What Elvis Can Teach You About Religion & Business

Elvis is a religion. Just ask my 11 year-old son, Justin who didn’t wash his left hand for three days after touching the same microphone The King of Rock-n-Roll used to record Blue Suede Shoes.

We recently made the pilgrimage to Graceland last month for Spring Break and not only did we tour Graceland, but also Sun Studios - the legendary birthplace of Rock-n-Roll.

On the plane, Elvis tunes flowed from his iPod. He wore an Elvis T-shirt. Yes, Justin is a bona-fide member of the Elvis religion. What’s more, he’s not just a member, he’s an 11 year-old Elvis evangelist ready to preach the good news on a moment’s notice.

If an eleven year-old boy, who was born exactly twenty years after Elvis ‘left the building,’ for the last time, can become a zealous evangelist for the King of Rock-n-Roll, don’t you think your customers might be persuaded to preach a bit about you and your business from time to time?

How can you get your customers to convert to your religion? Read on brother and sister, read on….

You’ve got to convert those unbelievers!
They’re out there and they’re looking for something to believe in. Why not give it to them? In this next series of articles, we’ll look at why religion is the best model for your business and how to begin the process of transforming your ’store’ into a ‘religion.’

Some months back, I wrote an article called the The Tao of Your Business.
In it, I talked about the overall importance of the ‘religion’ model for your business. The articles that will follow in the next
several weeks will further explain this system. They will give you hope for transforming your website and your business into a system that attract followers and produces evangelists (your best clients who love to talk about you to their colleagues).

So, let’s dive right in.
Converting the unconverted
Within any religion, there are various groups. The prophet, the evangelists, the faithful followers, the new members, and
those who’ve never graced the front door of the sanctuary. This latter group are usually deemed ‘nonbelievers or unconverted.’

This isn’t a derogatory term
These are simply people who don’t know that your business exists. They don’t know that you have the solutions they’re looking for. They don’t know that you’re the best thing to come along since Starbucks home delivery. If they did, they’d be sitting in your pews already.

But they’re not. They’re out there surfing around trying to find a place where they fit in. It’s your job to help them find your church and provide a low risk entry into your growing religion. I say low risk because no one really jumps into something as big as a religion without carefully weighing the risks involved.

How do you do reverse the risk?
You reverse the risk by taking it one step at a time. First, you’ve begin hinking like a prophet. And one thing a prophet is known for is his or her message. It’ needs to be unique, memorable, and easy to understand.

Here’s the example of BarryMorris.com (or as Heidi, one of my former clients once referred to it: The Barry Krishnas!)

* Prophet: Uh, me. * Church: BarryMorris.com
* Core Message: By becoming irresistible, you can attract all
the ideal clients you want
* Community: The Deadline Cafe (forum)
* Evangelists: Those who’ve bought the book, joined The Deadline Cafe, and taken a course.
* Followers: Book / CD buyers or Cafe patrons
* Back Pew Members: Subscribers to the ezine
* Unbelievers: Those who’ve not yet found BarryMorris.com

Here’s another little business /religion I mentioned earlier: Elvis Presley Enterprises

* Prophet: Elvis * Church: Elvis.com / Graceland
* Core Message: Rock-N-Roll, baby
* Community: Elvis Insiders
* Evangelists: Graceland visitors, memorabilia collectors, Elvis impersonators, Sirius Radio subscribers of - The Elvis Channel, Justin!
* Followers: Elvis CD/DVD buyers
* Back Pew Members: Elvis.com visitors, occasional listeners
* Unbelievers: Everyone else on the planet
How unbelievers find you
They find you in all the usual ways. One of the basic principles of Becoming Irresistible is to educate as many as will listen to you about how you solve their most painful problems. By doing so, you attract attention.

One of the most powerful ways to do this is by writing and distributing articles online and offline. These two topics are addressed in detail in Becoming Irresistible. Another way to attract the attention of your future converts is to maintain
a presence in various online forums where they hang out.

However you attract them to your message, at some point they will subscribe to your ezine or newsletter and join the others who sit on the back pew in your church. It now becomes your duty to provide the necessary education that will enable them to convert to your religion.

The first conversion
This occurs when one of your new members sitting on the back pew decides to move forward and join your church. They sit closer to the altar. They attend more regularly. They consume a significant amount of your doctrine in the form of a book, an audio program, or a service that you offer. Usually the first conversion is the purchase of your “Bible.’ More about that later.

Another look at BarryMorris.com
If you’ve subscribed to the Becoming Irresistible ezine, you were initially seated on the back bench or pew of my church. If you purchased my ‘Bible,’ then you experienced your first conversion.

It’s the holy writ that everything within the church is built upon. It’s the text for all my workshops. It teaches all followers a common language. It is a necessary step before consuming anything else.

Until a subscriber undergoes that first conversion, it remains my duty to educate them. This ezine and the Irresisti-Blog are vehicles for doing so.

But not everyone converts
And that’s OK. Not everyone you attract into your church belongs there. They will decide and either move onor become a follower because what you’re teaching makes sense forthem. It resonates within them as truth. It meets their needs.

As the Shepherd you will tend your flock, and some will wander elsewhere. When they do, simply wish them well and always leave the gate open.
What about your ‘church?’
* Do you have a vehicle for reaching the unbelievers?
* Are you clear about your core message?
* Does it stand out as unique and memorable?
* Is there an education system in place to help those back pew sitters to move forward?

Suggestions for ‘Getting Religion’
It’s not possible to transform your business into a religion overnight. It’s a process that takes time and diligence.
Here are some suggestions for making some initial headway:

1. Define your churchgoers. (Who is it you wish to attract?) Their problems will determine your core message. Who are they? What do they need?

2. Begin thinking about your core message. It is the foundation for all that you do and stand for. It doesn’t have to be a 300 page book. Often it’s best not to be. A short, valuable work that encapsulates your core philosophy should suffice.

3. Establish a vehicle for regularly communicating with your followers. They need to be educated around the priciples behind your philosophy. By beginning slowly, you can find the core architecture that will eventually become your church.

Religion is powerful
Just look at the world today. Nations are at war because of it. It has the power to unify or divide. Followers can achieve positive results (Mother Teresa) or they can choose to do the opposite (Osama bin Laden).

The core message guides the followers evenafter the Prophet is gone. We have only to look to the examples of Buddha, Jesus, Mohammad, and Elvis. Followers may become evangelists and that attracts even more into the fold.

Imagine your business structured the same way
What good could you accomplish in the world by doing so? Next time, we’ll look at the heart of every successful business and the core element that binds it all together.

What are your thoughts on a religious structure for your business? Share them here.

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