Playing Nice in the Sandbox

Today I walked into my local Cleaners about to refill my rack with fresh books, and low and behold another Direct Sales distributor and placed his literature in front of mine so you couldn't see my books.

So I took down his number and called him.  I wanted to kindly suggest to him to purchase his own rack and sit it right next to mine.  

He was nice enough in the beginning.  I introduced myself and explained why I was calling.  He didn't really seem to have any issue with what he did,  as he pointed out he had permission from the Cleaner ladies.  They are really so sweet in there,  you could ask them anything and I'm sure they'd agree.  

When I pointed out to him that I would never walk into a place where his literature was sitting and put my brochures in front of his and that I didn't think it was cool he turned on me.  Wow that didn't take long at all.  He turned on a dime, trying his best to engage me.  Imagine one company investing in a billboard and another company building another billboard millimeters in front of it. It just doesn't make sense and is not kind business practices.

I promptly and politely made my exit.  You can always stand up for yourself and still be nice.  Take the high road, people!  You won't be sorry.  Words can't be taken back once they're out there.  

This is also a great reminder that marketing is not like a crock pot. You can't set it and forget it. Constantly checking in on things will help you know how your placements are doing and if you need to migrate around town. Every moment is a learning lesson for your business.