The Attractor Factor

Did you know that being different is an attractor factor?

It's true!

Allow me a quick sidebar:

Last week, Bernadette, my wife and I drove to the East Coast of Florida for three days.

We stayed at the grand Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables. It's a five-star hotel built in 1926.

The hotel was virtually empty. In fact, one night at dinner we counted two other couples in the dining room.  There were more servers in the dining room than there were guests.

A lot of business meetings have been canceled this year because of the recession. Many more have been canceled out of fear of being chastised by the federal government for having extravagant annual sales meetings.

In any event it wasn't a pretty sight.

Rants and raves about the Biltmore.

Our first breakfast rated a 2 on a 10 scale. It took 25 minutes to get an order of English muffins and scrambled eggs. Both arrived cold. We had a tee time so we couldn't wait for the restaurant to try again.

One of the tractor drivers on the golf course must have been on steroids and having a bad day. He buzzed us up and down the fairways on five different golf holes. And there was hardly anyone else playing golf. I guess he wanted the golf course to himself.

The next day at breakfast things were much better. We had the same server we had on the first day but she must've taken a spur of the moment fast track customer service training program. Well, she graduated with flying colors. Our food was served quickly and everything was hot. Everything was perfect!

Gives new meaning to - "What a difference a day makes."

Okay, now back to the topic.

In sales, being different makes a difference. In fact, in life being different makes a difference.

Here's an example.

Throughout my life I've been approached by a lot of different panhandlers.

I see them at traffic lights with cardboard signs.

I see them in cities on the ground with hands extended hoping for handouts.

Usually, it's nothing creative just a request for some change.

Every once in a while someone will ask if you can spare a buck.

A few years ago Bernadette and I had lunch near Wall Street and took a cab back to the hotel. The cab wasn't moving because of the traffic jam.

A woman, who looked to be about 70, approached my side of the cab and said, "Honey - I'm pregnant and diabetic can you spare a few bucks to help me out." Now really!

Up until last week that was my panhandler's best-of-the-breed.

Bernadette wanted to go to South Beach, about a 20 minute drive from our hotel.

So off we went. I won't bore you with the details but she did her touch and see routine in about 20 shops.

On the street again in search for an oceanfront watering hole we came upon an old man with an old dog.

The dog wasn't wearing a leash. The old man looked at us and pointed at his dog.

The dog was carrying a pail partially filled with loose change and dollar bills.

The dog seemed to align himself with us, by walking in the same direction with us.

The panhandler had delegated the panhandling to his dog - unbelievable!

The dog looked like he was on the 9-to-5 shift. He wasn't about to change directions until we made our deposit.

And we did. Bernadette took every loose coin from her purse and gave it to the panhandling dog.

Now that was different.

It got our attention.

It created some interest.

It got us to take action.

It also got our money!

I'll leave you with this question to ponder.

Why be ordinary when you can be extraordinary?

In sales being different is an attractor factor!

P.S. There's a sales lesson here for you.

1. Don't blend in with your competition - do everything you can to stand out!

2. Don't do what the competition is doing - do something different.

3. Don't hide what makes you unique - share it with people.

If you want to increase your sales, be sure to work on your personal attractor factor.