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The Sales Lion Inspiration: Business Confidence

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Oh, man. I’m hot for this topic today. Thanks to Marcus Sheridan who deserves ALL the credit for what’s just below. Combing my reader to find some inspiration, I landed on The Sales Lion just this moment. And. Read. The. Whole. Post. With. Relish.

Marcus shares that he is the subject of a documentary and whilst filming he turned down a major inbound query that could’ve been a sale for his swimming pool company. The cameraman was befuddled, and Marcus shares that he was less than interested because he is not all things to all people. That caller needed a concrete company and not The Sales Lion (I don’t know if his pool company is called that or not).

Then Marcus takes it one notch further and asks his community to “promote yourself…come on…tell me about you as a blogger; do you know yourself; can you turn down a sale that’s not right for you?”

Marcus’s insight for the cameraman is that “you don’t know yourself or what you represent to be able to turn away business.”

Do you know yourself as a blogger?

Marcus is asking all of us to fess up to this question — if we can’t define who we are and what service we offer and to whom, then we will fail in business and in blogging. I love this hard knock question. Let me try, Marcus, to answer it here instead of in your comments section as you’ve invited. I encourage everyone to visit your house and try to do the same:

My business is public relations at its core. As I review the sphere, I see that I’m not traditional or typical. I cross boundaries squarely into marketing; in fact, I’m a chief marketing officer for one client and a marketing brand manager for another. That blend also includes new media which I’m challenged by every day to keep abreast of what’s new.

As a service business, I need to know my capabilities and expertise. There are few if any products I offer and when I do attempt to sell message mapping to clients for added value (and this is so critical), clients don’t understand the need or the worth.

That’s the other thing — knowing that what I offer is a specialty business and showing clients that value. New media has altered the perception of public relations, and many clients think they know how to DIY PR. Not so, and it’s a fine line to prove to clients they need my services.

Have I ever turned down business? Not really, but what I did do was turn down money.

Recently, I took on a client who wanted to pay me $20,000 monthly on retainer. They had no idea. I suggested something more palatable like $7,500 a month, and then I looked more closely at the business and knew I would reduce that retainer even further to a manageable and not over- promised, high-expectation budget. So, I knocked off another $4,000 and am proving that my team is worth more money at the end of the initial three-month engagement.

That example is as much a lesson as what Marcus shares in his blog post — are you confident enough in your talents to either turn away a valid sales lead or suggest a reduction in retainer until everyone is in sync?

Thank you, Marcus Sheridan of The Sales Lion, for this automatic inspiration!

 

Triberr Means Business

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If you’ve not heard or seen anything about Triberr, you’ve been asleep, or just not circling in my circles. The Triberr founders are doing a bang up, and I mean bang up, job marketing their start up. In a recent Skype conversation with Dino Dogan, he told me they’re working hard and getting tired, but the fun is just beginning.

If you’ve been asleep, let me help you with some archived conversations on a variety of blogs. Some love Triberr, some don’t; others flip-flop and go back and still others are on the fence. This post really has nothing to do with that.

What I want to do here is recognize and deliver kudos to Dan Cristo and Dino Dogan for their business acumen.

*They launched a start up that was ill defined in the beginning and confusing for some.

*They took precious time to hear their critics and make changes to their app.

*Everyone who blogs gets a comment from one or both of them; everyone.

*Everyone who tweets with #Triberr or @Triberr in the 140 gets a response from one or both of them.

*When you least expect it, Dino is engaging tweeps and making hilarious sheep video with @DannyBrown and beating the +K Klout game.

Dino and Dan are everywhere; they live and breathe their brand; they are personifying their brand, and they’re recruiting new tweeps to come on board and try their product. And, you know what? It’s working.

These two guys today deserve entrepreneur of the year awards for their business acumen; for the diligence in marketing and branding they’re showing; for their dedication to their business and interest in making it perfect; for their openness to listening and improving their product; for their endless nights to make the green lights glitter.

