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Tuesday, November 22, 2022

Cutting Edge #Comedy is Offensive - So Is Cutting Edge #Selling

Arrested for comedy.

Good comedy is cutting-edge and offensive.
Good selling is cutting-edge and offensive.

Lenny Bruce. 

Bruce was a trailblazer for free speech in comedy, as he was arrested several times over the years for obscene language. Bruce was arrested in San Francisco in 1961, arrested again in Chicago the next year for the same reason, deported from the UK the next year, and arrested twice in New York the year after that.

Evolution is difficult and painful. Like comedians, the best professional sellers are not afraid of nudging an audience or leading prospects through uncomfortable conversations and situations.

Sometimes, the prose is grating.  Sometimes the words go right over their heads and sometimes, these messengers, these strange people who make us look deep inside, make us laugh, and help us change.

Sometimes, the crazy ones end up shunned, canceled, ridiculed, or in jail.  Sometimes, they get their head on a platter.

"...bold ambitions to disrupt the office printing market..."

The last time I heard the above statement was during the great managed print services revolt of 08 - those were the days my friend, we thought they'd never end. Now is one of those times in history when you can make a big difference in other people's lives.  Yeah,  I know it's 'just a copier' or software.  

People are HUNGRY for something to believe in, from someone they can trust - easy and simple relationships without confusion.

If you've got the balls, now is the time to pivot hard into something different and aggressively help clients push through a quick recession.

What do I mean?  
  1. Do more research on the economy
  2. Form an informed, business-based opinion on how organizations have thrived through previous economic downturns
  3. Evangelize positive change
Broad statements.  The times of specification selling in Office Technology are long gone.  Today's cutting edge is much more than a challenger sale, for you to be successful, you must go to the edge and bring your prospects with you.

In terms of creating new solutions, be offensive. 

No easy task.


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Greg Walters, Incorporated
greg@grwalters.com
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