how not to stand out in any crowd - steve kayser

8/14/2019 How Not to Stand Out in Any Crowd - Steve Kayser

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How Not to Stand Out in Any Crowd

by Steve Kayser

Featuring an interview with Sam Horn, author of

“POP! Stand Out in Any Crowd”




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I’m Good … Maybe Great!

You, your product, your service, your company, is good … maybe great.

It’s different, unique, totally rad, awesomeroo and bloggerific. It even (occasionally)

delivers real business value; makes an authentic difference in business or life.

But … no one has heard of you.

Sui Generis

You’re one of a kind. You know it. You can prove it. But still, you’re one of a kind that no

one knows.

No one has ever heard of you.

You haven’t even heard of you.

You Haven’t Even Heard of You!

Not for lack of effort though.

You’ve tried to communicate your brilliance, your stupefying, heart-stopping differentiators,

your value-laden proposition power pack, but your message gets sucked down the black hole

of no return. The dreaded ….

Inbox Out of Control

By “inbox” I’m referring to your mental inbox as well as work inbox.

You can’t seem to break through … to stand out in this infoglut world 2.0 where the speed of

light has finally been surpassed (though Einstein said it wasn’t possible, he was never

bombarded with electronic corporate gobbledygook) by the cumulative effect of spam scud

missiles, instant messages, BlackBerrys, mobile apps, blogging, etc.

Even though you know why you’re different - why you’re special - you can’t capture

someone’s attention unless you communicate it so brilliantly it shines and stands out.

Everyone gets it instantly. But standing out is getting harder … and easier every day.

Harder because the sheer volume of marketing messages an average person sees a day is

almost beyond measure.

It used to be that the average American was subjected to 3,000 marketing messages a day

- 3,000 marketing messages a day!




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Wow.

Those were the good old days.

These days, you see that many before noon.

Easier

Harharharhar. Just kidding. I lied. Just threw that in to obfuscate. It’s not getting easier.Sorry. And it won’t get easier. But, with the proper approach, you can reach your goals and

…

Capture Customers

Are there strategies and tactics that can help you break through and stand out? To capture

customers’ and prospects’ attention, hearts, minds and …. (ahem) money?

“Money, which represents the prose of life, and which is hardly spoken of in

parlors without an apology, is, in its effects and laws, as beautiful as roses.”

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

We’ll find out from professional speaker and author of “POP! Stand Out in Any Crowd,”

Sam Horn. Sam’s books have been endorsed by such luminaries as Stephen R. Covey (“7

Habits ...”), Jack Canfield (“Chicken Soup ...”), and Anthony Robbins (“Unleash the Power

...”). But none communicates the essence of the book with such eloquent intellectual

simplicity as the testimonial below.

“As a person who once used a sparking Barbie doll

to set fire to a pair of underpants on national television,

I can vouch for the importance of standing out from a crowd.

As a friend of Sam Horn's, I can also vouch for the excellent advice

she offers in this book.”




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- Pulitzer-Prize-winning humor columnist, Dave Barry

But First (and it’s related) … POP!

Donkey quit.

My Donkey quit.

Just like that – POP – several years of collaborating and co-writing went up in smoke.

No more stories.

Success had gone to his

donkey head. (I won’t comment on the lipstick … but I have heard rumors.)

After a series of successful articles that included:

“Shooting the Donkey in the Complex Sales Process ... Hollywood Style,”




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“Veni, Vidi, Tiré a dos burros,” “I Came. I Saw. I Shot Two Donkeys,” and

“My Darling, Is That Manure Stick You Have on?”

He decided he could make it on his own.

A Donkey in His Own Write

He wanted to be his own donkey and write his own book. That’s right, his own book. He

didn’t tell me about this until he was almost done.

I took it in stride.

But then decided I wanted (needed) to try to save our relationship. We went to counseling.

It didn’t work.

When I realized he was determined to quit no matter what, and move on with his donkey

life, I decided to do the right thing. Try to help him (later I needed some help myself ).




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Donkey’s book was almost done. It was a compilation of lessons he’d learned from humans.

I offered him my help in marketing the book, but Donkey said he didn’t need it.

I’d done enough already.

Ready to Break Through, Stand Out, and Go to Market!

