I've been learning a lot lately about marketing from the current crop of gurus -- C.J. Hayden, Ed Dale, Mike Dillard, Seth Godin, Mack Michaels and Jay Kubassek, to name a few. And I am pleased and grateful to be soaking up what they have to offer.
But while most of them were learning to sound out the words "How can I help you?" a young man named Kevin Thyr (pronounced 'teer') was out there practicing attraction marketing, bootstrap marketing, niche market identification, scalable system design and, most important of all, sales as service.
Kevin was a sales rep and later sales manager and vice president for a few large printing companies in Minneapolis through the 80s and 90s when digital imaging and the internet were emerging technologies. It so happened I was a print buyer for an exercise equipment manufacturer during those same years.
What impressed me right from the start about Kevin was that he didn't launch straight into his pitch. He first showed a real interest in getting to know me and the company I worked with. He listened, he laughed with me, and he sympathized with my frustrations (in reproducing our logo colors accurately, for example). Then he went to work and came up with solutions for whatever I needed.
In retrospect, I consider him nothing less than a miracle worker. At the time, I took it all for granted. I was thankful, of course; but I just figured that was his job and he was doing it.
It wasn't until Kevin experienced some health and family situations that took him out of circulation temporarily that I realized how rare a bird he was. The guy that took his place looked and dressed like a movie star. As he began his presentation he winked and smiled at me, knowing how wowed a dowdy little matron like myself was sure to be by his credentials and -- well, let's face it -- just by his awesome presence.
But it turned out he was unable to deliver the very same product Kevin had been having printed for us on a regular basis for several months. Prices were going up, it seemed. We either had to cut a few corners or accept a scaled-down product. Oh, and this next run would take longer to print also. However, if we would consider doubling our order, then we would carry more clout in scheduling the job on press and he felt sure he could get us priority treatment.
Whereas, with Kevin we already were a priority because we were a customer.
It is only now, as I take on the role of marketing myself and some products and services to others, that I realize how much I learned from Kevin. Sales is a service profession and you don't achieve success there with flashing white teeth or manipulative teasers. As a famous salesperson once said, "Let him who would be greatest among you, become the servant of all." (Matt. 20:26)
Look for a need that someone has and learn how to fill it, so that he or she will be happy and you will end up with something to support your family as a result. That is the "right livelihood" definition of salesmanship that Buddhists have advocated for centuries and Kevin Thyr has embodied for decades.
Kevin, if you happen to Google yourself and end up on this page, here's to you, long-lost mentor and friend. Don't know how I could hold my own in this hustling internet marketplace without the lessons I learned from you. When you're ready for me to ghost-write your bestseller, I'm there!
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