It is rare to find someone thinking. Sure, there are plenty of people who can react. That is the norm.
Instead of depending on charisma and last minute work, what if you thought through a true selling process? What if you thought about what the ultimate buying experience could look like?
Perhaps, the lack of creativity (or work) comes from low standards. When you are a buyer, what do you dream the experience could be? When you dine, do you hope for more than mediocrity, or do you simply want your food and pay the bill?
Competition is fierce. The buyer is in control. He sees you as an option among many. To rise above the noise, blow away the buyer’s expectations. Be remarkable. Be memorable. This takes work and thinking. It means you put on your engineer hat and stop being a salesperson. Design the experience from when they first hear about your brand and their next touchpoint to when they first meet with you. If it is not designed, then you are leaving buying up to randomness and inattention. You are waiting for the crisis instead of creating the conditions for buying. Some of this is accomplished by you as an actor. Much more of it today is executed by a marketing system. You don’t get the privilege of being with the buyer that early in the process any more.
The best investment you can make is to ensure your buyer has the best predictable experience early. Then you will be creating a system where the very thing you seek – revenue – will happen predictably. In the new economy, it’s not much of a choice any more. The other option is extinction.
