30 Years of Repertoire
I’ve been thinking all year about what to write in the Publisher’s Letter for this special issue. I kept landing on “culture.” For 30 years, Repertoire has been hitting mailboxes every month to bring a culture of excellence in healthcare sales. This is issue 362, and I could not be prouder of the content our team has created for this special issue.
When I think about culture in business, so many great companies and people come to mind. Like Pat Kelly in his book “Faster Company”, the first chapter is titled “A Cross Between the U.S. Marines and Animal House”. Now there’s a culture! It reminds me of my start-up days with Billy Harris at Sempermed. Billy would tell everyone: “If you work here, you better wake up with two scoops of fun, or don’t show up at all.” And then there are the legends, the two characters who take the cake for culture, Scott Fanning and Jim Niekamp. The stunts they pulled off at Midmark are legendary. So much so they were able to start an entire business teaching others how to build a culture which would generate customers for a lifetime.
Everyone knows the stories – dressing up as brides and grooms for HIDA, renting out Wriggley Field for a dealer vs. manufacturer baseball game, training a monkey to sell a power table, going undefeated in ping pong for 25 plus years, the mongoose stories – and my favorite, buying the first two ads ever in Repertoire Magazine, yet not submitting an ad until the second issue. When asked why, Scott replied, “Because if it sucks, I don’t want Midmark in it.”
Some of Scott’s pearls of wisdom for creating a culture which generates customers for a lifetime include:
1. Non-card-carrying calls, in other words make it memorable.
2. Do favors for them. Find ways to say yes to your team and clients.
3. Remember them by making them look good in front of those they care about the most.
4. Care more about their success than your own.
5. Show them don’t tell them, creatively show them the problem you solve.
6. The best story always wins, know your company’s best story and perfect it.
“Remember them, recognize them, and do favors for them.” – Scott Fanning, the legend
Well Scott, here we are 30 years later, and hopefully we didn’t suck!
I’d like to thank Brian Taylor, Chris Kelly, and Mark Thill for the legend of Repertoire magazine. I would also like to thank the industry, our advertisers, and finally our readers – you are the glue that holds us all together.
Here’s to 30 more years!
R. Scott Adams
Publisher