5 Best Practices to Profit From Business Blogs
By Britt Brouse
Blogs are picking up speed as a channel for winning better organic search results, converting more prospects and developing a more humanized, authentic brand. “Blogs are still not quite here yet in the majority of businesses, but the adoption is becoming quick because people are starting to finally recognize that this gives you a way to humanize your business … and get back to people-to-people interactions,” says Chris Baggott, CEO and co-founder of Compendium Software, a blog software provider based in Indianapolis.
With minimal setup costs, the benefits of starting a blog are just as powerful for small and large companies—with small companies pulling more search traffic and large companies expanding their brands. Like with any new marketing initiative, it is necessary to have a good plan in place. The practices discussed below illustrate how to get started with and manage a highly effective company blog.
1. Prepare a Strategy“It should be organized, you should have some kind of blog editor, and you should have multiple authors that you’ve chosen and vetted because they write well and have something interesting to say,” says Debbie Weil, Washington, D.C.-based corporate blogging consultant and author of “The Corporate Blogging Book.” Open up authorship to employees other than the CEO or public relations representative. “This is not just PR; it’s people that are really hands-on and involved with the product, service or company, and they’re telling readers something that they can’t get elsewhere,” Weil says.
For content strategy, Baggott advises using search keywords to brainstorm topics. “What are the terms that people are typing in that you want to win? Then blog on those topics … You tell real stories and humanize the company, but just make sure you use keywords in your blog post,” he says. Don’t write only about your product; develop posts with your demographic in mind. “If you are Clif Bar, you could blog about bicycle racing, hiking or outdoor activities—things that people who buy Clif Bars are interested in,” Weil says.
2. Focus on SearchBlogs are frequently updated and can beat your homepage in terms of winning organic search results. To organize your content, and provide focused results, Baggott advises looking at each blog entry as a search landing page. “Just like if we were doing PPC [pay-per-click] ads, we’d have a specific landing page for a keyword phrase. You know where [visitors] are coming from, so you provide a page that directly reflects what their search query was,” Baggott says.
Specific content will get the best results. “The more content the search engine sees that is specific to a topic, the more likely they are to serve up that page,” Baggott says. To achieve focus, he recommends organizing blogs around topics—not authors—and to create precise page and blog titles. Most importantly—keep updating. “Search is a content-driven business. The more content, the more likely you are to be found,” Baggott advises.
3. Convert With a Call to ActionWhether you’re an e-commerce retailer driving online sales or a B-to-B company generating new leads, it is vital to include calls to action throughout your blog. “What good does it do a business to have readers if they don’t convert?” Baggott asks. The content and the call to action go hand in hand. “If the blog is interesting, has useful content and fulfills the prospects’ need, they will click back to your homepage and say, ‘They seem to be leading experts on this product—and what the heck—I will buy my product from them,’” Weil explains. Therefore, there should be clear links back to your homepage or online product pages throughout.
Weil believes that some of the best calls to action on blogs are content-driven premiums such as whitepapers, webinars, reports and demonstrations. She advises marketers to put an employee’s contact information on the digital premium to drive any potential sales. Another benefit to offering premiums is building your e-mail list by requiring a valid e-mail address for each download.
4. Integrate Social MediaBlogs also allow companies to test-drive Web 2.0 media outside of their corporate sites. “Blogging is a piece of the bigger social media phenomenon, which includes community, user-created content, video, networking and micro blogging ... Blogs are a great platform for most of the social media tools that people are experimenting with,” Weil says. Southwest Airlines’ blog is a good example; it includes Flickr photographs, employee entries, videos, a survey, company information and options to share content from Southwest through other social networking sites.
Weil sees blogs as a sort of next-generation Web site and an indicator of where Web use is heading. “In a couple of years, you’ll go to any corporate homepage and you’ll expect something there that is fresh, real, where you can leave a question and learn something that is not just that static corporate speak about the company,” she explains.
5. Track and Measure ResultsLike any other marketing tool, blogs have measurable results. “You need to use the same analytics that you’re using on your Web site. Where’s the traffic coming from; what are they doing when they get to the site; and where do they go when they leave the site?” Baggott says.
One example Baggott gives of closed-loop ROI on a search is a customer who searched for a brand of liquor locally and found his client’s blog for a liquor store. Posting about a specific product, the store was seemingly the only one in the area carrying it and won the search and the sale. “It’s a good story of posting on a product, winning the search on the product and the customer coming in to buy the product. There’s a closed-loop ROI right there, and that happens every day with blogging,” Baggott concludes.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
4 Tips for Testing Direct Mail Tweaks Online
By Britt Brouse
As direct mail marketers continue to build their e-mail files and online presence, the Web becomes a viable channel to test certain tweaks, which don’t always make it into the mailstream. Licinda Mytych, marketing manager for Agora Publishing’s International Living, began testing direct mail ideas online about four years ago and sees it as an excellent way to get inexpensive results before investing in direct mail.
“We have to be smart about it—online and direct mail are totally different markets—so you’re not going to put all of your eggs in one basket and devote yourself entirely to online marketing. It will help you read indicators. And then you can test direct mail, and you can do it in a smarter, more cost-effective way,” she explains. The tips below outline some examples of how to bolster your mail program with digital tests.
1. Use Lists to Your AdvantageLists can make or break your online tests. “We’ve found that lists that work great in the mail don’t often work great online and vice versa,” Mytych says. The differences in response between lists can be dramatic. “For us, it’s the difference between paid and unpaid recipients. We test to our free e-letter subscribers first, and that is a world of difference compared to testing to paid, direct mail-sold names,” she explains. Mytych suggests controlling this variable by finding or renting paid direct mail files that also contain e-mail addresses.
2. Stick to Copy TestsDesign is not the focus of Mytych’s online testing because HTML allows for so much more color and graphics than print, at almost no added cost. Copy, however, is very simple to test—especially in the subject line—which, like an outer envelope, has a limited amount of time and space to either get a reader engaged or drive a message into the trash. To generate the most effective subject lines, Mytych advises following the four U’s: “Always ask yourself if your subject line is urgent, unique, useful and ultra-specific” she says.
3. Vary Your PremiumOnline is a good place to test new topics or content for editorial premiums, and new premiums altogether for promotional items. International Living also tests the positioning of the premium within its offer. “We’re talking right now about testing multiple premiums with our two-year subscription offer to get people to convert to the two-year over the one-year sign-up. If that works, then I’m going to want to put that out in the mail as a possible test,” Mytych describes.
4. Fine-Tune Your Offer“Right now our testing involves delving into getting the best offer that’s going to appeal to the target and to evolve the package. That’s why we do a lot of testing online,” Mytych shares. She recently tested one- and two-year subscription offers at a higher price per issue versus an auto-renewal subscription offer at a lower price per issue. “We’ve been able to test into a lower price point and also test which auto-renewal offers worked the best,” Mytych says. The auto-renewal at a lower price point won online, and it currently has control status in the mail.
By Britt Brouse
As direct mail marketers continue to build their e-mail files and online presence, the Web becomes a viable channel to test certain tweaks, which don’t always make it into the mailstream. Licinda Mytych, marketing manager for Agora Publishing’s International Living, began testing direct mail ideas online about four years ago and sees it as an excellent way to get inexpensive results before investing in direct mail.
“We have to be smart about it—online and direct mail are totally different markets—so you’re not going to put all of your eggs in one basket and devote yourself entirely to online marketing. It will help you read indicators. And then you can test direct mail, and you can do it in a smarter, more cost-effective way,” she explains. The tips below outline some examples of how to bolster your mail program with digital tests.
1. Use Lists to Your AdvantageLists can make or break your online tests. “We’ve found that lists that work great in the mail don’t often work great online and vice versa,” Mytych says. The differences in response between lists can be dramatic. “For us, it’s the difference between paid and unpaid recipients. We test to our free e-letter subscribers first, and that is a world of difference compared to testing to paid, direct mail-sold names,” she explains. Mytych suggests controlling this variable by finding or renting paid direct mail files that also contain e-mail addresses.
2. Stick to Copy TestsDesign is not the focus of Mytych’s online testing because HTML allows for so much more color and graphics than print, at almost no added cost. Copy, however, is very simple to test—especially in the subject line—which, like an outer envelope, has a limited amount of time and space to either get a reader engaged or drive a message into the trash. To generate the most effective subject lines, Mytych advises following the four U’s: “Always ask yourself if your subject line is urgent, unique, useful and ultra-specific” she says.
3. Vary Your PremiumOnline is a good place to test new topics or content for editorial premiums, and new premiums altogether for promotional items. International Living also tests the positioning of the premium within its offer. “We’re talking right now about testing multiple premiums with our two-year subscription offer to get people to convert to the two-year over the one-year sign-up. If that works, then I’m going to want to put that out in the mail as a possible test,” Mytych describes.
4. Fine-Tune Your Offer“Right now our testing involves delving into getting the best offer that’s going to appeal to the target and to evolve the package. That’s why we do a lot of testing online,” Mytych shares. She recently tested one- and two-year subscription offers at a higher price per issue versus an auto-renewal subscription offer at a lower price per issue. “We’ve been able to test into a lower price point and also test which auto-renewal offers worked the best,” Mytych says. The auto-renewal at a lower price point won online, and it currently has control status in the mail.