I have no idea how well Triberr will fare in the future, but it really doesn’t matter. With these two go-getters at the helm, there’s no doubt in my book it’s already a success. Congrats, Guys, for being the visionaries you are and having fun while doing it. (Hey, Dino? Put the sword away.)

Mommy Bloggers Vs. Mompreneurs

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In the most recent AdAge, there is a story about a new talent agency for mommy bloggers who have had a category of their own for years. I wrote about their influence during the Pampers Dry Max debacle which shows moms’ influence at large and not just a niche blogger set.

Danielle Wiley, a former Edelman digital exec, launched Sway Group and expects to earn $1 million her first year. She invited 30 mommy bloggers to join her outfit and in one week had affirmative responses from them all. Sway Group will “broker” deals between PR firms and their clients who want the influence of that mommy niche. There are some heavy hitters, no doubt in the list if you read the story.

I’m wondering, though, why mompreneurs don’t get no respect?

I spent the last eight years trying to keep the fact I was a mompreneur secret. I have a successful business to run and what image do diapers and bottles conjure to a client who wants it yesterday? On the flip side, mompreneurs are one hot commodity. We have solid expertise in vertical industries; we run professional businesses; we have blogs with influential readers; and, we are parents experiencing the same crises other parents are.

Think about what corporate marketers are missing without professional mompreneur bloggers to tout product?  Some mompreneurs do this:

$ We are most interested in efficient products– those that work and do not break.

$ We need economical products yet we are willing to spend the extra dollar on a premium product.

$ We will outfit our kids in Gymboree from birth to size 12 (which I did) and an occasional Hannah Andersson outfit.

$ We will buy the organic fruits and raspberries out of season because the health of our kids comes first.

$ We are able to travel to family destinations on an annual basis (Disney, Disney) and we require high connectivity and technology while away from the office.

Granted, my blogs I write on and for small business, PR, social media, and marketing don’t have the subscribers of an established mommy blogger; however, when you tally the Klout scores of my community and network, that’s a heckuva lot of influence that’s being ignored.

Maybe I’m in left field and just missing the action…set me straight!

PR, Business Development & Today’s News

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Today’s news in the Wall Street Journal “Marketplace” section is chock full of opportunities for some PR peeps. Let me share (although I see they’re getting stingy with their story links and wanting $ so I promise to find other sources for links) and see if you agree and can go get some new business in your neck of the woods using these features below:

** WellPoint (aka Anthem) is asking hospitals to increase patient quality and reduce re-admissions otherwise the hospitals will not get payment increases as high as they used to. WellPoint is going to score hospitals on a test with 51 indicators for patient treatment quality. The indicators include preventing patients from relapse, following a safety checklist and patient satisfaction.

“The change is part of a broader shift within the health industry to compensate providers based on the quality of their care, instead of the volume of tests and treatments they perform. Next year, as part of the health-overhaul law, the Obama administration will rework how the government pays hospitals through Medicare so facilities with better-quality treatment outcomes get higher reimbursements,” said the

$$ — Public Relations Opportunity: Hospital marketing/PR departments need to educate physicians/providers on this new change that will cascade throughout all payers. It only takes the first one to cause the entire industry to follow suit, and the pressure will be on providers to deliver higher-quality treatment rather than higher volume. Having worked in health care marketing my entire career, hospitals focus less on provider relations and more on patient relations. There’s an opportunity to create integrated programs to help push quality treatment from all sides of the health care equation. In addition, PR can share these stories with patients (old, new and soon-t0-be) that quality treatment is a first priority.

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is taking a hit with Japan still re-building after the quake that ruptured an entire industry. Demand for vehicles is rebounding, and U.S. dealerships are struggling with a shortage of Lexus, Honda and Toyota brands.

$$ — Public Relations Opportunity: Any U.S. dealerships that sell autos made in the good ‘ol US of A should pounce on this opportunity to sell American cars, especially fuel-efficient American cars. We’re inundated with advertising campaigns to sell us cars; but, what about a PR campaign that’s solid and education oriented? I always liked the programs by auto repair shops that taught women what’s under the hood.

