My INBOUND JOURNEY - Do the right thing!

 I participate in very few events. But, when HubSpot announced the Inbound 18 event, there was a palpable excitement within me to participate in the event. And why not? As a HubSpot Silver Partner agency, Fractional CMO has always learned amazing lessons from HubSpot and used it to grow the business for our clients.

For me, it was a natural progression to attend the event and see and hear the speakers talk live about inbound marketing.

The event began on 4th September at Boston. The energy in the atmosphere was high, and there were so many things to see at the event that I did not want to miss any of them.

There were a lot of great sessions too, but the highlight for me was the session by the brain behind HubSpot - Dharmesh Shah.

Here are the key takeaways from that session:

Takeaway #1 - Own your screw ups

It’s human to err. So, do not hesitate to own up to your mistakes with your client. Be the first one to do it before your clients find it out. Say, “We are sorry, we are on it”. They will understand, even appreciate you for your honesty, and give you an opportunity to rectify it. A lot of founders I interact with say this in a sugar-coated way but have never seen a founder putting this at such a big stage. 

Takeaway #2 - Make exit as easy as entry for your customers

One of the most common CTA used in the world is ‘sign up’, and marketers pay maximum attention to it.

Dharmesh just nailed it by saying it’s important to give equal importance to the ‘cancel my account’ option too. It will not just make the process of exit easier for your client, but it will also help you in building an everlasting relationship with them even if they are no more subscribed to your product or services.

Takeaway #3 - Do the RIGHT thing even if it’s hard. ESPECIALLY WHEN IT’S HARD.

Your clients will trust you when you do the right thing even if it’s the hardest thing to do. So, do not hesitate to take the right decisions. I have always tried to practice this when talking to my clients. This is something sales and account managers should embed at every step of their process.

If you have a service which will not work for the client do not pitch it, even if clients come and ask for it. It simple! This takeaway is not just for business but true in life too. We all know this but do we really follow it?

There are very few times when I have come out of a session introspecting about what can be done to improve what I do currently. This can easily be one of those eye-opening sessions that compelled me to think and act.

My team and I are all geared up to incorporate these lessons in the way we work.

I was disheartened to leave one day prior to the end of this amazing event, but then I am also happy because I got to bask in my fanboy moment with Dharmesh!

Note: This is the first of the series on Inbound Journey - a memoir where I will share my experience at Inbound 18.