Gorgeous George

He’s a handsome devil old George Clooney.
Hair always neat, stubble always clipped, roguish grin always perfectly positioned.
And always dressed in black (or dark grey if you really want to nitpick).
He knows it looks good, and that it works for him.
The key is to find what makes you look your best, and focus on that above all else.
This isn’t about wearing a tutu or a jaunty hat.
It’s about figuring out your key strengths and maximising every opportunity to showcase them.
Grow your business based on your strengths, rather than relying on constant reinvention.
And if you do look best in a tutu – today is dress-down-Friday.
Go for it.

Somebody To Love

OK, I need to caveat this post by saying that I know I'm not perfect (in so many ways!).

But on the whole, I love people.

And I love selling.

Because the two tend to go hand-in-hand.

Being good at sales is about showing empathy, and understanding what people want and need.

Getting to grips with the issues and concerns that they’re facing.

It’s not rocket science, but then again, that’s why I’m not a rocket scientist.
When it comes to clients and colleagues,

I try to find a way of silencing the less appealing sides of my personality.

I focus my energies on caring about the other person.

You need to love the people you work with, and for.

If you moan about it, it’s not going to work, for you or them.

Love means putting the other person first.

And never having to say you’re sorry.

Under Pressure?

OK, so it’s been a tough year.
Budgets were tighter, timescales shorter, and expectations greater than ever.
But we got through it, and we’ll do the same again next year because that’s just what we do.
So it pains me when I hear complaining about the pressure of a pitch.
Pressure is trying to find a job in a depressed economy.
Pressure is raising kids as a single parent.
Pitching isn’t pressure.
It’s a reward for all the effort we put in.
It’s our time to shine, and a chance to showcase our best work.
The spotlight’s shining in our direction; we just have to step into it.
Don’t feel pressured.
Feel proud.

Money’s Too Tight To Mention

Have you seen the news lately?

The United Arab Emirates are finally finding that this global recession of ours isn’t scared off by mid-40s temperatures.

They’re struggling, the same way we were back at the end of 2008.

Now I’m not about to start piling onto their woes, but it’s telling that the region’s fiscal irresponsibility is finally catching up with it.

I’ve been fortunate enough to spend some time in the Dubai and take some fantastic briefs out there.

The projects and clients may have differed, but there was always one universal theme.

Every single meeting I had, someone, somewhere uttered the immortal words

“Money’s no object.”

But as has been shown in the last couple of weeks.

Money is always an object.

If you insist that it’s not, then you’re overlooking the commercial realities of the venture you’re about to embark upon.

It doesn’t matter how rich you think you are, you still need to think about real business objectives and ROI.

Otherwise, you’re going to run out of that ‘object’ pretty quickly.

Loving The Status Quo

On Friday I argued that incumbents need to work twice as hard to keep an account, because of how much we all hate to lose something.
But what about the people who think that the incumbent never stands a chance?
Try looking at it this way…
We are all pattern-forming beings.
We like routine, pattern, convention.
We sit in the same seat.
We park in the same space.
We order the same things from the menu.
Because change takes effort.
Evolution hurts.
That’s why we stick with the same bank even though they annoy us.
Why we stay with the same insurer even when the premiums go up.
Why we never cancel those subscriptions, even though there’s a pile of unopened magazines on the coffee table.
Clients are no different – think of how much effort it will take to onboard a new agency, get to know the new contacts, and bring everyone up to speed.
Now, you’ll have to excuse me, I’ve got 48 copies of National Geographic to get through.

Gains and Losses

Apparently, losing something makes you twice as miserable as gaining something makes you happy.

People will pay twice as much to get back something that they lost than they would pay for it in the first place.

So the next time you find that you’re an incumbent pitching to keep an account, remember that it’s going to hurt twice as much if you lose it.

Rather than giving up and assuming the worst, this means that you need to put in twice as much effort.

Who Needs Doctor Ruth?

Nobody in the world thinks they’re a poor driver.
Or a poor negotiator.
Or a bad lover.
Think about it
Someone has to be.
So who’s lying?
Or is it that we are just not aware of our own short-comings?
There have been countless studies investigating over confidence.
The results are fascinating.
No matter how often the law of averages are explained, people will always assume that they’re going to be in the top ten or twenty percent.
Now, I’m the last to encourage people to be negative – my glass in never less than half full.
But it’s important to be aware of the dynamics at work here.
Consider your limitations, as well as your strengths.
There’s nothing negative about a healthy dose of pragmatism.