The Fred Factor: How Passion in Your Work and Life Can Turn the Ordinary into the Extraordinary
By: Mark Sanborn
Book History
Mark Sanborn was an unpublished author with an amazing message. Kevin Small, RSI’s founder heard Mark speak, and offered to agent his book as a Christian Waterbrook title. Still realizing that The Fred Factor had massive potential, RSI orchestrated a satellite speaking event which drew 2500 business attendees—and Mark Sanborn was the main keynote. Then, Waterbrook’s parent company, Random House was invited by RSI to discuss running a dual imprint of The Fred Factor—specifically for the business market. Random House loved the idea. Since the agreement, over 500, 000 copies of the business imprint version have sold in comparison to 100,000 copies of the faith imprint.
Execution
RSI knows talent. Mark Sanborn had already created a powerful brand for himself in the speaking community, but he needed to be positioned as a thought leader in the business community. RSI orchestrated an entire simulcast around Mark with the vision of branding him as the “main event.”
The event was held in Atlanta with 2500 business attendees, and promoted on 500 different down-linked web sites. Each and every site listed Mark was the “main event.”
Result
The pre-promotion of the event—also spotlighting other highly-recognized names—created preliminary book sales as attendees wanted to understand the draw to Sanborn. Even the subject of Mark’s book—Fred The Postal Carrier who went out of his way to go above and beyond expectation with his customers, was flown to the event where he debuted to the entire audience.
RSI financed 10,000 book sales to generate initial attention on the faith that once the 50,000 strong audience heard Mark’s message, every book would sell. And, they did.
All books were sold overnight—instantly making The Fred Factor a Wall Street Journal besteller.
In addition, RSI helped create an entire DVD curriculum from that event, which has created hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue.