David Meerman Scott wanted to move his office to a new location. So, he hopped on Google and searched for moving companies, narrowing it down to three candidates. Then the best-selling business author, keynoter and internationally-renowned expert on marketing and PR in the digital age sent each of the companies some information along with pictures of what he needed.

One company responded within two hours with a detailed price quote. The second company called him six hours later, essentially saying they’d love to help. The third company got back to him in about 24 hours with a detailed quote that was less expensive than first company’s price.

Who did Scott hire? The first company. Why? Because the speed and detail with which a representative contacted him convinced him they’d be the company to get the move done fast, proficiently and on time. He didn’t mind paying more for that kind of service.

The point? In today’s marketplace, sales victories are increasingly going to the most agile companies – the firms that respond speedily with solutions tailored specifically to a prospect’s unique situation. “We’re in the middle of a real-time revolution,” said Scott. “The decisive advantage is speed.”

Indeed, the competitive advantage that comes with reacting virtually on the spot to opportunities in the marketplace was one of the hot business-building topics Scott discussed during “Win the Attention Wars: The Art of Agile, Real-Time Selling” – his Friday morning keynote speech at ASI Dallas.

As part of the talk, Scott shared the concept of “newsjacking” – a term he created that refers to using blogs and social media content to tap into trending topics as they’re gaining popular traction, thereby attracting attention, and potentially sales, to one’s business.

Scott gave the example of Cash for Purses, a company that buys used high-end bags and recycles them for fundraising purposes. When stories started circulating in the news some time back that celebrity Lindsay Lohan was broke, the company – influenced by Scott’s teachings – “newsjacked” the story by writing a blog post in which it offered to buy Lohan’s extensive purse collection. Naturally, Cash for Purses shared the blog through social media. Celebrity journalists, eager for a new angle on the Lohan saga, began reporting on Cash for Purses’ offer.

The widespread media coverage – which cost Cash for Purses nothing – helped generate about $250,000 in sales for the company. “You can have the same kind of success,” Scott told ASI Dallas attendees. “It’s about developing your own real-time mindset.”

Being fast and highly responsive is pivotal. At the same time, said Scott, it’s also important to create, curate and share content that’s useful, interesting and/or entertaining to your desired prospects and clients. Such content – be it advice blogs, strategy articles, tip videos and more – helps attract potential customers, establishing you as a helpful solutions provider rather than just a purveyor of products keen to score a sale.

To succeed here, start by understanding the different types of buyer personas you aim to work with and then create and share content through social media channels and your website that speaks to those audiences. Then, when a prospect connects with you, quickly provide them with information and insights that’s relevant given their particular needs. “Be helpful first and then sell,” said Scott. “That’s what works.”

During his keynote, Scott also talked about the influence promotional products can exert. Noting he has bought more than $1 million of promotional products over the years, he opined that President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” hats – a universally recognized promo product if ever there was one – were a deciding factor in helping the New York businessman become the 45th President of the United States.

The point was not a political one. Rather, Scott was articulating the marketing power of promotional product solutions – how, when done well, they can play a pivotal role in engineering the most important real-world results. “Thank you,” he told the audience of ad specialty pros, “for what you do.”

Scott talks selling in real time: