Being Different People For Fun And Profit

So there was an article in my social feed this week of how B2B leads are much further along in the sales funnel than people generally think. (Hat tip, Demandbase.) Sot when they reach a company to signal interest, the last thing that a sales pro should do is treat them like someone who needs to be sold. Instead, the theory goes, sales needs to think and act more like marketers, and look to solve problems, rather than just close.

My reaction to that was that it, well, seems fairly insulting to sales. In my experience, the best sales guys that I've ever worked with were always about solving problems, rather than just pushing a prospect over the line. That way may help you make a short term goal, but it dooms companies and destroys networks in the long term, because you become known for not taking care of your people. You also fill your funnel with clients that aren't going to be happy.

But more than that, it struck me how the approach that was suggested... is more along the lines of doing business as a creative, even more so than a marketer. Becoming a different person, to some extent, is just the right way to start a creative, especially when you are running a shop that handles a high amount of throughput.

Demographically, we knew who we are reaching in various consumer categories, so changing the pitch to suit -- with varying font and color choices, with language that suited the profile, with selling points that were either emphasized or disregarded -- is just good business. Combine this with moments of charity, otherwise known as never crafting work that is patronizing, but always sympathetic to the lead and their needs, and you can do work that has heart, rather than just technique.

This is, on some level, why clients hire you; because when you just have to work on your own account, you tend to make ads that appeal to the shareholders, rather than the target. It's also why diversity in your team isn't just a winning moment for your HR numbers or company photo, but also something that helps you make better work.

On some level, this aspect of the gig has always seemed to me to have aspects of being a defense attorney, or being able to argue both sides of a case in a mock trial exercise in pre-law or political science courses. (Full disclosure: my second major at college.) It's not a case of being showy and schizophrenic, or clumsily role-playing a different consumer class. Instead, it's trying to understand what's important to the pitched profile and why, then tailoring the work to that person.

It's an exercise in hearing the other side, in valuing the experience and needs of others as if they were your own, and it becomes something that informs and approves your whole life. As a parent, I am more effective if I can understand why my children act the way they do, and come at that from a better starting point. Same goes as a spouse, or to other members of my teams at work, or our clients. No one is acting in bad faith; all have some degree of validity to their point, and need to be accommodated or coached up. Hell, it even makes me better as a friend, since this means I can have people who don't agree with me, at all, politically.

When I am effective, it's because I've remembered that I don't have all the answers, but I can listen and learn and research to get them. And when I don't remember that, because that's part of being human as well... well, I can get back to the more open mindset quickly. It's habit. A really good one, actually.

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