Power Play: Be the first to know, first to try, first to buy

Power Players walk the walk. They don’t stop at knowing. They progress to trying and then to buying.

Power Players know that nothing beats first-hand experience. Trying, tasting, using and experiencing is critical in showing employees, customers and clients that nothing can ever replace genuine first-hand knowledge.

I recently found myself at a lunch with a group of CEOs, hosted by an Aussie-owned fast-food chain’s CEO.

The fast-food honcho asked the round table (stacked with other rich honchos who usually eat at fancy joints most nights) whether anyone had recently had one of his burgers. I watched a singular CEO talk in specifics about the entire product range and the fact that he’d done a drive-through a few nights before. His description of the burger, the fries, the dessert, the pricing and the special offers was nothing short of enthralling.

Everyone else at the table looked sheepish, not to mention snobbish, at their lack of knowledge.

No surprise what happened after that. When the fast-food honcho was shopping for a new PR company, he went straight to that knowing CEO without even so much as a pitch. Be the first to know, the first to try and the first to buy.