Social Media: Marketing Myths and Universal Truths
Online communities present great opportunities to raise funds and spread the word about your mission, but what is fact and what is fiction in this complicated medium?
By George Krautzel
Editor’s Note: This article was originally written for for-profit e-marketers, but the information is equally applicable to nonprofits looking to increase their presence and fundraising power online.
Social-media marketing opportunities proved to be viable additions to existing online advertising strategies for many of the top brand marketers in 2007. But the seeming complexity of these opportunities and the variety of social-networking sites and online communities available still are difficult hurdles for many marketers to clear.
Challenges such as structuring the appropriate campaign for target audiences, measuring engagement and results, and proving ROI still remain for social-media marketing. But many of these perceived challenges are, in fact, based on myths rather than real-life truths about the potential for success.
What is social media?
At its highest level, social media is defined as the online technologies and practices that people use to share opinions, insights, experiences and perspectives with each other. The focus of the interactions can be personal interest, consumer-oriented or business-to-business.
Marketers are adapting to social media in a number of ways. Tactics include transforming customers into fully vested brand champions by adding social-media tools — like blogs, discussion forums and wikis — to their existing Web sites, as well as exploring existing online communities that can offer the ability to target audiences beyond existing customer bases.
The world of social media can be an extremely valuable tool in targeting prospects — as many marketers have discovered. According to an October 2007 survey of 116 senior marketing professionals, San Mateo, Calif.-based digital marketing optimization solutions provider Coremetrics discovered that 78 percent of respondents view social-media marketing as a way to gain a competitive edge. Yet, only 7.75 percent of total online marketing budgets are allocated to social-networking sites. This disconnect between the recognized value of social-media marketing and current budget allocation reflects the perceived risk and learning curve that marketers associate with advertising through any new medium. But a closer look at some of the myths and truths of social-media marketing shows that many of these risks can be minimized through a deeper understanding of the opportunity at hand.
Myth: Social media requires a radical change from the current online advertising approach.
Truth: Many of the same principles, and even the same advertising units, that apply to standard online marketing campaigns can be reapplied and repurposed for social-media campaigns. Since users of these social-media sites are generating significant volumes of content that is highly specific to their needs and interests, ad-targeting systems on the sites that ensure relevancy between advertising and user-generated content can supercharge online inventory for an advertiser.
Myth: There is no proof that social-media sites deliver the same ROI offered by traditional Web sites.
Truth: Social media, especially in a B-to-B setting, not only is helping advertisers listen to conversations their customers are having online, but it also is helping them integrate into these conversations in ways that are welcomed and valued by users. For these advertisers, results of social-media campaigns go beyond mere engagement to include measurable ROI that matches and sometimes rivals their success with traditional Web site advertising. For example, Information Builders, one of ITtoolbox’s advertising partners, achieved 750 percent ROI and surpassed its lead-generation goals through a series of whitepapers that demonstrated its thought leadership and technical expertise with decision makers and influencers in the ITtoolbox community.
Myth: Social-media sites are good for consumers, but the options for the B-to-B marketer are minimal.
Truth: The basic principle behind a social-media community is to bring together peers to share experiences and knowledge. In the business environment, social-media sites can be used to help professionals make better decisions, from IT purchasing to health insurance benefits. In fact, research shows that purchasers are turning to user-generated content sites to help make their purchasing decisions.
For example, the 2007 ITtoolbox/PJA IT Social Media Index: Inaugural Survey Results shows that executive decision makers spend an average of 3.5 hours a week consuming or participating in social media — the highest usage profile of any IT audience. And that nearly two-thirds of IT professionals surveyed believe that social-media content and user-generated tools have made for a more informed purchasing decision; more than three-quarters believe they have made their lives more efficient.
Tapping into B-to-B, user-driven communities allows advertisers to reach an attentive target audience and leads to positive marketing results.
Myth: The barrier to entry in social-media marketing is too high.
Truth: Marketers can lower the barrier to entry for social-media marketing by taking advantage of existing online communities focused on their businesses or industries. Rather than undertaking the creation of their own online communities and social-media tools for their existing customers — which can be a significant drain both on time and money — advertising with existing social-media sites both lowers costs and allows marketers to reach out to new customer bases.
Myth: It’s hard to ensure brand consistency across social-media sites.
Truth: Social-media marketing, like any other marketing campaign, doesn’t afford the opportunity to control every message focused on a particular brand. However, safeguards can be implemented to help with brand consistency. These safeguards include careful selection of the social-media site to ensure that the community’s focus and tone is aligned with the brand; a thorough review of the community’s moderation policies; and, perhaps most importantly, active engagement with customers in the community.
By monitoring and taking part in conversations where they are advertising, marketers can address any concerns or negative feedback about the brand that may be expressed by members of the community. And, by exploring social-media sites in the target market before pursuing a campaign, marketers can ensure that target sites include high-quality, user-generated content and focus is aligned with the corporate brand.
Conclusion
Social media and online communities offer marketing opportunities that have the potential for high ROI. In many cases, the campaigns and creative content already being used in standard online opportunities can be repurposed for a social-media marketing campaign to achieve superior results.
Online communities present great opportunities to raise funds and spread the word about your mission, but what is fact and what is fiction in this complicated medium?
By George Krautzel
Editor’s Note: This article was originally written for for-profit e-marketers, but the information is equally applicable to nonprofits looking to increase their presence and fundraising power online.
Social-media marketing opportunities proved to be viable additions to existing online advertising strategies for many of the top brand marketers in 2007. But the seeming complexity of these opportunities and the variety of social-networking sites and online communities available still are difficult hurdles for many marketers to clear.
Challenges such as structuring the appropriate campaign for target audiences, measuring engagement and results, and proving ROI still remain for social-media marketing. But many of these perceived challenges are, in fact, based on myths rather than real-life truths about the potential for success.
What is social media?
At its highest level, social media is defined as the online technologies and practices that people use to share opinions, insights, experiences and perspectives with each other. The focus of the interactions can be personal interest, consumer-oriented or business-to-business.
Marketers are adapting to social media in a number of ways. Tactics include transforming customers into fully vested brand champions by adding social-media tools — like blogs, discussion forums and wikis — to their existing Web sites, as well as exploring existing online communities that can offer the ability to target audiences beyond existing customer bases.
The world of social media can be an extremely valuable tool in targeting prospects — as many marketers have discovered. According to an October 2007 survey of 116 senior marketing professionals, San Mateo, Calif.-based digital marketing optimization solutions provider Coremetrics discovered that 78 percent of respondents view social-media marketing as a way to gain a competitive edge. Yet, only 7.75 percent of total online marketing budgets are allocated to social-networking sites. This disconnect between the recognized value of social-media marketing and current budget allocation reflects the perceived risk and learning curve that marketers associate with advertising through any new medium. But a closer look at some of the myths and truths of social-media marketing shows that many of these risks can be minimized through a deeper understanding of the opportunity at hand.
Myth: Social media requires a radical change from the current online advertising approach.
Truth: Many of the same principles, and even the same advertising units, that apply to standard online marketing campaigns can be reapplied and repurposed for social-media campaigns. Since users of these social-media sites are generating significant volumes of content that is highly specific to their needs and interests, ad-targeting systems on the sites that ensure relevancy between advertising and user-generated content can supercharge online inventory for an advertiser.
Myth: There is no proof that social-media sites deliver the same ROI offered by traditional Web sites.
Truth: Social media, especially in a B-to-B setting, not only is helping advertisers listen to conversations their customers are having online, but it also is helping them integrate into these conversations in ways that are welcomed and valued by users. For these advertisers, results of social-media campaigns go beyond mere engagement to include measurable ROI that matches and sometimes rivals their success with traditional Web site advertising. For example, Information Builders, one of ITtoolbox’s advertising partners, achieved 750 percent ROI and surpassed its lead-generation goals through a series of whitepapers that demonstrated its thought leadership and technical expertise with decision makers and influencers in the ITtoolbox community.
Myth: Social-media sites are good for consumers, but the options for the B-to-B marketer are minimal.
Truth: The basic principle behind a social-media community is to bring together peers to share experiences and knowledge. In the business environment, social-media sites can be used to help professionals make better decisions, from IT purchasing to health insurance benefits. In fact, research shows that purchasers are turning to user-generated content sites to help make their purchasing decisions.
For example, the 2007 ITtoolbox/PJA IT Social Media Index: Inaugural Survey Results shows that executive decision makers spend an average of 3.5 hours a week consuming or participating in social media — the highest usage profile of any IT audience. And that nearly two-thirds of IT professionals surveyed believe that social-media content and user-generated tools have made for a more informed purchasing decision; more than three-quarters believe they have made their lives more efficient.
Tapping into B-to-B, user-driven communities allows advertisers to reach an attentive target audience and leads to positive marketing results.
Myth: The barrier to entry in social-media marketing is too high.
