Two Mormons on Super Bowl Sunday
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A pair of Mormons visited me during the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl on Sunday.
I’m not kidding. Right after the Saints challenged the call on their two-point conversion, I hear a loud knock on our front door. Startled, I hustled to the door and peeked through the blinds.
And there they stood. Two young and extremely white guys with clear labels on their lapel and eager to chat.
Now hear me out on this. I’m not ranting about religion. That’s not the point of this post. I personally don’t agree with most tenets of the Mormon faith, but I’m always nice, always conversational.
Except in the middle of the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl.
I yelled through the door, “Not tonight, guys.” They kept pushing. I repeated my response, and then made it clear that I was watching the game. They kept at it, until I finally had to be rude and just turn around and get back to the game.
Whose Time Are You Wasting?
You’ve got to appreciate their zeal and consistency. But I think you have to question their timing and approach. There was no way I was going to open myself up to a lengthy discussion on the Book of Mormon while the Saints (no pun intended) were making history.
The lesson is clear: why would you ask for something at the absolute most inopportune time? Seriously, why bother? Surely these guys knew they weren’t going to get anywhere on Super Bowl Sunday.
And yet, many of us do the equivalent every day. We knock on our customers’ doors, shouting out our “call-to-action,” knowing full well they are comfortable and content in their proverbial recliners, in absolutely no mood to hear anything we’re saying.
But we do it anyway.
Forget wasting your own time; how about wasting your customer’s time? How long do you think they’ll tolerate that?
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FYI, I hope you noticed I made it a point to keep this focused on business and not religious preferences. Keep it that way in the comments, if you don’t mind.
5 Links That Are Better Than Most Super Bowl Ads
By · CommentsMy reading has been quite focused lately: social media. Enjoy some of the real nuggets I found over the past two weeks.
- Why USANA is excited about social media: this guest post over on Jen Fong’s blog by Tim Haran is a great summary of what one direct sales company is doing with social media. I’m a HUGE fan of what Tim and team are doing over at USANA. One thing that really interested me is that even a company USANA’s size requires time to really get the ball rolling. I assume their fan page has been up a year or more, and they just crossed the 10k fan number (I think they’re past 11k now). It’s easy to think that everyone is going to flock to your fan page the minute it’s launched because they’re excited as you are about it, but it normally doesn’t work that way. Slow and steady wins this race.
- 13 Ways Businesses Can Leverage Foursquare and Gowalla: New friend Mike Merrill offers this packed list on how to use these two new social media tools. I admit, I didn’t know the first thing about these apps until reading his post. I’m not sure if I’ll jump on the bandwagon, but I do admit that the platform is powerfully promising.
- On Being the Message: Another friend (and one of DFW’s best kept online marketing secrets) Frank Barnett just launched a new blog, and I already love it. Frank has years of experience running hugely successful search campaigns, and it appears as though he’s gonna share a little bit of his brain with us. Lucky us.
- Fact: the Hundred Facebook Friends You Have Aren’t Real: Gangway Advertising reminds us of a humbling truth: “with social media, mass numbers are empty.” Too true, and too different from our normal way of thinking. How do you keep yourself in check from chasing followers and friends instead of connections and conversations?
- TheOatmeal.com: Co-worker Frank Taylor made the mistake of showing me this site earlier this week. I can’t leave it. It’s too freakin’ funny. Any site that boasts title like “How to Suck at Facebook,” “5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth,” and some saucy language about Pterodactyls is worth at least an hour of your time. And for those who know how, check out the source code of the home page. Genius.
Customers vs. Colleagues
By · CommentsTalking shop is fun. And it’s important. But talking shop doesn’t build your business.
Mechanics love talking cars with other mechanics. But it’s the suckers with the car that needs fixing that pay the bills.
Guitarists love talking gear. But fans by the record.
Direct selling reps love sharing best practices with other reps. But its recruiting other reps that leads to real business.
Now, with social media snowballing into the tool du jour of the past year, there are social media “experts” popping up on every block. And we all love talking about the tools and methods and attitudes that are interesting.
But the people who are succeeding with social media understand how important the tool is in connecting with their customers moreso than their colleagues.
Gary Vaynerchuk is known as a social media guru, but it’s because he used the tools to display his expertise in wine. Scott Monty is similarly a pioneer in social media, but he got there by connecting with Ford’s customers and even nay-sayers.
