The 4 C's & Social Media

This came from a Zig Ziglar newsletter:

Social Media: Employing the 4 C’s

By Carrie Wilkerson

I have grown my online audience and lists to about 100,000 people with no paid advertising. I used traditional list-building methods for building a list of 24,000 in my first 10 months online, to supplement my online and offline businesses.

Now let me tell you how I doubled that prospect list again in six months….two words – SOCIAL MEDIA!

Points to remember:

I draw attention, prospects, sales (flies with honey, etc.) with the four C’s: Character, Conversation, Content and Consistency.

Have Character
Especially if you are building a business online (I’m guessing that’s why you are reading this), you need to have character! You would not (hopefully) go to a party and immediately start insulting people, bashing companies, or making inappropriate comments to strangers. Remember, this is a very large FISHBOWL, and people are listening and watching. You are your own marketing, so guard your character.

Be Conversational
Do not walk into the party, stand on a stool, and just shout self-promotional things or preach at people. They will either kick you out, talk about you, or WORSE, grow deaf to any further messages you have. Interact with people, show interest in them, and see how you can be of value in their space.

Provide Content (which is totally different from being contentious, FYI.)

Believe it or not, 140 characters is a great amount of space to show tidbits of what you know about your business and area of expertise. You can establish trust and credibility and TEACH powerfully with those 140 characters over time! Tools, resources, videos, quotes, and lessons learned are all very good at helping solidify your validity in your niche or market.

Be Consistent
You don’t have to show up on Twitter as much as I do to be effective! But if you only come around when you are bored, have a promotion, have a blog post, or are seeking input, your fellow party-goers will see right through that! So be consistent and engaged. Your face popping up on their screen should not cause a “HEY – who is that?” It should cause them to say, “Oh hey, there you are!” We trust the people who are consistent in our lives. The barriers of resistance are comfortably lowered. It is the same in social media circles.

THAT is my whole magical formula. Seriously. You thought it was going to be rocket science, right?

But I prefer to measure based on interaction, conversation, and the growing size of the circle surrounding me at the party. As long as they want to be in my space, I will welcome them there. I will use my brand of encouragement and edu-tainment to hopefully make them smile and perhaps even enlighten them a bit.

So here is the @Barefoot_Exec magical “Build Your Business with Twitter” strategy in a nutshell:

When your audience knows you, likes you, and trusts you, they will want to know MORE about who you are, who you know, and what you have to offer.

» Attract followers with your willingness to engage.
» Take action using what you know.
» Maintain a regular presence on social media sites.
» Let it be about them, not all about you.
» Grow your circle and your clout!

I don’t “drive” prospects to my blogs, sites, movies, promotions or offers. I draw it there with the four C’s: Character, Conversation, Content, and Consistency. Try it for yourself and let’s talk about it on Twitter!

Carrie Wilkerson is known as the “Barefoot Executive.” She is the voice of experience. From corporate life to teaching high school to direct sales, she has “been there and done that” professionally and personally.. She’s now built several businesses and coached others to do the same while overcoming extreme debt, losing 110 lbs and having four children, ages infant through 12! As “The Barefoot Executive,” Carrie and her network of experts have quickly become the definitive resource for work at home professionals. Follow Carrie on Twitter @Barefoot_Exec.

See Carrie LIVE on August 18, 2009. Click here for more details.

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You are Creative

For the last couple of months, I took over as the acting General Sales Manager for my group of radio stations. I had to un-do a few things that the previous General Sales Manager had done and one of those was to show our sales staff that they were creative and capable of doing more than they had previously been told.

The area was creativity. Specifically, commercial writing. Our previous GSM was convinced that he could not write and so he found some creative ways to avoid writing such as hiring someone else to write his commercials.

Yet, I knew that everyone is capable if they are given a little guidance, so my training for a couple of days to our sales staff was designed to open their eyes to their own abilities and now they are working on doing their own writing.

What about you? Are you stuck? Need a fresh perspective? Here's a great article from Roundpeg to stir up, shake up, and wake you up:

Turn Off Auto-Pilot! Turn On Creative Thinking!

Posted by Lorraine on May 3rd, 2009

Do you sit in the same place everyday? Drive to and from work along the same route? Tackle problems in the same manner?

Habits are easy, and they help us get through the day. Do them too often, however, and you end up in a rut. Let the ruts get too deep and it is hard to find a new solution to a problem or challenge. Sometimes drastic measures are needed to break out of the rut

This is especially true for small business owners, looking for ways to take their business in new directions. Sometimes the best thing to do is Break the Habit!

If you need a fresh idea, try a new direction. Consider using a technique called “Random Input.” This technique helps you break away from restrictive thinking patterns. It opens a conversation about new solutions you normally might not associate with the problem.

You can do this anywhere, but my favorite location, is an outdoor cafe, with sunshine, a Latte, blank sheet of paper, and a pen. To get started, select a random noun from the dictionary or any noun which pops into your head. Since it works best if the noun is something you can see or touch like a car, or hat, I usually look for something on the street around me as a starting point for my brainstorm.

Next, look for ways to connect the noun to the challenge at hand. As you brainstorm, do not eliminate or evaluate ideas. Let your mind wander. Capture every idea. Yes, you will have some useless ones. Others may lead to valuable insights. And at least one is likely to make a startling, creative leap.

Here is an example of how Random Input can work. Imagine your challenge is to find a new fundraising project for a teen soccer team. You have considered all the conventional solutions, but nothing really exciting comes to mind.

Now is a good time to try random input. You see your favorite plant on your desk and decide to use the word “plants.” Brainstorming may lead to some of these ideas:

• Plant seeds in the spring, and selling the young trees in the fall
• Offer lawn care services instead of the typical car
• Sell decorative floral arrangements for holidays
• Solicit sponsors for the trees around the playing fields

You will generate even more ideas if you brainstorm with others. Invite 3 - 5 people to join you for short (20 - 30 minute) sessions. When it comes to brainstorming, two heads are definately better than one!

