The High Cost of Getting Your Foot in the Door
Recently a colleague called me to ask for some help figuring out what to do about an opportunity that had come his way. Through his marketing efforts, a company in his city asked him to present a seminar for about 70 of their leaders.
As we talked about how he should approach pricing the project, I noticed a big problem in the way he was thinking about this opportunity. Instead of looking at how to best deliver value to these 70 people, and the company who was going to pay him, he was looking at it as a great way to get his foot in the door.
Foot in the door?
He had already been invited all the way in to the organization. But instead of putting his attention on what they wanted him to provide, and how he could bring as much value as possible to them, he was just looking at this project as a way to get to something else in the company. Wow. That seems pretty weird to me. Stepping over a great opportunity to look at what would possibly come out of it. What would be the underlying message to his buyer and the participants he was there to help? Thanks for having me, but where’s the real opportunity here? With this perspective, how is he going to come across in the seminar? Is he going to be able to “play full out” and really provide value for them? Probably not—especially if he is just thinking of a way to get to the “real” opportunity. Paradoxically, he will never get to the real opportunity with this approach. Why? The real opportunity is the one right in front of him.
It made me wonder how many other people are thinking like this. Are you? I bet if you are honest, you are doing this somewhere in your life. The opportunity right in front of you is the only one that matters. If you are accepting the gig just to “get your foot in the door” stay home. It’s downright rude, and oh, did I mention it doesn’t really work?
If you can’t find a way to treat your customers and opportunities like they are the most important thing in the world, then just keep your foot to yourself.
Right on Mattison!! Your post reminds me of an episode of Shark Tank that was on a couple weeks ago…the sales man couldn’t stop selling to take the opportunity right in front of him…that kept him from getting anything. Thanks for the wakeup call.
Unfortunately, this scenario is similar to the old “grass is always greener” attitude. The opportunity offered after the foot is in the door is an unknown. As you said, the opportunity available in this moment deserves my best effort. If it is not worth my best, I should simply pass up the chance until I can fully engage in the process.
Thanks! This really helped me to look at situations differently.
Brilliant! Doesn’t it almost always boil down to “where are we putting our attention?”
Put our attention on serving people now!
Provide value, provide value, provide value. Then your feet will get into all kinds of doors. Providing value without looking at what was coming back was my MO when I first started my grant business, and it wasn’t too long before I began to get referrals from people I didn’t even know. They just “knew” me fro the value I had provided to someone else somewhere along the line.
The other thing I make sure to do is to NOT try to be everything to everybody. If I’m not the type of grant writer they need, I’ll refer them to someone else who is without worrying about a referral fee or % of that biz. It always comes back to me in some other way. That’s how the Universe works when you work with integrity!
Jan,
That is for sure, I talk to my clients all the time about finding their lane and staying in it. People will want you to change lanes because they recognize the value you bring, but if that is not what you do best it makes no sense to try do the project for them. Unless you are more concerned about them money than the value, then it will seem to make sense. But it won’t work out very well. Thanks for the comment.
Kate,
Yes, people want our best effort, and ultimately why would we want to give anything but? It’s way more fun and valuable for everyone.