If you’ve ever been in or around a sales team, you’ve probably heard the term “Always Be Closing.” In marketing, we consider a different term to live by: Always Be Cocky.
Before you head out and start making enemies with your arrogance, let’s be clear: there’s a right way to be cocky.
Be cocky for the long term
You’ve spent hours with your team conducting market research and positioning your brand (and if you haven’t, you should). You know your industry inside and out; what economic, political, and social stressors are hurting sales in each particular region, why they’re going unnoticed in another, and exploring how you can make the strongest impact in each one.
While your sales team gets the glory of closing the sales and posting the big numbers, you know that it’s the marketing team that toils for hours on end to develop the strategy, generate the leads and provide sales with the collateral that will seal the deal. Being cocky is about the long term play – not the quick win. While a quick sale or fleeting transaction are obviously important for the bottom line, your efforts and expertise ultimately make a difference in the long game.
Don’t get discouraged
Need a real life example of how to be cocky in the right way? Look no further than Boston Red Sox pitcher, Joe Kelly. Joe Kelly signed with the Red Sox in 2015 and immediately tweeted that he would win the AL Cy Young Award (the highest award a pitcher can win). Naturally, things did not go as planned. Injuries and poor performance not only stopped Kelly from not winning the AL Cy Young Award - but knocked him off the Major League roster and back into the Minor Leagues.
Did Kelly give up and stay down? Not quite. Kelly worked through adversity, kept pushing his worth, and kept a cockiness that said ‘Yes, I am that good. Just you wait.’ In 2018, Kelly made his way back on the Major League roster pitching in the World Series.
What does this have to do with marketing? Great question.
In marketing, strategies don’t usually deliver overnight. You’re going to have a lot of haters saying that your plan sucks (to your face or behind your back, who’s to say?). Don’t get discouraged. Instead, analyze your results, tweak your campaigns, and keep moving forward.
There’s nothing wrong with standing up for what you believe in, especially if you have the data to support your strategy. Keep your business goals in mind and Always Be Cocky.
Know a learning experience when you see it
Staying cocky doesn’t mean you won’t experience failures. Just like Joe Kelly, you’ll have setbacks. You’ll see campaigns that flop. You’ll have days when you hit roadblock after roadblock. The difference between being the most-hated-person-on-the-team and the Comeback Kid is to know when something you’ve done wasn’t right. Instead of brushing over it and pretending you can do no wrong, fess up and work towards righting your wrongs and improving. Be humble and learn from the people who can help: in the end, you’re only growing yourself. You know you have better to offer, make sure everyone else doesn’t forget.
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