From the Desk of Marlene Green

Just returned from the Annual International GKIC Superconference whose lineup included George Ross of The Apprentice, Gene Simmons of KISS and Gene Simmons Family Jewels, and Nido Qubein, President of High Point University in North Carolina and CEO of Great Harvest Bread, along with Dan Kennedy, Bill Glazer and other super-successful GKIC members.

As always, it’s a thrill seeing everyone from around the globe and catching up with my fellow GKIC members who I only see twice a year.  We had awesome vendors and speakers there and of course a bunch of new insights from the speakers and fellow members along with reinforcement of information we already know.

In this article I would like to focus on my takeaways from Mr. Gene Simmons…Frankly, growing up in Jamaica, I was never into KISS music, but was aware of the group and of course thought they were quite strange with their scary makeup and costumes and unnerving music.  However, Gene Simmons is definitely someone worth paying attention to and studying closely.

As a result of all the promotion surrounding his appearance at the Superconference and Dan & Bill’s promptings to read his book “Sex Money Kiss”, I checked him out.  At the event, no one knew what to expect.  He was absolutely charming, funny, personable, approachable and demonstrated that he is indeed one of the most brilliant marketers, promoters and serial entrepreneurs on the planet. 

First of all, I strongly urge you to read his book “Sex Money Kiss” as you will get a great overview of how he created KISS as a Brand (not just a rock n’ roll band) with literally over 3,000 merchandising and licensing deals along with events and a global following of loyal fans over 30 years.  In the book he talks about business and money-making ideas he came up with and how he executes on them fast.  On p. 182 he shares how KISS was the first band to come up with their own Convention and on p. 212 he shares how he came up with his own branded guitar line on a whim.  Totally out of the realm of thinking of most professional musicians out there…and there are many more examples of how he managed to monetize the KISS brand and his personal brand given the huge fan base (global herd) that he and KISS have.  

He has no fear and is 1000% confident about everything he takes on.  He is all about always promoting and marketing everything “Gene Simmons” and he is always marketing.  He also believes in going to the top, the decision-maker and making connections while making up stuff as he goes along.  Note how he was able to explode the “I am Indy” campaign on p. 231 by getting himself on the roster for a branded entertainment conference by just having the balls to make a phone call and suggest that he be on the roster! 

When you read the book, you may be inclined to be offended by his comments about marriage, women, relationships, etc…Get pass that stuff!  Do FOCUS your attention on HOW he makes money out of thin air, how he cuts deals, and how he is not afraid to offer premium pricing on products (like his coffee table book) that extend the KISS brand.

Here are some nuggets of wisdom he shared on stage at the Superconference:
1. Wake up everyday to go to work and say to yourself…”It’s going to a money day”
2. Do nothing by accident…Always be strategic. 
3. It’s a global economy.  Learn to speak several languages to connect with locals on their soil.  Gene demonstrated that he actually speaks a bit of German, Hebrew, Japanese and Mandarin to our audience.
4. Master people skills and communicate directly with the people.  Don’t hide from the people.  Connect and engage emotionally with your audience.
5. Make More and Break your OWN records.  Don’t compare yourself to others.
6. Be known as a Personality…don’t just be about promoting a commodity, product or service.
7. Do outreach with missionary zeal..connect with charities, create a lot of fanfare in all that you do.  Be larger than life.
8. Keep It Simple Stupid…He lives by a physical calendar/daytimer and does not have gadgets or a secretary. 
9. He strongly believes in picking up the phone to make things happen and not having too much overhead in terms of staff running around.  (He elaborates on this in his book).

I challenge you to read the book and visit his website at www.genesimmons.com.  See what you can learn from him and apply to your business.  Please share with me what your takeaways are and how you will implement them at our next meeting!  Now that I am enlightened about the KISS craze, I can honestly say KISS ROCKS!