At 27, Vishen Lakhiani was a “bedroom entrepreneur,” publishing self-growth programs online. By 31, he had founded six Web businesses. Today, at 34, his West Coast-based MindValley employs about 40 people. In the process of building a multimillion-dollar company, he has created one of the world’s top workspaces and has become a highly requested speaker in the fields of marketing and entrepreneurship.
“We sell personal-development products,” he says. “We use social media in conjunction with traditional sales models, and that has proved successful. I used to be one of the traditional online marketers; I believed that the process was all about using the right copy, the right launch sequence and psychology to close the sale. There is a huge shift going on in the online world.”
In some of his presentations, Lakhiani uses an example of how an undisclosed restaurant increased its business using a simple social media plan.
The restaurant employed attractive hostesses who asked for business cards when they greeted male customers. The next day, the customer would receive a personal greeting from the hostess inviting him to friend her on Facebook. Most did, and their sites often provided birthdays in their profile information. In advance of the customer’s birthday, he would receive a personal invitation from the hostess suggesting the restaurant provide the venue for 10 of his friends to help him celebrate his birthday, noting that he would be personally greeted upon arrival, treated like a VIP, and given bar discounts for the group. The response was extremely positive.
By John H. Ostdick, Success Magazine
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