Here are the words that reached out of my PC this morning and slapped me upside the head:
- You can buy attention (advertising)
- You can beg for attention from the media (PR)
- You can bug people one at a time to get attention (sales)
- Or you can earn attention by creating something interesting and valuable and then publishing it online for free: a YouTube video, a blog, a research report, photos, a Twitter stream, an ebook, a Facebook page.
The only thing I’ll quibble with is the third bullet which I believe should refer to traditional sales. The philosophy represented by the above four points SCREAMS, “E-Rep!!!” An E-Rep is all about earning attention. I intend to keep beating this drum. All of we sales types, all of we “H-Reps” need an “E-Rep,” our own personalized electronic alter-ego.
I came across this bit of insight via Jeremy Sluyters who got it from David Meerman Scott who got it from Randy B. who got it from somewhere, maybe his own brain…
