As the weather finally warmed and winter gave way to spring, I assessed the damage the cold did to my once beautiful yard. With more than a bit of trepidation, I did a few laps around the house and quickly realized that my neglect of shrubbery, trees, and mulch had to be rectified in short order.
Many people I know find tinkering in the garden therapeutic and cathartic but, alas, I am decidedly not one of those people. To me, yard work is met with dread and, if I’m being honest, more than a little procrastination.
Begrudgingly, I went to my local big box hardware store to purchase 30 bags of mulch and a pair of leather gardening gloves, lest I dirty my dainty hands. I trimmed the trees and bushes, cleaning and bagging all the branches. Then, bag after bag, I spread the mulch, taking great care to make it as even as possible. After about seven hours of work – and a necessary shower – I enjoyed a cold beverage on the patio to admire my handiwork.
That’s when it hit me – no matter how much time, effort, or care I put into making the yard look perfect, if I don’t keep up with it, it will look just as bad as it did only hours before. However, if I want to keep the yard looking great for the long term, I need to consistently spend time over the course of the next eight months to avoid the grim reality of an all-day landscaping festival in 2019.
Sales relationships are the exact same way. Far too often salespeople spend all their effort on landing the sale and not nearly enough effort on maintaining the connection necessary to create a long-lasting and loyal relationship. By investing consistent effort over time, it creates a bond that will very rarely – if ever – need a full day of repair. When that investment is not made, the sales mulch that is so carefully laid will lose its color and erode.
Bill is president of PromoCorner, the leading digital marketing service provider to the promotional products industry, and has over 17 years working in executive leadership positions at leading promotional products distributorships. A featured speaker at numerous industry events, a serial creator of content marketing, immediate past president of the Promotional Products Association of the Mid-South (PPAMS), vice president of the Regional Association Council (RAC) board, and PromoKitchen chef, Bill has extensive experience coaching sales teams, creating successful marketing campaigns, and developing branding that resonates with a target audience. He can be reached at bill@PromoCorner.com.