As I lazily shuffled down the jet bridge to board the American Airlines flight at 12:47 AM in Las Vegas, I found my mind traipsing to the harried activities of the previous seven days. After one week in Sin City filled with oxygenated air, walking well over 10,000 steps daily, forging new relationships while strengthening old ones, wondering if the $5.50 bottles of water contained the dreams of small children to justify the cost, and enjoying time with my friends, clients, and PromoCorner associates, I was quite ready to get back to Nashville.
I collapsed in my seat, unpacked my charger and earbuds, and used my feet to shove my backpack underneath the seat in front of me. It was then I thought about many of the conversations I had with people – as well as the ones I overheard – over the course of the week. As I reflected on the discussions, I realized that far too many toss around terms that sound great, but are rarely backed up by any substantive action. Some of the words and phrases that come to mind are:
- Partner
- Strategy
- Engagement
- Tactical
- Implementation
- Turn-key solution (my personal favorite)
If you want to really dazzle people with meaningless buzzwords, they can be combined to create new, even more empty phrases like, “strategic partner” or “tactical engagement.” However, I wouldn’t recommend it at as, through experiences, we have learned that these words are worthless marketing terms designed to do little more than create a false sense of contentment. It’s time to accept buzzwords and buzz phrases are useless when evaluating potential business partnerships. Instead, make your appraisal much easier (and more accurate) by realizing there are two types of partners in the world: those that are involved, and those that are invested.
Involved
- Pass the buck – either internally or externally – when something goes wrong
- Speak in vague generalities
- Simply respond to communications and inquiries
- Create a wildly inconsistent experience for their clients
- Express happiness for your business
Invested
- Display ownership of the entire process
- Are both direct and candid
- Drive communication
- Deliver a dependable experience for clients
- Seek to solve problems before they happen
- Express gratitude and seek to build a mutually beneficial relationship
There are many excellent distributors, suppliers, and service providers in our shared industry. As such, the question you should ask is simple: do you want to work with the ones who are involved, or do you want to create relationships with ones who are invested?
Choosing to partner with distributors, suppliers, and service providers who are invested in forming relationships will lead to a dramatically higher positive experience for all involved – not the least of which is the end-user client.
When it comes to involvement or investment, there really is no choice. Speaking of choice, after a week in Vegas, I’m choosing to take a nap before this plane lands and I need to race to my connection. I really need to find a red-eye flight that’s direct for 2021!
Bill is president of PromoCorner, a digital marketing, media, and advertising agency, and has over 20 years working in executive leadership positions at leading promotional products distributorships. A featured speaker at numerous industry events, a serial creator of content marketing, and immediate past president of the Regional Association Council (RAC) board, 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.