I’ve often found it peculiar that the phrase “finding a needle in a haystack” is used to describe an extremely difficult, if not impossible, task. In point of fact, finding a needle in a haystack can be profoundly easy. Rather than chasing it through the hay, simply use a magnet and let the needle come to you. This could be a metaphor for life: Instead of being a chaser, be an attractor.
Often in business relationships, consultants and agencies spend untold resources chasing after clients instead of taking the opposite approach — being something that naturally attracts them. The urge to chase/sell is only natural, particularly when we’re the product and we think we have something good to sell. As the line goes, “Enough about me, let’s talk about you. What do you think about me?” It’s a funny line, and we all know someone like this. A person or business with this attitude may be amusing, but their focus will probably never be you. Why would we think this approach will work on clients or in a marketing campaign to millions?
If we think about the things in life that we love, we may find that the list is quite short: partner, children, parents, friends and possibly a vintage Chanel dress. All the things on that list have something important in common — and it’s not the way they talk about or sell themselves. It’s the way they make us feel about ourselves. We take pride in them because they reflect our values, who we are and, in some cases, what we want to be — a better version of ourselves. A sterling example of this in marketing is the Subaru “Love” campaign. Subaru may tell you about the vehicle in its commercials, but it’s ancillary to the overall message. Subaru directly connects its brand to everything we love — from our partner to our kids to our dog. By doing this, the company isn’t selling to us — it’s attracting us.
In my experience, success doesn’t come when you’re constantly talking; it comes when others are constantly talking about you. It doesn’t matter whether you’re marketing yourself, your business or widgets or fundraising for cancer research. In the end, people usually must make the conscious decision that they want to be a part of your brand, product, company and/or cause — and that you represent what they perceive themselves to be or who they want to be.
You can have some degree of success by telling people how many lives your hospital saves or how great your doctors are, but you aren’t likely to achieve great success when the story is just about the hospital. Instead, tell the story of patients winning their fight against cancer. Don’t talk about how many Clio Awards your agency has won — let your clients tell the story of their success. Don’t tell the story of how many gallons of clean water your organization provides in developing countries — let a village tell the story of how clean drinking water forever changed the lives of everyone who lives there.
If you’re the focus of the story, you’ve likely failed in your quest for greatness. I’ve found that great success will only come when the story is about others. To attract, inspire your customers, donors and community to want to be a part of something bigger than they could ever be on their own.
This has been my company’s guiding principle since its founding 13 years ago. Our mission statement isn’t about how we make our company great. Our mission is to help our clients achieve theirs. When we achieve this, the success of the company is a natural by-product. Make your business, your cause and yourself an attractor, and you’ll be more likely to be successful.