Greg's Right FIT Newsletter #109

Techniques for FIT

• When it comes to business development, don't be so hard on yourself. Smart, thoughful people can poke holes in any idea. Don't be the one to shoot ideas down, let your prospects hear you out. 

• Take action, but be patient with results. Developing new clients relies on any number of events and decisions taking place. Believe in action, but tie it to patience.

• Most professional services people I know are rewarded for completeness and accuracy. In sales and marketing, on the other hand, perfect is the enemy of good enough, so go with what you got. 

• Embrace some randomness in your life and take a few chances next week. Increase the power of serendipity in your world. Take a look around a start a new conversation next week. Then be patient.   

Being Human - Who are you talking to?

“No rule without exception.”  Latin proverb

Last year I read the book, A Framework for Understanding Poverty by Ruby Payne, and this week her lessons came to mind while reviewing a re-branding effort. The agency nailed our client's personal social cues for what they want to communicate, but the services they sell are targeted to a lower income group.

That led me to pulling out some of Mrs. Payne's charts. Specifically the ones that describe the hidden rules among classes. Those unspoken cues, beliefs, and habits of a group. 

I've mentioned some of my favorite contrasts in the past, and they help illustrate where we were falling short. 

• Food: Poverty focuses on quantity; Middle class focuses on quality; Wealth focuses on presentation. 
• Time: Poverty focuses on the present; Middle class focuses on the future; Wealth focuses on traditions and history. 
• Family Structure: Poverty tends to be matriarchal; Middle class tends to be patriarchal; Wealth tends to follow which side the money comes from. 
• Social Emphasis: Poverty grants you social inclusion if you're well-liked; Middle class emphasizes self-governance and self-reliance; Wealth emphasizes social exclusion.

We used the example of Ralph Lauren to illustrate the point. Ralph Lifschitz, from the Bronx, rises from working as a clerk at Brooks Brothers to selling an aspirational lifestyle. Polo, Manhattan, Beverly Hills – he tapped into the hidden rules of wealth. The client and the agency are considering these and other items as they create new campaigns targeting the client's particular social class. It's powerful stuff.

If you're not communicating the unspoken cues, beliefs and habits of the group you're trying to get in front of, you're not effective. 

Know your prospect's hidden rules. 

Random Stuff

"Oprah dramatizes everything."

My daughter sent me a link to this article with a one word description, "Incredible." 

"Quincy Jones Has a Story About That."

This weekend, take some time and read it. LLQJ tells some stories. Sinatra, Prince, MJ, Picasso, Brando. . . 

Incredible. 

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