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— Have you ever known a publisher to execute a PR campaign? GASP! Imagine if they did; perhaps that’s the way publishers get us to pay $455/year to get the Wall Street Journal online, in print and digital.

$$ — Public Relations Opportunity: Start engaging in social media, publishers and create a loyal community for the brand. Because, just like law firms, people are dedicated to a personality — the reporter who writes a favorite column or story. Because we can’t buy a year’s print subscription for $10 any more, we consumers of news are going to need some help keeping loyal with publishers’ brands and not reading at the local library.

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: No surprise here and a good PR idea…digital publisher Rosetta-Books, LLC is giving away digital editions of five classic titles (now movies) to jump start sales of online books. The promotion launched May 7 and ends June 3.

$$ — Public Relations Opportunity — E-book publishers are going to need to keep PR top of mind to ensure digital book readers keep the money flowing. I’m not sure how all this is going to work unless PR is adopted by authors and publishers. Perhaps authors are going to need to use PR/social media even more so on their own i.e. book signings, appearances at special events, social media engagement, and direct marketing.

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There’s another struggling to get people to buy the product after all the cool re-vamp re packaging, displays and what about the taste? Have you tried that stuff lately? My kid loves the Chicken and Stars, but man, I cannot eat that without hot sauce.  So, PR teams inside and at agencies — how about a cook off contest using Campbell Soup as the foundation? And, I’m not talking about mom’s famous casserole with all those cream-based cans of fat.

 

 

 

Do You F*!@-n Jam?

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Please pardon the borderline-naughty language today! (Hey, notice the byline — it’s NOT Jayme Soulati.)

One of my exes was a drummer who took the idea of his drumming pretty seriously. He was forever getting the “let’s hang out sometime and jam” from not-as-serious musicians. Privately, these requests outraged him. “I’m a PROFESSIONAL. I don’t f*!@n jam,” he seethed at me after yet another one of these requests.

Recently my best friend Steph and I decided to borrow this phrase and apply it to requests for free labor.  You know, “Can I pick your brain?” or even “want to be a part of my project (where I’ll end up sticking you with all the work)?”

“Sorry, I don’t f*!@n jam.”

Possibly this is an internal response. But slackers and cheapskates be warned: we don’t f*!@n jam.

Do You Jam?

Michelle Quillin of New England Multimedia asked recently on FB “How do you handle requests for “free” or “super-reduced price” services with a promise of “future work” and “referrals”?”

My polite response was: “’thanks but no thanks’ in most cases, “yes” in very special cases.” Of course, what I meant was the above (sing it with me!), “I don’t f*!@n jam.”

Small businesses need to be careful about jamming. You want to say yes, because saying yes feels good…right until you finish saying it, when it starts to feel terrible. Projects drag on and on. Your ideas are stolen and profited from. The “future work” and “referral” payoff never come.

Davina Brewer posted how she handles the “jam” request –she lays out some good responses you can actually say aloud. I particularly like step #1 – “tell ‘em it costs money.”

Gini Dietrich wrote about the true cost of brain-picking here. Her argument is, “…[in]  industries where people sell their brains for a living…Time is how we make our money. We don’t make widgets. We don’t sell products. We don’t manufacture anything. We don’t process anything. Our brains are our products and…every time someone asks us for free help, they’re taking us away from clients or opportunities to make us money.”

Who’s In Your Band?

On the other hand, you’ll play music with your band, won’t you? So who’s in your band? For me, I’ll always help out a friend, because my friends rock and give it back to me in spades. If they don’t pay me, they’ll return the favor for sure.

If I don’t already have a relationship (business or personal) with someone, they aren’t in my band. No jamming.

So…do you jam?

Have you jammed? What was the result? How do you handle jamming requests?

(Image: Flickr Creative Commons by Jonas Bengtsson)