My Donkey already had the plan and his book title,

When he showed me the draft, I really didn’t know what to say without hurting his feelings.

Except that as much as he’s been around corporate business-speak, he ought to know that if

the book was successful, someone would turn the title into an acronym, and well … that

might turn out a bit crappy.

Donkey discounted that and quickly pointed out that his full name was prominently featured

on the cover (unlike his collaborative efforts with me where we was known only by his first

name … Donkey).

And why was this important?

Well, according to Donkey O'Tee, all great, memorable names and slogans incorporated the

person’s or company’s name.




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Example:

“Oh, I wish I were an Oscar Mayer wiener

That is what I truly wish to be.

'Cause if I were an Oscar Mayer wiener,

Everyone would be in love with me.”

He was going to use a similar strategy – though he quite hadn’t figured it out yet - to

market his book.

Example:

Oh, I wish I were a Donkey O'Tee wiener.

That is what I truly wish to be … be … be.

I asked him if he knew what happened to weiners (hot dogs)?

Donkey was horrified. He quickly moved on to his next example, from the insurance

industry. He asked me if I knew …

“You’re in Good Hands with ...”




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”Allstate, of course,” I answered. But, I didn’t think that would work for him either.

Didn’t ring, resonate or POP!

“But what,” I asked,” is your book really about?”

“You don’t know? You can’t tell by the title? It’s the “Idiot’s Guide to Business

Survival.” It’s my elevator spiel. I mean you humans excel at making the simple

complex, the complex unknowable, and the unknowable entertainingly hilarious! And,

you do it was such pompous profligate proliferating panache that to succeed in

business today, even to keep your job, you need to know how to excel at …

“Pompously Obfuscating on Purpose?”

Yes! You see … a bestseller in the making!” said Donkey O'Tee. “Go to any business

website, read any business report, letter, brochure, advertisement or marketing

message … it’s totally obvious. To survive in the human’s business world today, you

have to be able to …




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“Pompously Obfuscate on Purpose.” I echoed with dismal dismay.

“Less is not more! Less is out of a job. More is less. More is needed all of the time.

More of more and less of less, more or less!” brayed Donkey O'Tee hilariously. “And

… I‘m going to get all kinds of media coverage, you know why?

“Why?”

“You heard that song by the famous female songwriter Bonnie Braitt?”

“You mean Bonnie Raitt?

“No, You having trouble hearing? Bonnie Braitt.”

“What song?”

“I’m going to give them something to bray about!”

For once, I was speechless. Though Donkey had made some excellent points, I still feltduty-bound, nonetheless, to seek out some expert advice on his behalf. For Donkey O'Tee

to succeed, he had to stand out (and not just in a field) to capture national and international

media attention.

ENTER: Sam Horn

I Am Sam Horn I Am




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Sam is a professional speaker and author of “POP! Stand Out in Any

Crowd.” Sam is also the author of several well-reviewed books from

major publishers including “Tongue Fu!®,” “ConZentrate,” “What's

Holding You Back?,” and “Take the Bully by the Horns.” These have

been sold around the world (China, Japan, Argentina, France, and

Germany); favorably reviewed in dozens of publications including

Publishers Weekly , Chicago Tribune, Washington Post , Investors

Business Daily , Foreign Service Journal, and Readers Digest , and

endorsed by many best-selling authors including Stephen R. Covey,

Anthony Robbins, Jeffrey Fox, Susan Jeffers, Dave Pelzer, Susan

Forward, Rabbi Harold Kushner, Richard Carlson, and John Gray.

Steve: Welcome. I have this friend. He’s writing a book

and needs to learn, well …

Sam: To … learn how to break out instead of blend in?

Steve: You’ve got it. What is POP!, and why is it

important?

Sam: POP! is a system of 25 techniques I've developed

that can help ANYONE create attention-grabbing titles,

taglines, and tell 'n sell descriptions for their company,

cause, campaign, and creation. It’ll let them break out

instead of blend in.

POP! is crucial to success because people today are BB.

Steve: BB?

Sam: They're BUSY. They have hundreds of things competing for their attention. They're

BORED. They've heard and seen it all - or at least, they think they have.

