Rohit Bhargava on “Likeonomics”

1:30 — Ryan Ronayne introduces Rohit Bhargava, author of Likeonomics: The Unexpected Truth Behind Earning Trust, Influencing Behavior, and Inspiring Action.

1:31 — Rohit takes the podium all smiles and thanks everyone for choosing his session. “You are getting a sneak peak at Likeonomics, it’s not out yet. It is brand new and I want to share it with you.”

1:33 — The most frustrating thing that I learned 10 years ago when making a pitch and losing is that sometimes you never know why you lost.

1:36 — I asked the question 10 years ago on that pitch why didn’t we win. The answer was, “We loved your pitch and your ideas but we really liked their team better.”

1:38 — Rohit is talking about personal stories regarding NFL agents and tying it into being “liked” by the players.

1:40 — People don’t choose just based on the “best idea” they don’t choose just based on “logic” they really choose one thing over another via how they relate to the choices and emotions. There are a ton of books written on this.

1:42 — A study has been done on people who have lost the emotional part of their brain and found that those individuals could not make decisions. Though people don’t like to think of themselves as emotional decision makers, the proof is out there on multiple levels.

1:44 — People don’t spend enough time figuring out what drives our decision making. If we make decisions based on what we like and the people we want to do business with then we need to realize that logic is not driving our decision. The book Likeonomics is about how we make decisions as people.

1:46 — You need to be able to build personal connections with people in order to bridge the “likeability gap.” It comes down to five things TRUST an acronym that I use in my book.

T – truth

R – relevance

U – unselfishness

S – simplicity

T – timing

If people don’t trust you they won’t do business with you. I break down this acronym in my book and I’ve done a lot of research. This is really about how people make decisions.

1:48 — Truth requires unexpected honesty. Like Oprah admitting that she had been abused as a child openly before her audience and it was not expected. That is before Oprah was the name that she became, but possibly one of the main catalysts as to why.

1:50 — There is no product or service today that has an unbeatable edge that can’t be taken down.

Q: What is an example of simplicity in your book?

A: Twitter is a perfect example. 140 characters. Flipcam another great example. Simplicity makes a big difference. Without simplicity you can’t get a message across. If you can’t explain the concept of why your idea works you won’t get funded.

Q: Can you give an unselfishness example?

A: Companies rated as ethical are 30% more profitable than companies that are not. There is a real business model for doing business in this way.

Q: Are you saying that ethics and success are synonymous?

A: No, it isn’t a checklist. Companies and people are trying to be better. But it is about having a framework to know what you are trying to improve. Things like being unexpectedly honest.

1:56 — Most people care more about themselves and their situation than they do about you. So when you share things, share how it can be helpful to them. I did this with the title of a recent post that I did. Give people a tangible thing they can do to get to where they want to go.

1:58 — We don’t just act on our beliefs. We need to have the personal connection and motivation. If I told you to donate to breast cancer. You may believe but you aren’t connected so you are not as inclined to donate. But if I told you that your colleague was running in a race to raise money for breast cancer and you knew someone who had the disease you now have a connection and are much more inclined to donate.

Overall Rohit’s message seemed to be about how there has to be a connection between the people who interact with your brand and there has to be a trust built between you and them. Check out his upcoming book Likeonomics.

 

About Eric Highland

Eric Highland is the co-founder of The Austinot, a blog devoted to the people, news, history, and nooks and crannies of Austin. Eric is also a speaker and teacher on the topics of social media and SEO marketing. A kid at heart, Eric loves DJing, techno gadgets, and disc golf.

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