The ideas will be sketchy at first. Many will be may be useless or impractical. Yet, one might be original enough for the basis of an entirely new concept. Try it! Random input is a great new habit to develop.

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A Social Media Game Plan

When you are presented with new options and ideas, do you jump on board or wait and see?

This week I met with a doctor who signed for a Twitter account and yet is not sure what to do with it. Over the years I have met many business people who are avoiding social media for the same reasons. But just because you don't understand it, doesn't make it unimportant.

I am on Twitter. You can find me @ScLoHo. Follow me if you want. I do not automaticly follow everyone back. I have a game plan for using Twitter just like I have a plan for using Blogs, and other internet based resources. I also have a plan for my real-life, face to face meetings and work and networking. And my plans are working the way in the manner that I want them to work.

Coming soon, I will be doing some marketing presentations based on a number of topics and one will include the tools we call social media. In the meantime, I want to give you some food for thought. (Twitter is responsible for this article show up right now on Collective Wisdom. Earlier today, someone that I follow on twitter, wrote a headline with a link to this article.) The article was found here.

These days, I am hearing from many friends and clients who lead various types of businesses that they are being pitched social media strategies from all angles. Their own employees are excited about Web 2.0, and are offering their ideas to management. At the same time, outside marketing consultants are cold-calling company leaders with offers of grand, off-the-shelf social media plans. Often, executives and managers tell me they feel completely overwhelmed with all of the possibilities, and they don’t know where to start.

Unfortunately, I see too many companies start by getting completely ahead of themselves. They are so eager to get “out there” with something related to this hot, new area of communications and marketing that they don’t lay the same solid foundation they would if they were, say, launching a new product or opening a new location. Instead, they are deploying their social media planning in a relatively scattershot way, with little information to guide their direction. Unfortunately, results from such an approach are likely to be just as unfocused and random as the implementation.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. By taking a step back, and spending a little extra time on the front end with a “first things first” approach, companies can reap meaningful benefits from the time, energy and money they spend on their foray into social media.

While the specific tools and opportunities presented by social media may still be unfamiliar to many businesspeople, these same folks are real pros when it comes to smart strategizing in general. It’s those stellar planning and execution skills that put them into corporate leadership positions to begin with. And as it happens, smart, effective social media campaigns benefit from that same thoughtful, executive-level planning process, a process that puts first things first.

The Three Fundamentals of First Things First Social Media Strategy

• Define your goal(s): Ask yourself and your leadership team what specific results you hope to achieve with the resources to be allocated to social media. For one company, desired results might be unaided brand awareness, while for another, it might be all about the number of customers who walk through the door. The strategy should be crafted to produce these results. Without clearly and proactively defining goals, however, your plan can end up a complete misfire.

• Survey the landscape: No businessperson would spend money on a traditional marketing plan without some basic research to guide their execution. Social media implementation benefits from the same preemptive intelligence gathering. A well-implemented social media monitoring plan offers useful data on the online conversation already taking place about a particular brand. Social media marketing and public relations is all about developing authentic relationships and conversations with customers and potential customers. In order to get that two-way dialogue underway, you first have to go where your target demographic already is. By thoughtfully gathering some preliminary information, you will know whether that’s My Space, Google Groups, niche site message boards, Yelp, or Twitter - each of which requires a distinctly different and nuanced approach. Again, this sort of up-front data collection can prevent misdirected allocation of social media resources.

• Work from the inside out: Odds are that many, if not most employees of any given company are already engaged in some sort of social media usage in their private or professional lives. Whether it’s a Facebook or Linked In profile, neighborhood listserv participation, or an employee-authored parenting blog, these pre-existing, internal online networks can either work to a company’s social media advantage or disadvantage. The vast majority of employees want to do what they can to promote their employer’s success and profitability. What these loyal employees need is some validation and specific guidance in best practices (as well as the big no-no’s) in how to conduct themselves while online. By creating an official Social Media Engagement Policy that is clear, reasonable and positive, companies “start at home” with their social media strategies - a smart approach. Not only will such a set of house rules help to prevent unintended public relations snafus by employees, it can also yield tangible benefits. As an example, imagine what a cost effective recruiting tool it could be if a female employee who happens to author a popular mommy-blog on her personal time were to write about her employer’s generous maternity benefits. Voila! Instant and authentic brand evangelism, which is pretty much the holy grail of social media marketing.

These three fundamentals of social media planning can prevent a lot of waste and stress in the longterm. Unfortunately, a lot of companies are feeling pushed to jump ahead of themselves when crafting their strategies, skipping over these important steps.

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Inspiration from Harvey

From one of my mentors:

Harvey Mackay's Column This Week

Finding strength in adversity

I have never met a successful person who hasn't had to overcome a little—or a lot—of adversity.

Adversity is the prevailing theme of the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, which bears the name of the renowned author Horatio Alger, Jr. His tales of overcoming adversity captivated the public in the late 19th century. The association honors dedicated community leaders who demonstrate individual initiative and a commitment to excellence; as exemplified by remarkable achievements accomplished through honesty, hard work, self-reliance and perseverance over adversity.

In early April, I once again attended the 2009 Horatio Alger Awards in Washington, D.C., as I have every year since I was inducted in 2004. The association, a nonprofit educational organization that awards more than $10 million in scholarships annually, was established in 1947 to dispel the mounting belief among the nation's youth that the American Dream was no longer attainable. The Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans is dedicated to the simple but powerful belief that hard work, honesty and determination can conquer all obstacles.

Oprah Winfrey, a Horatio Alger member, experienced much abuse and adversity as a young child. She learned that if you want to not only stay alive, but also make something of yourself, you have to overcome obstacles. She said: "Always continue the climb. It is possible for you to do whatever you choose, if you first get to know who you are and are willing to work with a power that is greater than ourselves to do it."

