If you have an idea or a thought that’s worth share, believe it, people have already heard it. Even if you think you’re a special snowflake or you have unique talents nobody else in the company has or you’re selling a world-class product that’ll save your prospect millions of dollars!
If that’s too difficult to swallow, you have your free will (and my permission) to close the tab and get on with your life.
If you’re still reading, great! Appreciate you looking beyond those walls (your beliefs). Because what comes next is very important although you may have already heard it.
- Every business developer/employee/start-up founder has a valuable idea that needs to be presented to the right audience. The ones who get it or at least have the curiosity and the patience to truly understand where you’re coming from. So, the first step for you will be to know your audience and work backward.
- That start-up founder/employee (looking for a raise)/salesperson said the same things as you are probably pitching in right now. But how would you know if that’s true? Simple — if you have competition, they’ve probably figured this out before you. It’s a golden rule to follow and abide by. If you want to survive, that is. Embracing this would allow you to actually think outside the box.
- Plagiarizing marketing ideas or strategies don’t really work. The big players catch up real quick and will leave you hanging dry. The platforms are getting cleverer and greedier by the day. So, stick with a simple plan. Some of the established companies still get high-ticket work purely by referrals. (Perhaps even some of the Fortune 500 companies.)
- Know that you need to earn the right (or should have built enough credibility) before your ideas will be accepted. The start-up founder should have enough data to prove that his idea works. The sales professional should ask credible questions that would position him as an expert. Employees should’ve proven themselves over time to ask for a raise or negotiate an increase while switching jobs.
I think one of our biggest challenges is that we assume way too much. The antidote is to change your script and flip it. How? By taking an approach that is audience-centered than self-serving. This is particularly true if money will exchange hands.