There’s no denying that Terrell Owens is a great wide receiver, he’s got the speed and the skill so why isn’t he in high demand? He recently staged a televised workout to gain attention, but it seemed to do just the opposite gaining attention from only a arena football team. So what can T.O. teach your company?
Talent is not enough
The lesson here is don’t let your greatness get lost in your message. If you truly have great products, you are still going to have to tailor that greatness to the needs of your customer. Your product is not going to be untouchable and there are going to be things about it that have no value
to you customers. So are you going to value their opinions or are you going ignore their request for the sake of your great product?
Self Promotion has a limit
Self promotion is a double edged sword, if you don’t toot your own horn nobody knows you exist. No matter how great you are, without
customers you aren’t relevant. If you do too much self promotion, your business can suffer from the Kardashian effect and people stop taking your product seriously.
Know when to listen
Arguably the biggest issue with T.O is he doesn’t know how to shut up and listen; this problem affects many business owners as well.
Because you’ve built the business from the ground up, it’s difficult to letsomeone else tell you anything about it. But the key to being successful is
understanding that you don’t know everything. Being an expert in your field doesn’t make you an expert business owner, so get some opinions and listen to advice. You’re not obligated to use it, but a different perspective can give you a new view on an old problem.
Reflect before you lose out
The biggest disappoint about T.O is that he didn’t reflect until he had already burned the bridges. This is the biggest lesson for businesses to learn. It is easier to say I’m sorry than to rebuild a relationship and that goes double for customers. Maybe your client is difficult and they want everything checked and double checked, but you’re the best right? If you can please a difficult client that says a lot about the kind of work you do and that’s a good thing.
There are business lessons around us every day and the savvy business owners can spot the lessons immediately. Small businesses have the luxury of seeing things as they develop rather than having the lesson hurled at their ivory tower.
