Hokey or Brokey?
January 4th, 2010 | 
Author: Recently I was talking with a sales person who was admittedly struggling. He blamed a lot of things on the economy and complained that his company wasn’t doing anything to give him an edge. In sales, there really are no excuses; however, I tried to give him some direction. I suggested some ideas on how to stand out, including doing some writing (articles, blogs, etc). He told me that he felt all of that extra stuff was really “hokey” and proceeded to tell me how valuable his free time was. I immediately asked him if he’d rather be hokey or brokey? 
If you’re in sales or some type of client servicing role and you’re afraid to do something to stand out, then you’re selling yourself short. I know someone who makes homemade greeting cards out of scrap paper, old envelopes and various other oddities. He puts stickers (the kind kids might play with), stamps and whatever else he can find. Though these one-of-a-kinds may not appeal to everyone, they stand out as different. It’s creative, it requires a personal touch and it is going an extra mile, when many do not. Ok, some might call the effort hokey, but I guarantee his cards get read and remembered. What are you doing to be seen as different? How about sending gourmet hot chocolate to your favorite client during the cold winter months? Or maybe ice cream when it’s 100 degrees outside? Or how about making something personal? I recently received a wonderful handmade quilt to celebrate the birth of my son. Do you think that person stood out? If you stand out, you create value in the eyes of your clients.
In reality, it’s not that hard to be unique. You simply have to care enough to want to be different from your competitors. It requires some time and energy to go the extra mile, but if you want to be successful, you should be dedicated enough to go for it. If you want more loyalty from clients, and, if you care about the strength of your personal brand, it’s worth the effort. In fact, I think it should be demanded from anyone in a sales role. After all, sales people are paid commission for ‘earning’ their clients’ business. If you receive a bonus or commission and are treating your job like it’s a 9-5 role, then you’re missing the point. Not receiving any special compensation? Go for it anyway. Your efforts will benefit you in the long run.
If you can be different and stop worrying about being seen as “hokey”, you’ll never have to worry about being “brokey”. Go make a difference!
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11 Responses to “Hokey or Brokey?”
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Well said . . .
If you stand out, you create value in the eyes of your clients.
In reality, it’s not that hard to be unique. You simply have to care enough to want to be different from your competitors. It requires some time and energy to go the extra mile, but if you want to be successful, you should be dedicated enough to go for it.
Thank you Jay. I know you go the extra mile, which has brought you some great success. Others should follow that lead.
I agree, with the way business is there’s always the flood of people or companies that put out a minor effort and yet expect maximized payoff. When crunches occur in the market place a good portion of them get cast off.
This is what I like to call “Lotto enthusiasm”; granted there is nothing wrong with that at times, but if you really want that corner office or that big contract you can’t just half-pass yourself. This isn’t the lottery where you can just put in a minor effort and expect a big payoff because that doesn’t occur so much in reality.
Be bold, be daring, dare to be stupid if need be, but go out and attempt something you probably would have shrugged off in the first thought of it.
Tom – any examples of how you’ve gone that extra mile in your career?
Yes in fact I’m reminded of a 21 hour long programming session while I was moving during the winter.
This one project was using an older version of code I knew no one would remember well enough if there was another version of this next year.
So I decided to recode the whole thing from scratch, staying later than usual in order to get the project done.
Instead of just copying the older code and trying to make the client’s wishes happen with something no one else could maintain in the future I decided to go that extra mile for everyone and fix it before any trouble occurred.
I was thanked and rewarded by my peers and supervisors and the client loved the service even though they didn’t reopen the project the next year.
Outstanding example Tom. It’s about doing the right thing and not the easy thing. Thanks for sharing!
Very interesting … being in sales for over 15 years I must chime in on this one. I have to admit writing articles, responding to blogs, etc is a great idea, but it can’t to stop there. As you said, you have to go that extra mile and that may sound hokey, but that is really what it’s about. It boils down to becoming friends or friendly with your client. Did you just read an interesting article. I bet your clients would like it also, but don’t over burden them with loads of articles you have to send just the right amount. Most importantly, you have to be there for them all the time and I do mean all the time. If a client calls to get a bid and you do not offer that service don’t just say sorry. Go out and do some research for your client, and respond or follow-up with a solution in a timely manner. If you send your answer a week from now they may no longer need it and now you have wasted your time. You may not benefit from this right away, but they will remember this when another need arises or better yet when they are asked by a colleague for a referral your name is on the top of their list.
It may be hokey to do some of these things, but with everything combined it all pays off in the end.
Lastly, Baltimore Research is one company I know that understands its’ clients and makes themselves stand out by sending those fantastic cards for just about every holiday imaginable. It’s the little things that makes clients stand-up and take notice.
Great response Tracy. Thanks for the feedback. Also, I couldn’t agree more about Baltimore Research. They really do understand.
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