Christmas Edition: It's "Out-of-Office" Season...
…and the number of “Out of Office” replies will triple when I send out this edition of the Russell Report.
Speaking of “Out of Office”:
Do you track, and make a note of when you get those notices?
On the sales side, it gives you a talking point when the business owner, CFO or purchasing agent comes back and you talk to them again.
On the contact side, many of the out of office messages give you an alternate contact, someone else that may be a good person to talk to within the company to help sell your product.
Some even post their cell phone number – now that’s a bonus!
And of course, the IT person for your company would rather you never told the world where you are not; at some point, I wonder if they are even comfortable in having you open your email!
This week in 1776…
Imagine you are an upstart Start-Up. You have made a very real effort to take away a key customer with almost infinite potential from the Industry Leader. But the Industry Leader is not giving it up that easy. They outnumber you at times by a factor of 5 to 1, threaten your suppliers, have the best sales and marketing team in the industry, have industry spies embedded at your headquarters, and very deep pockets. They have made it clear that they will do all they can to squash you, bringing in senior executives for key accounts and even teaming up with other industry leaders to convince prospects that your product really doesn’t look like the demo. The key campaign is all happening Christmas week and with the potential to go into and past the New Year; it’s all hands on deck but many of your workers are 1099’d and have a contract that only goes until the end of the year. Your secret is your leader; he knows how to manage, he knows the competition and he believes in the product, but like many Start-Ups, his experience is with small companies. You also have the best product in the world, although it is untested, but your elevator pitch is second to none. One more thing: your CEO is starting what could be the last sales and marketing campaign for the Start-Up, and he is doing it the night of December 25th. No Christmas goose for you. Do you go to work or do you call in sick?
This really happened. In 1776.
The product was freedom, and a young, pre-revenue company of men that believed in George Washington was the Start-Up. The goal was to secure the account of Trenton, New Jersey, and score a small, but morale-boosting victory. The British had warned the Hessian troops at Trenton that an attack was imminent but the arrogance of the Industry Leader, while acknowledging the threat, didn’t think it would be much of an issue. On Christmas night, Washington and 2,400 of his troops crossed the Delaware River in a snowstorm and ended up taking Trenton. He followed it up a few days later by taking Princeton as well. These victories changed the momentum of the war, and his marketing department in the form of Thomas Paine and his pamphlet Common Sense, inspired many citizens to take up arms. And yes, the rest is history.
This Christmas, as you reflect on the reason for the season, remember also the actions in 1776 of the founding employees of the greatest Start-Up ever, and the sacrifices they made. Then say grace, slice the turkey, and give a toast to the United States of America.
Merry Christmas.