Retailing magnate, J.C. Penney, another member, added: "I would never have amounted to anything were it not for adversity. I was forced to come up the hard way."

Why do some of us have what it takes to pick ourselves up off the canvas when others are ready to throw in the towel? I don't know the answer, but if I did I'd bottle it.

I do know this: It isn't all that rare. The human species comes equipped with built-in mental toughness. Some of us just don't know it's there.

Take it from an old peddler: The hardest sale you'll ever make is to yourself. But once you're convinced you can do it, you can.

Adversity is the grindstone of life. Intended to polish you up, adversity also has the ability to grind you down. The impact and ultimate result depend on what you do with the difficulties that come your way. Consider the phenomenal achievements of these people who experienced extreme cases of adversity.

• Beethoven composed his greatest works after becoming deaf.
• Thomas Edison had an IQ of less than 100, almost died of scarlet fever and was nearly deaf, yet he became one of the greatest inventors in history.
• If Columbus had turned back, no one could have blamed him, considering the constant adversity he endured. Of course, no one would have remembered him either.
• Abraham Lincoln became one of our greatest U.S. presidents, despite dropping out of grade school, going broke, having a son die at a young age and running for political office and losing four times.
• Carol Burnett, another Horatio Alger member, was raised by her grandmother because both her parents suffered from alcoholism. She lived in an impoverished area, was divorced twice, yet went on to great success and her variety show won 23 Emmy Awards.
• Glen Cunningham was seven years old when he was so badly burned in a schoolhouse fire that his doctor said, "I doubt if he'll be able to walk again." Yet he went on to become the outstanding miler of his time.

Nature is full of wonderful examples of how adversity fosters strength.

Botanists say that trees need the powerful March winds to flex their trunks and main branches, so that the sap is drawn up to nourish the budding leaves.

Pearls form inside the shell of certain mollusks as a defense mechanism to a potentially threatening irritant such as a parasite inside its shell. The mollusk creates a pearl to seal off the irritation.

And it was Ralph Waldo Emerson who pointed out, "When it is dark enough, you can see the stars."

I don't like adversity any more than the next guy, but I welcome it. It has made me stronger, more fearless, and ultimately, more successful. Stare down adversity and watch it blink.

Mackay's Moral: A smooth sea never made a skillful sailor.

Miss a column? The last three weeks of Harvey's columns are always archived online.

More information and learning tools can be found online at harveymackay.com.

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Top 10 Small Business Marketing Mistakes to Avoid

Got this in an email from Mantra.com:

The Top 10 Marketing Mistakes Small Businesses Make

By Susan Burnash

Marketing is critical to the success of every business. Unfortunately, many businesses discount the effect it can have, and they forgo marketing because they believe they can't afford it or simply don't have the time or energy to create a plan. Perhaps this is why a high percentage of small businesses fail. But you don't have to be a statistic when you approach marketing with the importance it deserves. Below you will find some of the most common marketing mistakes businesses make.

Mistake #1: Not Developing a Marketing Plan

Most entrepreneurs or small companies are understandably eager to see a return on the investment of time and money they have made in their business. Ready to start cashing in, they either hit the pavement running or hire a salesperson to do it for them. But a business trying to sell a service or product, without first creating a marketing plan, is much like a marathon runner with no finish line. At first, you may feel like you are moving forward and passing some of your competitors by, but sooner or later you'll find yourself running in circles; frustrated, exhausted and sadly disillusioned by an idea that not too long ago created the exact opposite effect. What is a marketing plan and why create one? Because it's the foundation of your business and it helps you design your product and service, identify your target audience, and provide a roadmap to head you towards your final destination: Success. But equally important, a marketing plan provides the specific details needed to increase visibility, expand your customer base, and provide quantifiable methods to measure your return on investment (ROI).

Mistake #2: Not Planning a Marketing Budget

Most businesses without a marketing plan also lack a marketing budget. And companies without both have the highest rate of failure. After all, would you run your personal life without a budget? If you said yes, you may be one of the unfortunate souls overextended with credit or on the verge of bankruptcy. If you own a small business, this can be avoided by simply creating and living with a well-conceived marketing budget. From the very beginning, and while you are writing your Marketing Plan, it is important to focus on the financial costs of implementation. A general rule of thumb says that at least 10% of your revenue should be designated for your marketing efforts. That means dollars specifically pinpointed for Web site design and maintenance, logo design and brand development, marketing collateral, both print and electronic, and paying someone, if you don't have the time, skills, or desire to do so, to handle all of your Public Relations needs. But make sure when allocating money for marketing that you also have a means for tracking your ROI. If your ROI is low after several months of trying a particular strategy, go back to your marketing plan and look at trying something different. If your ROI is high, stay with what is working, but go back to your plan and budget and accelerate to the next phase.

Mistake #3: Not Targeting a Specific Target Audience

How does the saying go? "You can't be everything to everyone?" When it comes to sales and marketing nothing could be truer. That's why identifying your target market is critical to your success. It is also critical to choosing the appropriate marketing techniques to reach potential customers. If you are selling a woman's product, be women-centric with your marketing, advertising, and PR campaigns. If you offer a service or product for small businesses, stick to small business publications and mailing lists. Targeting Fortune 500 companies is a waste of time and money. They already have established vendors in place. So, don't try to be everything to everyone.

Mistake #4: Not Developing a Clear and Consistent Marketing Message

Messaging is the careful development of the precise and concise language that quickly conveys the key message(s) you want known about your product or organization. In today's competitive landscape if you can't convey these messages quickly and have them resonate, you'll lose your potential customer to someone else. Make sure your message and images recognize your product, so be consistent. The last thing you want is to confuse a potential customer by losing focus on what is really important.

