You’re in a meeting. The CEO asks the CFO what he thinks about something. The CFO tells the CEO what he thinks, and the CEO nods. He accepts the CFO’s answer.
The CEO then asks the head of product development about something, and the same thing happens. Acceptance. Respect.
Then, the CEO asks you something. You answer. The CEO starts questioning you, listens half-heartedly to your answer, then turns to others in the room and asks their opinion – about a marketing issue!
Why does this happen? Why don’t you just “get the nod?”
Because you are making a fundamental mistake. You are basing your advice – and staking your reputation – on what you know about marketing, rather than how well you know your customer.
Who is your customer? How did that customer find you, and why did he buy from you? What does that customer tell others about you? Even more important, what does the customer wish your company would do for him? That knowledge is your only true source of power. You may think you know these things, but in my experience, you’re probably missing the mark. Everyone else does.
I’m going to teach you how to change this “no nod” dynamic for good, in my keynotes at the B2B Summit in Boston and San Francisco. I’m going to teach you how to get the information you need from customers, present it to management so they “get it,” and make the kinds of decisions – strategic and tactical – that will not only give you the nod, but give you the kinds of results that every marketer wishes they could deliver.
But before I put these presentations together, I am going to “eat my own dog food” as we used to say in Silicon Valley. I practice what I preach.
I want to interview you
If you’re coming to a B2B Summit, I want to talk to you to make sure that what I present will address your very specific concerns, and will give you practical, take-it-back-to-the-office-and-make-it-work advice.
As I interview you, you will have the chance to experience a proven, customer-intelligence-gathering interviewing process first-hand, as the customer. This will help you when you start to put those new, “get the nod” practices into action in your own company – and in your career.
I will only need to talk to about ten of you, so if you want to be part of this process, let MarketingSherpa know now. I only need your name and email address; I’ll contact you to set up a phone appointment.
Thanks, and I am looking forward to our conversation.
Related Resources
Marketing Career: How to become an indispensable asset to your company (even in a bad economy)
The Indefensible Blog Post: Forget Charlie Sheen, here are 5 marketing lessons from marketers
The Data Vs Creativity Debate: Is successful marketing driven by analytics or art?
Guided by Buyers: Four tactics to create a customer-centric sales and marketing strategy (Members-Only Library)
