“Work Every Day Like Someon’s Trying to Take Your Spot.”

-Brian “Ludacris” Bridges

Now, I heard this quote most recently from Ludacris, but I’m pretty sure it’s an amalgam of similar quotes that have seeped into his consciousness over the years.
It’s a sentiment usually attributed to sports teams… In any organized sports, from junior high and high school, up through college and into the pros, there are multiple players at each position. And players are designated as starters, back ups or second string, third string, four string and so on down the line.
In some cases, a starter is injured and their backup replaces them. But the backup plays so well, they wind up permanently replacing the starter. In other cases, the coach doesn’t know who’s the best player, so the players essentially compete for the starting spot. And sometimes a new player joins a team, and manages to out-hustle the starter at his or position, and wins the starting spot.

What Does This Have to do With Marketing? (There’s that question again!)

In your particular industry, you, and your competitors are essentially players on the bench. Where you’re all waiting for the coach (a prospective client) to call your number and send you into the game.
And when they do, that’s your chance to SHINE.
Unfortunately, far too many businesses fail to take full advantage of this opportunity. They drift into complacency. They settle into an approach that seems to work and, falsely, assume their starting spot is secure. Meanwhile, countless competitors are circling, like sharks, working HARD to try and nab your spot.

Some common failings include…

== > Not working as hard to capture new leads
== > Not working as hard to nurture incoming leads + prospects
== > Not spending enough time connecting with existing clients
== > Not working as hard to services existing clients, assuming their business is “in the bag”
In short, allowing a complacent attitude to open the door for some hard-working upstart to step through and win your spot.

Quick Case Study

Now, I’ve told this story before. But it’s suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuch a potent illustration of short-sighted complacency, it bears repeating.
Years ago, I worked exclusively in the residential real estate marketing. And during the early aughts real estate boom, my employers business was ON FIRE. It was positively coming out of our ears.
We had so much product, we spent all our time marketing our wares, and completely neglected marketing our services…
== > No brand building
== > Little effort spent nurturing leads
== > Zero attention paid to keeping in touch with former buyers + sellers clients
Then one day, one of Realtors I worked for noticed a very expensive condo in Brentwood had just sold. He took note because he represented the buyer when they originally purchased the condo.
Wondering why they didn’t reach out to him when it came to selling, he reached out the client. Come to find out, not only were they selling their condo, but they’d purchased and even more expensive (much more, in fact) single family home. That was two very tidy commissions seemingly within his reach, gone. Poof. Disappeared into thin air.
And the reason they didn’t contact my boss when they were ready to upgrade? “We didn’t even know you were still in the business. Look, we haven’t heard from you since we bought the condo…” was their deeply distressing answer.
Of course that stung. But it didn’t alter our course. We continued to focus on hawking our considerable inventory, and kept right ignoring everything else.
Fast forward five years (after I’d departed the operation), to the real estate market collapse amid the great recession of 2008-2012. A collapse that consumed their business. Largely because they hadn’t lifted a finger to build their brand, nurture leads, or stay in touch with prior clients.

The Lesson

Someone is ALWAYS hunting for your spot. And they’re willing to work harder, for less (in the beginning, anyway), and make the extra effort you’re overlooking or assume you’ve risen above.

Your Mission (Should You Choose to Accept It)

Do one thing to either nurture a prospect lead or stay in touch with an existing client every day for the next week. As with last week’s post about getting out of your comfort zone, the goal here is to make this an ongoing daily habit.
And when the first weeks up, swing by my Google+ page and share your results. I loved to hear how it all worked out!