“In the land of the blind… the one-eyed man is king.”
-Write down your 15 largest clients
-Ask yourself what you can do to show them your concern for their business
-Be sure to pay attention to anyone with whom you haven’t engaged recently
-Take action!!!
I have always loved that quote, written by 14th Century scholar Desiderius Erasmus. I love the quote because it describes to me one of the biggest secrets of success. You don’t have to do a lot more to stand out, because there are so many of your competitors who are working hard to be average.
A few years ago, I was asked by a local car dealer for some advice on his advertising. While the dealer and I were in discussions – a 5-week process – he must have told everyone that he was talking to me, as I was besieged by media reps.
Quite frankly, most were pretty bad. Perry Kapiloff, one of the JDA Senior Consultants, has an ad agency in his spare time. He is constantly scaring me with stories of terrible selling, even from major market reps in Boston where he lives.
On the one hand this should bother all of us. After all, it makes our entire business look bad, and sometimes we end up getting put in the same pile of mediocrity just because we share a business with the idiots.But it’s also good news for you. It means that all you have to do is a little bit more and you’ll really stand out.
It’s the sales rep who brings donuts for the employees at 5AM for a client promoting the Opening Day of hunting season.
Or the rep who teaches her medical client’s staff a script to answer the phone so that leads are converted to patients.
How about the TV rep we heard about during our November Auto Satellite conference who gets through to the COO of a major auto group because he regularly sends links to TV ads on YouTube that he thinks the COO might like.
Or the sales rep who did 3 one-hour meetings for a client who had some sales staff issues.
Yes, all of those stories, and dozens more I’ve heard, are true. And all of those reps have built big businesses with that level of commitment to their clients.
Yes, all of those stories, and dozens more I’ve heard, are true. And all of those reps have built big businesses with that level of commitment to their clients.
I believe that each of us has to consciously think about how we separate ourselves from our competitors. And I think this is WAY more than tickets and food. It’s information… extra effort… giving a damn… being focused on our clients’ needs more than our own.
It is specific actions. But it’s probably more than that. It’s an attitude of genuine caring. In my opinion, the superstars have it.
I’m betting most of you have it, as well. I’d encourage you to take a one-hour break this week to do the following exercise:
-Write down your 15 largest clients
-Ask yourself what you can do to show them your concern for their business
-Be sure to pay attention to anyone with whom you haven’t engaged recently
-Take action!!!
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