Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Who Knows What You Know

I have to tell you about Roto Rooter. Our sink backed up twice last week. I Googled “fix clogged sinks Orlando,” and Roto Rooter topped the list with complimentary customer ratings. We remembered the old jingle from TV commercials and had an excellent experience with them years ago at Christmas, so I didn’t hesitate to call. “Experience” walked in the door when Ken arrived. He has been with Roto Rooter for 40 years. He assessed our situation, cleaned out the pipes, and we were clog free.

As he was leaving, I told Ken I would recommend Roto Rooter to anyone with clogged drains. He thanked me but said that was a problem. People think of Roto Rooter for cleaning drains but don’t think of them for other plumbing needs, like changing or fixing a faucet. He was right. I wou ld have called Walt’s Plumbing for something like that. It’s an ongoing marketing challenge because so many people think of them only as drain uncloggers.

It made me think of what Women Unlimited drums into the minds of their leadership program participants. It’s not what you know, it’s WHO KNOWS what you know that will get you ahead in this world. If you’re good at something but the right people don’t know how good you are at it, it doesn’t do you any good.

So, my message to you today is: What are you doing or what have you accomplished that others need to know? When you communicate confidently and comfortably about what you do or have accomplished, you are memorable. What do you want people to remember about you?

Do the right people know you do more than unclog pipes?