Truth: Marketers can lower the barrier to entry for social-media marketing by taking advantage of existing online communities focused on their businesses or industries. Rather than undertaking the creation of their own online communities and social-media tools for their existing customers — which can be a significant drain both on time and money — advertising with existing social-media sites both lowers costs and allows marketers to reach out to new customer bases.
Myth: It’s hard to ensure brand consistency across social-media sites.
Truth: Social-media marketing, like any other marketing campaign, doesn’t afford the opportunity to control every message focused on a particular brand. However, safeguards can be implemented to help with brand consistency. These safeguards include careful selection of the social-media site to ensure that the community’s focus and tone is aligned with the brand; a thorough review of the community’s moderation policies; and, perhaps most importantly, active engagement with customers in the community.
By monitoring and taking part in conversations where they are advertising, marketers can address any concerns or negative feedback about the brand that may be expressed by members of the community. And, by exploring social-media sites in the target market before pursuing a campaign, marketers can ensure that target sites include high-quality, user-generated content and focus is aligned with the corporate brand.
Conclusion
Social media and online communities offer marketing opportunities that have the potential for high ROI. In many cases, the campaigns and creative content already being used in standard online opportunities can be repurposed for a social-media marketing campaign to achieve superior results.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Is a Fungus Among Us?
Beware employee theft of trade secrets, intellectual property and clients
Author, direct marketing guru, and always entertaining Denny Hatch focuses on a major story in the news and shows how businesses can take advantage of—or avoid the pitfalls from—the lessons to be learned in terms of marketing, sales, PR and communications.
Here are two stories about people working for two businesses—an employee in one and members of the board in the other—who knew a lot about their respective companies.
Both allegedly annexed a core product and went into competition with it.
Both cases have resulted in lawsuits and countersuits.
A person that would do this to an employer is a fungus—a parasitic organism that obtains nourishment by locking onto a host and sucking it dry.
What can you do if such a person is loose in your company?
If you have an idea for a new product, do you develop it and then offer it to your current employer? Or do you surreptitiously shop it elsewhere?
If so, why?
A Personal Digression
In 1964 I got a job selling advertising for Library Journal, a magazine published by R.R. Bowker. At the time, book publishers produced seasonal catalogs—usually fall and spring—which were mailed to the Bowker editorial department as well as to booksellers, wholesalers, agents, foreign rights buyers, schools and libraries.
Arriving in the mail at different times, these catalogs came in various sizes and shapes and were stuffed into files, where they spilled out and were a perpetual nightmare to keep current. I figured a better information system had to exist, one that was more efficient, user friendly and less costly to the individual publisher, who was spending a fortune on composition, printing, binding and mailing.
At a client’s office, I discovered how British publishers dealt with the problem of catalogs. In the waiting room was a multivolume set of fat, paperbound books—a compendium of publishers’ catalogs bound together alphabetically. It was produced and shipped by The Bookseller—the British version of Publishers Weekly. From this I came up with the idea for “Publishers Combined Seasonal Catalogs”—same format as the U.K. product, same concept—and quietly floated the idea to a number of my clients who advertised with Library Journal.
Some publishers loved it. They immediately saw that by participating in this format (1) their catalogs would not be lost in an overstuffed file drawer and therefore would be far more easily accessible, and (2) this co-op binding and distribution system would save considerable money. Further, they could produce overruns for their sales representatives and as giveaways at the American Booksellers and Library Association conferences, as well as regional gatherings.
While others hated it, feeling that they would lose their individuality, enough said they liked the idea to make it a viable business. What’s more, once established, other publishers would see the wisdom of the product and come on board. For Bowker, it would represent a brand-new profit center with virtually no editorial expense that could be sold as an add-on by existing sales representatives.
I put together a business plan, designed a cover, made a crude mock-up of the product and sent it in to top management. Word came back from the board meeting that everybody loved the idea, but Library Journal—and its sister publication, Publishers Weekly—was undergoing a redesign, so nobody could get to this project for at least six months.
My salary at Bowker—the junior number three guy in a two-man office—was peanuts. When a very good offer for a job with another company came in, I was immediately interested. I went to Bowker’s VP of advertising and asked him where the catalog project stood, since I had just received a job offer.
“We want to go ahead with it,” he said, “but the redesign of the magazines is taking longer than we thought.”
“If I stay at Bowker and help launch this new catalog project, could I count on getting a piece of the action?”
“We don’t do that,” he said. “You have your salary.”
The idea was worked up with the full knowledge of my employer. I would have had no compunction about shopping the idea elsewhere. But at the time, only two other companies served the book industry, Kirkus Reviews and H.W. Wilson, which published a bunch of directories. Only Bowker had the clout and the contacts to get this show on the road.
I quit. Dunno whatever happened to the idea.
Barbie v. Bratz
I was astonished to discover that Barbie is 47 years old, and that, for all the competitors that tried to knock her off her pedestal over the years, Mattel’s savvy design and marketing staff swatted them all down. In 2005, the Barbie doll franchise brought in $3 billion.
One of the premier Barbie designers was Mattel’s Carter Bryant, whose Cinderella-like Grand Entrance Barbie sent adult collector Kristina Frazier-Henry into orbit. Frazier-Henry of Indiana is a serial blogger who has written 1,325 reviews on Epinions.com under the handle kristinafh. Her take on Grand Entrance Barbie:
I am a fanatical Barbie collector. Fanatical in the way that I would rather have an NRFB (that’s Never Removed From Box) Barbie than just about any other gift. Surprised? Yeah, thought you were.
Doll Description
This Grand Entrance Barbie is the first collector doll designed by Carter Bryant. It came out in 2001 and was met with a lot of oooh’s and ahhh’s from the adult collecting world. Here’s why.
Close your eyes and imagine an elegant ball. Your hair is blond (natural of course) and shiny. There’s no frizz to be had. The sides of your hair are gently gathered back while the back of your hair is curled in waves and lays gently across your shoulders.
Your gown is a steel blue taffeta creation made by designer Carter Bryant. The bodice is fitted and compliments your elegant waist. Underneath your gown is a thin, slip-like layer of tulle the color of ivory. Sewn into the middle part of your gown is a creamy pink silk sheath. The way the light shines off of the creamy pink makes a total stranger want to come over and touch you.
A Sabbatical
In 1998, Carter Bryant decided he needed a hiatus from Barbie and the fast life in Los Angeles. He returned to his roots in Springfield, Mo., and moved in with his parents. Driving by a local high school, Bryant claimed that he saw some local high school girls “wearing kind of, you know, oversized clothes, big, baggy jeans ... just got me to kind of thinking, you know, wouldn’t it be cool if there were some characters that kind of accurately represented today’s teenager.”
He dashed home and made sketches for a new doll to compete with Barbie. Its name was Bratz, described by Margaret Talbot in a 2006 story in The New Yorker titled “LITTLE HOTTIES: Barbie’s New Rivals,” as a design that “showed a face in which the lips and eyes were cartoonishly prominent and the nose was vanishingly small: it was as if the doll had undergone successive rounds of plastic surgery.”
Back to L.A.
In 1999 Bryant returned to Mattel as a Barbie wardrobe designer but continued to refine Bratz, which he presented to Isaac Larian, president of MGA Entertainment—a minor, money-losing electronic games company located in the San Fernando Valley of northwest Los Angeles.
The story gets murky as to who did what when, but a Mattel phone record paper trail indicates that Bryant was working on Bratz and talking to Larian from his Mattel office until he handed in his notice in October 2000 and went to work for MGA.
Bratz was launched in 2001, caught on big and began generating $1.25 billion a year in sales while the Barbie business declined some 12.5%. In 2006, Mattel decided it had been ripped off and instituted a lawsuit. Among the charges made by Mattel was that former employee Bryant’s 3% royalty on Bratz brought him $30 million.
Bryant and Mattel settled out of court, but Mattel is going after MGA in a trial that started last Tuesday. Meanwhile, MGA is countersuing Mattel.
The question here is not about dolls—or even this trial—but rather about a corporate culture that causes a creative employee to take a hot idea to a competitor, rather than bring it in-house and jointly reap the rewards.
Craigslist v. eBay
As readers know, I am no fan of eBay. Last Feb. 7, this cranky little e-zine published, “Should Congress Shut Down eBay? Is this auction site the world’s biggest criminal conspiracy?” I wrote:
If my numbers are remotely correct, it means that eBay is the supreme enabler of counterfeiters, forgers, hooligans, miscreants, petty crooks, pirates, rapscallions, reprobates, rogues, scallywags, scamps, scoundrels, swindlers, thieves, thugs and villains on a scale heretofore unimagined in human history.
If my numbers are correct, eBay is perpetrating the largest, most pernicious worldwide criminal conspiracy and fencing operation the world has ever seen.
If my numbers are correct, eBay is costing consumers whose homes have been burglarized—and businesses and copyright holders of all sizes whose property has been plundered and who have lost legitimate sales—billions upon billions of dollars, not to mention the insurance companies that have paid for the losses.