Mistake #5: Believing Your Product or Service Will Sell Itself

Many companies make the mistake of thinking that their product or service is so great and so different that they don't need to market it at all. This may make sense to you, but think of all the products and services you use today. Did any of them just find their way to your door simply because they were perfect for you? The reality is people need to be told why they should buy your product or service. They need to be convinced that they can't live without it. And once they have it, you need to provide them with customer service and personalized attention to ensure they will continue to use it. All of these things require marketing. If you have limited funds, start with business cards, a Web site, informational collateral (print or multimedia), an introduction/sales letter, and a customer service/thank you letter. Once things are moving along you can add direct mail postcards, electronic newsletters, video emails or product/service CD brochures to your marketing toolkit. No matter how great your product, don't forget you still need to market it to get it sold.

Mistake #6: Not Clearly Defining Your Product or Services' Benefits

Today's highly competitive marketplace is constantly changing and often consumers are confused about the products and services they purchase. Educating your customer is critical. Defining your product or service benefits is imperative. If you can't put into writing what makes you different from the competition (i.e. local vs. out of state) or, what makes your product or service different from the competition (i.e. organic vs. processed) how can a potential customer make an informed decision to buy. By defining the unique selling proposition for your product/or service you will help your target audience differentiate you from the competition. Isn't that what you need to do to increase your sales?

Mistake #7: Underestimating the Value of Your Existing Customers

Most businesses think that the way to increase sales is to focus primarily on new customer acquisition. Unfortunately, this often means poor customer service to existing customers who, if serviced well, could provide a strong revenue stream to keep your business healthy and strong. And sadly, the lack of good service and communication with an existing customer often means that customer will go elsewhere to find what they need or want. After all, who wants to be taken for granted? If you want to stay in business and grow, you must be sure to turn existing customers into lifetime customers. Call to say thank you. Check in to see if their needs are being met. You might feel like you're wasting your time, or being a pest, but ask any customer who stays loyal to a particular company and you'll always get the same answer: "Good customer service!, it's why I stay and when I don't have it, it's why I leave." Listen and learn!

Mistake #8: Thinking that Advertising is Marketing

Often small businesses confuse advertising with marketing. Asked how they market their product or service they'll explain how they've spent lots of money on advertising but often the results have been poor. From experience, I can almost bet that these same people have also committed Mistake 1 & 2. Advertising is not marketing! It is a piece of marketing, but only a small piece, and with so many ways to get your product or service out in front of potential customers, advertising should only be considered if 1) You have plenty of disposable money to spend on big ads that can run at least five times to increase your odds of being seen. 2) You are pooling your money together with other companies with limited funds to provide a variety of services or products that work together or draw from the same customer base. This is called cooperative advertising and done well; it is the most effective way to get the biggest bang for your buck. Before you spend a dollar on advertising, spend the time needed on a marketing plan and a marketing budget. Both will provide the roadmap and tools for measurement to ensure that advertising is right for you.

Mistake #9: Ignoring the Benefits of Public Relations

Myth, myth, myth!!! Public relations is the most inexpensive and effective way to get the word out to your target market that you have a product or service they need and want. Open any newspaper or magazine, listen to any TV or radio show and you'll find that without small business stories, the press would have a limited amount of content to cover. So how do you become newsworthy? Develop a good story about your business, yourself, your product or service, a customer or your community involvement, and send it out as a press release to the appropriate editors, writers, or newscasters. You might not get a hit every time, but the more press releases you send (once a month is a good start) the better chance you have for peaking interest and eventually a story will be written. You'll be amazed at how much recognition and business will result from getting your business and face in the press.

Mistake #10: Expecting Too Much, Too Soon

Often, someone just starting a new business will get terribly disappointed because they developed a brochure, ran an ad, attended a networking event, or sent out postcards with little response. They get discouraged and lose sight that marketing is really about developing relationships and, like any new relationship; it takes time to build interest and trust. To turn a potential customer into a new customer, you must reach out to them with consistent marketing messages (at least six times...more if you're selling a high-ticket item) before they feel like they "know" and "trust" your company enough to take the risk of purchasing a product or service from you. Remember to stay the course, follow your marketing plan and talk to other businesses that have been down the same path you are on. You'll find there is no such thing as instant success. And if you are really unsure of what you are doing, find a business mentor or hire a marketing professional. You may find that by avoiding the ten biggest mistakes small businesses make, you are on your way to success!

About the Author: Susan Burnash is the owner of Purple Duck Marketing in Kirkland, WA. Her company focuses on marketing, public relations, and video production for businesses and nonprofits. For more information, please visit http://www.purpleduckmarketing.com/.

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Saturday Night Video's

Face it. Saturday night is a throw away night for network TV. I have some other videos for you to watch right here.

From Seth Godin:

No one cares about you

Some brand new juicy videos from American Express. Special incredible bonus: Tom Peters, too.

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5 Marketing Mistakes

Got this from Small Fuel the other day:

5 Marketing Mistakes To Avoid At All Costs

Communicating with potential customers is one of the foundations of marketing any company—and it’s something that many people ignore for far too long. Some mistakes in how you discuss business or sell your product will quickly turn away clients. Other mistakes will just leave money on the table.

Think about what you typically say to potential customers. Which words do you choose? Which angle do you take to stir their interest and sell your product?

It’s very important to consider these things, since the words you choose can significantly influence your income.

Here is a list of five things you should never do when talking with your potential customers:

1—Never Knock the Competition

One mistake many people make is knocking the competition in the hopes of boosting positive perception of their own business. It’s a bully’s attitude and one to avoid.

A better idea is to tell people why your product is good – better than the next business’s – without dragging them down in the gutter. By doing so, you show that you have integrity and respect for your competitors and that you believe in the value of what you sell.

2—Never Make People Feel Stupid

“You’re not doing that, are you?” Patronizing people is a common mistake. It makes people doubt themselves and feel embarrassed and silly. They haven’t done anything wrong. They just didn’t choose your products or services, that’s all.

Acknowledge that potential customers have been doing X action or using Y product and make them feel like this decision was fine – because it was. You can then point out how your product or service offers more value or better results.

