Tag: communication

On a pedestal

FabrizioLeave a comment

Putting somebody on a pedestal is a bad thing for you and for them.

For you, because you are taking distance from an ideal that you should, instead, make your own. You say things like: I’ll never be like you; You are much better than I am; I could never do that. And by saying it, you both set a lower bar for yourself and build a perfect excuse for your next failure.

For them, because you are holding them to an unrealistic standard. It might be that they have found some specific ways to manage the situation, but for sure they battle with the same demons, have the same uncertainty, feel the same fear of failure as you do. They need to be able to express all that, instead of hiding it to adhere to the idea you might have.

Something to let go

FabrizioLeave a comment

At some point, you have to let go.

Not of things, but of your attitude towards things. Most of what happens is made worst by what we think about it, what we feel about it, what we say about it – to ourselves and to others. That’s what we need to get rid of, the part we have to let go.

Do it sooner rather than later, and you can start the process of change.

Whether you win or you lose

FabrizioLeave a comment

Whether you win or you lose, you need to be able to do two things.

First, appreciate your performance – which means giving an appropriate value to your role. Because whether you win or you lose this time, the outcome of the next challenge will be based on how well you understand what went well and what did not go as well.

Second, extend a hand to your opponent – no matter if it’s a person or a situation. Because whether you win or you lose this time, you ought to be able to recognize that some things are out of your control and deserve your unconditional respect.

Your own thing

FabrizioLeave a comment

It is no longer enough to be able to do your own thing.

Writing a blog post, setting up a campaign, giving an inspirational presentation, writing sequences that sell, hosting an insightful podcast. 99% of us can no longer thrive off of only mastering one of those things.

The two things we need to add to the picture are:

  1. Doing your own thing at scale – e.g., coordinating the writing and distribution of 100 blog post in one year.
  2. Doing your own thing in a way that serves other people that work with you – e.g., coordinating the writing and distribution of a series of blog posts that present the product uniquely and faithfully, while at the same time increases the win rate of prospects in a customer segment.

Art is for the 1%.

For the rest of us, it’s business.

A different metric

FabrizioLeave a comment

When you measure leads, all you are going to get is leads.

And there might be some very good reasons why you measure leads. You might know that a given amount of leads will translate into a given amount of deals. You might know that one lead has a monetary value attached to it. You might know that people feel motivated in trying to get more leads. You might have evidence and proof of these and many other things. But when you measure leads, all you are going to get is leads.

So, what happens when the team that sits in the other room, the team that gets leads as an input and needs to transform that into deals, cannot complete that transformation reliably and consistently?

Well, of course they are going to say that the leads are not good, that they are not quality leads.

And that’s exactly how the relationship between marketing, sales development, sales, and sometimes customer success, works in most B2B companies. There’s always somebody, further down the funnel, that complains because the quality of what they get is not good enough.

Because when you measure leads, all you are going to get is leads.

Quality needs a different metric.