“Our belief is that our Brand, our Culture, and our Pipeline are the only competitive advantages that we will have in the long run. Everything else can and will eventually be copied.”
Tony Tsieh, CEO, Zappos
Why is it so easy to fall back into bad habits?
I’m referring to one specific failing of mine: getting busy and letting my pipeline slip away. The pattern is this: I get referrals, get busy with the work, allow my attention to go to the work and not keeping my pipeline filling at different levels. Then my mind slides into that spiral of catastrophe – this is not a place that I want to live.
So, the question is: how can you create surprise and delight in such a way that your clients tell everyone about you?
It’s Hard to Know Where to Start
It’s common to take the typical marketing routes that others may recommend. But it might be more fun and productive in the long run to first start with the things you do well. We all thrive when we experience more happiness doing the things that light us up. This makes sense to me. Does it make sense to you too?
When you complete a meeting, do you ask your clients how you can support their learning?
Do you make notes on the common points of confusion?
How do you buff up your referral engine?
By giving a higher level attention to all the people in your life that do something nice for you. I know I didn’t just hear you say you don’t have the time – really!
If you like win/win relationships, as I do, then it shouldn’t be outside your wheelhouse to put your thinking cap on and come up with some ways to raise your game. Everyone needs to be appreciated and acknowledged. Too few people understand what a great business practice it is – besides, it makes you feel great.
Here are a few ideas to get you started:
I used to think I knew how to set goals. That was, until I took Mike Gidlewski’s course (www.achievable.com) called Quantum Leap. There I learned that most of us, including myself, had goals that were hazy at best and most of the time they were in our heads – not on paper. Neither were they specific enough.
So, when I finally understood that, I began something new:
I was having lunch with a former client the other day. I had arrived for our meeting early and ran into an acquaintance that turned out to know him as well. During lunch we discussed an organization that both of them belonged to. He was surprised that I had no interest in being part of…
Examples are great ways of learning how to do something, This is one of my favorite videos that shows how and why Southwest Airlines is loved and talked about by so many people. Watch the video. Now, how many people do you think those passengers told about Southwest Airlines? How do you think the description…
People like me are always urging you to differentiate from your competition. So, why is it so hard to do?
I think it starts with a belief learned early in life -the one that we have learned over time – it feels safer to go with the group- don’t rock the boat. Look at any field and you will see pack mentality in the way companies in any vertical express themselves. It’s safe AND it’s boring. Worse, when everyone looks the same and too safe no one remembers anything.