Do It! Marketing Blog: Marketing for Smart People™

As you may know, a wonderful team of small business experts and I are organizing the inaugural America Talks Business Conference coming up on July 25. (Conference info is here and you can still register with early bird savings here.)

One of our media partners is Entrepreneur Magazine. When I shared this news with my friend Dan Janal of PRLeads and PressReleaseSender.com, his first comment was, "Looks good. Congrats on getting Entrepreneur magazine. You are one well-connected guy!" 

I sent Dan back a note that said, "Not well-connected. Just fearless in asking."

And he closed out our email conversation with this brilliant observation: "Same thing, I guess!"

YES!!!

It is the same thing indeed.

So here are some questions for YOU: 

1. Who do YOU need to be well-connected to?

2. Who do you need to fearlessly ask for help?

3. What's stopping you from asking? 

4. What's the worst that could happen? 

5. What's the best that could happen? 

6. How much do you care about #4? 

7. How much do you want #5?

8. Is it time for YOU to do some fearless asking? 

p.s. The June 17 deadline is coming up for Entrepreneur Magazine's Entrepreneur of 2013 competition. You can't win if you don't enter. They are accepting applications for Entrepreneur of 2013, Emerging Entrepreneur of 2013 and College Entrepreneur of 2013. See if you qualify to join the ranks of other inspiring entrepreneurs: http://www.entrepreneur.com/e2013 

I go to a fair number of conferences, both as a speaker and as a plain old participant. 

Some conferences are great - and some... well, not so much. 

In my experience, a great conference combines three secret ingredients for success. 

What are they? 

Glad you asked. 

Here they are... 

1. Speaker management - Give me high-energy, high-content speakers who deliver the goods. Strong content delivered with authenticity, enthusiasm, and with a clear point-of-view. I don't want to hear speakers who deliver same-o, lame-o information (i.e. crap that I could just as easily read in a book or find in a Google search). I want to be shaken, stirred, riled up, smacked down, and taken for a ride. No vanilla speakers. I want you to bring the mango gelato, the sriracha sorbet, the oddballs, the freaks, the wild ones. 

2. Engagement management - Don't (please don't) make me sit in a theater, an auditorium, or a meeting room and watch from my seat. I want to interact. I want to engage. I want to collaborate, communicate, and cross-pollinate with the speakers, the audience, the organizers. I want you to put the CONFER back into the word CONFERENCE. I want to strategize, conspire, and confab with all the amazing people in the room. Not just the gal to my left and the guy on my right. Not just during deeply misguided Q&A sessions that ruin even the best talks. All. The. Time. Mix it up - mini-seminars, peer-to-peer jam sessions, strategic mastermind roundtables. Put the intellectual talent of the room on stage and let's REALLY dig in.

3. Time and experience management - Never start late. Let me repeat that - never, EVER start late. No session or panel longer than 20 minutes. Less and faster is the name of the game. Take the sage off the stage and put the guide on the side. Move me around the theater - into the lobby, up on the platform, out in the hall. Mix, mingle, shake up the stale conference format. No more 1-to-many. Make it many-to-many. Or 1-to-1. Manage my time. Manage my experience. Connect me. Inspire me. Fire me up. Let me feel important. Let me plug in to the event and the people you've brought together. Stir my pot. Season my soup. I want to leave your event feeling like I'm a rock star who just played a set with the best musicians on the planet. I want to feel LUCKY to have been part of your event. I don't want to leave with information. I want to leave with insights specifically designed to help me kick some serious ass. I want to leave with my action plan for global domination AND a whole army of new friends whom I can call on to make it happen. 

Can your event do that for me? 

'Cuz if it can't... I won't be there. I'll just stay home. And read a book. Or jump on Google. Or watch videos on TED.com.

I don't need to travel and use up my time, money, effort, and energy going to your old school conference with a string of speakers who talk at me while I sit with a random bunch of strangers who'll never even get to know my name.

The bar has been raised. Those events are so past their expiration date that they're starting to stink like an old bucket of yogurt.   

Want to experience something new and better? 

Join me for the America Talks Business conference in Philadelphia on July 25, 2013. 

The future is here. Now. 

Join us?

What do YOU think? Please use the COMMENTS area below to share your advice, insights and recommendations on this topic and join the conversation... 

As you may know, my loyal Labrador Retriever, Woofie, works part-time as marketing dog here at Do It! Marketing HQ. 

Her website attracts a LOT of traffic and she gets some very nice inbound traction via email (at least for a dog!) 

