Marketing Intelligence: If You Could Learn Just One Thing, What Would It Be?
Mentally, I carry around with me “one burning question” that I’d like to ask certain well known people, on the theory that:
(1) I’ll run into them, sooner or later; and (2) They’ll indulge me for about thirty seconds to a minute to reply to my inquiry.
For example, I always wanted to know how author Ray Bradbury felt about the film that was made from his book, “Fahrenheit 451,” and sure enough, one evening in Beverly Hills, when were standing at a corner, I asked him.
“It brought me to tears,” he replied.
Mrs. March used to own El Coyote Café, a quirky and fun Mexican cantina in Hollywood, which serves killer margaritas.
One day, expecting only a polite smile in return, I asked her for the recipe, and she came back with it, written on a napkin for me. And she smiled, too!
Hey: If you don’t ask, you don’t get; right?
And this brings me to my point.
When you think about your competitors, or about any business or person that could give you vital intelligence, try to boil down what you feel you need to one essential question.
For example, a former client called me and asked one question: “Gary, do you think what I’m marketing now can be sold by phone?”
He wasn’t concerned about the mechanics; only my judgment as to the feasibility, and I was the best person in the country to ask.
Boiling everything down to an essential question serves several purposes:
(1) Because it’s only one query, you’re more likely to elicit an answer;
(2) You’ve done a lot of the heavy lifting, intellectually, by narrowing the topic; and
(3) Because of the simplicity of the question, you’re more likely to elicit admiration and be seen as less of a threat.
So, try this, and you’ll get better information, faster, and you’ll also clarify your own thinking and aim.
Dr. Gary S. Goodman is the best-selling author of 12 books, over 600 articles, and the creator of numerous audio and video training programs, including "The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable," published by Nightingale-Conant-a favorite among salespeople and entrepreneurs. For information about booking Gary to speak at your next sales, customer service or management meeting, conference or convention, please address your inquiry to: gary@customersatisfaction.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dr._Gary_S._Goodman |
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