“My own business always bores me to death;

I prefer other people's.”

- Oscar Wilde

What that means is, we have 30 seconds to get their favorable attention. If what we have

to say and sell is not Purposeful, Original, or Pithy, they're on to the next thing.

POP!




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Purposeful

Original

Pithy

In

30 seconds or less

Steve: In 30 seconds or less?

Sam: Make a long elevator speech short by Cliff Noting it into one sentence. The more

you try to explain what you do or what you have to offer, the more confused people will

become.

"My grandfather invented Cliff Notes.

It was, well, ... to make a long story short."

- Steven Wright

Instead of going on at length, compare your job or offering to something with which people

are familiar and fond. For example, I was in Denver, CO with my sons for a speaking

engagement. We had the night free, so I asked our hotel concierge to suggest a fun placewe could go.

He said, "You've got to go to D & B's."

We were from Maui at the time and had no idea what he was referring to. We asked,

"What's D & B's?"

He said, "It's a Chuck E. Cheese for adults."

Voila. We knew exactly what it was and wanted to go there because of his perfect "Cliff

Notes" description.

Steve: I get it. (See how purposeful, original, and pithy my responses are?)

"Operator! Give me the number for 911!" - Homer Simpson




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Sam: In the book, this is called "The Valley Girl Technique." It provides specific ways to

compare what you do to a popular movie, song, book, or person to create a tell' n sell

elevator intro that gets your project's foot in people's mental door.

Steve: How do you come up with a memorable name or slogan? (I didn’t tell her about

“Pompously Obfuscate on Purpose” yet because, though memorable it may be, it’s in an

infamy kind-a-way.)

Sam: One of the best ways to make your name or slogan memorable is to use

alliteration. Alliteration is when words start with the same sound. It makes your language

lyrical, makes you instantly eloquent, and gives peoples’ minds a hook on which to hang a

memory.

Say these words out loud.

Bed, Shower, and ToiletBoom radio

Dirt Satan

Good Purchase

Dunkin Croissants

Rolls Jaguar

Steve: Now I’m hungry, sleepy, jiggy, and have to go …

Sam: They don't POP! do they? They sound commonplace, and they'd be difficult to

remember.

Now say these words out loud.

Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

Boom Box

Dirt Devil

Best Buy

Dunkin Donuts

Rolls Royce

Hmm … they fit together, don't they? Alliteration produces "ear music," which has a nice

ring and resonance, which means your brand name will linger longer in peoples’ minds.




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Alliterate.

Produce "ear music" with a nice ring and resonance and ...

your brand name will linger longer in peoples’ minds.

Steve: To stand out, you almost have to be one of a kind, or at least be perceived thatway. What's one of the best ways individuals and organizations can become one of a kind

instead of one of many?

Sam: The best way to become one of a kind is to coin a word for your business, brand, or

book that belongs to you and you alone. One way to do that is to use one of the 25 POP!

techniques called Alphabetizing.

Alphabetize.

Mix-n-match your core words.

Write down ten words you frequently use to pitch your project, product, or program. Those

are your "Core Words." Now, run each of those words through the alphabet, changing the

sound of the first syllable to match the corresponding letter.

I used this technique to create the trademarked term of Tongue Fu! - the verbal form of

Kung Fu!

Tongue-Fu: Martial Arts for the Mind and Mouth

Tongue Fu! is martial arts for the mind and mouth. If you run Tongue Fu! through the

alphabet, you come up with even more variations.

- Fun Fu! is how to handle hassles with humor instead of harsh words.

- Run Fu! is for when Tongue Fu! doesn't work.

- Tongue Glue is knowing when to keep your mouth shut.

- Tongue Sue! is for lawyers.

- Young Fu! is for kids.

These proprietary phrases could become articles, chapters in a book, or presentations for

targeted audiences.

See how this works? Instead of competing with everyone else, your one-of-a-kind term

turns you into the go-to resource because YOU are the sole provider of that particular item.




4 of 23 1/22/08 4:15

“If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked,

doesn't it follow that electricians can be delighted, musicians denoted?”

-George Carlin

Steve: What's one POP! technique anyone can use to help their ideas and offerings break

out instead of blend in?