I am no fan of Craig Newmark and his Craigslist, a Web enterprise that seems bent on (1) taking over the classified advertising business and (2) putting traditional newspapers out of business. My problem is not that Craig Newmark is unhorsing a vestigial medium, but rather his service in 100 cities on five continents is mostly free. The free market, freebooting buccaneer in me screams, “For Pete’s sake, if you’re going to revolutionize an industry, do it to serve customers and make a killing while you’re at it!”
Now these two highly questionable organizations are in a fascinating death struggle.
In 2004, eBay bought out a former employee of Craigslist and wound up with 28.3% ownership. The two companies said that deal would allow eBay and Craigslist to “share expertise, resources and creativity.”
“Craigslist is an excellent example of how the Internet brings people together,” said Meg Whitman, president and CEO of eBay. “Whether it’s to trade goods, help neighbors or speak out on important issues, Craigslist has become the online gathering place for local communities.” eBay was given two seats on the Craigslist board.
Fast forward to the next year, 2005, and eBay announced that it was starting Kijiji—a series of 50 Web sites around the world offering free classified ads in direct competition with Craigslist. Alex Kazim, senior VP of eBay’s new ventures, proudly announced, “Kijiji builds local communities online, giving neighbors a way to come together around local needs and interests.”
On April 30, 2008, eBay filed a 29-page complaint against Craigslist in the Delaware Court of Chancery, claiming in essence:
NEWMARK AND [JIM] BUCKMASTER [CRAIGSLIST CEO]CRAFT A PLAN TO DILUTE AND DISENFRANCHISE EBAY
Let me say, if I were Craig Newmark and Jim Buckmaster, I would sure as hell do everything possible to disenfranchise eBay after buying into the company, learning the business and starting a competitor.
Craigslist filed a countersuit suit in California State Superior Court in San Francisco requesting a jury trial with the following complaints:
* UNFAIR AND UNLAWFUL COMPETITION UNDER CAL. BUS. AND PROF. CODE §17500
* FALSE ADVERTISING UNDER CAL. BUS. AND PROF. CODE §17500
* CALIFORNIA TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT AND UNFAIR COMPETITION
* CALIFORNIA PASSING OFF AND UNFAIR COMPETITION* DILUTION UNDER CAL. BUS. & PROF. CODE §14200
* BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTY
A Personal Digression
In the 1960s, I was at Grolier Enterprises, which was run by four dynamos: founder Elsworth Howell, whose real love was judging dog shows; VP Bob Clarke, a lovely human being who started in the Grolier mail room and died young; Ed Bakal, a rough-hewn ex-paratrooper; and Lew Smith, a brilliant, low-key marketing genius who went on to become Lester Wunderman’s creative director.
Grolier’s business at the time was selling Dr. Seuss books to kids. The competition was Weekly Reader Book Club and Scholastic’s paperback book clubs. All sold books to students in classrooms through the teacher.
Using the Scholastic paperback model, a guy named Joe Archie started the Willie Whale Book Club. Elsworth Howell watched it grow and told Archie he was interested in buying Willie Whale. They signed confidentiality agreements, and, stupidly, Archie laid out his entire business plan, MO and results for Grolier to see. Whereupon Howell told Joe Archie that he had decided not to buy Willie Whale and started the Peter Possum Book Club offering children’s paperback books in direct competition with Archie and Scholastic.
Archie sued and lost.
If history repeats, my bet is that both Mattel and Craigslist will lose.
Takeaway Points to Consider:
* As an employee, you come up with a great idea for a new product that could be a moneymaker. Do you trust your current managers enough to give them first dibs? Or would you keep it secret and surreptitiously offer it to competitors?
* As an employer, do you encourage new ideas from within and—if they come to fruition—are the creators rewarded?
* As an employer, do you engender trust among those who work for and with you?
* If not, why not?
* If an employee is drawing salary and benefits, then according to United States copyright law, if “the work was done within the scope of his employment (whether the work is the kind he was employed prepare; whether the preparation takes place primarily within the employer’s time and place specifications; and whether the work was activated, at least in part, by a purpose to serve the employer), then the work is a work for hire and the employer is the initial owner of the copyright, rather than the employee who actually conceived and fixed the expression.”
* Carter Bryant maintained that he conceived and developed the Bratz doll when he was at home in Missouri and not in the employ of Mattel. Therefore, he reasoned, he owned it and had the right to sell it to MGA.
* Employers and employees alike are urged to look carefully into the pros and cons of noncompete contracts.
* If you’re working up a new idea on your own, always use your personal computer and cellphone. Don’t leave a digital trail of memos, notes, proposals or e-mail exchanges on the company server. Do not use the company phone to make calls or receive calls about your project. Do not leave a paper trail in your filing cabinet.
* If you swim with sharks, chances are you will be eaten.
Beware employee theft of trade secrets, intellectual property and clients
Author, direct marketing guru, and always entertaining Denny Hatch focuses on a major story in the news and shows how businesses can take advantage of—or avoid the pitfalls from—the lessons to be learned in terms of marketing, sales, PR and communications.
Here are two stories about people working for two businesses—an employee in one and members of the board in the other—who knew a lot about their respective companies.
Both allegedly annexed a core product and went into competition with it.
Both cases have resulted in lawsuits and countersuits.
A person that would do this to an employer is a fungus—a parasitic organism that obtains nourishment by locking onto a host and sucking it dry.
What can you do if such a person is loose in your company?
If you have an idea for a new product, do you develop it and then offer it to your current employer? Or do you surreptitiously shop it elsewhere?
If so, why?
A Personal Digression
In 1964 I got a job selling advertising for Library Journal, a magazine published by R.R. Bowker. At the time, book publishers produced seasonal catalogs—usually fall and spring—which were mailed to the Bowker editorial department as well as to booksellers, wholesalers, agents, foreign rights buyers, schools and libraries.
Arriving in the mail at different times, these catalogs came in various sizes and shapes and were stuffed into files, where they spilled out and were a perpetual nightmare to keep current. I figured a better information system had to exist, one that was more efficient, user friendly and less costly to the individual publisher, who was spending a fortune on composition, printing, binding and mailing.
At a client’s office, I discovered how British publishers dealt with the problem of catalogs. In the waiting room was a multivolume set of fat, paperbound books—a compendium of publishers’ catalogs bound together alphabetically. It was produced and shipped by The Bookseller—the British version of Publishers Weekly. From this I came up with the idea for “Publishers Combined Seasonal Catalogs”—same format as the U.K. product, same concept—and quietly floated the idea to a number of my clients who advertised with Library Journal.
Some publishers loved it. They immediately saw that by participating in this format (1) their catalogs would not be lost in an overstuffed file drawer and therefore would be far more easily accessible, and (2) this co-op binding and distribution system would save considerable money. Further, they could produce overruns for their sales representatives and as giveaways at the American Booksellers and Library Association conferences, as well as regional gatherings.
While others hated it, feeling that they would lose their individuality, enough said they liked the idea to make it a viable business. What’s more, once established, other publishers would see the wisdom of the product and come on board. For Bowker, it would represent a brand-new profit center with virtually no editorial expense that could be sold as an add-on by existing sales representatives.
I put together a business plan, designed a cover, made a crude mock-up of the product and sent it in to top management. Word came back from the board meeting that everybody loved the idea, but Library Journal—and its sister publication, Publishers Weekly—was undergoing a redesign, so nobody could get to this project for at least six months.
My salary at Bowker—the junior number three guy in a two-man office—was peanuts. When a very good offer for a job with another company came in, I was immediately interested. I went to Bowker’s VP of advertising and asked him where the catalog project stood, since I had just received a job offer.
“We want to go ahead with it,” he said, “but the redesign of the magazines is taking longer than we thought.”
“If I stay at Bowker and help launch this new catalog project, could I count on getting a piece of the action?”
“We don’t do that,” he said. “You have your salary.”
The idea was worked up with the full knowledge of my employer. I would have had no compunction about shopping the idea elsewhere. But at the time, only two other companies served the book industry, Kirkus Reviews and H.W. Wilson, which published a bunch of directories. Only Bowker had the clout and the contacts to get this show on the road.
I quit. Dunno whatever happened to the idea.
Barbie v. Bratz
I was astonished to discover that Barbie is 47 years old, and that, for all the competitors that tried to knock her off her pedestal over the years, Mattel’s savvy design and marketing staff swatted them all down. In 2005, the Barbie doll franchise brought in $3 billion.
One of the premier Barbie designers was Mattel’s Carter Bryant, whose Cinderella-like Grand Entrance Barbie sent adult collector Kristina Frazier-Henry into orbit. Frazier-Henry of Indiana is a serial blogger who has written 1,325 reviews on Epinions.com under the handle kristinafh. Her take on Grand Entrance Barbie:
I am a fanatical Barbie collector. Fanatical in the way that I would rather have an NRFB (that’s Never Removed From Box) Barbie than just about any other gift. Surprised? Yeah, thought you were.
Doll Description
This Grand Entrance Barbie is the first collector doll designed by Carter Bryant. It came out in 2001 and was met with a lot of oooh’s and ahhh’s from the adult collecting world. Here’s why.
