Over the past few weeks, I’ve attended two industry trade shows where the usual activities took place: small talk, elevator pitches, and, of course, the ceremonial exchanging of business cards. As these events are aimed at marketing and sales professionals, it should be no surprise that several of the cards had some aggressively interesting titles. Among the group was a “Go To Market Disruptor,” an “SEO Ninja,” and my personal favorite a “Customer Acquisition Commander.” Candidly, I’m still wondering how one commands the acquisition of customers, but I digress.
Thinking I might be missing out on something, I hopped onto LinkedIn and over the course of 30 minutes clicked on about 85 profiles in the world of marketing, branding, and promotional products. What really struck me is how hollow and pompous many of the titles I found are:
Candidly, these made up titles make me giggle like a school girl at a slumber party and not because the person holding any of the stated titles isn’t qualified to do a tremendous job delivering value to a client. No, I snicker because these titles are as confusing as they are pretentious. Take a minute and read those titles again – what do any of them really mean?
What people are missing with these self-imposed monikers is that it’s the audience who ultimately decides if one is a ninja, maverick, pioneer, or mastermind. Merely putting those words on a business card or a LinkedIn profile doesn’t make them real or true. If it did, my business card would read “Lead Singer, Van Halen.”
Just like in high school when people told you they were “cool,” if you have to tell your business peers that you are a “disruptor” (or any similar terms), you aren’t. When you do good work that matters, it will speak far more effectively for you than a catchy – and ultimately meaningless – title.
Bill is president of PromoCorner, the leading digital marketing service provider to the promotional products industry, and has over 18 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), 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.