3—Never Forget Initial Contact

When you’ve been in contact with a potential customer already and have a second opportunity, recall a detail about the initial encounter. Otherwise, you leave the customer feeling like he or she is forgettable – not a good feeling.

Want a trick for those moments when you just can’t remember a thing? Ask, “Did you have that shirt on last time when we met? No? Oh, well I really like the color. It suits you.” The person feels flattered and memorable – and may be more in the mood to listen to you!

4—Never Ask Too Many Questions

Some people try to determine the needs of potential clients by flinging out a hundred questions and hoping one sticks. Avoid asking too many questions; ask the right questions and listen to the answers.

Make sure that the questions you ask have to be answered by more than a yes or no. Pay attention to what the person says to determine needs, hopes and desires. Narrow in to what the person really wants and then provide it.

5—Never Seem Desperate

No matter how badly you want this consumer to become a customer, never appear desperate. Desperation turns people off and doesn’t sway many into becoming a loyal customer. Be confident, be honest, be forthcoming and be ready to let go.

Your goal in marketing is to create a positive and memorable consumer experience, even if the person didn’t become a customer at the moment in question. The more favorably people perceive your business or offerings, the more likely they are to think of you the next time they want to buy.

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Ad Agency Employment

Through my work with our local Advertising Federation, (of which I am currently on the Board and serve as V.P. of Communications), along with my radio station employment and a few personal friendships I have cultivated over the years, I have had the opportunity to see some of the inner workings of the advertising agency world.

Times are changing as outlined in this from AdAge.com:

Ad Shops Shift Hiring Tactics

The Souring Economy Has Changed Many Aspects of Recruiting, Right Down to the Personalities Big Agencies Strive For

By Claire Atkinson

Published: September, 2008

As the economy further wilts and the demand for digital experience burgeons, Madison Avenue's talent scouts are shifting gears to fulfill agency demands. Sharon Spielman is managing director at recruitment firm Jerry Fields Associates, a division of the Howard Sloan Koller Group, and specializes in hiring senior-level account-management and account-planning executives. The souring economy has changed many aspects of the recruiting equation, right down to the very personality types that big agencies strive for, she says.

Suzanne Daley, recruiting manager at Mullen

"People are looking for mature, aggressive, in-command personalities," she said, whereas in brighter times agencies were content to hire those who simply had experience in a client's sector. "I think when the economy suffers, they're more concerned about stability and experienced management people who can command a presence automatically. It's their safety net."

And it's not just at the top where the most aggressive candidates are winning out. Even gaining an internship at a midsize agency requires, well, first having done an internship somewhere else. Suzanne Daley, recruiting manager at Wenham, Mass.-based Mullen, part of Interpublic Group, said 450 people applied for 18 internship slots last year. In past years, Mullen may have taken graduates from good schools who had no direct work experience. They also rarely looked further than New England for recruits. Now, entry-level candidates must have prior experience and are as likely to hail from California as Cape Cod.

"We are taking a hard look at the next generation and how to capture and involve them," Ms. Daley said. "We restructured the internship to get the best from across the country." Part of the initiative to recruit better-qualified candidates involves shifting the office to the center of Boston. The move will happen next year. The agency, which has just hired two of its interns, has become much more rigorous about evaluating open positions. "We really make sure it is needed, and the chief financial officer will take a look to see if the client work justifies it," Ms. Daley said.

Finding the right folks is an evolving process too. In prior years, agencies might have turned simply to university ad programs and ad schools or liberal arts colleges. Now they're employing the real-life social networks of their staff in the hunt for an edge. Lisa Donahue, CEO of MediaVest planning unit Truth and Design, said the media agency's searches involve a combination of efforts, from posting jobs to reaching out to prospective employees, to creating roles for individuals who happen to have compelling skill sets, a strategy the agency is employing more frequently. "If you meet someone and you are struck by a great perspective, start talking to them and see how we can create a role for them. ... Bring them on in," Ms. Donahue instructs her staff.

Non-traditional hires
A case in point is Whitney Fishman, the agency's consumer-insights connector. Brought in 18 months ago, this young entrepreneur has her own independent record label and is an ardent blogger on all manner of trend-setting topics. "If we broaden our horizons, there are a lot of good people out there. We don't put them in an old traditional role; we put them in roles that play to their strengths," Ms. Donahue said.

Another out-of-the box hire was Exec VP-Managing Director Greg Warren, who joined the media shop from Leo Burnett, where his experience was in creative and package design. While media pitches are generally all about numbers and charts, he helped the team think more visually about how to present the agency's product.

Digital experience is something many candidates are seeking out as a way to make themselves more alluring to prospective employees, but Ms. Spielman says creative shops have done a poor job of helping train their staff. "Agencies haven't gone far with training or moving people back and forth, so training has suffered, and when you come down to a poor economy, that's when it comes to the front."

At Taxi, New York, an office of the Toronto-headquartered agency, digital skills are in high demand. A spokeswoman said the agency is looking for people who can, for instance, design and build banner ads or microsites, but added, "It's not just about being able to execute. It's about being able to envision how the digital element of a campaign interacts with creative in all other mediums," and it's much harder to find those people. "Ideally everyone is media-agnostic," said Mullen's Ms. Daley. "We like to find folks who can execute brilliantly in any medium."

Lisa Donahue, CEO of MediaVest's Truth and Design unit

While all these trends point to a still-healthy recruitment market -- pay, for instance, isn't yet under pressure at management levels -- and executives appear upbeat about the level of talent on the market, there is another major shift going on that may not benefit the major metropolitan agencies.

Beyond the metropolis
The most significant change Ms. Spielman has seen in the past six months is the willingness of talent to forgo the major cities and relocate to second-tier markets, a consequence of the credit crunch and the poor housing market. Ad executives are forgoing the New York-Chicago axis, she said, and turning instead to Austin, Atlanta and Boston. "People don't feel like they have to live between the city limits."

