Fuentes Fridays #0030

Here is your end-of-the-week insight into what I see going on in the business world, what I’m thinking about, and what I’m learning about. Forward anything that you feel inspired to share.

What I’m Hearing From Sales Leaders/Professionals

I have spent the past week talking to various CEOs about how they can help their teams generate new leads/opportunities. Initially, the conversation was around training, tools, tech, etc., but all the conversations eventually became discussions on how the CEO could become more actively involved at the top of the funnel.

More than a few suggested that they should use AI to write thought leadership. I quickly shot that idea down and pointed them to our blog, “ChatGPT Cannot Be Your Leader,” on just that topic. I think writing is a great idea, but it has to actually be written by the thought leader, and honestly, the lead time is a bit long (and that’s ok). I suggested that they plan it out and get to it, but that would likely not yield what they were looking for in the immediate future.

Throughout my conversations, I made two main suggestions: 1. Work the network, and 2. Host executive dinners/“micro-events.”

It seems simple, but CEOs get so busy that they often forget to work their networks. I suggested that they look at the key accounts they are trying to break into and then map first- and second-level executive connections at those accounts. After mapping those connections, identify the strength of the relationship with each of them and then prioritize the strongest ones (they text/speak often about a wide range of subjects) to reach out to.

For people in their network that are currently working at the target accounts, the next step is simple—reach out.

For people in their network who are connected to an executive at their target account (2nd level), my suggestion was to write the intro email that their contact can use to make the connection. The more friction they can remove from the introduction, the better.

The second suggestion, hosting executive dinners/micro-events, is a bit harder to execute, but our clients who are using the strategy have seen great returns (some of you may even have attended some of mine).

The idea here is that you spend money and create a unique and intimate dining experience, and then invite key executives. This can be as simple as having a KNOWN thought leader “keynote” a Jeffersonian-style dinner (thanks Michael Goldstein for the term) to as extravagant as buying out a HOT restaurant for a select group of executives. The key is that it has to be intimate, and the CEO must personally invite the attendees. Otherwise, it loses some of its shine.

The other key is to NOT PITCH! Just pretend you are Babe Ruth post-1933 or Shohei Ohtani this year.

If you want a thought partner on either of these two suggestions, please feel free to email or DM me.

What Made Me Laugh

I have no clue who will enjoy this skit about a college tour guide, but I could not stop laughing. The performance is perfect, and the joke brought back so many memories of dealing with embarrassment as a teenager and young adult. Especially the fact that everyone gets over something, but you just cannot! Anyway, “when I screamed earlier, it was not because I was embarrassed…”

This Week’s 40/20

For every 40 hours of work, I believe you should spend 20 (additional) hours mastering your craft. This is how I spent some of my 20 hours this week.

If you don’t subscribe to Tim Ferris’s 5-Bullet Friday newsletter, you should. Last week’s contained a link to a decade-old post about the rules of storytelling from Pixar. I spend a lot of time learning about storytelling. I study writers, orators, comedians, old men who played high school football at Polk High (Al Bundy?), etc.

Potpourri for 800

Potpourri (shoutout to Jeopardy!) is a category that covers a variety of topics.

The Penguin premiered, starring Colin Farrell. The first episode was fantastic. What was odd about the viewing experience is that I kept thinking things like, “Hmm, I wonder if the Penguin went to buy that mirror in his hallway at Target, or did he hire someone to decorate.” “Ooooh, silk sheets. Was that an intentional choice, or again, is there some sort of criminal interior designer that takes care of the details for unmarried kingpins and criminals?” I guess what I am getting at is, I am curious about the day-to-day activities of comic book villains. The Penguin does not take us shopping, but we do get a peek at his vast personality traits. It is worth a watch! Also, there was a fantastic quote in it: “What you did wasn’t impulsive; it was instinctual.”

Quote for My Son

Every day, I leave my son a note with a quote. This was my favorite from this past week:

My goal is for my son to positively impact people. Not a very lofty goal, but if he can leave the world a bit better than he found it, then we have done a good job. The quotes this week were about how he can influence his friends and the world. Ironically, my favorite quote this week came from Jack Nicholson’s gangster character, Frank Costello, in the movie The Departed. “I don’t want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me.”