Tom Asacker: Friday with Phil - ROE #51 Suck It Up

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Friday with Phil - ROE #51 Suck It Up

A friend and colleague of mine was taught by his father that these were the ten most important words in the English language: “If it is to be, it is up to me.” He had this saying pinned to the wall of his office and he used it to inspire every activity in his personal and professional life.

It’s a profoundly simple statement that gets to the core of effective marketing, rainmaking, and personal brand-building. A brand is only as strong as its caretaker, its champion, its public persona – and that’s you.

A great brand knows itself. So if you indeed want to turn yourself into a great brand – you first have to understand exactly who you are. And then make sure everyone else knows who you are as well. Keep in mind, however, that this doesn’t happen overnight. It requires commitment and a lot of hard work. Simply talking about who you are doesn’t build your brand or inspire confidence and trust. It’s demonstrating who you are that makes the difference.

A lot of it comes down to something as simple as attitude. Think about this, for example. Suppose New England Patriots quarterback, Tom Brady, stepped into a huddle where no one knew him. How long would it take for his new teammates to trust him? To believe he was a winner? Probably before he even threw his first pass. Why? Because his behavior and his presence would inspire confidence. That’s part of Brady’s personal brand. And his confidence-inspiring persona doesn’t end with first impressions. The more you work with Brady and the better you get to know him, the more confident you feel about his character and abilities. Randy Moss, the Patriots’ outstanding wide receiver, observed that, in practice, Brady “works like a quarterback who’s still trying to make the team.” That work ethic and commitment to excellence creates a charismatic package of integrity and leadership that is hard to beat or ignore.

The good news is that there’s a little bit of Tom Brady in all of us. You can inspire similar levels of confidence and loyalty by leveraging your natural talents and never letting up. There’s an old saying that one’s altitude is determined by a combination of attitude and aptitude. The critical kernel of insight is that we have to operate on all cylinders to realize our full potential. We all know geniuses who have bounced from one career to another, failing miserably at each. Similarly, there are countless “natural-born salesmen” whose overreliance on charm and talking-the-talk has gotten them nowhere. People are complex organisms. We’re multifaceted and we have to employ all those facets to achieve rainmaker-level greatness.

On a similar note, Wayne Gretzky, who was the National Hockey League version of Tom Brady, once noted that, “I missed 100% of the shots I didn’t take.” Rainmakers make things happen. That’s an essential part of their job description. Waiting around for someone else to score – or to close the deal, make a decision, take a risk, or whatever—does not inspire confidence. Leaders, by definition, have to lead. They have to make decisions—including tough decisions and unpopular decisions. They can’t procrastinate, abdicate, or second-guess. They can’t worry about making mistakes, because mistakes will indeed be made. Just as Gretzky missed far more shots than he made, rainmakers are not infallible—nor should they pretend to be. Humility is a prerequisite of greatness. Tom Brady never talks about his poise under pressure or the accuracy of his throws; instead, he praises his offensive line for protecting him and his receivers for running great routes and making great catches. Confident humility is an essential character trait of rainmakers. It can’t be faked or learned from a book. It has to be lived each and every day. That’s what Wayne Gretzky and Tom Brady do. And that’s what elite rainmakers do.

No Down Time

To the casual observer, greatness often appears effortless. In reality, however, achieving greatness requires discipline, hard work, and a tireless commitment. Sticking with the sports analogies, Michael Jordan is widely recognized as the greatest player in basketball history. He was so fluid, graceful and dominant that it had to be a natural talent. However if Jordan’s greatness were due solely to natural ability, it would be hard to explain why he was cut from his high school basketball team. The more realistic explanation for Jordan’s greatness lies in the intensity of his practice regimen. Similar to what Randy Moss said about Tom Brady, Jordan pushed himself longer and harder than his teammates. By the time Jordan was drafted out of North Carolina and joined the Chicago Bulls, he could have lessened the intensity of his workouts and still been an all-star. No one would have noticed except Jordan himself, but that simple fact was all the motivation he needed to keep pressing.

The great pianist Vladimir Horowitz once observed, “If I don’t practice for a day, I know it. If I don’t practice for two days, my wife knows it. If I don’t practice for three days, the world knows it.” As a rainmaker, you too have a special talent that sets you apart and that requires constant nurturing. If you allow that special talent to wither, it loses its differentiating power and you become another nameless face in the crowd.

The Big Q

The key to rainmaking success is to stand out and make a compelling case for your product or service. If you’ve gotten this far through the book, you’ll accomplish that by asking questions, listening, and observing. The key, and ultimately final, piece of the success puzzle is the way you answer the 500-pound gorilla-sized question that runs through the mind of every prospect whether voiced aloud or not: “Why should I do business with you?” As a rainmaker, your response must be powerful and succinct. Indeed, as a rainmaker, you need to put the question to rest before it is ever voiced and before it becomes a nagging doubt. This is where you truly have to suck it up and accept responsibility for your success or failure. In the vast majority of cases, the people who choose to work with your firm are doing so because they want to work with you. Your firm, product, or service is often tangential to the purchase decision. That may sound like a contradiction to the first sentence in this paragraph that points to the need to make a compelling case for your product and service offerings. The distinction is in the way you make that compelling case. That’s where your character shines through, where your unique voice is heard, and where the prospect sees a glimpse of the kind of long-term relationship they would enjoy by choosing to work with you. Think back to the Tom Brady analogy. Does it really matter what play Brady calls? The formation and passing routes have no impact on his ability to inspire confidence. The impact is made by the way he calls the play, the way he communicates, and the way he carries himself.

“If it is to be, it is up to me.”

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Phil Fragasso is the author of the engaging new book Marketing for Rainmakers: 52 Rules of Engagement to Attract and Retain Customers for Life, and a good friend. Phil has over 25 years of marketing experience in high-tech and financial services, and now serves as President of I-Pension LLC, an innovative investment advisory firm. Prior to his current position, Phil was chief marketing officer for Rydex Investments and Columbia Funds. His marketing career began in the computer industry working at Honeywell and Wang. Here are links to Phils' web site and to his book on Amazon.com.