Dear ,
In 1972, a band by the name of Stealers Wheel released a song that contained the lyrics:
"Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, here I am..."
STUCK IN THE MIDDLE WITH YOU
(also the name of the song)
I couldn't help but think of those lyrics several months ago when a new client phoned me for a consultation.
Mind you the client paid A LOT of money for this call.
Among the many things we covered, he asked me to help him with a particular aspect of his marketing. I told him how to approach it using a very specific PROVEN tactic.
He paused.
Then he said, "I was speaking with my sister about this one time and she thinks that wouldn't work."
Me: Does she have any background in marketing?
Him: No.
Me: Has she run any kind of business?
Him: No.
Me: So, why doesn't she think it wouldn't work?
Him: She read somewhere that it's kind of outdated.
Me (in my head): How silly is this?
What I'm trying to say is this:
I don't object to you getting someone's opinion regarding your business or what they think about a particular strategy.
But the key is: GET THE ADVICE OF PEOPLE WHO ARE PROVEN IN THEIR FIELD. People with actual experience.
Here was someone who paid me close to $1,000 for a phone consultation, I was sharing insights and secrets and over 30 years of experience in business and marketing... and he was more influenced by what his sister, who had zero experience in the field, supposedly read "somewhere."
You just have to wonder sometimes.
So, please, be discerning when weighing someone's opinion... because I can assure you..
...not all opinions carry the same weight. Nor should they.