Verne Harnish was the drawcard for me attending the National Business Growth Summit in Sydney recently (7-8 Feb 2010).
Not only was Verne outstanding as usual but he also introduced us to few other international speakers who I liked.
First was David Meerman Scott, marketing strategist and author of best-seller The New Rules of Marketing and PR. In short, David was brilliant especially because his message is very aligned with the ideas we embrace at Bluewire & that we encourage our clients to do.
The take-home message for me is “on the web, you are what you publish!”
– if you don’t appear on Google you don’t exist and your brand is what Google says it is.
– produce free useful content that solves buyers problems not that talks about your products
– buyers will find you if you do this (hint hint, media & press people will find you too!)
– so think like a publisher, not a traditional marketer
– carry a Flip Camwith you at all times for unexpected interviews!
– hire a journalist to help you produce excellent articles, e-books, videos, blog posts and news releases that focus on solving your buyers problems!
This is aligned with what we do for clients at Bluewire Media (the web strategy company where I am Marketing Manager), so I wanted to find out more. I was fortunate enough to record my own interview with David Meerman Scott last week via a Skype video.
Whilst I’ve seen Verne Harnish in Brisbane before and read his book Mastering the Rockefeller Habits several times, I was ready to revisit the Rockefeller Habits. Toby & I were there specifically to get clarity on Bluewire’s brand promise and our niche. We made good progress and identified things we already do that could be brand promises. More soon, I promise! Plus we were given a ton of book recommendations that should last me the next 12 months.
Here’s a 27 sec interview I did with Verne about his #1 Tip for Business Growth.
Herman Simon was lucky to make it to the Summit, given his bout of illness. Nevertheless, he taught us about the Hidden Champions of 21st Century – unknown companies that are true market leaders. The key for these hidden champions seems to be decide on your niche & do it exceptionally.

It was good to spend time with friends Nigel Heyn from IT Associates and Scott Jackson and also to meet Ian Judson and Troy Collins. I look forward to having fellow ‘Rockefeller Habits’ advocates in Brisbane to keep me honest.
Business Growth Speaker: If you’d like to me to share more of what I learnt fromVerne Harnish in a presentation, call Bluewire Media on 1300 258 394 or DM me @Franklin_Adam.
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