Here are nine secrets to Woofie's online success - and perhaps some good ideas for YOU, too:

1. Post regularly. She posts updates annually on her birthday (4/29) but the point is that her audience has come to EXPECT that. You should post more often - but with the same dogged consistency.
2. Don't ask for much. Woofie shares her updates with enthusiasm and authenticity. She never sells. She never begs. She never whines. How about you?
3. Be cute and relax. Woofie's main job with her web marketing is to be herself. Share what's interesting and important to her and her like-minded followers. Bacon. Cheese. Wagging. Tennis balls. 
4. Let people come up to you first. Woofie has lots of ways to interact with her on her website. You can email her. You can follow her on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. She makes herself approachable and then lets her fans be in charge of getting in touch. 
5. Photos - visuals sell. Her website is 80% photos and 20% text. As my pal Jay Baer, author of the great new book Youtility, likes to say, "Text is going away. Everything online is moving to photos and video."
6. Let other people help you. Since Woofie has no opposable thumbs, she needs people to answer her email for her. That's where I come in. Folks email her. I respond, pointing out the fact that I'm responding on her behalf because of the whole thumbs problem. Generally, you'll do much better in business if you FLOP (Feature and Leverage Other People.)
7. Make people feel better about themselves after engaging with you. 'Nuf said. 
8. It's OK to be silly. Especially if you're a Labrador Retriever! And it's OK to be funny, human, and kind if you happen to be funny, human, or kind. 
9. 10 kisses, one bark - keep it positive. Nobody like growling, barking and whining. Not from a dog. And not from a blog. And certainly not from an online expert, thought-leading professional, or entrepreneur like YOU.

What do YOU think? Please use the COMMENTS area below to share your advice, insights and recommendations on this topic and join the conversation... 

I just came across a website that claims to feature the Top 100 "Voices that Shape Opinion" - Grab a quick look here: http://say100.saymedia.com

It reminded me of a few years back when I was attending the 99% Conference and happened to strike up a conversation with Tina Roth Eisenberg, a sorta-cool, sorta-famous-in-that-indie-way designer and blogger. She is one of the Say 100 - http://say100.saymedia.com/design

Three things that made an impression on me when I met Tina:

1. She seemed like a nice, unassuming, down-to-earth person when chatting 1-on-1. She was no big deal to me because I wasn't one of her design groupies and she simply seemed like an interesting person among the 300 or so equally interesting people at the conference...

2. During this 10-minute coffee break, about a dozen people came up to her - interrupting our conversation - with that "Oh my god, it's HER" look on their faces... 

3. She interrupted OUR conversation each and every one of those dozen times to greet her fans - mostly strangers mixed in with one or two seemingly more meaningful acquaintances or friends...

So it became clear to me that among a certain subgroup of this conference, Tina WAS indeed a big deal. 

But she lost some points in my book by trading superficial fandom for the possibility of a new connection - even with a "nobody" like me. 

Truth is - put me in a different room, and among an equally teeny-tiny minority of folks, I am the one who is a big deal. But I make damn sure NEVER to treat a conversation partner the way Tina treated me. 

I've had a 5-minute conversation with a new friend at similar events while two, three or even four people start stacking up in my peripheral vision wanting a word with me. Know what I do? I ignore 'em. Politely but with determined focus, I continue my conversation with the person who was gracious enough to share THEIR time and attention with me. 

I'm a big believer in the notion of "love the one you're with" in a professional networking sense. Do anything else and you seem like a needy, egotistical goober who suffers from false celebrity syndrome (FCS - it's deadly). 

Here's my challenge to YOU - in the rooms where YOU are a "big deal," how do you treat your NEW friends, acquaintances, and networking connections?

Do you NEED to collect on every last drop of all that ego satisfaction?

Or are you willing to put your ego aside and act like a "regular person" when you may - or may not - be considered as such in the real world outside that room? 

If you're truly a big deal - regardless of the scope of that statement for you - are you kind, attentive and humble? Or is that just an act until YOUR fans start lining up and asking you to have their picture taken with you? 

It matters much more than a list of who matters. 

What do YOU think? Please leave your COMMENTS, thoughts and experiences below...

As a marketing speaker and marketing coach, my clients often ask me to critique their Professional Bio.

Whether YOU are a professional speaker, consultant, coach, author, or professional services firm owner - your Bio is one of your most powerful marketing tools that will make or break your future clients' perception of your expertise.

Writing an effective, attractive and client-magnet bio is hard.