Create a Half and Half Word

Sam: Use what I call a Half and Half Word to go to the head of the class and become THE

topic expert on your product or profession.

That's what Dr. Francine Kaufman did by naming a cultural phenomenon that was taking

place in the medical world. She noticed that more and more children were coming into her

office diagnosed with diabetes. The link between diabetes and obesity had been known for

years, however, no one had linked them in language until she did by coining the term

Diabesity. By creating a one-word name for this condition, she got an impressive book deal

and quickly became THE topic expert that media called first for interviews.

You can create your own Half and Half Word by getting a fresh piece of paper and drawing a

vertical line down the center, dividing the paper into two columns. Now, start describing the

different aspects of your cause, company, creation, or campaign - putting half the words on

the left and half the words on the right.

For example, if you were opening a fusion restaurant that combined a mix of ethnic foods,

you could write common words from one culture on the left and popular phrases from the

other culture on the right. Now, take the first half of a word on the left and match it with

the last half of the words on the right. Then take the first half of the next word on the left

and match it with the last half of the words on the right, and so on. Keep playing with

different combinations until you come up with one that POP!s – ala Ciao Mein, the perfect

name for an Italian-Chinese bistro.

Steve: Got it. Piece of cake.

“I know that you believe you understand what you think I said,

but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”

- Robert McCloskey




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Steve: What are a couple of laugh-out-loud examples of products that POP!d off the shelf

because of their catchy name?

Sam: Here are a couple of my favorite examples of products that POP!d out of the pack

because of their catchy names.

Diddle Daddle Piddle Paddle With a Saddle.

“I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand

a single word of what I am saying.”

- Oscar Wilde

A father liked to get down on all fours and give his toddler a "horsy-back ride" around theliving room, but his son kept falling off. So, he invented a human saddle he could cinch

around his waist that had a safety belt so his son could ride to his heart's content.

What to call this? Run "saddle" through the Alphabet and what do you come up with?

That's right. DADDLE.

Smitten by Smittens

A couple liked to go for a walk after dinner, but they lived in the Northeast and would freeze

their fingers when it snowed. They created a co-joined mitten they could both put their

hands in so they could keep their hands warm on their wintry walks. Their clever name?

SMITTENS.

You may be thinking, "So what? Do catchy names really drive sales?"

You bet it does.

Those clever products were featured in humor columnist Dave Barry's annual

December columns which feature interesting products that have been brought to his

attention by his many fans. His column is syndicated in hundreds of newspapers around the

country, which means MILLIONS of people now know about Daddle and Smittens.

Pop!




6 of 23 1/22/08 4:15

Practice, Preach, and Reach

Steve: Last question. (I pulled a draft of Donkey O'Tee’s book out to show her.) I’m going

to run the title of my friend’s book by you. Could you give me your immediate response? If

it POPS! or not?

“Anyone who afflicts the human race with ideas

must be prepared to see them misunderstood.”

- H. L. Mencken

Sam: Sure.

Steve: “Pompously Obfuscate on Purpose.”

“This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly.

It should be thrown with great force.”

- Dorothy Parker

Silence. Pretty deep silence. Complete silence one might say.

“From the moment I picked up your book until I laid it down, I was convulsed

with laughter. Some day I intend reading it.”

- Groucho Marx

Steve: It has purpose. It’s original. It’s sorta pithy.

Sam: Ahem. It’s not quite the POP I’m talking about. More like how NOT to stand out in

any crowd.

Steve’s face droops, deleteriously depressed for donkey.

Sam: However. It is something I’m writing about in my next book.

Steve’s face perks up. Visionaries – Donkey and he.




7 of 23 1/22/08 4:15

Sam: SLAP!

Steve: SLAP?

END:

EPILOGUE:

Donkey O'Tee gave up writing his book, but not because he was SLAPPED. It was the

hooves on the keyboard.




8 of 23 1/22/08 4:15

They were causing the laptop battery to heat up and catch on fire. Donkey OTee is currently

pursuing acting. Commercials. Probably insurance.