Too many of us are trying to prove to the rest of our colleagues that we know what we’re talking about when it comes to social media. The fact is the medium is too young for any of us to be experts. While it’s extremely important to carve out time to connect with those that do what we do, it’s more important to connect with those who want what we’ve got.
Spend less time focused on impressing your colleagues, and more time impressing your customers. Ironically, this approach will impress both groups.
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David Ogilvy on Lying to His Wife
By · CommentsDavid Ogilvy, Advertising Legend
“Never write an advertisement which you wouldn’t want your family to read. You wouldn’t tell lies to your own wife. Don’t tell them to mine.”
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My take: It’s hard to do regular quotes on marketing and for every one of them not to be David Ogilvy.
I think this has less to do with lying and more to do with not telling the complete truth. I don’t want my wife to not know that her shampoo might make her hair fall out. I don’t want to not know that my son’s crib has a faulty connection. I don’t want to not know what you already know but have chosen not to tell me.
It’s tempting to keep the ugly truths hidden. You could even say it’s your customers’ responsibility to figure out all the facts.
But all it takes is for me to find out one thing about your product that I don’t like and that I think you should have made clearer upfront, and I’ll never buy from you again. How does that sound?
Full disclosure is becoming less and less of a position and more of a prerequisite.
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Read all the quotes from the marketing greats now.
This guest post is brought to you by Karen Orem, a colleague of mine who has some provoking opinions about where social media may be taking us on a relational level. You’re sure to have a response, especially if you use social media to make a living, so be sure to chime in. Also, if you’re interested in guest posting, read the extremely lax requirements here.
Through all the ever expanding social media sites, email broadcasts, eReaders, iPhones, and soon to be countless others, we are able to connect like never before with people that we have something in common with, for whatever reason. We can tell our iPhones what music we like and don’t like and it will adjust accordingly. This is great: I can listen to things I like…what a great concept. I login on Stumble Upon: yep I like this, and no, this isn’t for me. Wow, look at how I can tailor-make my world. I don’t need a hardcopy newspaper, I can get the news I want, the way I want it. I can see the future of TV and computers being one, everything customized the way we want it. I can download the books I want and eventually, the choices could be tailor – made to me! I can decide if I want emails on specific topics, stores send me just the coupons according to my specific needs. How great for businesses, to know what you want, what your family uses and be able to deliver it to you. We are not too far away to having our customized selections on whatever we want.
Initially, I thought, wow, this is so great! I can explore my interests, and be exposed to more things that I like. Then I started to think about the flipside of this. Eventually, we can be exposed to exactly what we want…but doesn’t that put us in our own little bubble? Sure, some people certainly do that now, but outside differences are still expressed on the news, magazines, newspapers, at the bookstore. Pretty soon, I won’t have to be exposed to any differing views, or things that irritate me. But, there is so much value in being exposed to differing views. It can create a cause to action, it may question your viewpoint… challenge it. Hearing different perspectives can spring forth new ideas, increase communication skills, encourage you to find out more about something that you weren’t even aware was happening. You can gain further understanding of different cultures, understanding, sympathy, compassion, and voice your opinion when you’re exposed to something that doesn’t seem right. It can help you explain your values and morals to your children, and maybe stop them from going down the wrong path because you became aware of something that you wouldn’t have just stumbled upon.
Does Social Media Really Help Us Relate?
If we’re in the marketing or sales business, how are we going to relate to other people, to continue to have practice in seeing another person’s perspective?
It just seems very ironic to me that on one hand, we have unlimited exposure to so much and on the other hand, it looks like, along with this, we will all put ourselves in a nice little bubble…and then what?
We may go from making the world a lot smaller to eventually limiting ourselves so much that we don’t understand anyone anymore…including ourselves.
About the Author: Karen Orem specializes in assisting, supporting and guiding in the direct sales arena. She is a coach in progress and is involved in supporting the DSWA’s Coach Excellence Program, DSWA’s ELITE Leadership Program, Team Connections, The Coach Toolkit and Direct Sales Distributors. Karen is also working on her own eBook to support direct sellers in need and a weight loss book which will challenge you from the inside out. Contact Karen at korem@tx.rr.com.
