Today’s reminder stems from a conversation I had this past weekend with my college fraternity brother, during a socially distanced stay at his lake house in upstate New York.
He began sharing with me an ongoing situation he has been having with his neighbor ever since he moved in. I won’t bore you with the specifics but, suffice it to say, his neighbor sounds like somebody I might classify as a “slug.” For those of you who take umbrage with my selection of words from time to time, I will say for you that he appeared to be a “less-than-squared-away” human being.
As my long-time friend continued to share his ongoing saga, he became more agitated and definitely more animated. When it was my turn to chime in, I simply said, “I think it is clear. You are playing to the wrong audience.”
This is a lesson far too many sales professionals learn too late in their careers. Their competitive nature introduces them to people who they have no business working with, and they try to talk them into a sale. In a number of cases, they are playing to the wrong audience.
You want to spend your energy, and exercise your creativity, with people who are interested in what you are offering; with those who appreciate what you do and what you can do for them. And I am betting you know a lot of this type of individual. Anybody less will soon prove to be an exercise of futility.
Back to the lake house. Let this neighbor guy fumble his way through life, taking shortcuts, using insulting language and believing his childish antics are funny.
I remember my last words in closing this particular topic of conversation were: “Move on. You can’t fix ‘stupid.’”
Translation: Don’t play to the wrong audience.
Mike Marchev is always looking for a few more proactive travel professionals to join his Sales and Marketing Club. Send for details.
mike@mikemarchev.com.
