Not surprisingly, out of 415 people that read the article, only 5 voted (including me). (As an aside here, you inbound marketers, this is the kind of apathy or fear that you have to deal with. They might not care enough about the message to click the link to vote. They also might be fearful that if they click the link, it’ll indicate interest and subject them to years of spam and unwanted messages.)

Also, not surprisingly, 3 voted for Clooney and 2 for Nolte. So, apparently appearance and design do matter.

But, this is why I asked the question and the lesson that I wanted to share.

Here’s why I voted the way that I did.

I figure that if the shop has two chairs and two barbers that they try to be busy and they want to get their hair cut during the slow times. I figure that it’s pretty difficult to give yourself a haircut. I also figure that they don’t want to go down the street to get their hair cut. What kind of message would that send if one of their customers saw them getting their hair cut in another barber shop? So, I’d guess that they cut each other’s hair. (You could just ask them where they get their hair cut to confirm.) Now, with that logic in mind, do you want a haircut like George Clooney’s or like Nick Nolte’s?

So, I voted for Nick Nolte because he cut George Clooney’s hair and I want to look like that. (BTW, if you want a haircut like Nolte’s then clearly you want Clooney to cut your hair.)

Here’s the lesson and I’m gonna use me as an example, but you can apply it to any consultant that you know. I can be abrasive with my clients. I can be unbending with my clients. It’s not unusual for a client to be uncomfortable during a coaching session with me. But many of my clients become rock stars and they’re proof that my style works. I remember someone telling me years ago that they didn’t want to learn to sell the way that I did because she didn’t like the way I sold. She shouldn’t have been looking at me. She should have been looking at my clients.

Anyway, remember that I told you that I was only gonna use me as an example. Here’s the deal. When you want to hire somebody to make you better at something, find somebody that you want to be like and ask them who they hired. Then contact that person with the resolve that you will do whatever it takes and hire them even if it hurts or don’t waste your money.

CTA = Click I want to be a Sales Rock Star!