What's Your Grandpa Name?

Last week, I became a grandfather. Having never been a grandfather and having grown up more than half my life in the South, I'm not sure if it is custom elsewhere, but here, especially in New Orleans, your grandkids don't call you grandpa. Instead, you create a memorable name that your grandkids use in place of Grandpa.

For the last few months, I've been repeatedly asked, " What's your name going to be?"

I've been joking, "I'm going to have her (we already knew it was a girl) call me Mr. Martin because when she's in school, and her teachers ask her about me, she'll say 'Mr. Martin is the best grandpa' or 'Mr. Martin is coming to meet me for lunch today,' etc.. And her teachers will think she's so respectful ??

The fam hasn't been impressed by my attempt at humor. Instead, they assigned me my Grandpa Name, and unless I come up with something better, the issue is settled.

A Rose by any Other Name Would Smell As Sweet

We all know the famous line from Romeo & Juliet. But you may not be as familiar with Juliet's point, namely that it didn't matter what Romeo's last name was, Romeo was Romeo.

Just as it doesn't matter what my Grandpa Name is because Grandpa is Grandpa.

The essence of a person is the ultimate differentiator.

In other words, WHO you ARE trumps WHAT you KNOW and WHAT you're CALLED.

The Value of Becoming Known

I've long believed in the value of becoming known. Becoming known ensures you never wake up in a world without prospects. Who you know is far less important today than who knows you. And more importantly, what they know you for.

When you're known, people who need your knowledge to accomplish their goals will seek you out and possibly hire you or your company to help them solve their problems.

It's the bedrock of my Invisible Sale approach to business development .

But what happens once they reach out and invite you to have a conversation about their challenge? The game completely changes. And the folks who understand the change and are prepared to leverage it have an edge their competition can't quickly or easily match.

It's Impossible to Copy YOU

When I graduated from The University of Texas and started my first job in advertising at Temerlin McClain, working on the American Airlines account, the head of the account, Paul Gold, gave me the following advice.

People Hire People, Not Agencies. - Paul Gold

I've tried never to forget it because, at the end of the day, there are just too many brilliant people in the world. And with virtually all of the world's knowledge at the end of a Google Search, it's way too easy for potential clients to locate every single one of them.

So, while I've spent the last 20 years creating, sharing , speakin g, and publishing my knowledge, I know that's only the first step.

Eventually, a prospect will want to talk on the phone, via a video conference, or face-to-face for two reasons.

First, they want to confirm that I created the content I share or deliver. Given the rise of AI, this confirmation step will become even more critical.

Second, they want to know me. Who am I as a person? Am I just looking to make a buck, or will I put their best interest before my own? Will I be there when the chips are down? Will I put in the extra effort when needed or hide behind a "scope" document and try to upcharge them for additional effort? Am I fun to work with or a PITA?

I could go on and on, but you get the point.

At the end of the day, I don't sell a product or even a service. I sell the promise of a future outcome. And so does every other business development trainer/agency in the world. We all have frameworks and philosophies, case studies of past successes, and polished pitches.

But at the end of the day, the prospect picks the person/agency they believe is most likely to deliver that future outcome.

And that decision is 100% subjective. And 100% based on YOU.

YOU are the tiebreaker, the differentiator, and the one thing your competitor can never replicate.

Never forget that.