I have been very blessed to be able to connect very well with my clients. One client in particular who doesn’t support anyone in my field had lunch with me one day and he explained to me that he did not see the value in what any of us did so he was not going to support any of us. I am always put aside when I am lumped in with every else because I think we all do something different and I bring something different to the table. Nevertheless, as soon as I got back to the office, I immediately removed him from my mailing list and I stopped calling him for anything. When it comes to business we must love those who love us and make sure we deal with those who support us.
I KNEW this man was not being honest because after he told me he didn’t see the value in what I did, he turned around and asked if he could write for me? He wanted to write on the same industry website that he “saw no value in?” I got EXACTLY where he was coming from and I realized that he DOES see value in what I do but he just didn’t want to support it.
To that end, what is YOUR value to customers? If you are not doing something better than your competitors are doing you will not get a lot of support and you will be lumped in with them. Know what you do best and make sure you continue to grow and do better.