November 10, 2016 • Vol. 7 No. 45 This Issue: Bob Burg, Inky Johnson Bookend NFDA Convention General Sessions ........................................... P. 1 Nearly 6,000 Attend NFDA International Convention & Expo ..... P. 6 Batesville to Close Mississippi Casket Facility ............................ P. 7 Funeral Service Foundation Adds 6 Trustees; Elects 2016-17 Executive Board .............................................................. P. 8 The Notebook .................................................................................. P. 9 From the Editor’s Desk ................................................................. P. 10 Cave Hill Cemetery, Louisville, Kentucky Photograph by Lacy Robinson Bob Burg, Inky Johnson Bookend NFDA Convention General Sessions PHILADELPHIA – At this year’s National Funeral Directors Of course, one might read this as being a bit naïve in an era Association International Convention and Expo, the keynote of self-absorption, corporate scandals and dog-eat-dog compe- speakers spanned the gamut from ideas on how to have your tition that one could actually “give” their way to success. And business run more efficiently and effectively to a downright in- that was the question pondered by Joe, the protégé in Burg’s spirational speech intended to bring out the best in people so book, which was co-written with John David Mann. In the that they leave the people that they touch feeling special. book, what Joe came to realize was not only was it not naïve, it is actually quite practical. That was the range of emotion offered by Bob Burg and Inky Johnson during their opening and closing session presentations. “When you can shift your focus from yourself to others, peo- ple feel good about you,” Burg said. “When you focus on bring- ing value to people, people feel good about you and they want Bob Burg to get to know you, they like you and they trust you.” Shifting one’s focus from getting to giving is not only a nice way to live life but a very financially profitable way as well. This Burg calls people with this mindset “go-givers.” He said they was the message offered by Bob Burg during his keynote ad- tend to be successful people financially, as well as in other ways dress during the opening general session of NFDA’s Interna- in which success can be measured. tional Convention & Expo. He said that noted author and speaker Zig Ziglar once said, Burg is author of a number of books on sales, marketing and “You know, money may not be everything, but it ranks right influence, with total book sales in excess of one million copies. up there… with oxygen.” But Burg maintains that there are His book The Go-Giver alone has sold more than a half-million many other ways to measure success, including financial, physi- copies. So in this context, when he speaks about shifting one’s cal, spiritual, mental, emotional, social, relational and probably focus from getting to giving, he means constantly and consis- dozens of other ways. tently providing value to others. For this particular program, he focused on the financial. To- 800-228-6332 www.nfda.org 2 Memorial Business Journal November 10, 2016 ward that end, he offered five laws of stratospheric success more than what you are taking in payment,” he continued. from The Go-Giver: • The law of value These days, however, that’s not enough because people • The law of compensation see every funeral director as supplying the same service. • The law of influence And even though your firm might be doing a 10-times-bet- • The law of authenticity ter job than the one down the street – whether it’s the low- • The law of receptivity. cost provider or somebody of comparable fees – it doesn’t “When we combine these laws, when we use them to- matter unless [the consumer] has done business with you gether in conjunction with each other, you’ll absolutely ac- before and know what you do or have heard about you complish whatever it is you want to accomplish,” Burg stat- from someone else. “They don’t know the difference yet,” ed. “It is not something I have made up; it’s something that Burg said. “The intrinsic value was not quite enough be- has been around for a long time.” cause we know that if a potential client family doesn’t see any significant difference between you and your competing Burg then explained these laws one by one, starting with firms, it is all going to come down to who has the lowest the law of value, which he defined by saying that your true price. And that is not where we want to be. worth in the business sense is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment. “Remember, when you sell on price, you are a commod- ity,” he said. “When you sell on value, you are a resource, a “When you first hear this, it is a little counterintuitive trusted resource.” and almost sounds counter-productive,” he said. He then posed a question you might ask yourself: How are you sup- This is where extrinsic value comes into play, with Burg posed to survive if you give more in value than you take in explaining that this is the value provided that separates one payment? “You simply have to understand the difference firm from competing firms. What is that value? “You pro- between price and value,” he said. “Price is a dollar figure. vide your clients families with comfort, peace of mind, the Value, on the other hand, is the relative worth or the de- good feeling of knowing that everything is going to be han- sirability of a thing to the end user or beholder. What is dled professionally and personally,” he said. “They know it about this product or service or idea that brings with it that they are going to be able to have a celebration of life so much value that someone will willingly exchange their of their loved one. Everything you do and all of the value money for it and be ecstatic that they did. Wow, you made you provide gives the family an amazingly exceptional fu- a very healthy profit.” neral service. Burg offered the example of an accountant hired to do “That’s the difference between the price you’re charg- taxes. The accountant charges $1,000 for the service. But ing – the immense value you are giving them,” Burg said. what is the value the accountant gives you in exchange? “Through his hours of study and years of experience, he’s The question then becomes: How do funeral directors getting to know you and asking you questions and focusing communicate all of this additional value that is over and on what you were looking to accomplish, and through hard above what competing firms offer? “The short answer is we work, he is able to save you $5,000 in taxes,” Burg said. “He become that value, and by ‘we,’ I mean you and your staff,” also saves you countless hours of time, freeing you up to Burg said. “We need to communicate that value; it’s not a do what you’d rather be doing or what you need to do. He matter of just providing it.” also provides you and your family with the peace of mind of knowing that it was done correctly.” To do this, Burg suggested ways by which to communi- cate additional value, boiling them down to five elements of In this example, Burg suggested that compared with value: excellence, consistency, attention, empathy and ap- price, which is a finite dollar figure, value is both concrete preciation. and conceptual. “That peace of mind is probably worth more to you than the $5,000 you saved and certainly much “With excellence, there’s nothing like doing your core more than the $1,000 fee you paid,” he said. “He gave you competency as a practitioner,” he said. “You also know that well over $5,000 in value in exchange for a $1,000 price, so you are never finished learning.” you feel great about it, and he made a very healthy profit. Excellence also has to do with how you make other peo- Putting it in terms of funeral service, Burg offered a cou- ple feel. “At every single touch point, you make your cus- ple of different types of value that the funeral director pro- tomers, the families, feel special,” he said. “The degree to vides, both intrinsic and extrinsic. “The intrinsic value pro- which we do that is the degree to which we are looked at as vided is simply what is expected of you by the very nature of being excellent.” what you do,” he said. “In other words, when someone uses your services, you are their guide through their time of loss The importance of consistency cannot be overstated. and grief. The intrinsic value of what you do is worth much “We live in a very inconsistent world, yet consistency is 800-228-6332 www.nfda.org November 10, 2016 Memorial Business Journal 3 what we crave,” said Burg. “We want to think of ourselves he said. as being consistent, but we totally demand and expect it of others. When we are consistent, people tend to trust and The law of influence says your influence is determined respect us more. When you combine excellence and consis- by how abundantly you place other peoples’ interests first. tency, you are communicating exceptional value.” “This also sounds counterintuitive,” Burg said. “But think about the greatest leaders you know, the top influencers, The next element of value Burg described is attention. those who make the most money – this is simply how they “Whether it’s a preneed or at-need situation, attention is run their lives and conduct their business.