Get the Drift

The mug you see is none other than one of the smartest guys in the business, Doug Weaver. I refer to him as the seller's seller and he calls me the Human Brand.

He truly understand the sales-side of the equation and as a former buyer, I tend to learn a lot from him. He publishes a newsletter called "the Drift" and if you don't subscribe, you should....

In the 11.2 issue/volume titled, "The Transformers," Doug talks about the tyranny of incrementalism and provides a 5 point plan towards total transformation (the sellers' guide to total communication)

In turn, I'm going to offer my buy-side yin to his sell-side yang:

Triage.  You’re much better off trying to do a LOT more for a FEW customers than you are in trying to do a little more for everyone.

Doug's basically saying (or at least I am) that money talks and bullshit walks. That's ok....as a former agency media director with more talk than budget, I wasn't exactly a money client...but then again I did have a pretty sexy client that everyone wanted to work with and I (meaning the agency) could (and did) make them famous with pretty unique campaigns. Triage is critical, but don't miss out on the strategic investmentn i.e. sometimes it's a good thing to look beyond the money.

Call Up.   ...constantly push and lead your team into stronger relationships with clients and with the “strategic translators” in the highest levels at ad agencies. 

Triage asks, "do you have budget or not?" and Call Up says, "are you capable of making a decision...or not?" Too many buyers are one without the other...or neither. All of this situations are pretty worthless.

Don’t Serve, Solve.  ...ask the question:  “What’s the business problem we’re helping them solve?”  Put yourself in the strategy business...

I differ a little bit on this one with Doug. Where the sellers are themselves decision makers and high up enough on their own food chains, I would say, "bring it on." To the rest I would say, "keep your eyes on the prize"...and make sure you remember that strategy is my job. I need you to deliver the inventory I'm looking for at the best possible price, not try and solve G.M.'s product issues...

Huddle.  If your sales team is filled with cowboys, it’s time to start turning them into posses. 

I love this one...it's kind of revenge against all those agencies who gang up against their clients (and vendors) Seriously, a team of big ideas sellers capable of brainstorming at warp speed sounds awesome. So does going to Scotland to find the Loch Ness Monster...

Supersize. Transformational sales organizations always ask “How could we make this even better?...

Incrementalism is the great enemy. We are all pioneers in this space and the second we stop pushing back the goalposts, raising the bar, breaking the rules and thinking out the box, the moment we become marginalized. But don't forget to answer the questions in the RFP first...

jJ