got to thinking on my honeymoon in the dominican republic about an interesting concept — what i’ve heard called the paradise paradox. not sure if my interpretation of this is the same, but i’ve lived a version of the confusion in the last week. specifically, how can you travel to a magical place (by its looks anyways) but find yourself in hell? let me be specific. i’m on the beach in the caribbean, under a palm tree, basking in that well-known breeze — at the same time that i’m stricken with montezuma’s revenge because they pump filth into their water just 10 miles upstream. um, water travels. the way it travels didn’t originate or occur to you yesterday.
without getting into the paradox from the standpoint of montezuma and his bitterly evil tactics, let’s look at it from a branding standpoint. on the surface, many portray beauty. poise. grace. under the surface, the same folks are mean-spirited. imbalanced. a train wreck waiting to happen. many businesses pitch quality and excellence. in reality, the impression lasts a hot minute and you come to feel it was a sales tactic. you’ve been hoodwinked. their faculties are not magnificent — they’re mostly middle of the road or lowbrow.
be very careful in branding. sales should never be a practice of fabrications or false pitches. the best organizations don’t need to sell much. what they have is instantly recognizable as quality — to the right consumer. i often wonder whether an organization’s shortcomings in marketing and sales leads them to overextend on the pitch front. to write a checks that their a** can’t cash. not good.
be faithful to what you have to offer. if it’s not enough, then you need to re-invest in product and talent development. you can’t posture that you have more or shout louder. you will do infinitely more damage going this route than if you simply address the lacking and sell from a place of honesty and integrity. not only will individual sales come more easily for you behind the right investment, but you will trigger referrals. many consumers believe that a great organization is hard to find. if you handle things properly, it’s actually easier to grow a business now than at any time that i can remember.
