Tuesday 30 June 2009

As Good As It Gets

I love the argumentative and awkward character that Jack Nicholson plays in the movie “As Good as It Gets!” It's Jack, but even more obstreperous than normal. Coming out of the Doctor's surgery he turns round to all the patients in the waiting room and utters the immortal lines “What if, this is good as it gets?” to a bemused reaction.

And that's how most directors of marketing and sales seem to think when reviewing the lack of alignment between their teams. Well it's not very good, but it's as good as it gets.

Now there is plenty of both anecdotal and scientific research about what happens with this failure to align. However, what people are looking for is how to fix it.

I think people want simple, not complex solutions.

It's not about technology.

It's not about software.

It's about people, that simple.

If marketing is seen as Fancy-Dan head office function and sales is seen as a Neanderthal field function. Then why the surprise?

The first task is to break down that head office/field office barrier and get people mixing, talking and going on calls together.

Simply put, what they first need to do is they need to spend time together

Monday 29 June 2009

What have you sold today?

I sold my beloved VW Passat today in less than four hours from start to finish.

Placed an ad on Gumtree with an eye-catching headline

Sold it for cash.

I got seven times more than my wife expected.

So....

What have you sold today and if you have when are you going to get paid for it?

Wednesday 24 June 2009

Meet Me in Newbury Park, Essex on Monday July 13th





Stop Trying to be Liked!

Your job is not to be liked!

Your job is not to be popular

Your job and role is to serve your constituency by spreading ideas to them that they find useful and practical through your products and services.

It takes a pretty immature attitude to need to be liked.

Have something of value to offer and go promote it.

Now, I'm not suggesting you be obnoxious or rude, and it's OK with being likeable, but please don't lead with your needs. Lead with your constituency's needs.

And stop talking about your family. I don't care!

Have to go now to pick my daughter up from her class. Have I told you she's the ...

Tuesday 23 June 2009

Collaboration is Not a Dirty Word

Having grown up on a diet of John Mills, WW2, Prisoner Of War movies on TV, I have must have heard the phrase “We don't collaborate with the enemy” and “Collaborators are cowards” countless times. Collaboration became a dirty word.

Now in business I have to reprogramme myself. Reaching out to others, running join ventures and joint promotions are ways of spreading the risk. Other promote my events. After all it's much easier to promote somebody or something else than yourself. It's more believable.

So..

Collaboration is Not a Dirty Word

Work with others, stop trying to control everything.
You can't and it doesn't bring great results.
Does it?


Collaboration should be your best friend and tool.

Start talking, pick up the phone.

Monday 22 June 2009

Marry your Best Benefit!

I was evaluating a client's marketing brochure the other day and ended up confused.

I couldn't see the purpose of the brochure. She was telling people how good their business was and what they did. But reading it as a prospect I couldn't understand what was in it for me

My conclusion?

Just one benefit in your market piece, please!

If you talked about one single benefit to the exclusion of all others what would it be?

Have you got one benefit that you can explain and that prospects want? I bet you haven't!

Is it measurable and deliverable?

“£75,000 worth of new clients in 17weeks”

Good, maybe

The toughest of you might even say that is too feature led.

What would this new business and in that time do for a business?

Think in terms of both hard and soft benefits, the mind and the heart, masculine and feminine...can I say that?

Go and focus on one single benefit!

Friday 19 June 2009

Sell the Sizzle, Not the Steak

It's an old fashioned sales line.

Focus on what excites people NOT the product, NOT the thing.

I love the smell of open air BBQs in the summer.

The smell and smoke makes me salivate and want to eat sausages!

What makes your prospects salivate?

It ain't your products, it's how it makes them feel.

Market that! Go on make them salivate!

Pass the ketchup.

Thursday 18 June 2009

Why most blogs are deadly boring and dull to read.

Simple!

