What George Clooney Can Teach Us About Marketing

George Clooney is one of the most well-known and successful actors on the planet.

But he didn't start out that way.

His first years in Hollywood were brutal, he got rejected over and over at every audition he went to.

Each audition he'd go into he'd nervously think to himself: “God, I hope these guys like me”or “God, I hope I don’t screw this up”.

Eventually he started to get bitter. His ego and self worth were beaten down and after many failed auditions he started to blame the producers and directors for not seeing how good he was.

Getting started in the movie industry wasn't easy or natural for George Clooney.

So he tried a shift in perspective.

He realized that the casting agents are under pressure too.

They need to find somebody, the perfect somebody, for their role as soon as possible.

The casting agents need the audition to go well just as much as he needed it to go well.

So he changed his mindset. He was going to be their solution. He wasn't going to be somebody begging for a shot, he was going to be the one to help solve their problem.

He learned what specific roles and needs each casting agent and director needed for a particular part. He practiced his delivery and developed his own unique spin in each character to make his audition the best it could be, not only for his own sake, but for the casting agents' sake too.

He took his career to where it is today using this new mindset and confidence.

We can learn a lot from George Clooney and his perspective shift.

Sometimes if feels like we go into a meeting with a new prospect thinking "I hope they like me" or "I hope they buy from me".

But with a shift in mindset, we can realize that they want to find the perfect fit for their issue as well. They're in the meeting with you because they have some sort of problem and they just want to get it fixed as soon as possible.

Sales gets less stressful with a shift in perspective.

The Takeaway: Your potential clients have a problem and want to find a solution as soon as possible. Be their solution, don't be somebody begging for a shot. With a shift in perspective you may be the answer to your prospect's prayers.