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| The Client Letter |
| The Problem with Subtle |
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September 15, 2011 Sedona, Arizona NOTE: I found this article I wrote as I was searching through “the archives” and thought how important it is for service professionals to remember this very simple secret. If you have any trouble viewing the videos, click the link below each one to view it directly on YouTube(R). ********************* You know what doesn’t work when you’re selling? Being Subtle Doesn’t Work
The Renegade Professional INTENSIVE Begins In 9 Days:
If you’re tired of getting pushed around by clients and getting paid less than you want, then reserve your seat now. Save $748 over one-on-one coaching! Space is limited. I feel like I’ve spent much of my life being subtle about just about everything. Subtle about what I want… Subtle about what I don’t want… Subtle about the people I like… Subtle about the people I can’t stand… Subtle about what I want to buy… Subtle about what I want to sell… Somewhere in the back of my mind, some wires got crossed and I started thinking that being subtle was the same as having class, being sophisticated and taking the “high road.” Of course the real reason was that I was probably scared of getting noticed. If I’m not subtle then people will notice me. And if they notice me, there’s a rather large chance that they won’t like what they see. And who could ever recover from that type of rejection? 🙂 See how vicious that is? In business, falling into a cycle like that means you end up doing the equivalent of whispering with your sales and marketing stuff. You end up saying things like: “Excuse me sir, would you maybe, possibly, by any chance have a need sometime for something somewhat like what I might be offering to you someday, like maybe today?” That kind of approach makes you want to whip out your credit card doesn’t it? Think About Relationship Building
Is it easier to build a relationship with someone who doesn’t really stand for anything (or doesn’t tell you what they stand for) or is it easier to build a relationship with someone who is so 100% committed to their cause (and not afraid to share it with everyone) that you can’t help (provided their cause resonates with you) but be attracted to them? It’s no different when you’re selling. You’ve heard that being polarizing is a successful way to sell right? Well you can’t be polarizing and subtle at the same time. At least not if you want to be effective. Because if you are, no one will even look up from what they’re doing long enough to notice you. Being Subtle is Worse Than
Being Bad at Marketing In my book, there’s one thing that’s worse and more difficult to overcome than being a marketing hack or a business hack. That thing is being too subtle (scared) to even risk getting noticed. To overcome being a bad marketer, you simply have to keep going and keep learning. Experience will validate or invalidate what you learn in books and courses. You just keep repeating the learning/doing cycle and things improve. But being too scared to be noticed is an affliction that is far more difficult to remedy. Mainly because it requires a “fix” at a level much deeper than that of knowledge or experience. Virgil Fox: the “Elvis” of the Pipe Organ
Bear with me here as I reach back into my former life as a pipe organ player. There was a famous organist named Virgil Fox. You can see a video of him below: Click here to view the video directly on YouTube. It’s obvious he loved the spotlight. In fact, for many people of his generation, he was probably the only organist they knew by name. There’s a “Virgil Fox 2,” if you will, of the pipe organ world named Cameron Carpenter. Some people love him, but plenty of purists think he’s terrible. He is NOT subtle. In fact, he’s the only classical musician I know who performs in a sequined costume (I’m not kidding.) Take a look: Click here to view the video directly on YouTube. Now let me ask you a question. Who do you think sells more tickets to a pipe organ concert? A guy like Cameron Carpenter or little Mr. Church Organist who wears a grey suit, talks quietly and is afraid to look someone right in the eye? That’s a rhetorical question, because the answer is obvious… but I’ll answer it anyway: Cameron sells the tickets and Mr. Church Organist can’t even get 20 people to come out on a Sunday afternoon for free. Same in business. OK, so what if you’ve fallen for the “we’re evolved marketers now” brainwashing and you took down your popup in favor of something “classier” that slides in from the top or bottom of the screen? Something that’s not so, “in your face?” Well, you’d better do something fast, because that’s the first sign that you’re about to slide into obscurity online. (I’ve done it, have the T-Shirt.) Here are Some Sales Tips
See you tomorrow,
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