(Note: In Spring 2006 I worked closely with two companies preparing for Initial Public Offerings. This transcript is from a curated series of late-night sessions I recorded to train the corporate marketing and sales teams. In these private trainings I answered their specific questions about the strategies and tactics (and art) of establishing your branding and positioning as unique and special, to give you the edge in a crowded marketplace. These have never been shared publicly before now, and even though the recording quality is poor there are some golden nuggets of information in each that will expand your understanding of these key topics as well.)
I think when I counsel with people, and I do consulting with people, an awful lot of times, the biggest surprise that they have is when I say to them, it sounds like you’re doing a lot of things right. In fact, I literally have people who literally asked me to, could I repeat that, they can’t believe that I said that! They’ve never had any consultants say that to them, which I think is sad.
Because as a consultant, I know that I know more about marketing, direct response and creating business than they will probably ever know. And I’ve done it in more industries that they will ever have experienced.
However, I know not even 1% of what it takes to run their business and make it work.
And if they’ve been in business for a year, two years, ten years — however long — chances are, you know, you don’t stay in business, if everything you’re doing is wrong. You’ve got to be doing some things right! And what’s sad is I’m, right off, the first the first consultant tell them that.
This kept me out of consulting for years, because in my world, in the corporate world, with companies I worked with, consultants came in and told you everything you were doing wrong, interviewed everybody. And then they didn’t listen to anything that we were trying to tell them, and proceeded to create all sorts of programs and campaigns several months later, we would be ditching it and starting over again, with a new consultant telling us that all that was wrong, and that we needed to do his program. And it kept me out of it for years, because I didn’t want to be that person that came in and told people everything they’re doing is wrong, they’ve got to have me, because I’m the person who knows more about their business than they do. Which is clearly not true.
However, when I’m able to join what I know, regarding marketing and quantum growth, with what they know about their business… if they have vision, the commitment to follow through on that vision, and integrity to themselves, to me, to their clients and their staff, to their market, to their business, to their vision…then I can explode that business with them, and take them to places they will never take the business otherwise.
So, I always start from a standpoint of, “You’re doing a lot of things right!” And I try to find those things that they’re doing right. So that I can point out to them the things that they actually, they’re okay with, and then I can start working on the things that I can help them with.
Another thing that I call this sometimes is the Moses Approach, because Moses came to God, or God came to Moses at the burning bush. And Moses was an old man who stuttered. He’s herding these sheep out in the wilderness for decades.
God says, “Moses, you’re the one. I want you to go to Pharaoh and tell him ‘Let my people go!’”
Whereupon Moses said, “God, you got the wrong guy, because I stutter. And I, you know, and I, I’m an old man, you know. You made a mistake. This is sort of like, you know, the avocado and the pit being too big. Sometimes even You make a mistake, God, and this is one of those mistakes.”
All God said to Moses was, “What’s that in your hand?” And it was his staff, his shepherd staff. And God said, “Throw it down!” And it became a snake. And we all know the rest of that story.
Now, I can’t make a stick turn into a snake, but I do believe in starting with what’s in your hand, because you’ve got a lot of things going right. What we need to do is enhance that, not completely change everything in your business. So, trust that and let’s take it to the next level.
