By John Hilton
InsuranceNewsNet September 27, 2018
CHICAGO - Marketing
maven Terri Sjodin is a big advocate for getting "scrappy" if that's
what it takes to find success.
In fact, she titled
her recent book "Scrappy: A Little Book About Choosing to Play Big."
Sjodin is the principal and founder of Sjodin Communications, a public
speaking, sales training, and consulting firm in Newport Beach, Calif.
The book was
published in late 2016 and Sjodin spoke with InsuranceNewsNet Publisher Paul
Feldman about her ideas for success.
"Most people are
pretty happy, so why do they need to get scrappy? Some people get scrappy
because they want to get a new client," she said. "Sometimes they
just want to earn the right to be heard. Sometimes they’re trying to get a
promotion.
"Usually,
people have had enough irritation to want to break out of where they
were."
A Scrappy Strategy
Scrap alone won't
get it done, Sjodin concedes. That's why her books only start there. All the
grit and determination in the world isn't worth much absent a plan of action,
she said.
"A scrappy
strategy encompasses all of your efforts," Sjodin explained. "That
includes research, due diligence and sweat equity. It helps you to channel
these efforts in the most productive directions, and it’s the tactical planning
necessary to achieve a specific goal."
If you can take
that determination and effort and combine it with creative ideas, then you have
something, she added. One of Sjodin's favorite examples comes from the
movie Wall Street,where young Bud Fox, portrayed by Charlie Sheen, longs
to be more than just a stockbroker.
Gordon Gekko is who
young Fox idolizes, so he hangs out at his office for 59 days in a row.
Although persistent and bold, some might say "scrappy," it doesn't
get Fox inside the door until he schmoozes Gekko's secretary.
From that
interaction, he learns that his target likes expensive cigars and he buys Gekko
a box. The rest is cinematic history.
"This is
exactly what small- and medium-sized businesses and even people who work within
large companies are facing every day," Sjodin said. "We can be
persistent, but if you really want to capture someone’s attention, maybe it’s
time to get scrappy."
InsuranceNewsNet Senior Editor John Hilton has covered business
and other beats in more than 20 years of daily journalism. John may be reached
at john.hilton@innfeedback.com. Follow him
on Twitter @INNJohnH.
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