Peak Your Profits: Is your work encore worthy?

Mark Sanborn and I have been friends a long time. My wife and I met him poolside at a National Speakers Association convention in Phoenix, in 1986.

Over these past 22 years, Sanborn and I have shared stories, laughs, meals and clients. Enterprise Rent-A-Car became a client in 1995, because Sanborn told their leaders, “You’ve already booked me for your programs in Chicago, you gotta also book my buddy Blackman!”

Sanborn is frighteningly smart. Wickedly funny and, according to my wife, he’s also good looking! Plus, he’s got a stunning wife and two beautiful sons.

Sanborn is the kind of guy you’d like to hate. But you can’t! Because he’s really smart, really funny and incredibly loyal.

Sanborn is also a gifted speaker and talented writer. You might be familiar with one of his best selling books, “The Fred Factor.”

Three weeks ago, Sanborn and I caught up in New York City. And this week, his newly released and latest winning book “The Encore Effect” is landing in bookstores and on bookshelves!

Jeff Blackman: What is the “Encore Effect?”

Mark Sanborn: We all know what an encore is — you go to a concert and are so moved by the performance you and the rest of the audience start clapping, cheering, and yelling, “Bravo!” refusing to let the artist or performer leave the stage. The audience implores the artist to perform one more number and when the artist relents and performs, calls for an encore begin again. Many times, the weary, but appreciative artist complies.

What if that artist was you? I don’t mean you’re a singer, musician or actor. But each of us performs on a “stage,” an office, a sales floor, or in a client’s place of business. Whatever stage you “perform” on, it can be just as worthy of an encore performance where people shout for more of what you do.

JB: Tell us more about the role of the “stage.”

MS: Our “stages” are the different places we have important roles: home, work and community. It doesn’t mean we’re actors pretending to be who we’re not. It’s about being authentic and remarkable in fulfilling our responsibilities.

I use the term “stages” to remind us we have important audiences, who depend on how we perform, and need us to perform at our best.

JB: What are the qualities of a great “performer” in life and business?

MS: Passion is the fuel that drives remarkable performance. It’s difficult to be remarkable if you aren’t passionate about what you do, how you do it, why you do it and/or for whom you do it.

It requires more than just passion though. It also takes commitment and persistence. Research indicates it requires about 10 years to become an expert in anything. Most people aren’t willing to invest the time and effort to continually improve their performance. And of course, any great performer needs a repeatable process to apply. You too should have an identifiable approach to making any performance remarkable. Like preparation, practice, performance and polish.

JB: How does one achieve the status of “the employer would do almost anything not to lose them”?

MS: By becoming indispensable. By making sure your performance is so valued and so unique, nobody else could do it quite like you. Your employer would be devastated if you left. If anybody can do the job as well as you can, you’re an ordinary performer and ultimately at risk.

JB: Define the distinctions between “practices” and “principles.”

MS: A principle is something you know. A practice is something you do. Principles never change. They’re timeless. Practices are how you apply a principle to a given situation.

Here’s an example: relationships are crucial. That applies across time, culture and profession. Yet, how you build relationships requires different practices.

Staying in touch via e-mail and social networking are relatively new practices that may be part of your mix for deepening a relationship. Neither of those practices was available 20 years ago.

Practices flow from principles. The key is to first get the principles right!

Next week, Sanborn delivers more ways to do it right, with strategies on improved “performances,” the six levels of commitment and even how to convert pitfalls into possibilities. Until then, visit TheEncoreEffect.com. You can even see pictures of my suave, debonair and well coifed friend, Sanborn!

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Jeff Blackman is a speaker, author, success coach, broadcaster and lawyer who lives part-time on Marco Island. His clients call him a “business-growth specialist.” Send an e-mail to jeff@jeffblackman.com or go to www.jeffblackman.com to subscribe to his free e-letter.