In the last fifteen years, smart phones and social media have drastically increased our fear of missing out (FOMO). Initially, Blackberries gave us the ability to check our email from anywhere at any time, compelling us to respond immediately to every request from our bosses, customers, uncles and aunts. The outcome was a bunch of business people sneaking to the bathroom during vacations or date nights to check email on their little devices … God forbid we wait until the morning.
Social media and the iPhone shifted this phenomenon from Wall Street to Main Street. Instead of the executive, lawyer, or sales person having exclusive rights to this miserable disorder, now virtually every man, woman, and child is reaching for their phones to scroll through Instagram in a fear that they’ll miss out on a cool story. (The irony is that checking social media makes us feel even more like we’re missing out, but that’s another post.) Our FOMO has robbed us of living in the present and enjoying engaging conversations, quiet time, and a whole lot of fun people-watching. It’s robbing us of a high quality of life.
When I have this conversation with friends, I typically make a comment like this: “I don’t know what we’ll miss by not checking our phones every 90 seconds, but I do know what we’re missing by checking it … life. Smelling fresh coffee, eye contact and smiles with strangers, listening closely enough to ask second and third questions, and yes … those sunsets that everyone is talking about.” (I don’t think I’ve ever made this exact comment, but it’s the same context.)
When I help sales organizations or individual sales people create a strategic approach to their markets, I run into FOMO every time. No, they’re not checking Facebook while we’re meeting – they’re usually very engaged. However, they struggle with one of our core steps in building a sales strategy: creating a customer profile. The response usually goes like this: “I understand, but we’ve had some good customers that have less than 75 employees. If I only focus on that size of business, I might miss out on those other opportunities.” And then the infamous two words that plague every sales person: “What if …”?
By the way, I feel the same pain every day. I turn down a couple dozen invitations to speak at events every year, but I struggle every time. Even though the audience is not ideal for Vector Firm, I think: “Yeah, but what if there is one person in the audience that is interested in our digital marketing program or another that has 50 sales people and they want to join Academy?”
When building ideal customers profiles, my answer to sales people is basically the same as my comment above that I make to my friends or to the ninth grader that averages seven hours per day on Snapchat:
“I don’t know what opportunities you’ll miss by not spending your time trying to be all things to all people, but I do know what you’re missing by trying to call on everyone … a great career. Spending all your time with potential customers that have problems that only you can solve; working with people that share similar values as you do; and having relationships based on your ability and not your competition’s price. That’s productive and fulfilling time.”
So, let me solve the mystery: You will miss out on an opportunity or two if you focus on your ideal markets, accounts, and personas. However, you will gain dozens (or hundreds) of more profitable and enjoyable clients by letting go of your FOMO and focusing on the right accounts.
