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You don’t have to be the best, to be the best. Wait, what?! [VIDEO]

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Yes, you read that right.

You don’t have to be the best, to be the best. To be successful in business you don’t have to be the best at what you do.

Have you heard of Joshua Bell? He is one of the finest classical musicians in the world. He plays to packed audiences all across the globe, making upwards of $1,000 per minute.

The violin that Bell plays is a Stradivarius violin built in 1713, currently valued at $3.5 million. This particular Stradivarius violin, being close to 300 years old, is renowned to be the most beautiful sounding violin ever hand crafted.

So, here we have the finest violinist in the world playing the most beautiful violin ever. It is safe to say that Bell, as an artist, is the best at what he does.

At the height of his career in late 2006, Bell was approached by the Washington Post to participate in a social experiment. 

The publication wanted Bell to play impromptu at a local Washington subway for an hour, and during which approximately 2,000 people would walk by him playing.

So on the morning of January 12, 2007, Bell played through a set list of classical masterpieces with violin case open for potential busker ‘earnings’.

Can you a guess how much the finest violinist in the world, playing the most beautiful sounding $3.5 million violin made in that hour?

The finest violinist, playing the most beautiful amasses a meagre $32 from passersby.

Don’t believe me? See for yourself.

What I intentionally left out of that story was that two days earlier, Bell had sold out a theatre in Boston, where he made upwards of $1,000 per minute, like I earlier mentioned. To see Bell perform in Boston, it would have cost you no less than $100 per ticket, but tickets were already sold out.

So, let’s compare Bell in Washington with his sold out Boston Theatre event. We have the same musician, the same violin and same audience. In a business perspective, it is the same product or service and potential market.

With that in mind, the question is, what was the difference between Bell making $32 at the Washington Subway event, to him making $1,000 per minute at the sold out Boston Theatre event?

Without marketing Bell is only worth $32 hour.

And, that right there is the bombshell that unsuccessful business owners often fail to grasp.

You can have the best product or service in the world, but without a marketing strategy, you will be the Josh Bells’ of the world playing for $32 hour.

So, let’s go back to my original statement.

To be successful in business you don’t have to be the best at what you do. You just have to be the best marketer.

The great news for a number of small business owners is that you don’t have to out-market the rest of the world, big business or corporations. You only have to out market your closest competition.

For example, an Italian restaurant in your local suburb does not have to out-market a global hamburger chain or, even the Italian restaurants in the next state – they only have to be better marketers than their closest Italian restaurant rivals.

Remember, Josh Bell is the best at what he does, and yet without marketing, he is only worth $32 per hour.

David Caruso is a dynamic business and marketing speaker. From online marketing to best business practices, David has a presentation topic that will not only educate, but entertain your audience.

Stop and hear the music – Josh Bell for the Washington Post