What Obama’s State of the Union Teaches Us About Choices
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While watching Obama’s State of the Union last night, I was surprised to find myself really enjoying his speech. For the record, I didn’t vote for Obama, and I’m not his biggest fan (nor his worst critic). But I couldn’t help but, at the least, enjoy his delivery, and beyond that, maybe even some of his ideas.
So it hit me that I could choose how I wanted to react to this speech. If I wanted to be an Obama-hater, I could find plenty of sound bytes and fact nuggets to support my case. If I wanted to be an Obama-lover, I could do the same thing.
We don’t rely on facts to help us make a decision. We choose what we want to believe, and then we go find the facts to support it.
We choose whether we’re pro-life or pro-choice, and then make our case.
We choose whether we believe in global warming or not, and then make our case.
We choose whether we’re a Mac or PC, then make our case.
Oddly enough, most campaigns, promotions and sales tactics concentrate on a group we like to call the “undecideds.” That group doesn’t exist, and they aren’t worth chasing.
Instead, find the people who have already chosen to believe whatever you’re promising, and keep giving them reasons to feel good about what they’ve chosen.
Stop thinking your in the business of changing minds and rather in the business of helping people make their case. That’s your market.
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Speaking of choices, you could make what some think is a great choice and subscribe to Marketing In Progress. Just sayin’.
Pastry Photography and Niches
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I was a party recently and a friend’s college-aged daughter was telling me what she’d been doing since graduating from high school. She started with telling me that she had completed French pastry school in California, which I thought was pretty cool. Then, just as I asked her what she planned to do with that “degree,” she continues to tell me now she is learning pastry photography.
Pastry photography.
I was awestruck. Not only have I never heard of such a profession, but my mind was swimming with questions:
- How many pastry photographers are there in the world?
- Are the baguettes ever moody or hard to work with?
- Do the models make a lot of dough? (Sorry, I can’t help it)
The question I chose to verbalize, though, was a simple one: “Wow! So what are you going to do with this experience in pastry photography?”
At this time, her step-mom stepped in and said “Oh, she’s 20 years old. She doesn’t know.” And the daughter nodded in agreement. And that was that.
But what I wanted to tell this girl was that she’s extremely smart, and she’s already got at least a 15-year head start on probably all of her competition. That she’s doing the right thing by chasing her passion, and figuring the rest out as she goes.
I wanted to tell her about the power of a niche.
The Courage to Chase Your Niche
There are countless blog posts on how the Internet is giving any niche its space, and that those who can really “niche down” can rise to the top relatively easily. That’s not the point here.
My observation is the courage to chase your niche once you know it. To boldly follow your passion into uncharted waters, figuring out the next step just after making your last step. Doing it all with the mindset of a college student who really has no concept of responsibility yet, but they do know what makes them happy. So they just keep doing it.
The advantage is that, if you stay with it, you’ll build an amazing reputation in a specific area. If you don’t stick with it, you’ll still have the attitude and experience of knowing that chasing your dreams is nowhere near as daunting as adulthood likes to make you think it is.
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I enjoyed a rare treat last night and attended the Social Media Club of Dallas‘ event featuring Chris Brogan. As you can imagine, it was a who’s who of social media savants and marketing junkies from the MetroPlex. I decided to show up, too, and I’m glad I did, this being my maiden voyage into one of the club’s events. The event was held at the Angelika Theatre, which is always a nice choice.
Call it catharsis, or whatever comes to mind, but I left the event with both some huge, dwell-on-it-for-days takeaways, as well as some stare-in-the-mirror-and-hurl disappointments in myself. Probably not the call-to-action you wanna hang on the flier, but it worked for me, I think. Here’s how I break it all down:
- It’s amazing how many of us are just trying to figure it out. Maybe it’s just a man thing, but I can’t help but go to an event like this one where there are so many social media and marketing giants and start ranking myself among the crowd. The thoughts kept crossing my mind early on until I finally slapped myself across the chops and repeated the following mantra: “Social media is not a competition.” The event got a lot better after that for me.Seriously, why do we drive ourselves so hard to be the best that it squanders chances like this where we can learn so much from others who are clearly using the tools in super-creative ways?Anyway, I ranked myself low. Very low.
