Fat Whales Marketing and Relationships

Years ago when I was a “wet-behind-the-ears” business newbie – I took some wise advice and put it to use.

The advice…??

Learn!

So I bought tapes by Zig Ziglar, Tom Hopkins and Brian Tracy.

A few of those were “sales-training” tapes.

I learned a lot. I still “use” what I learned. And I’m still learning.

One of the principles I remember was…

amy Whale, breaching, Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Fish for Whales – Not Minnows!”

What that means – is aim for the big fish. Go for the big deals.

Good advice.

And you can certainly “target market” whales if you are willing to be persistent.

And yes – you should be persistent in your marketing and reach out to who you want to do business with.

But – it some cases – you really can NOT know WHO is a “WHALE.” So what you have to do at first is treat everyone with the respect.

Some examples and some “gripes” to prove my point.

Disclaimer: We all have short-comings. We all can improve our service.

One thing that really irritates the crap out of me is when someone does not return an email. Now – I am not looking for a zap-fast response. I understand. I am busy too. I have priorities and sometimes I just can not get to an email when I want.

There are times when I ignore emails when I know I’ll be seeing the person soon or be talking with them via phone in the next week or so. In these cases – I tie up the lose ends when we speak. Other times – a response is not needed for efficiency purposes.

BUT – most of the time a reply is required.

Example…

I am (was) a customer of someone who is in the “brand-building business” who also sells some “marketing related products.” Granted, I have just made a couple of purchases from this person over the years. I’m no whale!. I sent an email with a question about getting some more of a particular item. No response. Hmm – nice brand!

If I am indeed a “minnow” to these folks – they should tell me. I won’t be upset. I’ll respect their directness.

But – don’t be surprised or pity my situation. Here’s why… (and where you can have a competitive advantage)

Did you know 36% of in-bound leads to a small business go UN-answered for up to two weeks? Yep!

Back to the Fat Whales…

See – you don’t know who is a whale so you really have to be sharp when dealing with people.

No assumptions!

But you can post-judge.

Your business life is too hectic. You have to choose NOT to pursue certain relationships. The good news is – if someone is a minnow to you – they might be a whale to someone else. Let them go be their whale. Free Willy!

I listen carefully to what people say in business situations. It’s the easiest way for me to determine where to put them. It will work for you too.

Yes! Look for the whales. Return emails and phone calls. A few will slip through the cracks on occasion – after-all – we’re just mammals.