Always have your marketing antenna up
Are you prepared to give your message at any time?
I am struggling a bit this week as I just returned from a trip to the Philippines. Partly this was a vacation, partly a trip to see relatives and partly (the most rewarding part) was charitable work with a local hospital and school. This is the reason that there has been no blog from me for a couple of weeks. However, as always it seems, there was a marketing lesson I learned in an unexpected place. In this case, it was on a plane.
So, what do you do?
The flight from Kansas City to Manila is a long one. You can’t get there non-stop. We went: Kansas City to Chicago to Tokyo to Manila. I don’t know exactly how many hours that is in the air but it’s a lot. It was about 30 minutes before landing in the Philippines, around 27 hours since I last slept that I fell into conversation with the person in the seat next to me. She asked me the classic question: “What do you do?”
We had a great conversation but I am not sure that I answered her question very effectively even though I have been asked it hundreds of times and like to think that I am always prepared for it.
What’s the lesson?
My travelling colleague was based in Manila so may not have been a good target for me but her business was definitely one of my target types. I was so tired and not thinking in a business mindset due to the nature of the trip but so what? We were having a nice conversation and there was always the chance we could do business together and I allowed my guard to slip and was taken by surprise.
This is not a beat myself up issue at all. It is a learning point - you never know. You really don’t. The next person you meet might be your perfect client/referral partner/whatever. Make sure that you are always prepared to answer that question - it takes some up front work but it is well worth it.
Tags: Elevator pitch, marketing