- The idea of customer managers: Probably the thing that stuck with me most from Chris’ speech was the idea of customer managers instead of product managers. Product managers typically go make a product and then look for someone who should buy it. Customer managers get to know their customer and then find products that make them happy. It’s not a new thought; Seth Godin has been preaching this sermon for years. But to go so far as to change titles and think of it departmentally only makes it more definitive, and it reminded me how much easier marketing becomes when you simply commit to knowing your customer.
- I’m about all learned up. For the most part, I didn’t learn too much new at this event. I’ve read and talked and listened and thought a lot about all the new tools the web has made available. But it struck me that I’ve done next to nothing with all of this learning. As Chris kept making his point of truly connecting and listening, his bluntness and clarity made me realize that I still don’t do these things very well, even though I know better. I love telling people that it’s important, but there’s not a lot of proof in this pudding.
- Forget selfish listening. Okay, maybe don’t forget it, but it dawned on me that the real opportunity with Twitter search, for example, isn’t so much in knowing what people are saying about your company, but rather in searching terms that people who could benefit from your company are probably using. And then go find them and connect.
- Be patient and giving all at the same time. Chris’ book Trust Agents is a New York Times bestseller. He said the formula for getting a book on the bestseller’s list was to help people out and never ask for anything in return for 11 years, and then ask for one thing once. Pretty profound, and it sums up the other key takeaway of really making sure that what you’re publishing and producing is truly seen as a valuable gift to others. And then keep doing it.
- I suck at solo networking. I flew solo for this event, which was a mistake. I knew a few people there, but not enough to where it felt right to hang with them all night long. So, I was mingling on my own, trying to spark a few conversations. I called it quits after introducing myself to Brian Clark of Copyblogger fame, basically pulling the Dumb and Dumber equivalent of “Big Gulps, hey? Well, catcha later.” Let’s just say there was an awkward pause after my first sentence, which was also my last. Though I’m definitely at ease once a conversation starts, I gained an even higher appreciation for those who know how to start them.All that said, I did manage to have a great chat with Colin Burns (@CBurnsTCU), a power-Yelper and Chipotle’s leading man in the realm of new media, as well as Doug Caldwell (@Doug_Caldwell), facilitator extaordinairre. I also got to catch up with Tyler Horton (@HortonTyler) from Moroch PR, which is always nice.
All that to say it was a good event, and a great first impression of Social Media Club Dallas. I wish Chris’ speech had been a little longer, but, of course, he could’ve gone another hour and I probably would’ve wished for that.
Big thanks to the sponsors: TripCase, Nomee, Southwest Air, Fairmont Dallas and Firehost.
Any of you who were there, what was your biggest takeaway? Also, how to you get the conversation going when you’re flying solo?
The Right Way to Do the Wrong Thing
By · CommentsNothing sharpens your perspective like challenges.
Take Jeff Healey. No one in their right mind would play a guitar the way he plays the guitar. It’s not coorect, and guitars weren’t meant to be played the way he plays them, laying the body in his lap and fingering the fretboard from above.
But Jeff lost his sight when he was eight months old, and started playing guitar when he was three. The way he wanted to play it. Because he didn’t know any better. Because it made perfect sense to him.
The real story here isn’t that Jeff Healey overcame blindness to become a great guitar player. There are lots of blind guitar players. The story here is that his challenges are actually what made him unique. His playing style opened up options that those of us who play guitar in the “normal” way simply don’t have. His style got him noticed by Stevie Ray Vaughn and Albert Lee; gave him chances to play with Eric Clapton and George Harrison. Heck, he even got to be in the movie Roadhouse.
What challenges can you embrace rather than avoid? What things do you need to unlearn before you can really move on?
FYI, things really get good around the 3-minute mark on this video.
Interesting Stats about Today’s College Student
By · CommentsI was recently sent a list of the 200 Best Blogs, Free Courses and eBooks for Business Students as ranked by OnlineCollegesandUniversities.com. It’s a pretty resourceful and thorough list, including great links for investing, marketing, management and even ethics.
What really struck me, though, were some of the stats listed on the site’s home page referring to today’s student:
- One out of three college students drop out after the first year.
- The average college freshman spends only eight hours a week studying.
- 57% of students require six or more years to complete their degree.
- Freshman spend over 9 hours a day using media and technology like phones and social media.
- Students spend more than $5.5 billion on alcohol each year.
Be sure to check out the other interesting stats on the site. After briefly browsing around, there are definitely some great resources on there.
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