That’s Your Paycheck Calling…Answer It

 

Bravo and congratulations again to Mark Graham and Bobby Lehew for putting on such an informative podcast with marketing luminary, Seth Godin. Enough has been said already about what a major coup d'état it was to rope in such a high-profile author, speaker and marketer on a PromoKitchen podcast, and I was personally glad to see that so many people joined the webcast live. I’m proud to be part of such a stellar community comprised of industry talent who are constantly working to push the envelope to raise the proverbial bar in this industry.

There were a couple of pearls of wisdom that resonated with me from the podcast. Seth’s Pearl of Wisdom #1 went like this, “Something as simple as the telephone can create a connection. It’s all about how you use your tools.” This got me thinking... I can’t remember the last time I heard a supplier say, “Thank you for the order!” on a live phone call. Maybe suppliers have become so focused on the thrill of the kill, landing the order and just running with it that they forget to be gracious in the process. Maybe I’m waxing nostalgic with this, but I really want to go back to the days of yore when placing an order; I actually want to feel like a valued client again and not be just another distributor notch on a supplier's belt.

By my estimation, the four best tools a person possesses in a sales scenario are their ears, personalities, brains and mouths…which are all required to pick up the phone and say thank you. So, use your tools. Seth said it, I didn’t.

Truth: It’s also been a long while since I have felt emotionally connected to any supplier, and this makes me wonder if my clients can say the same thing about me. This leads me to Seth’s Pearl of Wisdom #2, “People buy because the way a business or product makes them feel.” I want to start feeling something again when I do business with people, and likewise, I must work to ensure my clients feel the same about me. Is it possible that we’ve taken the whole “partnering” thing with each other too literally, and have forgotten who the client is in the first place?

That’s your paycheck calling…answer it.