Richard

By now, I hope and pray that you have all seen and worship one of the greatest American movies of all time, Glenn Gary Glen Ross. Alec Baldwin’s now famous tongue lashing monologue has been seen a gazillion times for good reason — it’s absolutely brilliant. On the wild chance you haven’t heard, this is the film that made the phrase, “coffee is for closers” famous. At one point in his tirade, Baldwin bellows, “Put the coffee down. Coffee is for closers only.” And later on, “If you want to work here, close!!”

Baldwin’s “always be closing/coffee is for closers” mantra came to mind recently in my own business. I didn’t close. So no coffee for me.

Here’s what happened. I met with this fellow, nice guy, small business owner. He felt trapped in his business. He’d prefer to sell, but no one is buying. He reached out to me because a mutual friend/acquaintance told him I could do a bunch of cool internet marketing stuff for him. Which is true, I could.

So he called and we had coffee and had a great chat. I left that coffee believing I had a new client. Then I sent him a proposal. “Gulp” was a word he used when he saw the numbers. He then asked me if I’d be interested in a trade – he provides a very cool service – so I said “yes” without hesitating. Then he bailed out on me entirely.

I don’t know the full reason why he bailed, but part of the reason is he thought I was nuts he didn’t understand the strikethrough tool and thought I was hanging out my dirty editing process for the world to see. There’s a bit more to the story that prudence leads me to leave out. But I’ve taken the position that I didn’t make clear enough what value I could deliver. Major fail on my part. I had an opportunity to close, and didn’t. So here’s what I say to all prospective clients.

I will help you think more clearly about your business and will help you position yourself with regard to your competition. I will ask you many penetrating questions to get to heart of your core value.

I will research the competitive landscape.

I will help you develop a unique value proposition.

I will interview your customers to hear what they have to say.

I will write clever, benefit laden headlines and great emails.

I will stick with you for months as we work together on a large ebook project – and I will interview people all over the world.

I will stay up all night to help you win that new project.

I love the written word, and live for the clear organization of complex material.

I know and work with good designers – people who can help clarify and communicate your company’s value proposition and your reason for being.

I am easy to work with and comport myself as a professional.

I will help you understand how SEO works and I can help you achieve rankings in Google search queries.

I will work with you until you are happy with what we’ve done.

I will tell you if I’m not the right person for your project.

I won’t surprise you with a fee that you weren’t expecting.

I will have suggestions for you that may surprise you.

I will deliver more than you expected.

Let me repeat: I will help you close.

In my last post, I talked about how Facebook and Google have different – and competing – visions of the web. Google is all about data. They scoop up as much data as they can in order to drive the most relevant search findings to your desktop. As you may have noticed, they are kind of successful at this.  Facebook is no slouch when it comes to data, but they envision a “humanized web” where friends, peers, colleagues and family members deliver answers and recommendations to such everyday questions as “How do I redeem myself for recently forgetting my sister’s (very important milestone) birthday, and buy her a bottle of great French champagne during her visit to Paris?”

Putting the Question to The Google

Where to begin? Yes, I did go out to my network, but not Facebook this time. I simply asked my friend and colleague Jeff Schraeder of Baltimore (he travels to Paris several times a year) if he had any suggestions. Jeff was on the road and tried to help, but his connections were sketchy and I didn’t have too much time. So I went onto the Google and typed, “Wine Shop, Paris”. And up came Chowhound with the following post: “I’ve heard good things about La Derniere Goutte at 6 rue de Bourbon le Chateau in the 6th. It’s owned by an American selling French wines to the French! They do tastings.”

Patty Lurie at La Derniere Goutte.

La Derniere Goutte

I opened up Skype, called the wine shop and next thing I knew I was talking to Patty Lurie. “I’d recommend the (follow the link for amazing story) Jacques Sellose,” said she, to which I said, “done deal.” I read out my American Express number. I then sent a text to my sister. “Call Patty at La Derniere Goutte, it’s a wine shop. She has something for you.” A day later, there stood Patty being photographed by my very happy sister via her iPhone. (“Patty is awesome. Wish we met her at the beginning!” said one text message.)

When I woke up this morning, I reached for my BlackBerry. I had about six text messages from my sister along with pictures. There they all were, on a sun splashed Paris day, sipping a perfectly chilled champagne. “Thank you, thank you. This was very special.”

All thanks to Google, Skype, the iPhone and Patty Lurie. We have our networks – online and offline – we have Facebook and Google and Twitter and whatever else is coming next. And then there is family. New technologies have their advocates and their detractors, and each side has their own case to make, but it’s hard to argue with tools that let you deliver a special moment to someone you love who happens to be two continents away and to do it in under 5 minutes.

Patty’s number at the wine shop is 01 43 29 11 62 ; the address is La Derniere 6 Bourbon le Chateau 75006 Paris.

Happy belated birthday, sister.