. Always a delightful read, Chris B.
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Robomaster said:
Great interview! One pointer on Chris’ quote:
“If you’re going to earn the right to complain and moan, do it by being better than the person you’re trashing.”
That’s an interesting point that has much truth to it, but keep in mind that some people aren’t in the same position as the person they’re critiquing, and never will be; thus they can’t be ‘better’ than the person.
We don’t have to become the president before we can tell Obama to rethink his health-care plan.
But then again, I can completely see what you mean when you say that their are too many armchair critics who are willing to tear you down, but aren’t ready to even try themselves.
I really enjoyed getting to know you a little better, Chris! Thanks for the post Nick!
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Seth W said:
Nick and Chris, great interview. Getting at the root of all business leads to two things:
People and money
If you want money you need people and the best way to do it is by positively building relationships with them. If you want long-term buyers you need positive relationships reinforced with powerful products.
Great job guys
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An Awesome Interview with Chris Brogan | Blog Mixer said:
[...] Site Sketch 101 Presents An Awesome Interview with Chris Brogan [...]
Andrew said:
I don’t want to sound like the arm chair critic because I don’t disagree with what Chris is saying but I just feel that over the past could of years this whole relationship thing has been milked to death.
It depends more on the market you’re servicing than anything else. And some markets are more interested in your authority and expertise than in your friendship.
If you call in a plumber, no matter how likable the guy might be, if he doesn’t know what he’s doing you won’t call him back.
On the other hand you could have the most arrogant plumber in the world turn up who diagnoses the problem in 30 seconds flat and fixes the problem in no time at all.
You might hate the guy with a passion, but you know that he’s the best at what he does so you will continue to use his services.
DuPont didn’t become what it is today because of relationships. It did that because no one else could produce a gas that worked so effectively on the battle field. Henry Ford was a Nazi sympathizer yet at the same time he was also the absolute authority on mass production line methods. He was not a nice man though. His success was borne from his authority.
So while as a marketer I totally agree that relationships are vitally important to your success either online or off, I also believe that nothing is more important than the amount of authority you bring with you.
Having spent many years in IT I often saw people who didn’t understand why I could get away with being loud, rude at times, and somewhat inflexible while at the same time they would lose contracts or jobs even though every one in the company loved them.
The bottom line is that I may not have been the most liked person in the company, but if you needed a problem fixed, an answer to a question, or an emergency responded to in the middle of the night people knew that I was the only choice.
My authority and expertise was never held in second place to a good personality.
No doubt this approach has its limit but it’s an example of the limitations of relationships and how authority can do far more for you than relationships ever will.
And I do expect that some people might object or disagree with me and that’s okay but before you do I would just like you to first ask yourself this:
Would I prefer to have a great friend who has no clue of what he’s talking about, or an associate who may be very coarse and perhaps even obnoxious, but knows everything there is to know about the subject I want to learn about or the problem I want solved.
For me, I’ll take the crank pot who has all the answers over the friend who doesn’t really know or fix anything.
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Boni said:
I think caring about people can make a deeper influence than any words and materials, and money..
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Ron Leyba said:
It is a pretty difficult and time consuming idea. But well, if we are looking for a long term success rate, this advice of Mr. Brogan is really essential.
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Nicholas Cardot said:
Ron Leyba –> It’s true. It may take longer but do you want to sell products knowing that you ripped people off or knowing that you’ve added value to their lives?
Web Design Company said:
Hi,
A nice interview, well caring definitely gives you some reward and for long term success it is surely a good advice. Building strong and trust worthy terms will get you up with your desired expectation most probably.
- J.
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Nicholas Cardot said:
Web Design Company –> That’s exactly right. We can make a lot more in the long run by demonstrating to other that we are honest and that we provide value.
Aminul Islam Sajib said:
Interview posts are great. I’m going to interview Nick very soon. Be prepared, man!
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