Authenticity - How Genuine is Your Business To Others?
By Bill Guertin

Three hundred Spartans, at war against a million Persians. The battle is ancient, but the movie is modern. When “300″ was released in early 2007, the epic war film of the Battle Of Thermopylae, the critics were appalled blood, gore, devoid of a plot, and more severed meat than you d find in a Brazilian steakhouse, they howled.

Then the movie opened. Consumers responded. And in two days time, the critics words were like the Persians, lying in bloody heaps on the ground. People loved the movie they passionately spread the word to their friends and their cyberfriends, in their blogs, and on their online forums. They ignored the critics, if they had ever heard them at all, and showed up at the theatres in droves.

For a movie slated for mediocrity by the experts, “300″ grossed $70 million in its first weekend, far outpacing the second place movie at $27 million. With its release on DVD and in rental outlets, it has gone on to gross over $300 million in its first nine months.

What the critics forgot was that they aren t the movie-going public. You are.

Consumers are now in love with authentic communication that is unfiltered and unbiased. The explosion of electronic communication like text messaging, IM, and blogs provide strong evidence that hype is no longer hip. Reality TV, the ultimate unfiltered mass entertainment vehicle of the new millennium, is the anti-script. The stars are now everyday people, and the influencers are now consumers with keyboards.

People care what others with similar interests think, and it has never been easier to discover what they are thinking, what they like, and what they don t like. This is the new advertising it s word-of-mouth to the millionth power.

Ironically, the more we communicate in open, honest “wiki” ways, the more we become repulsed by hype and empty promises, as consumers and as business owners. Those salespeople stuck in the tired, plaid tactics of the past are finding it harder and harder to sell with Reality. They wave their arms around, obliviously blaming the economy, the competition, and the new guy for their lack of results.

Those who have found Authenticity are winning.

In business, Reality = Authenticity. Authenticity is being real about what you do, the promises you are making, and who you are. Unlike charisma or charm, Authenticity is attainable through practice. Utilizing your assets, forging an original story, being open and honest, and being consistent are all components of discovering your Authentic story.

We created the Four Laws of Authenticity to help you discover - or re-discover - that wonderful, powerful and GENUINE story that the public wants to hear today. These Four Laws - The Law of Freedom, The Law of Originality, The Law of Transparency, and The Law of Repeatability - are critical for you to learn and understand if you are to be perceived as one that others can trust.

When you become Authentic, you and your business become more interesting. You get much better at starting conversations. You stay focused on the attributes of the brand that meet your customers needs. And you become more successful at whatever it is you do.

Reality Sells. How real are you?

If you d like our FREE E-book, “15 Ways To Become More Authentic In Your Work”, we d like you to have it with our compliments. Simply go to http://www.RealitySells.com

Bill Guertin is the co-author of Reality Sells: How to Bring Customers Back Again and Again By Marketing Your Genuine Story. Bill is a sought-after expert in sales and marketing, and is Chief Enthusiasm Officer (CEO) of The 800-Pound Gorilla (http://www.The800PoundGorilla.com), a business development company whose list of sales training clients include teams from the NBA, the NHL, and Major League Baseball.

To learn more about Bill s book, please visit http://www.RealitySells.com

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