Close your eyes and imagine an elegant ball. Your hair is blond (natural of course) and shiny. There’s no frizz to be had. The sides of your hair are gently gathered back while the back of your hair is curled in waves and lays gently across your shoulders.
Your gown is a steel blue taffeta creation made by designer Carter Bryant. The bodice is fitted and compliments your elegant waist. Underneath your gown is a thin, slip-like layer of tulle the color of ivory. Sewn into the middle part of your gown is a creamy pink silk sheath. The way the light shines off of the creamy pink makes a total stranger want to come over and touch you.
A Sabbatical
In 1998, Carter Bryant decided he needed a hiatus from Barbie and the fast life in Los Angeles. He returned to his roots in Springfield, Mo., and moved in with his parents. Driving by a local high school, Bryant claimed that he saw some local high school girls “wearing kind of, you know, oversized clothes, big, baggy jeans ... just got me to kind of thinking, you know, wouldn’t it be cool if there were some characters that kind of accurately represented today’s teenager.”
He dashed home and made sketches for a new doll to compete with Barbie. Its name was Bratz, described by Margaret Talbot in a 2006 story in The New Yorker titled “LITTLE HOTTIES: Barbie’s New Rivals,” as a design that “showed a face in which the lips and eyes were cartoonishly prominent and the nose was vanishingly small: it was as if the doll had undergone successive rounds of plastic surgery.”
Back to L.A.
In 1999 Bryant returned to Mattel as a Barbie wardrobe designer but continued to refine Bratz, which he presented to Isaac Larian, president of MGA Entertainment—a minor, money-losing electronic games company located in the San Fernando Valley of northwest Los Angeles.
The story gets murky as to who did what when, but a Mattel phone record paper trail indicates that Bryant was working on Bratz and talking to Larian from his Mattel office until he handed in his notice in October 2000 and went to work for MGA.
Bratz was launched in 2001, caught on big and began generating $1.25 billion a year in sales while the Barbie business declined some 12.5%. In 2006, Mattel decided it had been ripped off and instituted a lawsuit. Among the charges made by Mattel was that former employee Bryant’s 3% royalty on Bratz brought him $30 million.
Bryant and Mattel settled out of court, but Mattel is going after MGA in a trial that started last Tuesday. Meanwhile, MGA is countersuing Mattel.
The question here is not about dolls—or even this trial—but rather about a corporate culture that causes a creative employee to take a hot idea to a competitor, rather than bring it in-house and jointly reap the rewards.
Craigslist v. eBay
As readers know, I am no fan of eBay. Last Feb. 7, this cranky little e-zine published, “Should Congress Shut Down eBay? Is this auction site the world’s biggest criminal conspiracy?” I wrote:
If my numbers are remotely correct, it means that eBay is the supreme enabler of counterfeiters, forgers, hooligans, miscreants, petty crooks, pirates, rapscallions, reprobates, rogues, scallywags, scamps, scoundrels, swindlers, thieves, thugs and villains on a scale heretofore unimagined in human history.
If my numbers are correct, eBay is perpetrating the largest, most pernicious worldwide criminal conspiracy and fencing operation the world has ever seen.
If my numbers are correct, eBay is costing consumers whose homes have been burglarized—and businesses and copyright holders of all sizes whose property has been plundered and who have lost legitimate sales—billions upon billions of dollars, not to mention the insurance companies that have paid for the losses.
I am no fan of Craig Newmark and his Craigslist, a Web enterprise that seems bent on (1) taking over the classified advertising business and (2) putting traditional newspapers out of business. My problem is not that Craig Newmark is unhorsing a vestigial medium, but rather his service in 100 cities on five continents is mostly free. The free market, freebooting buccaneer in me screams, “For Pete’s sake, if you’re going to revolutionize an industry, do it to serve customers and make a killing while you’re at it!”
Now these two highly questionable organizations are in a fascinating death struggle.
In 2004, eBay bought out a former employee of Craigslist and wound up with 28.3% ownership. The two companies said that deal would allow eBay and Craigslist to “share expertise, resources and creativity.”
“Craigslist is an excellent example of how the Internet brings people together,” said Meg Whitman, president and CEO of eBay. “Whether it’s to trade goods, help neighbors or speak out on important issues, Craigslist has become the online gathering place for local communities.” eBay was given two seats on the Craigslist board.
Fast forward to the next year, 2005, and eBay announced that it was starting Kijiji—a series of 50 Web sites around the world offering free classified ads in direct competition with Craigslist. Alex Kazim, senior VP of eBay’s new ventures, proudly announced, “Kijiji builds local communities online, giving neighbors a way to come together around local needs and interests.”
On April 30, 2008, eBay filed a 29-page complaint against Craigslist in the Delaware Court of Chancery, claiming in essence:
NEWMARK AND [JIM] BUCKMASTER [CRAIGSLIST CEO]CRAFT A PLAN TO DILUTE AND DISENFRANCHISE EBAY
Let me say, if I were Craig Newmark and Jim Buckmaster, I would sure as hell do everything possible to disenfranchise eBay after buying into the company, learning the business and starting a competitor.
Craigslist filed a countersuit suit in California State Superior Court in San Francisco requesting a jury trial with the following complaints:
* UNFAIR AND UNLAWFUL COMPETITION UNDER CAL. BUS. AND PROF. CODE §17500
* FALSE ADVERTISING UNDER CAL. BUS. AND PROF. CODE §17500
* CALIFORNIA TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT AND UNFAIR COMPETITION
* CALIFORNIA PASSING OFF AND UNFAIR COMPETITION* DILUTION UNDER CAL. BUS. & PROF. CODE §14200
* BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTY
A Personal Digression
In the 1960s, I was at Grolier Enterprises, which was run by four dynamos: founder Elsworth Howell, whose real love was judging dog shows; VP Bob Clarke, a lovely human being who started in the Grolier mail room and died young; Ed Bakal, a rough-hewn ex-paratrooper; and Lew Smith, a brilliant, low-key marketing genius who went on to become Lester Wunderman’s creative director.
Grolier’s business at the time was selling Dr. Seuss books to kids. The competition was Weekly Reader Book Club and Scholastic’s paperback book clubs. All sold books to students in classrooms through the teacher.
Using the Scholastic paperback model, a guy named Joe Archie started the Willie Whale Book Club. Elsworth Howell watched it grow and told Archie he was interested in buying Willie Whale. They signed confidentiality agreements, and, stupidly, Archie laid out his entire business plan, MO and results for Grolier to see. Whereupon Howell told Joe Archie that he had decided not to buy Willie Whale and started the Peter Possum Book Club offering children’s paperback books in direct competition with Archie and Scholastic.
Archie sued and lost.
If history repeats, my bet is that both Mattel and Craigslist will lose.
Takeaway Points to Consider:
* As an employee, you come up with a great idea for a new product that could be a moneymaker. Do you trust your current managers enough to give them first dibs? Or would you keep it secret and surreptitiously offer it to competitors?
* As an employer, do you encourage new ideas from within and—if they come to fruition—are the creators rewarded?
* As an employer, do you engender trust among those who work for and with you?
* If not, why not?
* If an employee is drawing salary and benefits, then according to United States copyright law, if “the work was done within the scope of his employment (whether the work is the kind he was employed prepare; whether the preparation takes place primarily within the employer’s time and place specifications; and whether the work was activated, at least in part, by a purpose to serve the employer), then the work is a work for hire and the employer is the initial owner of the copyright, rather than the employee who actually conceived and fixed the expression.”
* Carter Bryant maintained that he conceived and developed the Bratz doll when he was at home in Missouri and not in the employ of Mattel. Therefore, he reasoned, he owned it and had the right to sell it to MGA.
* Employers and employees alike are urged to look carefully into the pros and cons of noncompete contracts.
* If you’re working up a new idea on your own, always use your personal computer and cellphone. Don’t leave a digital trail of memos, notes, proposals or e-mail exchanges on the company server. Do not use the company phone to make calls or receive calls about your project. Do not leave a paper trail in your filing cabinet.
* If you swim with sharks, chances are you will be eaten.
Prospecting
Here is another email I received from another colleauge about prospecting
Greetings Paul,
I wanted to speak with you briefly on the subject of prospecting. You see, prospecting is the fuel that feeds a business. Turn off the prospecting, and you turn off the lifeblood of your business. Prospecting is what keeps the cash flow of a business viable and steady.
But how do you prospect for MLM business? What are you looking for when you prospect? What makes a person a "master prospector"?
Well, one of things that I do is lead with a product or service, not an opportunity.
The reasons I lead with the product or the service in an MLM business are many. They include:
1. You cannot separate yourself in the marketplace based on opportunity. Everyone has an opportunity, and in this day and age, the average 18 yr old has been hit over the head with so many opportunities that leading with your company's opportunity to earn compensation sounds just like all the other opportunities out there. Everyone has a way to get rich, which means that for you to sound halfway credible, you cannot lead with opportunity.