The poor economy may be creating turbulence for some, but at still-red-hot agency Crispin Porter & Bogusky, the biggest problem is keeping up with the growth, said Marlene Root, VP-director, Quality of Life, the human-resources division at the agency.

She said the company is more amenable than ever to international recruiting and is creating nontraditional positions that might involve partnership building with, say, production companies or video-game designers.

With offices in Miami and Boulder, Colo., the agency has just under 900 employees and counts Microsoft as one of its clients. "The biggest challenge is just our growth, frankly," Ms. Root said. "There's only so much volume you can fit through the door at a given time. It's a good situation to be in -- our growth just creates more opportunities for the agency -- but we're working against that, having to find equally talented folks," she said.

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Reaching Goals

A different perspective on training from Jill Konrath who is hosting the second day of the second annual SalesSheBang today:

You've Reached Your Fitness Goal - Now What?

Whether you have a goal to lose 20, 30, 50 or plus pounds what happens once you reach that goal? Are you done? Can you go back to living the way you did in the past, eating anything that crosses your path? Can you plop on the coach and go back to “coach potato” mode? Absolutely not. Obviously, I’m a big proponent of wellness programs because of the vitality it offers your mind, body, and spirit, but I’m also in the business of offering truth! If you could look at overall wellness including your fitness and nutritional programs as a way of life instead of just a goal to reach then you’re less likely to fall back into your old habits and unhealthy routines. I believe that you will actually start to enjoy living a lifestyle that offers vitality each and every day. Think of practicing your wellness habits just like any other positive habit that you do daily such as brushing your teeth or taking a shower. Practice daily to create the proper routine that fits your goals and lifestyle, eventually, healthy choices will become an “auto-pilot” type of routine. When things shift and become hardwired in the heart and mind, you may notice a change in people you hang out with, the books you read, the articles that strike your interest, healthy foods that you now crave, feelings of major self-worth, and a level of accomplishment. This message is important so don’t blow it off. Your initial weight loss became a journey that encompasses so much more that what you intended to set out to do…lose weight. The message is bigger; one that offers a new understanding in areas where you lack will power and in areas where you dominate. It’s key to journal your findings as this positive, empowering feedback is not only something that you deserve, but it offers a foundational motivation tool whenever you feel the urge to go back to your old ways. Trust me, the urge will always be there, it’s whether or not you acknowledge them as this will make a difference in your continued wellness goal success. Another great tool and success tip to keeping off your weight is to take a mental note on a regular basis of why you lost the weight in the first place. Usually, this trigger point is valuable enough to keep the weight not only lost, but gone forever. The extra fat didn’t serve you then and it won’t serve you now. **** WENDIE PETT is a mother and fitness expert, the author of Every Woman’s Guide to Personal Power and co-author of The Miracle Seven. She trains people individually and conducts seminars to corporate groups to help teach others how to maximize their wellness through the balance of mind, body, and spirit. For more information on Wendie visit www.wendiepett.com.

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Business Know How Links

Each week I get an email from the folks at Business Know How. They recently sent me this list of some of their best articles from the summer of 2008.

• Choice Words On Word Choice
• 10 Ways to Get Your Prospects to Hang Up Immediately
• Before You Start That Blog
• We Don't Need No Stinking Permits
• 7 Guidelines for Gesturing When You Speak
• Guard Your Laptop While Traveling
• 5 Tips to Attract, Keep and Motivate Your Employees
• Superlative Speakers Tell Spellbinding Stories
• Best and Worst Cities for Jobs
• 5 Tips for Marketing to Millennials
• Become the Ideal Radio and TV Talk Show Guest
• 5 Characteristics that Great Companies Share
• Selling Is All About The Whys
• Make Gossip Work for You
• 8 Annoying Email Blunders
• Understanding Your Conversion Rates
• Jewelry Stores Do It, Do You?
• 7 Qualities of Powerful Persuaders

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Harvey's Words of Wisdom

This site is designed to be a collaborative effort, filled with ideas relating to Advertising, Marketing, Media, Sales, and the creative process that works behind the scene.

One of my early mentors through his writings is Harvey Mackay. This weeks column from Harvey contains many one-liners that could turn around nearly everyone's life.
Harvey Mackay's Column This Week

Quick hits: my favorite morals

When I started writing my column 15 years ago, I decided to follow Aesop's lead and put a moral at the end of each lesson—and my readers often tell me that they remember those morals, as well as the 700-750 words that preceded them.

We live in a world of ten-second sound bites, so messages wrapped up in tight little packages really grab attention. Here's a refresher course—some of my favorite morals from the last three years:

• A foot in the door is worth two on the desk.
• Courage is not the absence of fear; it is the mastery of it.
• Negativity makes a person look at the land of milk and honey and see only calories and cholesterol.
• The greatest undeveloped territory in the world lies under your hat.
• You're never old enough to stop learning.
• You don't have to shout to get your point across if you use the right words.
• A person without a sense of humor is like a car without shock absorbers—jolted by every pothole in the road.
• The more you exercise your networking muscles, the stronger they get.
• Live—and work—like your mother is watching.
• The person who is everywhere is nowhere.
• People like to do business with people they like.
• Money can buy a lot of things except common sense, which is free.
• Love your competitors. They are the only ones who make you as good as you can be.
• In business, you should walk your talk ... and know when to talk before you walk.
• If you want to be remembered for all the wrong reasons, say something stupid.
• Don't just mark time; use time to make your mark.
• Getting an idea should be like sitting down on a pin; it should make you jump up and do something.
• The hotter things get, the more important it is to keep your cool.
• Entrepreneurs are people who take the cold water thrown on their idea, heat it with enthusiasm, make steam and push ahead.
• Technology should improve your life, not become your life.
• Arrogance is believing that you are so high up you don't need an ear to the ground.
• The difference between failure and success is doing a thing nearly right and doing it exactly right.
• Control yourself: Remember, anger is just one letter short of danger.
• Keep an open mind. Your first job may not be your dream job, but it doesn't have to be a nightmare.
• If you want a place in the sun, you've got to expect a few blisters.
• Amateurs practice until they get it right. Professionals practice until they can't get it wrong.
• Remember the 10 most powerful two-letter words in the English language—If it is to be, it is up to me.
• What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us. What we have done for others lasts forever.
• Positive thinking turns obstacles into opportunities.
• Smart people spell service, "serve us."
• All the world's a stage, and most of us need more rehearsals.
• It's easier to prepare and prevent than to repair and repent.
• You can't count your days, but you can make your days count.
• Rough water is no place to check to see if you packed your life preserver.
• Stress often gives a little thing a big shadow.
• If you want to get a leg up, learn how to use effective body language.
• If you don't speak up, prepare to put up.
• Creativity has no script; it is inspired ad-libbing.
• The most powerful single thing you can do to influence others is to smile at them.
• Helping someone up won't pull you down.
• How people play the game shows something of their character. How they lose shows all of it.
• The wise person isn't the one who makes the fewest mistakes. It's the one who learns the most from them.

