Greg's Right FIT #536 – This week: Strangers, Events, Phone calls

Quick notes to help you find new business in less time with less effort. . . sometime next week.

In this issue: 

• Thoughts on Thoughts that may or may not be relevant anymore
• Being Human
• Random Stuff
• Back In The Day

Thoughts on Thoughts that may or may not be relevant anymore

• Talk to strangers. If you have trouble initiating conversations, wear a brightly colored shirt and smile. It does the trick. (still works - golfers love bright shirts)
• Every Friday, before checking out for the weekend, have your people make their personal Monday morning to-do lists. Like the first technique above, writing a task done makes is super easy to get a jump on the week before it's derailed. (doesn't work as well, everyone seems to be working through the weekend)
• When the person you're calling picks up the phone, assume you are interrupting them. There's a good chance they were thinking about something or someone that wasn't you, right before picking up the phone. Start at the beginning. (doesn't work because people don't answer, more on this later)
• If you need someone to talk to, commiserate with, listen without judgement, give me a call. (still works, but you might need to leave a message first if you're not in my address book)

Being Human – Being human

"Your schedule makes you dumber." – Ari Emmanuel

I watched an interview with super agent Ari Emmanuel. If you ever watched the HBO show, "Entourage," Jeremy Piven modeled his character on Ari. High energy guy who loves making deals.

In this interview, Ari is explaining why his new company is buying events, like the fine art fair, Frieze, and sporting events like tennis tournaments. His insight? As we move further online, for entertainment to stand out, it has to be unique. He feels like sporting events, festivals, and art fairs are going to bring a premium from ticket buyers because they are in-person. Nothing is more unique than an in-person event, he said.

The Masters golf tournament has been doing this for a while. They mandate that patrons bring no phones or electronic devices. They tell you this maybe one hundred times before you get there. And they mean it. They booted a former champion for violating the policy yesterday.

It's one way to make your event unique. I'm not sure if we'll see more of this, like Ari Emmanuel says, but it seems to work. You're forced to be in the moment and it makes the event that much better.

Random Stuff

Yesterday I got to experience The Masters, Day 1.

If you're not familiar with The Masters, it's a golf tournament with a unique approach to hosting an event. They call their visitors Patrons, have a strict code of conduct, don't allow phones/devices, and despite these restrictions (or maybe because of them) for golf fans, it's a bucket list event.

To not allow phones today makes this event kind of a social experiment. Strangers look each other in the eye, strike up random conversations, and force everyone to rely on stories instead of pictures. With no phones, how are you supposed to prove you were there? To help, Augusta National has banks of phones. Old school landline wall phones. Calls are free and people line up to ring family and friends. The caller ID is supposed to say "Augusta" and people in the know consider it an honor to get a call.

For years, I've said we should all have at least one Mexican Jail friend. I put it in my book, The Sales Momentum Mindset, and described it this way:

It’s a powerful thing to know you have what my friends call “a Mexican jail buddy.” Someone you can call no matter what, no matter where you are in the world, and they’ll help you solve a problem. Like, say, hypothetically being detained in a Mexican jail for some regrettable reason.

As we drive to the course, I think, "If I see the phones, I'm calling some friends and family from the golf course." The problem is, I don't have numbers memorized anymore. I scramble to make a list writing down numbers before I get to the course. I stuff the paper into my pocket and when the afternoon comes, I see a bank of phones. Bingo! I pull out my now sweaty piece of paper, try to read the the phone numbers, and start dialing.

I hear voicemails. I get robots telling me, "User doesn't accept calls from unknown numbers," or "Identify yourself, why you're calling, and I'll see if I can find them."

13 numbers copied down. A dozen mis-dials. (remember those? trying to hang up to start dialing again only for the call to still be connected?)

One person reached. One for 13.

Talking to others at the phone bank, they are experiencing the same thing. I guess no one picks up the phone for strange numbers anymore. I tell one woman about my Mexican Jail friend idea and we come to the conclusion that it needs revising.

Getting in touch with this special person is going to be harder than it used to be.

Back in the Day

What I was thinking about last year, five years ago, and ten years ago.

• Last Year: Right FIT #484 – Thinking about networking. The Masters even brings this idea around again. It's nice to get out and visit with strangers.
• Five Years Ago: Right FIT #275 – I don't remember if this is my first use of the photo of Hemmingway shirtless with a shotgun, but it wasn't my last! Still cracks me up.
• Ten Years Ago: Right FIT #13 – A trick I use to this day: smiling at myself in the mirror. Sometimes life tries to bring you down. Grinning and bearing it is one of many tactics, and this version works well.