The Top 1%: Part 2

Credit: Bill Gillespie

Happy New Year! Just before Christmas I shared a piece titled The Top 1%. It was the first in a series. What makes these guys different?

I’m not talking about their numbers. I’m speaking to how they make the numbers happen. How do they think? How do they conduct business? What do they expect of themselves…others?

The first segment spoke to planning. Perhaps the Printing Impressions folks will park a link to the original piece for your review. The Top 1% start with a plan and build a map to success. They don’t expect anything good to happen by accident. They are relentless and calculated.

Today I want to address expectations.

These guys expect to win. They know success is up to them. They don’t leave things up to their employer, equipment, market or customers. They own their outcomes. The Top 1% don’t blame others for any struggle.

I’ve had the privilege of working with more than a few of these guys. Every conversation is exciting. They’re constantly asking, “what if” or “why not me.” No possibility is off the table.

One time one of my reps missed a big sale. A reseller told him, “I got a better price from brand X.” This is the first guy I heard use the term “Bid Collector.” I stole the phrase from him.

The rep’s question to me? “What does the broker offer that we can’t do? They shouldn’t be our customer. They’re really a competitor. Why do printers let brokers exist?”

This rep went to work designing solutions he knew the end user needed. He quit providing prices to the bid collector and went into competition with them. He won business. Then, he won more. Eventually the end user asked the same question. “Why do I need a third party buying for me?” The rep quadrupled his numbers and changed the way he solved problems for clients.

The Top 1% don’t make excuses. They expect resistance. They know business involves hurdles. There are lots of calls and conversations that feel like dead ends.

But to The Top 1% these are struggles not failures. They’re curveballs that require strategy. They’re challenges that press these winners to design better solutions.

These winners excite and challenge employers. They walk in with what I call “scenario questions.” They ask, “if I can make the money work out is there any reason we can’t do this or design that service?”

The Top 1% don’t have comfort zones. Consequently, they don’t understand or have patience with yours. They’re going to figure out how to deliver the Newest New Thing for their customer with or without you. They don’t compromise.

Back to the rep mentioned earlier. Eventually, he grew his portfolio to more than we could serve. His opportunity and our vision of what was a fit diverged.

He started his own business providing services we couldn’t make fit. He bought printing from us. We kept volume but he kept control and margin. He solved what concerned the client most.

If you want to live in The Top 1% set excuses aside and take ownership of the path. If you want to employ The Top 1% buckle up. While your rules matter your business boundaries probably won’t. These guys understand customers, why they buy and what it takes to keep them engaged. They won’t let you get in the way of their success.

Thanks for reading. I hope to have you back for The Top 1%: Part 3.

The preceding content was provided by a contributor unaffiliated with Printing Impressions. The views expressed within may not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of the staff of Printing Impressions. Artificial Intelligence may have been used in part to create or edit this content.