2. Retention rates increase dramatically when you lead with the product or service. You see, residual income means that you get paid later, not now. So when you are building a residual income foundation, it takes a little bit of time, and if a distributor signs up to market your product based on the potential to make a million bucks, then 3 months later when they're not making all the money they want, they quit. The only reason they were ever using the product in the first place was to get a paycheck.
3. People buy in the presence of expertise. What I am referring to is the concept of "positioning". Paul you simply cannot position yourself as an expert in the creation of wealth until you have actually created it. You see, if you are talking to somebody about making tons of money in your business, and you are leading your pitch with the opportunity to make money, and they see that you are NOT making a ton of money, it's over. It's like listening to a person that weights 700 lbs give you advice on staying in shape. There is a credibility issue there, and unless you have generated serious income with your business, you simply cannot effectively lead with your opportunity.
So...when you lead with the product, the reason a prospect is purchasing from you is to access a solution that your product provides them. Which means that if they do choose to market the product, then they won't quit while they are building the foundation for their business and they are waiting for the big bucks to start rolling in...because the whole reason they got involved in the first place was because they wanted the product or service. Both business builders and product users stay on the books longer...which means more income in your distribution channel.
So if you are leading with the product or service, how do you prospect?
When you do your prospecting, and you are leading with the product / service, you are looking for 2 key things in the prospect to determine if they would be a good fit for what you have:
1. They need to have pain - The best type of prospect that you could ever hope for is a prospect that is aware of a need for something else. For example, if you are marketing a health juice, you want to be talking to people who are actively aware that the type of health solution they are currently using isn't providing them with the benefits they are seeking. You don't want to convince them that they need what you have. You want to determine that they are already aware of a need, and if so, how you could help.
2. They need to have a desire - Have you ever heard the phrase "misery loves company"? Well here's a new one for ya: "sometimes, misery loves misery".
We all know people who, for whatever reason, seem to take pleasure in their pain. We have all had a friend that was involved with a relationship that was less than beneficial for them, but regardless, they stayed in the relationship. Well, if your prospect has given up all hope of fixing their pain, then there is nothing you can do for them.
So... if a prospect has pain, and a prospect has desire to fix that pain, then I simply show them how to get that done. I know that there are plenty of opinions out there on how to grow a business, but personally, I enjoy helping people to solve their pain much more than convincing them that they need what I have.
If you have a business, then go find some people to help! We live in world that is chock-full of pain. If your product has benefits, then go find the folks that are in need of those benefits, and help them out! Ease their pain. Make the world a better place.
If you don't have a clue where to start, don't worry, I'll talk about how to find people with pain in further emails. Stay tuned. I'll keep you posted.
Walking This Road With You,
Joshua Fuson
Business Growth Specialist
Here is another email I received from another colleauge about prospecting
Greetings Paul,
I wanted to speak with you briefly on the subject of prospecting. You see, prospecting is the fuel that feeds a business. Turn off the prospecting, and you turn off the lifeblood of your business. Prospecting is what keeps the cash flow of a business viable and steady.
But how do you prospect for MLM business? What are you looking for when you prospect? What makes a person a "master prospector"?
Well, one of things that I do is lead with a product or service, not an opportunity.
The reasons I lead with the product or the service in an MLM business are many. They include:
1. You cannot separate yourself in the marketplace based on opportunity. Everyone has an opportunity, and in this day and age, the average 18 yr old has been hit over the head with so many opportunities that leading with your company's opportunity to earn compensation sounds just like all the other opportunities out there. Everyone has a way to get rich, which means that for you to sound halfway credible, you cannot lead with opportunity.
2. Retention rates increase dramatically when you lead with the product or service. You see, residual income means that you get paid later, not now. So when you are building a residual income foundation, it takes a little bit of time, and if a distributor signs up to market your product based on the potential to make a million bucks, then 3 months later when they're not making all the money they want, they quit. The only reason they were ever using the product in the first place was to get a paycheck.
3. People buy in the presence of expertise. What I am referring to is the concept of "positioning". Paul you simply cannot position yourself as an expert in the creation of wealth until you have actually created it. You see, if you are talking to somebody about making tons of money in your business, and you are leading your pitch with the opportunity to make money, and they see that you are NOT making a ton of money, it's over. It's like listening to a person that weights 700 lbs give you advice on staying in shape. There is a credibility issue there, and unless you have generated serious income with your business, you simply cannot effectively lead with your opportunity.
So...when you lead with the product, the reason a prospect is purchasing from you is to access a solution that your product provides them. Which means that if they do choose to market the product, then they won't quit while they are building the foundation for their business and they are waiting for the big bucks to start rolling in...because the whole reason they got involved in the first place was because they wanted the product or service. Both business builders and product users stay on the books longer...which means more income in your distribution channel.
So if you are leading with the product or service, how do you prospect?
When you do your prospecting, and you are leading with the product / service, you are looking for 2 key things in the prospect to determine if they would be a good fit for what you have:
1. They need to have pain - The best type of prospect that you could ever hope for is a prospect that is aware of a need for something else. For example, if you are marketing a health juice, you want to be talking to people who are actively aware that the type of health solution they are currently using isn't providing them with the benefits they are seeking. You don't want to convince them that they need what you have. You want to determine that they are already aware of a need, and if so, how you could help.
2. They need to have a desire - Have you ever heard the phrase "misery loves company"? Well here's a new one for ya: "sometimes, misery loves misery".
We all know people who, for whatever reason, seem to take pleasure in their pain. We have all had a friend that was involved with a relationship that was less than beneficial for them, but regardless, they stayed in the relationship. Well, if your prospect has given up all hope of fixing their pain, then there is nothing you can do for them.
So... if a prospect has pain, and a prospect has desire to fix that pain, then I simply show them how to get that done. I know that there are plenty of opinions out there on how to grow a business, but personally, I enjoy helping people to solve their pain much more than convincing them that they need what I have.
If you have a business, then go find some people to help! We live in world that is chock-full of pain. If your product has benefits, then go find the folks that are in need of those benefits, and help them out! Ease their pain. Make the world a better place.
If you don't have a clue where to start, don't worry, I'll talk about how to find people with pain in further emails. Stay tuned. I'll keep you posted.
Walking This Road With You,
Joshua Fuson
Business Growth Specialist
Attitude is Everything
Jim Rohn
Last week I posted a quote by Zig Ziggler about "Attitude" and ran across the following this week:
The process of human change begins within us. We all have tremendous potential. We all desire good results from our efforts. Most of us are willing to work hard and to pay the price that success and happiness demand.
Each of us has the ability to put our unique human potential into action and to acquire a desired result. But the one thing that determines the level of our potential, that produces the intensity of our activity, and that predicts the quality of the result we receive is our attitude.
Attitude determines how much of the future we are allowed to see. It decides the size of our dreams and influences our determination when we are faced with new challenges. No other person on earth has dominion over our attitude. People can affect our attitude by teaching us poor thinking habits or unintentionally misinforming us or providing us with negative sources of influence, but no one can control our attitude unless we voluntarily surrender that control.
No one else "makes us angry." We make ourselves angry when we surrender control of our attitude. What someone else may have done is irrelevant. We choose, not they. They merely put our attitude to a test. If we select a volatile attitude by becoming hostile, angry, jealous or suspicious, then we have failed the test. If we condemn ourselves by believing that we are unworthy, then again, we have failed the test.
If we care at all about ourselves, then we must accept full responsibility for our own feelings. We must learn to guard against those feelings that have the capacity to lead our attitude down the wrong path and to strengthen those feelings that can lead us confidently into a better future.
If we want to receive the rewards the future holds in trust for us, then we must exercise the most important choice given to us as members of the human race by maintaining total dominion over our attitude. Our attitude is an asset, a treasure of great value, which must be protected accordingly. Beware of the vandals and thieves among us who would injure our positive attitude or seek to steal it away.
Having the right attitude is one of the basics that success requires. The combination of a sound personal philosophy and a positive attitude about ourselves and the world around us gives us an inner strength and a firm resolve that influences all the other areas of our existence.
To Your Success,
Jim Rohn
Jim Rohn
Last week I posted a quote by Zig Ziggler about "Attitude" and ran across the following this week:
The process of human change begins within us. We all have tremendous potential. We all desire good results from our efforts. Most of us are willing to work hard and to pay the price that success and happiness demand.
Each of us has the ability to put our unique human potential into action and to acquire a desired result. But the one thing that determines the level of our potential, that produces the intensity of our activity, and that predicts the quality of the result we receive is our attitude.
Attitude determines how much of the future we are allowed to see. It decides the size of our dreams and influences our determination when we are faced with new challenges. No other person on earth has dominion over our attitude. People can affect our attitude by teaching us poor thinking habits or unintentionally misinforming us or providing us with negative sources of influence, but no one can control our attitude unless we voluntarily surrender that control.
No one else "makes us angry." We make ourselves angry when we surrender control of our attitude. What someone else may have done is irrelevant. We choose, not they. They merely put our attitude to a test. If we select a volatile attitude by becoming hostile, angry, jealous or suspicious, then we have failed the test. If we condemn ourselves by believing that we are unworthy, then again, we have failed the test.
