And you are?.... And you're with?

In today’s fast paced marketplace we get bombarded by so many messages it’s sometimes hard to see through all the minutia. But it strikes me as funny that as many of those messages we encounter, we still manage to remember the select few that catches our attention. Most are different because we learn differently, but there are a few that stand out we can all identify with.

In my experience both as a professional and personal, it’s the little things about yourself that can stand out as being memorable. I believed marketing was merely the back end of sales. I approached selling and marketing about the same, going through all the motions to make sure any prospect or customer had all the detailed facts about what I was peddling and about my company. I thought I was doing all the right things. Some of it paid off, and then I hit the wall of frustration. Why wouldn’t they want to buy what I was selling? It was the next best and greatest must have! What I didn’t realize is that I drank so much of my own Kool-aid, I forgot the most important part of what sales was all about. The true power of marketing. It wasn’t about how pretty I could paint the product, or how solid the company I represented was… It was about the personal relationship I didn’t establish to lead them to believe in WHO was doing the selling! ME! That realization came early in my career when I was giving my elevator speech to the VP of Marketing for a very large Cable and Television corporation, actually in an elevator. He stops me mid blah, blah, blah and said… “And you are?... And you’re with?” Needless to say, I was floored! I had spoken to him several times on the phone, exchanged emails with him, and yet he had the audacity to ask who I was? He subsequently gave me a good piece of advice, of which I live by today. If they don’t know who YOU are, how can they expect to do business with your company? What that means, is if you don’t establish a one2one relationship with your customer or prospect, how can they possibly believe the ‘next big thing’ will be of any benefit to them? I learned two things that day. Most prospects are like you and me, they are concerned with 1)What’s in it for me? and 2) Make me feel good about myself.

From then on, I spent most of my time establishing a one2one relationship before I moved into any discussion about my ‘next best thing’. It’s no different in today’s marketplace. If we are to cut through the clutter and be noticed, then we have to do something different to make that happen. It’s about being personal and your message has to be as well. There are a whole new set of tools to help make that happen. We at one2one Marketing, powered by JD Young, have discovered, in order to be one of the few messages remembered, we must be willing to do things just a bit different than what traditional marketing dictates, as well as bring the best of our personality to each customers doorstep. This will allow them to do the same. What’s in it for you? A brand new paradigm built not only on the power of cross media marketing, but a bit of personalization that directly targets your customers and potentials. Put us to the test! And welcome to one2one by JD Young!

Now let’s go get personal!