Why does your own company always seem to be the hardest company to make a sales pitch to?

Businessman figurineAll of us are in sales in some small or large-scale way.

We try to influence an outcome. We try to persuade others to our point of view, not disingenuously or misleading in any way. We truly think our idea and concept is worthwhile.

Recently, a client who decided to take out some print advertising in a biweekly consumer publication rejected an idea to use rotating cartoons for the publication.

We reasoned that black-and-white line cartoons typical to his area of expertise, would develop the most visibility in a publication strong on color, short on content, and long on advertising. In fact, the publication was over 80% advertising.

How Does a Company Stand Out?

I’ve always found humor, when relevant, is an excellent way to attract an audience. We found an excellent cartoonist; the cartoons were relevant, humorous and within our budget.

The client rejected the idea. For he was more interested in being taken seriously than attracting an audience.

I wasn’t too surprised. We had try using a humorous angle before and had met the same resistance.

Over time, I have come to expect that the hardest sale to make is a sale to my own group of trusted friends, associates, and clients.

They’ve heard plenty of my other ideas that didn’t pan out. It’s not that I am not credible; I am very good at what I do. The problem is that I get so wrapped up in my “out-of-the-box” idea that I fail to understand why the people I trust the most do not see the obviousness of a great idea.

Overlooking the Obvious

I overlook the obvious and fail to understand how I got there. After all, understanding how I got there, helps me get others to understand how to get there.

“Expertise increases geometrically with geographic distance from the client,” an old friend once said.

Maybe I need to move to a foreign country.

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