When I recently met with two senior-level professionals from a prospective client firm, one of them stated that a certain marketing tactic doesn’t work. I respectfully pointed out that there may be another point of view and explained how they could make that particular tactic work for the firm.
The other professional commented that I was “tough.” He meant that I didn’t roll over and go along with what a professional says just because he’s a prospect. I took it as a compliment.
Because I’ve never considered myself to be a particularly “tough” person, I gave some more thought to this professional’s assessment of me. I realized that what made me come across as tough in his eyes was really my confidence and experience when it comes to marketing and public relations. In other words, don’t tell me that a tactic doesn’t work when I know from experience that it can work very well provided it’s executed the right way. It’s this expertise and experience that gives our clients confidence in us.
