Shut Up & Learn

Yesterday was marathon client calls for me.

I spent an hour each on the phone with some of my A-listers.

There were a variety of expectations on my role and it usually changed with each call, and like an actor in a street troupe, I donned various “hats” according to my role.

On one, I was just supposed to keep my mouth shut (no mean feat) and entertain a very mutually-advantageous joint venture.

On the others, I was expected to contribute some brilliant marketing strategies and verbally outline how I’d shore-up anemic copy.

And on yet another, my job was to help brainstorm their marketing strategy for 2007.

Now it’ll probably comes as no surprise to you that each of these company stakeholders also has a very healthy ego.

And if I’d been talking to anyone else, these calls could have turned into verbal chest thump-a-thons, with each alpha male attempting to establish dominance over the other. Instead, we all participated in supportive, frank conversations with each adding value to the topics of discussion.

Of course, not everyone behaved. But then there’s always that one who’s so over-the-top alpha, it becomes obvious to all that he’s masking a HUGE insecurity, isn’t there?

And so I talked when I was expected to say something useful and smart . . . and listened actively when it was the other guy’s turn.

The listening part was kind of like being a water filter . . . taking it all in, filtering out stuff that didn’t apply, and digesting the good stuff.

Ok . . . I mixed the metaphors, but you get the idea. Here’s some of what I ‘digested’:

In talking over solutions to an email marketing challenge, one Marketing Director presented a possibility so huge, it instantly changed my mindset and the possibilities I hold for my companies, probably for years to come.

One company owner gave me two tools that will allow me to get at least three times more copywriting and business-building content created each year than I ever dreamed possible.

Without even realizing it, one CEO triggered an idea that completely wipes out the #1 problem every freelance copywriter struggles with (including me) – and that I’m confident will add a hundred grand or so to my bottom-line over the next year or so.

Ummm. Not bad pay just for muzzling the ego, learning and listening!