If we care at all about ourselves, then we must accept full responsibility for our own feelings. We must learn to guard against those feelings that have the capacity to lead our attitude down the wrong path and to strengthen those feelings that can lead us confidently into a better future.
If we want to receive the rewards the future holds in trust for us, then we must exercise the most important choice given to us as members of the human race by maintaining total dominion over our attitude. Our attitude is an asset, a treasure of great value, which must be protected accordingly. Beware of the vandals and thieves among us who would injure our positive attitude or seek to steal it away.
Having the right attitude is one of the basics that success requires. The combination of a sound personal philosophy and a positive attitude about ourselves and the world around us gives us an inner strength and a firm resolve that influences all the other areas of our existence.
To Your Success,
Jim Rohn
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Here is another recent email to me from Blair Singer
Hi Paul,
Why would someone happily pay $11 a gallon for something that falls from the sky, yet complain when spending $4 a gallon at the gas pump?
Pretty wild, isn't it? But Fiji water has done a stellar job of positioning itself as the finest water available to the market. How? The price, the story, and target marketing.
Fiji water is possibly the most expensive bottled water on the market. A fact that they're proud of, and so are their customers. The price is an indication of value and supports their story.
"Drawn from an artesian aquifer, located at the very edge of a primitive rainforest, hundreds of miles away from the nearest continent." That distance "is part of what makes us so much more pure and so much healthier than other bottled waters."
If you drink Fiji you'll also be happy to know that Fiji Water has a naturally high level of silica which "helps strengthen your hair, skin and nails."
This is water for the "elite," served in the finest hotels and restaurants.
Even with their premium price, Fiji is about to replace Evian (if they haven't already) as the best selling premium water here in the states. In fact, there's no sign of sales slowing down.
Wondering how to sell more product, at a higher price, to a loyal and raving market? Take a look at how you're positioning yourself.
Be awesome,
Blair
Hi Paul,
Why would someone happily pay $11 a gallon for something that falls from the sky, yet complain when spending $4 a gallon at the gas pump?
Pretty wild, isn't it? But Fiji water has done a stellar job of positioning itself as the finest water available to the market. How? The price, the story, and target marketing.
Fiji water is possibly the most expensive bottled water on the market. A fact that they're proud of, and so are their customers. The price is an indication of value and supports their story.
"Drawn from an artesian aquifer, located at the very edge of a primitive rainforest, hundreds of miles away from the nearest continent." That distance "is part of what makes us so much more pure and so much healthier than other bottled waters."
If you drink Fiji you'll also be happy to know that Fiji Water has a naturally high level of silica which "helps strengthen your hair, skin and nails."
This is water for the "elite," served in the finest hotels and restaurants.
Even with their premium price, Fiji is about to replace Evian (if they haven't already) as the best selling premium water here in the states. In fact, there's no sign of sales slowing down.
Wondering how to sell more product, at a higher price, to a loyal and raving market? Take a look at how you're positioning yourself.
Be awesome,
Blair
An expert from another email from Blair Singer
The 3 Pillars of a Persuasive 30-Second Pitch
1. Credibility - it's always important to establish credibility, even more so when you only have 30 seconds to get your message across
2. Promise - let the person know exactly what they will receive
3. Risk removal - this one's often overlooked yet can also be the most appealing aspect of your pitch. Risk removal makes it safe and comfortable for your audience to move the conversation further.
Go ahead and examine your pitch and see how you use the above elements.
In my next email we'll dive into this a bit further... right now, I'm going to dive back into the emailed pitches.
Be awesome,
Blair
The 3 Pillars of a Persuasive 30-Second Pitch
1. Credibility - it's always important to establish credibility, even more so when you only have 30 seconds to get your message across
2. Promise - let the person know exactly what they will receive
3. Risk removal - this one's often overlooked yet can also be the most appealing aspect of your pitch. Risk removal makes it safe and comfortable for your audience to move the conversation further.
Go ahead and examine your pitch and see how you use the above elements.
In my next email we'll dive into this a bit further... right now, I'm going to dive back into the emailed pitches.
Be awesome,
Blair
4 Ways to Pass the B-to-B Gatekeeper
by Britt Brouse, associate editor, Inside Direct Mail
Ever wonder what happens to your B-to-B mail? Will it make it to the right person? If you are targeting businesses, especially mid- to large-sized companies, your mailing is likely to face the B-to-B gatekeeper, an employee who receives and sorts a company’s mail and decides which pieces warrant attention from the boss or decision maker. “If you watch them at their jobs, you know they sort the mail pretty quickly,” says Bob Bly, copywriter and author of “The White Paper Marketing Handbook.”
A gatekeeper will screen about 80 percent of B-to-B marketing mail, says Greg Demetriou, president of Farmingdale, N.Y.–based American Mail Communications. Here are four ways to create a B-to-B mail piece that will pass inspection.
Segment efforts by company size
Before you tailor your mailings to get past a gatekeeper, consider appending data regarding company sizes to your lists. “Large corporations are much more likely to have gatekeepers than small offices and home offices. As a rule of thumb, the bigger the company, the more likely they are to have gatekeepers; the smaller, the less likely,” Bly claims. (A good cutoff for companies that have direct mail gatekeepers is anywhere above 25 employees.)
Smart designs get noticed
Gatekeepers may have a keen understanding of the bosses’ professional needs or save mail simply on the basis that “it looks important.” In the former case, you need to appeal to the business’s present needs and performance. “I want that gatekeeper to say, ‘You know, I really have to show this to the boss; this really might be good for us,’” asserts Demetriou. In the latter case, Bly recommends a design that doesn’t look too promotional and instead resembles important correspondence, such as content-based mailings (newsletter or whitepaper). Along the same lines, Demetriou suggests that a high-end package will more likely pique interest than a self-mailer.
Appeal to a gatekeeper directly
You can also target the gatekeeper directly with offers, freemiums and premiums that address her responsibilities as an employee. Bly cites an example of a classic 9˝ x 12˝ mailing that was addressed to the prospect and had a smaller envelope spot-glued to it, addressed “To the Receptionist.” The smaller envelope explained the benefits of how and why the boss would profit if he or she had this great technology. Bly says the mailing was a “keeper” because it also offered an incentive to the gatekeeper where she could return a reply card and get a premium or discount.
Don’t forget the mailroom
When sending a mailing to a company with 25-plus employees, marketers need to realize the mailroom is their first real barrier. “In the bigger companies, Standard mail is usually not making it upstairs. The higher up the corporate ladder you’re going to reach, the more highly produced your approach has to be,” explains Demetriou, who says that mailings to C-level executives at large companies have the best chance of surpassing the mailroom if they arrive via a courier service or in dimensional packaging. Bly adds, “You don’t want 40 of your pieces to arrive in one day in the same pile. Mail three to five pieces at a time, and then wait a day or two before mailing the next five.”
by Britt Brouse, associate editor, Inside Direct Mail
Ever wonder what happens to your B-to-B mail? Will it make it to the right person? If you are targeting businesses, especially mid- to large-sized companies, your mailing is likely to face the B-to-B gatekeeper, an employee who receives and sorts a company’s mail and decides which pieces warrant attention from the boss or decision maker. “If you watch them at their jobs, you know they sort the mail pretty quickly,” says Bob Bly, copywriter and author of “The White Paper Marketing Handbook.”
A gatekeeper will screen about 80 percent of B-to-B marketing mail, says Greg Demetriou, president of Farmingdale, N.Y.–based American Mail Communications. Here are four ways to create a B-to-B mail piece that will pass inspection.
Segment efforts by company size
Before you tailor your mailings to get past a gatekeeper, consider appending data regarding company sizes to your lists. “Large corporations are much more likely to have gatekeepers than small offices and home offices. As a rule of thumb, the bigger the company, the more likely they are to have gatekeepers; the smaller, the less likely,” Bly claims. (A good cutoff for companies that have direct mail gatekeepers is anywhere above 25 employees.)
Smart designs get noticed
Gatekeepers may have a keen understanding of the bosses’ professional needs or save mail simply on the basis that “it looks important.” In the former case, you need to appeal to the business’s present needs and performance. “I want that gatekeeper to say, ‘You know, I really have to show this to the boss; this really might be good for us,’” asserts Demetriou. In the latter case, Bly recommends a design that doesn’t look too promotional and instead resembles important correspondence, such as content-based mailings (newsletter or whitepaper). Along the same lines, Demetriou suggests that a high-end package will more likely pique interest than a self-mailer.
Appeal to a gatekeeper directly
You can also target the gatekeeper directly with offers, freemiums and premiums that address her responsibilities as an employee. Bly cites an example of a classic 9˝ x 12˝ mailing that was addressed to the prospect and had a smaller envelope spot-glued to it, addressed “To the Receptionist.” The smaller envelope explained the benefits of how and why the boss would profit if he or she had this great technology. Bly says the mailing was a “keeper” because it also offered an incentive to the gatekeeper where she could return a reply card and get a premium or discount.
