Changing the rules of the game

James Malinchak’s speakers bootcamp this past week, he held a contest for Marketer of the Year among his coaching program members. Each contestant was given 12 minutes to tell us, the audience – who doubled as judges, how they had applied certain things they had learned as a coaching member to excel in marketing the past year. All of the contestants had impressive stories, and equally impressive bottom lines. One of the contestants did not spend a huge amount of time describing what techniques she had learned and how she had applied them though. Rather she concentrated on talking about her sister who was having some hard times, and how, by winning the contest, she could help her sister by giving her a much needed vacation in Vegas. Would you care to guess who won? This was a fantastic example of “changing the rules of the game”. Rather than compete with the others based on the exact criteria of the contest, she worked the heartstrings of the audience, and walked away with the prize. Comparing her results to the others might have been a vulnerability for her. Rather than soldiering ahead and hoping for the best, she took a strength: her feelings for her sister and a heartwarming story (which even the coldest among us enjoy), changed the rules of the game and avoided competing head-on with the others in straight numerical or measurable results. Brilliant!]]>