REALLY THE END:

About Sam Horn

Sam is a respected author of well-reviewed books from major publishers including “Tongue

Fu!®,” “ConZentrate,” “What's Holding You Back?,” and “Take the Bully by the Horns,” allfrom St. Martins Press. These have been sold around the world (China, Japan, Argentina,

France, and Germany); favorably reviewed in dozens of publications including Publishers

Weekly , Library Journal , Chicago Tribune, Washington Post , Investors Business Daily ,

Foreign Service Journal , Dallas Morning News, and Readers Digest , and endorsed by many

bestselling authors including Stephen R. Covey, Anthony Robbins, Jeffrey Fox, Susan

Jeffers, Dave Pelzer, Susan Forward, Rabbi Harold Kushner, Richard Carlson, and John Gray.

Her most recent book “POP! Stand Out in Any Crowd,” (Perigee, Sept. ’06) has received

enthusiastic testimonials from such respected business thought-leaders as Seth Godin

(“Purple Cow”), Jeffrey Gitomer (“Little Red Book of Selling”), Mark Victor Hansen (“One

Minute Millionaire”), and Ken Blanchard.

“POP! is a lively, fun, inspiring guide to getting heard,

getting remembered, and getting results.”

- Ken Blanchard




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As the creator of The POP! Process (patent pending), Sam developed 25 innovative ways to

craft one-of-a-kind titles, slogans, and brands that help professionals and their projects

become one of a kind instead of one of many, so they can break out instead of blend in.

She teaches her process in a variety of formats including one-on-one consulting, conference

keynotes, POP! Institutes, CD series, and in her newest book.

Sam is a frequent media guest who has been interviewed on every major network (NBC,

ABC, CBS, and FOX) and on dozens of radio shows including National Public Radio and Dr.

Laura. Her work has even been featured on Jay Leno’s “Tonight Show” and “To Tell The

Truth,” where she and her Tongue Fu!® team stumped the panel.

Fourteen-time emcee (and former executive director) of the world-renowned Maui Writers

Conference, Sam has been privileged to work alongside such famous authors, screenwriters,

and directors as Ron Howard, James Brooks, Garry Marshall, Frank McCourt, Richard Paul

Evans, Nicholas Sparks, Sue Grafton, Tami Hoag, and Tony Hillerman. She also has worked

with top decision-makers from all of the major publishers and with the country’s topagents. She annually coordinates the Non-fiction-Business-Self-Help Retreat Group the

week before Labor Day weekend.

Contact:

Sam Horn, Author/Speaker/Consultant ~ East Coast Office

2012 Lakebreeze Way, Reston, VA 20191

Phone (703) 861-9835 Fax (703 476-6499

Office E-mail [email protected]

E-mail Sam Horn at [email protected]

About Donkey O'Tee

He's good looking.




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And knows it.

Honest?

... just ask him.

Has his own high-fashion clothing line?




1 of 23 1/22/08 4:15

Of course.

Smart?

Well, he is an ...

About Steve Kayser:

Do you need to know anymore after that article? Thankfully Sam Horn pulled it out for

him.

I mean he co-writes with a multilingual, fuzzy-faced, happy-hoof Honorary Harvard

Scholar .




2 of 23 1/22/08 4:15

What else could be important? Oh wait. There is a little more.

Steve Kayser is an award-winning business writer that has been featured in a marketing

best practices case study by MarketingSherpa, “Purple Cows” (by Seth Godin), “A Marketer's

Guide to e-Newsletter Publishing,” Innovation Quarterly , B2B Marketing Trends, and Faces of

E-Content magazine. His writings have appeared in Corporate Finance Review Magazine,

CEO Refresher , Entrepreneur Magazine, Business 2.0, and Fast Company Magazine, among

others.

In his spare time, Steve professionally models kilts for Un-Vanity , Non-GQ and The Manly

Kilt Wearing Man monthly magazines.

Steve also headlines fundraising events for his run at an Olympic Gold Medal in the

kilt-wearing mechanical bull-riding competition to be held in Cincinnati, Ohio in 2050.

In addition, Steve is retained by Cincom (on a very tenuous, minute-by-minute basis) to

inspire and motivate others by fulfilling a famous Mark Twain axiom,

“Let us be thankful for the fools;




but for them the rest of us could not succeed."

For more info, you can contact Steve at [email protected].

how not to stand out in any crowd - steve kayser

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