Mackay's Moral: One of my favorites: Some people succeed because they are destined to, but most people succeed because they are determined to.

Miss a column? The last three weeks of Harvey's columns are always archived online.

More information and learning tools can be found online at harveymackay.com.

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Tips for Starting Your Own On-Line Store

This came from Kim Komando's regular weekly (free) newsletter that she sends out on Saturday mornings.

On my personal blog, I will feature some of her articles on occasion. But this one includes tips for the budding entrepreneur:

STARTING YOUR OWN ONLINE STORE
Brad in South Whitley, IN, is going to start his own online store. He is looking for a professional Web designer and a search engine optimization (SEO) company. He'd like advice on picking the right companies to develop his site.

Good for you, Brad! There's nothing quite like owning your own business. There is a lot of hard work involved. But, ultimately, the rewards make it worthwhile.

I wrote a column on starting your own e-store not long ago. I've also written about optimizing your site for SEO. You should read these tips for some background information. The tip on SEO will be particularly helpful.

Read my tip on building a commercial site. It will help you develop a request for proposal. You'll also find help on selecting a developer.

The tip wasn't written with retail in mind. So, there are a few more considerations in your case. You should examine retail sites that you like. See what works and what doesn't. You'll also want to think about payment processing. And securing customers' data should also be a high priority. Make sure the developer you hire has what it takes to handle these things.

Now here's all the legal stuff and a link to sign up for your own Kim Komando newsletters:

Copyright © 2008, The Kim Komando Show. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of The Kim Komando Show is prohibited and strictly enforced. Newsletters may contain links to sites on the Internet owned and operated by third parties. The Kim Komando Show is not responsible for the availability of, or the content located on or through, any such third-party site. Information in this document is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and freedom from infringement. The user assumes the entire risk as to the accuracy and the use of this document. We will not be liable for any damages of any kind arising from the use of this information, including, but not limited to direct, indirect, incidental, punitive, and consequential damages.

GET MORE TIPS FROM ME TO YOU
You get this newsletter. Now, sign up for my other three free e-mail newsletters. Try 'em! You'll like 'em!

• Free computer tip Mon-Fri
• Free cool site daily
• Free news links Mon-Fri

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The Most Important Lesson

When I got this in my email last week, I read through it and decided I wanted to read it again to start my week on the right foot. May you be inspired to do things right this week:

Harvey Mackay's Column This Week

Getting to the heart of the matter

What makes a championship athlete? Is it attitude, confidence, courage, desire, determination, discipline, endurance, fitness, mental toughness, perseverance, physical ability, self-discipline or visualization?

It's probably a little bit of all these characteristics. It's also a lot of heart. There's no denying the heart of a champion.

I'm headed to China for the Summer Olympic Games for 17 days, and I'm all fired up to experience the heart of the gold-medal winners. Watching the men's Wimbledon final was a great prelude. Having been a tennis tournament player, I've long been a tennis junkie, but that was the best match I've ever seen. Two greats—Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal—slugged it out with each other for nearly five hours. They gave it everything they had. They played with all their heart.

Muhammad Ali, whom many people consider the greatest boxer of all time, said: "Champions aren't made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them—a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have last-minute stamina, they have to be a little faster, they have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill."

One of my favorite Olympic moments was from the 1968 Summer Olympic Games in Mexico. If you are a track and field fan, you probably know all about the "Fosbury Flop."

Dick Fosbury was a good high jumper and he seemed to have reached the maximum height his body could clear. His head told him that he had likely met his potential. His heart told him otherwise. He began to experiment with every different way a body could be propelled over the bar. The style he finally developed was different than anyone else had ever seen. His jump is done head first, with the flat of the back clearing the bar and then the knees are drawn up, jackknife fashion. When people first saw him do it, they went away shaking their heads.

But in the 1968 Olympics, Dick Fosbury set a new Olympic high-jump record and won a gold medal for the United States. It was a triumph born of fresh thinking, dogged experimentation and heart. Today, many of the world's best high jumpers base their jumping style on the "Fosbury Flop."

Heart matters in every human pursuit. In fact, I think it's safe to say that heart trumps just about all the other senses when it comes to accomplishing the new and the unknown. Your goal may sound crazy, feel all wrong, look questionable, smell like failure and leave a funny taste in your mouth. But let your heart rule, and prepare to be amazed at the results.

One of the greatest violinists of all time was Nicolo Paganini. Born in 1782, he had a long illustrious career before his death in 1840. One day as Paganini was about to perform before a packed opera house, he suddenly realized that he had walked out on the stage with a strange violin in his hands—not his own treasured instrument.

Panic-stricken, but realizing that he had no other choice, he began to play with all the skill he possessed. Everyone agreed afterward that he gave the performance of his life. When he was finished, the audience gave him a standing ovation.

In his dressing room after the concert, when he was praised for his superlative performance, Paganini replied, "Today, I learned the most important lesson of my entire career. Before today I thought the music was in the violin; today I learned that the music is in me."

