Seth's Blog : Short order cooks rarely make change happen



Short order cooks rarely make change happen

How far in the future does your agenda extend?

One way to tell: of the things you worked on last week, how many were due last week?

The marketplace has always tempted us with short-term cycles (they require less trust) and the internet amplifies this temptation to buy fast, sell fast, work fast, measure fast, move on. 

But the work that leads to change is rarely written on an order slip or an RFP. Selling to the next buyer is easier than changing the culture, but easier isn't always the point.

       

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More Recent Articles

• The train is coming
• Hacking reciprocity
• "I agree in principle..."
• The fundamental mismatch error
• When will you get to Ramsgate?

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Seth's Blog : The train is coming



The train is coming

It's fun to believe that people buy the goods and services we make merely because they are excited, delighted and eager to engage.

But often, particularly in b2b selling, the call to action is very different. "Get off the tracks! The train is coming..." combined with the rumble, the smoke and the visuals of the train arriving. That's what causes action.

Action means change and change means fear, so of course we shouldn't be surprised that people (and organizations) are often as motivated by the fear of loss as they are by the desire for gain.

       

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More Recent Articles

• Hacking reciprocity
• "I agree in principle..."
• The fundamental mismatch error
• When will you get to Ramsgate?
• What are you competing on?

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Seth's Blog : Hacking reciprocity



Hacking reciprocity

We're wired to return the favor. When someone opens a door for us, our instinct is to hold the next door for them.

This generous response has led some marketers to aggressively take advantage. They do a favor for someone and then reap the benefits when the favor is returned. All under the guise of, "I'm helping other people."

"Helping other people" is not what they're doing.

What they're doing is hacking reciprocity as a tool to help them get what they want. They're trading favors.

Some people have had success with this, but please don't denigrate the very human activity of actually helping others by conflating it with trading favors.

If you want to help other people, go help them. Without regard for credit or for what you get in return.

       

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More Recent Articles

• "I agree in principle..."
• The fundamental mismatch error
• When will you get to Ramsgate?
• What are you competing on?
• Coercion

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