Page 254 - Social Media Marketing

Making Rain: Taking on the Role of Rainmaker 243

control over local, state, national, or international economies. All
of that external stuff is outside of your control, just as waves are
outside of the control of surfers.

How you ride the waves, how much fun you have, and ulti-
mately how successful you are, however, is entirely up to you. I re-
member the days when automotive companies in the United States
were drastically cutting back on the number of car dealerships to
streamline their marketing efforts. More and more consumers were
obtaining their information online instead of relying on salespeople.

As a result, some salespeople worked harder and put in longer
hours. Thousands simply got burned out and moved on to sell dif-
ferent products or change careers. The most resourceful of them,
however, embraced the change. They created their own Web pages
and mastered the technology. Some even created their own compa-
nies to sell cars exclusively online. These were the salespeople who
defined their own destiny.

D Instead of resisting change or simply accepting it, embrace it;

this will help you grab market share from your competitors

who hesitate.

D Be prepared to adjust to changes in what customers are

buying, how they shop, and how they buy, and changes in

your industry.

D Every problem is an opportunity. Just think about it: Every

invention is a solution to a problem.

D As rainmaker, you are the visionary who needs to have the

foresight to see opportunities before your competitors have

the chance to capitalize on them first.

D Keep track of what works and what doesn't; do more of

what works and less of what doesn't.

(con tinued)