It also takes a strong heart to be a successful businessperson. Use your head, to be sure, but don't ignore what your heart is telling you. As legendary football coach Vince Lombardi said, "The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will."

The Lakota, a tribe of Native Americans, tell a story of the great spirit of creation, "Wakan Tanka." The story goes that after Wakan Tanka arranged the other six directions—east, south, west, north, above (the sky) and below (the earth)—the Seventh Direction remained to be placed. Because it was the most powerful, containing the greatest wisdom and strength, Wakan Tanka wished to place it somewhere it could not easily be found. And so it was hidden in the last place humans usually look—in each person's heart.

Mackay's Moral: Don't let your heart be the last place you look for direction.

Miss a column? The last three weeks of Harvey's columns are always archived online.

More information and learning tools can be found online at harveymackay.com.

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The problem of Mis-communication

Over the weekend I read the following posting by Jackie at the Church of the Customer Blog:

Handling fee, or manhandled?

Posted: 18 Jul 2008 09:36 AM CDT

Last week I bought a $50 gift certificate for my friend's birthday from her favorite day spa.

As the clerk filled out the certificate, I admired the spa's luxury surroundings. Finished, the clerk said the total would be $51.50.

"What's the extra $1.50 for?"

"The handling fee," she said.

"What kind of handling is involved?"

"Writing out the certificate," she said. "It's labor-intensive." A long pause. "Sorry, I don't make the rules."

Have you ever encountered a "handling fee" on a gift certificate, and what do you think of this spa's use of it?

I was going to add my 2 cents to the conversation that was building in the comments section of their blog, but first I decided to read all the other comments.

At the end of the comments was one from the owner of the spa:

Hi Jackie.

I'm the owner and founder of milk + honey spa. I'm sorry that you were given misinformation about our gift certificate charges.

We do NOT charge a "handling fee" though we do offer an upgraded packaging option on our gift certificates. Everyone has the option of buying a gift certificate without the upgraded packaging for no additional charge.

I'm very grateful to one of your readers for guiding us to your website, both because I'm passionate about creating fantastic customer experiences (and I'm going to love this blog), as well as becoming aware of this hot button issue (the front desk person you referred to did not pass along that information to me or their manager, as we would have addressed this with you immediately).

We are growing very quickly right now and I'm very glad to know that this is something that needs to be addressed with my new front desk crew. I'm sure you're not the only gift certificate buying customer who has been given bad information about the optional upgrade and is understandably peeved.

It was actually from client feedback that we decided to offer the upgraded gift card for a small fee, rather than discontinue our original packaging. (The upgraded gift card materials cost way more than the $1.50 fee...) It looks like in this case, my devotion to my clients' feedback has backfired- it seems a bit too easy for information to be miscommunicated/misinterpreted.

I was planning on refreshing our gift certificate options by the end of the year to offer just one option that still offers great experiential packaging, but without the need to charge a fee. Looks like I shouldn't wait any longer.

Thanks for the great feedback to everyone on this blog.

Alissa Bayer
owner | founder

Posted by: alissa bayer at Jul 19, 2008 9:29:48 AM

Alissa,
Thanks much for commenting on the blog. Having options for the gift certificate makes sense, especially if your clients were asking for that. The employee I spoke with never mentioned there were options.

Looks like the lesson here for all of us is the importance of employee communications.

Thanks again for your candid response.

Posted by: Jackie Huba at Jul 19, 2008 11:49:56 AM

How about your business?
Are your employees knowledgeable able why things are the way they are?
Do you train them?
Do you know how your frontline staff handle customer problems, complaints, praise and compliments?
Take some time to do this and you could see a surge in your business.
Or at least stop loosing business.

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Business Helpers

This is an email that I get free of charge that I recommend to others. Check it out, click on the links and sign yourself up.

Business Know-How Newsletter Weekend Review	July 19, 2008
Were you too busy to read the Business Know-How newsletter or the Idea of the Day this week? We're sending this recap as a quick reminder of what articles we published this week and where to find them.
Featured Articles:	Quick Links...
5 Tips for Marketing to Millennials The Millennial Generation is just beginning to enter the workforce. Here are five things you can do to market to them more effectively. Become the Ideal Radio and TV Talk Show Guest You don't have to be a celebrity to appear as a guest on radio and television shows. Here are some tips to help you do well during your time on air. The Best Way to Avoid Discounting Just because your customer asks you for a better price does not mean they expect to get it. But even if you do have to lower your price to get the sale, learning these negotiation strategies will help you cut your losses. Superlative Speakers Tell Spellbinding Stories Telling good stories is a great way to get your point across and command your audience's attention.	Business Know-How Career Know-How Mailing & Shipping FranchiseTrade Business Discussion Blog Labor Posters & HR Tools Market Research Reports Employee Handbook Template Business Magazines Employment Forms Business Idea of the Day
Business Ideas:
Small Print, Big Consequences Reading the small print on business contracts is the last thing most small business owners want to do. Student Interns Aren't Free Labor Are you paying the student interns you hired this summer a salary? If you aren’t paying them at least minimum wage, you could be breaking federal and/or state laws. Understand What Customers Want Your customers don't come to you because they want to buy the product or service you're selling. They come to you because they want to solve a problem they have.
Small Business Blog:
Free Tech Support from Microsoft for Vista Users Thinking about buying a Windows Vista machine? Do so between now and Sept. 30, and Microsoft will throw in free technical support, tools and coaching. Slip Sliding Away: Small-Biz Survey on the U.S. Economy How low can small businesses' confidence in the U.S. economy go?
New Labor Laws in 8 States
Maine, Colorado, Illinois, Nevada, District of Columbia, New Mexico, Massachusetts, and Maryland have all updated their required labor law postings in the last few months. Find out what the changes were and order updated labor posters to stay in compliance. Check our update chart to see the most recent required labor law notice changes for all states.

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