Don’t forget the mailroom
When sending a mailing to a company with 25-plus employees, marketers need to realize the mailroom is their first real barrier. “In the bigger companies, Standard mail is usually not making it upstairs. The higher up the corporate ladder you’re going to reach, the more highly produced your approach has to be,” explains Demetriou, who says that mailings to C-level executives at large companies have the best chance of surpassing the mailroom if they arrive via a courier service or in dimensional packaging. Bly adds, “You don’t want 40 of your pieces to arrive in one day in the same pile. Mail three to five pieces at a time, and then wait a day or two before mailing the next five.”
Understanding Your Personal Energy Cycle
Laura Stack
An important piece of productivity concerns what time of day you select to work on which activities. Everyone has a natural time during the day when they are "UP" (prime time) and a natural time when they are "DOWN" (down time). During prime time, your brain is "on"; your batteries are charged and you're able to focus. During down time, your brain feels "slow"; it's difficult to muddle through your work.
First, let's chart your energy levels. Get out a piece of paper and draw a big "L" for a graph with a vertical and horizontal axis. Mark the vertical axis "0" to "100" to represent your energy level as a percentage. Mark the horizontal axis with your work hours, in one hour increments. When you arrive at work in the morning, draw a dot where energy intersects with time, to indicate how you feel in terms of your energy level. As the day progresses, draw a series of dots horizontally to show how your energy ebbs and flows. Then connect the dots and analyze your line chart.
If you wait until you're in down time to work on these types of activities, it will take much, much longer and be much, much more painful. The challenge for most people is that when they're in prime time, they feel GOOD! The last thing you might feel like doing when you're "up" is working on that report, writing a proposal, or analyzing those figures. But if you wait until you're going down, you've lost the opportunity to get it done quickly. The trick here is a lot of self-discipline. Resist the urge to do “fun, easy, trivial” things during this period or talk to your friends.
I actually have two prime times: one in the morning, and one early afternoon. When I'm in prime time, I need to make my marketing calls, because I need to be "up" and on top of the conversation. Sometimes, I will purposely let my voice mail pick up my calls, when I know I'm in down time and won't be as articulate as I'd like to be with a client. I will also respond to Requests for Proposals (RFPs) sent by prospective clients in prime time. I want to write quickly and succinctly, and my prime time is the key opportunity for that work.
Similarly, I listen to my body when I'm in down time. When I feel my energy level waning, a quick glance at the clock will usually tell me why. I know I need to get up, stretch, perhaps go for a quick walk around the block, eat an energy snack, or make a cup of tea. Then I will go back and work on some different activities, not necessarily ones with low priority, but those that don't require the brain power of the prime time tasks. If I don't listen to my body's signals and respond appropriately, I will get a rip-roaring headache, preventing me from taking advantage of my second prime time.
Another consideration is when to hold meetings. If you're a manager or professional with the ability to call a meeting during a certain time, really think about when to hold them. It's often eye-opening to do this prime time graphing activity with your staff or the people normally in attendance. I think you'll find that corporate America has trained most people to be “morning people.” Our natural energy cycles cause us to be “up” or have “prime” time first thing in the morning. Unfortunately, most people insist on holding meetings at that time. *Some* meetings are good to have during prime time, like those involving brainstorming, problem solving, or strategy. But routine staff meetings, project updates, or information-only meetings should be held during lulls in productivity. If you are stuck attending these meetings with no control over when they are held, a phone call to the chair with this graph as a team-building activity might be well-received. Also send that person this article!
I think about my energy level like a dimmer switch my hubbie John recently put in our bathroom. People don't operate at "OFF" and "ON." You're not running full-tilt all day long, then sleep at night. It's not "0" and "100%" but rather various levels all day. People are more like dimmer switches. Or cats.
My kitty Emma follows the sunshine all day. She plays some, sleeps some, eats some, and pays attention to her own desires. People say things like, "I *have* to check email at (x) time of day." Why? Better to schedule times to handle email when you're in down time and stick to a self-imposed limit. Rarely to people need to be going a hundred miles an hour to handle email. Pay attention and slow down when your brain and body tell you to.
Be a cat. Be a dimmer switch. Follow your rhythms and work with your brain's and body's desires for you throughout the day. Remember, it’s costly to have key people, including yourself, tied up in routine meetings during periods of peak energy and productivity. And it's costly for you to work on things you can do in your sleep during your peak productivity zone. Once you know what that zone is, protect it for all your worth! Be self-disciplined when you're "up." And listen to yourself and rest when you're "down." Meow.
Laura M. Stack, MBA, CSP, is “The Productivity PRO,"® helping people leave the office earlier, with less stress, and more to show for it. She presents keynotes and seminars on time management, information overload, and personal productivity. Contact her at 303-471-7401 or visit her website at www.TheProductivityPro.com.
Laura Stack
An important piece of productivity concerns what time of day you select to work on which activities. Everyone has a natural time during the day when they are "UP" (prime time) and a natural time when they are "DOWN" (down time). During prime time, your brain is "on"; your batteries are charged and you're able to focus. During down time, your brain feels "slow"; it's difficult to muddle through your work.
First, let's chart your energy levels. Get out a piece of paper and draw a big "L" for a graph with a vertical and horizontal axis. Mark the vertical axis "0" to "100" to represent your energy level as a percentage. Mark the horizontal axis with your work hours, in one hour increments. When you arrive at work in the morning, draw a dot where energy intersects with time, to indicate how you feel in terms of your energy level. As the day progresses, draw a series of dots horizontally to show how your energy ebbs and flows. Then connect the dots and analyze your line chart.
Draw a dotted line at about the 75% energy level mark across your line drawing to represent your peak productivity zone. Write these exact time ranges out to the side of your graph. These are your "expensive" hours, compared to other times during the day, because your brain is capable of doing higher-level activities in that range. It’s important to know when you’re in prime time, because you can get so much more done. The key is to focus on:
- Important tasks
Critical decisions
Problem solving
Complex thought
If you wait until you're in down time to work on these types of activities, it will take much, much longer and be much, much more painful. The challenge for most people is that when they're in prime time, they feel GOOD! The last thing you might feel like doing when you're "up" is working on that report, writing a proposal, or analyzing those figures. But if you wait until you're going down, you've lost the opportunity to get it done quickly. The trick here is a lot of self-discipline. Resist the urge to do “fun, easy, trivial” things during this period or talk to your friends.
I actually have two prime times: one in the morning, and one early afternoon. When I'm in prime time, I need to make my marketing calls, because I need to be "up" and on top of the conversation. Sometimes, I will purposely let my voice mail pick up my calls, when I know I'm in down time and won't be as articulate as I'd like to be with a client. I will also respond to Requests for Proposals (RFPs) sent by prospective clients in prime time. I want to write quickly and succinctly, and my prime time is the key opportunity for that work.
Similarly, I listen to my body when I'm in down time. When I feel my energy level waning, a quick glance at the clock will usually tell me why. I know I need to get up, stretch, perhaps go for a quick walk around the block, eat an energy snack, or make a cup of tea. Then I will go back and work on some different activities, not necessarily ones with low priority, but those that don't require the brain power of the prime time tasks. If I don't listen to my body's signals and respond appropriately, I will get a rip-roaring headache, preventing me from taking advantage of my second prime time.
Another consideration is when to hold meetings. If you're a manager or professional with the ability to call a meeting during a certain time, really think about when to hold them. It's often eye-opening to do this prime time graphing activity with your staff or the people normally in attendance. I think you'll find that corporate America has trained most people to be “morning people.” Our natural energy cycles cause us to be “up” or have “prime” time first thing in the morning. Unfortunately, most people insist on holding meetings at that time. *Some* meetings are good to have during prime time, like those involving brainstorming, problem solving, or strategy. But routine staff meetings, project updates, or information-only meetings should be held during lulls in productivity. If you are stuck attending these meetings with no control over when they are held, a phone call to the chair with this graph as a team-building activity might be well-received. Also send that person this article!
I think about my energy level like a dimmer switch my hubbie John recently put in our bathroom. People don't operate at "OFF" and "ON." You're not running full-tilt all day long, then sleep at night. It's not "0" and "100%" but rather various levels all day. People are more like dimmer switches. Or cats.
My kitty Emma follows the sunshine all day. She plays some, sleeps some, eats some, and pays attention to her own desires. People say things like, "I *have* to check email at (x) time of day." Why? Better to schedule times to handle email when you're in down time and stick to a self-imposed limit. Rarely to people need to be going a hundred miles an hour to handle email. Pay attention and slow down when your brain and body tell you to.
Be a cat. Be a dimmer switch. Follow your rhythms and work with your brain's and body's desires for you throughout the day. Remember, it’s costly to have key people, including yourself, tied up in routine meetings during periods of peak energy and productivity. And it's costly for you to work on things you can do in your sleep during your peak productivity zone. Once you know what that zone is, protect it for all your worth! Be self-disciplined when you're "up." And listen to yourself and rest when you're "down." Meow.
Laura M. Stack, MBA, CSP, is “The Productivity PRO,"® helping people leave the office earlier, with less stress, and more to show for it. She presents keynotes and seminars on time management, information overload, and personal productivity. Contact her at 303-471-7401 or visit her website at www.TheProductivityPro.com.
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