Because the writer goes on about themselves, their ideas, their business or worst of all their family,

Nobody cares about you, only your mother and she could be jiving you, too! Sorry BB

I don't care about you.

And you don't care about me.

When was the last time you picked up the phone to me?

Go on, when?

Never.

You see you don't care, do you!

Stop pretending you do, and stop listening to all those new age hippies who talk about this crap.

So stop talking about yourself and start talking about me and my interests.

And no, I don't care where you are going on holiday.

Have you been to Blackpool? See!

Wednesday 17 June 2009

Your Logo and Colour are NOT your marketing.

Logos, Themed Colours and websites are NOT your marketing.

Please don't obsess about these things, who notices them anyway?

Your marketing is YOUR message.

What do you have to say to your constituency and what can they repeat to the world?

L'Oreal market all their beauty products to women “Because they're worth it!” A powerful, repeatable message and improved from the original “Because I'm worth it!”

What is your message and how are you going to communicate that to your constituency?

Tuesday 16 June 2009

Theo the Magician

Theo the Magician does something to stand out and be different to other magicians.

He wears a bright blue jacket covered with rabbits. Other magicians hate it when Theo turns up, he looks like a magician, people get what he does.

How can you dress or show up and people get what you do straight away?

See what Theo looks like when he shows up.

Monday 15 June 2009

How to prepare for a media interview

Here is a quick Audioboo interview I conducted with Alan Stevens,
The Media Coach, about preparing for media interviews.

Friday 12 June 2009

It's Friday and I feel good.

Must be listening to James Brown full blast at 7.47am

Therefore, I want this to be about you, not me.
However it's kind of weird to write when it's about you and your business, not me.

So here's what I want to say, How can I help you get your message out to clients and prospects today. How? Call me. Text me, AudioBoo me and I will help you. No obligation. No fee.

Give it a try I want to help as I'm feeling particularly altruistic.

Get in touch.

In the meantime here's one of my AudioBoos to listen to.


Listen!

I feel good

Thursday 11 June 2009

Design in Marketing

I received through the mail today a 5CD collection from a well known expert on Postcard Marketing. What strikes me is how cheap is looks, because no money, I mean no money has been spent on design. It's all black print on white paper even on the cover of the CDs.

Now the author of this material may claim that this is a white label pre-release version. I hope they are right.

Because there is no colour, no design, no graphics and no pictures. It looks like some bootleg from the 1970's. Hang on some of those bootleg albums had design even.

I encourage you to spend time and money, yes money, on designing your marketing materials and products. Start to collecting samples of stuff that appeals to your senses.

Remember as my friend Scott McKain says “all business is show business.”

Wednesday 10 June 2009

Top Ten Ways to use AudioBoo

Audioboo is a free iPhone application that allows you to make a 5 minute recording on your iPhone then upload it to the AudioBoo website. No chance to edit, you have to get it right in one take, although you can pause the recording. If you want to, AudioBoo will automatically distribute a link to your twitter and Facebook profiles. You can also cut and paste the embedded code and URL of the audio. Enough of the geek stuff.

I like AudioBoo in that in my opinion you start to get a real feeling about the personality of the broadcaster. We are all broadcasters now.

Quicker and dirtier than a traditional podcast. Is Audioboo the future of podcasting?

How can you use this technology? Here are some ways AudioBoo is being used

1. Simply to broadcast information, news, or promotion about you or someone else

2. Conduct a 5 minute interview

3. Record a speech or performance, yours or someone else.

4. Review a book, movie, performance etc.

5. Ask for boos from your constituency about what's happening. ITV did this during the FA Cup Final. BBC Radio London also asked for boos from the street during the tube strike.

6. Asking for feedback and comments, Tony Blackburn does asks for requests for his radio show.

7. Quizzes. Stephen Fry runs a Mystery Word and Mystery Person boo

8. Audio diary of a personal event, birth of a baby

9. Organising where to meet with friends or conspirators!

10. Testing whether you can deliver an Audioboo from your iPhone

My Audioboo recordings are here

Got any more?

