Why Joe Pulizzi Gets Paid the Big Bucks; How You Can Too

by Lisa Petrilli…

Because he’s brilliant and he’s right.

Let me back up a step.  Last week Joe wrote a post entitled, “Be a Marketing Specialist, Not a Generalist” for the Marketing Executives Networking Group’s MENG Blend Blog, for which I am the Executive Editor.  I loved the post and wanted to share with you what truly resonated with me as someone who works all day with executive level marketers and CEOs.

Joe talked about how (people/clients/employers) “buy because you are the expert that will solve their specific problems.”  Really think about this – any employer looking to fill a position or company looking to bring in a consultant has a specific problem they are trying to solve.  Even a company looking to fill a “CEO” or “General Manager” role – which by nature require broad experience and expertise – is looking for the right person who has a specific talent based on that company or business group’s specific needs.

Perhaps it’s someone who has a specific type of turnaround experience, or is adept at negotiating acquisitions, successfully melding competing corporate cultures, instilling growth and disruption mentality into a historically low-growth business or successfully maneuvering a team through an attack on the company’s reputation.  The executive who brings that highly specialized experience to the table will get the job.

And this addresses what Joe points out is critical and yet we as leaders and marketers forget about when it comes to ourselves – differentiation.

I really can’t tell you how many meetings I’ve been in with executive marketers and CEOs that start with people going around the room introducing themselves.  It’s the very rare exec that successfully differentiates themself and stands out from the rest.  Normally, when it’s all said and done, I can’t tell any of them apart professionally. They’ve “successfully led this” and “branded that.” 

So what. We all have.

You know why the specialists are more successful than the generalists?  Here’s why:

• If you come to me and tell me about the challenge you’re having with business development at your company guess what – I know a brilliant marketer who is actually the most accomplished business developer around, and that is how he differentiates himself.  I’m sending you straight to him and I know he’s going to help you grow your business.
• If you tell me you need some brilliant sales advice from someone who has built their own business by selling every single day I know exactly who to send you to.
• If you’d like help infusing a culture of innovation into your business then I don’t have to think twice about who to recommend you to.
• And if you want laser sharp advice with your social media strategy, well, you get the idea.
• Finally – and importantly – if you share with me the challenge you’re having in your business and it screams at me “I need content marketing help” then I’m sending you straight to Joe Pulizzi himself.  And here’s the kicker.  Joe may not be the right person to get down in the weeds with you and create your new content marketing program, but as a specialist and the creator of that field he knows others who are also highly adept at content marketing, like Robert Rose or Newt Barrett.  It’s because he’s highly specialized that I know by sending you to Joe he’ll ensure you get the help you need to solve your specific problem.

(Answer to the above question: you’re memorable, you stand out and you’re recommended by your network and your network’s network to employers and clients significantly more often.) 

At the same time, every person I refer to here is a highly skilled, broadly experienced marketer and leader.  But it’s the fact that they are also a specialist that makes them stand out and helps others immediately see how they – and only they -can help them solve their particular, focused and unique problems.

So, the Million Dollar Question is this: What differentiates you and makes you memorable?  What should I know about you that makes you stand out so distinctly that when I hear a business need expressed I immediately say, “I know exactly who to send you to…?”

** In the spirit of full disclosure I am a contributing author at Joe Pulizzi’s Content Marketing Institute, along with Robert Rose and Newt Barrett.  It is a volunteer, unpaid position.  If Robert and Newt are actually getting paid then they should call me and let me know so I can have a chat with Joe… 😉 I kid…I kid… 😉

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Photo is Money! by TracyO.