Arnel Pineda. Tim Owens. John Corabi. Gary Cherone.
If you are a fan of rock music, there is a good chance you are familiar with the names listed above. For those of you who have no idea who these people are, here is a quick rundown:
Arnel Pineda has been the voice of Journey since 2007.
Tim “Ripper” Owens fronted Judas Priest from 1996 – 2004.
John Corabi replaced Vince Neil as the singer in Mötley Crüe between 1992 – 1997.
Gary Cherone was the lead singer in Van Halen from 1996 – 2000.
Four legendary bands and each one replaced a distinctive voice with that of another. While each band continued to record new music and tour to varying degrees of success, they all lost the critical component of individuality each original lead singer brought to their respective groups.
Van Halen provides the best example of what the impact of losing an integral ingredient can bring: With Gary Cherone as the singer, the group not only lost the element of danger and hedonism that David Lee Roth brought to the band, they also lost the majority of their audience and record sales plummeted. No one would dispute that Gary Cherone was a technically better singer than David Lee Roth, but the band just wasn’t the same without Roth’s swagger, personality, and individuality.
The same uniqueness that only David Lee Roth could bring to Van Halen is not dissimilar to the distinctiveness that every promotional products professional needs to share with their clients. All too often, salespeople engage prospects and clients with a sameness that is as bland as hospital food. Do you think David Lee Roth would present promotional marketing ideas in a proficient, but boring and mundane manner? No, he would engage his target audience the same way he would if fronting Van Halen – as charming ringmaster with unbridled confidence and creativity.
Don’t squander your chance to be a rock star the next time your prospect or client gives you an audience. Channel your inner front man and share the unique qualities that make you different than every other person on the planet.
The question is simple: would you rather be Gary Cherone or would you rather be David Lee Roth?
Be Bold. Be Unique. Be You.
Bill is president of PromoCorner, the leading digital marketing service provider to the promotional products industry, and has over 17 years working in executive leadership positions at leading promotional products distributorships. In 2014, he launched brandivate – the first executive outsourcing company solely focused on helping small and medium sized-promotional products enterprises responsibly grow their business. A featured speaker at numerous industry events, a serial creator of content marketing, president of the Promotional Products Association of the Mid-South (PPAMS), and PromoKitchen chef, Bill has extensive experience coaching sales teams, creating successful marketing campaigns, developing operational policies and procedures, creating and developing winning RFP responses, and presenting winning promotional products solutions to Fortune 500 clients. He can be reached at bill@PromoCorner.com.