Tuesday 9 June 2009

How do you market and sell a commodity?

What if your prospects see your products and services as being similar if not identical to other suppliers. Then, what do you have to market? Availability, service, price, delivery.

These are hard things to compete on, because things can go wrong.

People mess up

How about competing on you?
Yes, you.

Not invisible stuff like integrity and authenticity.

How about being able to tell your story? Why do you do what you do?

How about competing on your difference. How are you different to your competition?

Tell your market about these things

Simple questions, tough answers.

Monday 8 June 2009

Marketing Monday

Every Monday on twitter, some of the community enter into marketing Monday. You might want to share ideas or ask questions. I run a marketing clinic for 30 minutes where you can message me your marketing challenge, all on twitter.

So what?

How can you use a platform like twitter to showcase your expertise?

How can you help or add value?

There's also a Mum's Monday and a Money Monday on twitter.
How about a Magic Monday, Web Wednesday.
Enough of the alliteration you could also run a Project Manager's Thursday.

Twitter gives you a chance to broadcast to and interact with that follow you, your constituency.

It's easy and simple, go add value.

Friday 5 June 2009

Penny Power

Penny is the founder of Ecademy.com and takes a kindly maternal role to the members there. For that alone she deserves to be mentioned and written about. However it's her views on modern networking that will challenge you most

@PennyPower sees the majority of us wrapped up in a style of networking that is Closed, Controlled and Selective. Penny suggests that we choose to network with those who we see as useful to us and dismiss other as being of less value.

Penny believes that to be successful on-line we now need to be Open, Random and Supportive. Less hierarchical and trying to be in control.

You can see the former as being atypical masculine, corporate behaviour and the latter as being more feminine and family behaviour.

Now, I'm a bloke, so you can guess where I feel more natural. “Pass me the remote now, please!”

How about you, how Open, Random and Supportive are you?

Thursday 4 June 2009

Been on a tWalk?

Oh my God! You haven't!! Why not?

OK ,I'll stop being a teenager.

A tWalk combines there things, twitter education/master-class,
networking and an organised walk.
The last two have been referred to as a netwalk.

I attended a twalk yesterday that was organised by Tom Evans
aka @thebookwright in the Surrey Hills.
Excellent day to learn and network.

You'll find my audioboo below.
Or you can search twalk on twitter.

Listen!

If you get a chance to attend to take part in a twalk, my advice is to take it!

Wednesday 3 June 2009

"Shut Up, Now!"

Sometimes we are better off saying less!

Do you know how hard that is for a professional speaker to say?

You hear enough from me, don't you?

You know what I do.

Today, I'm simply going to shut up and give you a rest.

I'll be back tomorrow.

Have a good day.

Tuesday 2 June 2009

What is Twitter?

It's a phenomenon, 10 million users?

No advertising

Free communication, but what is it?

I think that twitter is: A simple way to communicate your message to your constituency.

So,do you know what your message is and what your constituency wants?

Ah!!!!

That's your homework

That's marketing.

Monday 1 June 2009

Can you See the Real Me?

Track 2, Side One of the Who's Quadrophenia is one the boys best performances, the song is “The Real Me”. It has one of the best bass lines in rock music. Love it.

Now part of my goal with this blog is for you to see me, the real Roderick P. Sloane. I want you to see the real me, because.... I want you to see how I'm different. Dramatically Different!

Obviously, you can only get a flavour of what I'm like from my words, important even though they are.

So if you can see and hear me, then maybe you get an impression of how I'm different.

One way I choose to do this is with AudioBoo which is an iPhone application. It allows you to make a quick recording on your iPhone and then upload to your profile on AudioBoo. All happens very quickly. It's like an audio version of twitter, maybe!

You can listen to my AudioBoo profile here.

You can see my picture.

Be Different, Not Better!

Can you see the Real Me?