Here's what you must NOT do:

• Be boring
• List achievements and awards out of context
• Brag
• Come across as a corporate stuffed shirt or pompous twit
• Trot out a bunch of acronyms, jargon and consultant-speak
• Preach
• Tell us about your awesome vacations, Harley collection, adorable kids, and scuba diving prowess

Without further ado, let me present a Professional Bio I recently came across from a consultant with the Tom Peters Company in the UK that I found quite impressive and that you might consider modeling into your own. My comments are numbered and explained below:

Like you,(1) leadership expert and business author(2) Robert Thompson has seen the word leadership defined numerous ways over the years. Is it charisma and positive thinking? Pinstripes and red power ties? Decisiveness? Is it all about the situation? Is it meant only for the chosen few who rise to the top? Or, is there a different story?(3)

With over three decades of executive coaching, speaking, and most importantly, real-life, in-the-trenches business experience, his view is radically different.(4) Robert appreciates, and shares with listeners, that leadership is a moment-to-moment choice and not about title, tenure or position. Leadership is for everyone, everyday. It's how we should live our life.(5)

Robert, sometimes referred to as the “Provocateur” for his ability to stir up a group(6) or as the “People Whisperer” for his coaching skill that brings out the best in people, is known for his practical, street-savvy style; Robert's fusion of real-life stories and his conversational techniques connect with his audience at an intimate, intense and individual level.(7)

Robert has served as a senior consultant with the U.S. based Tom Peters Company for several years. He is a Certified Master Facilitator of the The Leadership Challenge Workshop™, and continues to work with the best and brightest in the leadership development field. (8)

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1. The most powerful word in marketing is YOU. Starting the bio with "Like you..." is flat-out brilliant.

2. Label yourself immediately. Prospects need to know your expertise upfront and you get 2 seconds to position yourself. Put "_______ expert" in the first 10 words of your bio.

3. Using engaging questions in your bio is something you've probably never considered - and it WORKS. People judge you MORE on the questions that you ask rather than the statements you make. Add questions to your bio - it's a kickass idea!

4. Buyers are lazy, busy and befuddled. One way to make yourself come across as "different" is simply to claim it! "His view is radically different" works. I also recommend the phrase "Unlike many consultants/ speakers/ fill-in-the blank..." (Ex: "Unlike many marketing coaches, David Newman shows you exactly what to say and how to say it, what to do and how to do it")

5. Philosophy sound bites that serve as a preview of your thinking. Consider these "bullets without the bullets." They share snippets of what you'll share and implement with your future client in a conversational way.

6. Always promote your benefits, not yourself. I'm not crazy about these unattributed third-party references ("known as the Provacateur") but the saving grace is that they are framed in terms of benefit to the audience/client. This could be stronger if it said "The Financial Times called him 'the CEO's secret weapon'"

7. Love the fusion concept. It says subconsciously to your buyer - "hire this guy and you'll get the best of both worlds." It's also an implied differentiator. What are you a fusion of? And the masterstroke is that the fusion is also framed as a benefit to the audience.

8. He works with the "best and brightest" so YOU, Ms. Prospect, must be pretty sharp if you hire him. This implied compliment gets buyers to WANT to qualify to work with you. Nothing like a little ego boost for your reader as they cruise through your bio. This signals - again subconsciously - "I'm making a good decision."

9. Claim authorship. Calling his talks "conversations" is also a brilliant differentiator.

10. Name names. Client names are powerful. I do NOT like "His successes include" simply because it sounds like he's taking credit for the success of giant global corporations. A better turn of phrase might have been "Companies such as X, Y, and Z have partnered with Robert when they want outcome 1, 2 and 3." This might also be a great place to put in some testimonial snippets from execs inside these specific companies. Their words carry a lot more weight than his.

11. List your accomplishments in the REAL world. Speakers and experts are not hired for what they know so much as they are hired for what they've DONE. Connect who you are to what you do and your credibility skyrockets.

12. Creme de la creme. Board service and being seen as a leader among your peers implies that you are respected within your field and thus, you must be among the best at what you do.

Use these guidelines to turbo-charge YOUR professional bio right now and you'll thank me later -- DO IT!

And then leave a comment below with your questions, thoughts, and advice on the ideas above.

Are you a DO IT freak? Welcome to the club!! Please use the social media buttons at the top of this post to share it with your network. YOU are a rock star!

Marketing Mix: Book Review of "PAID TO SPEAK" published by the National Speakers Association

PAID TO SPEAK is a virtual MBA in the business of speaking. From marketing to positioning to product development to platform skills, it's ALL in here. Well-organized, tightly edited, and with a logical flow from one part of the business to another, PAID TO SPEAK is also unique in that it tells it like it is. No sugar-coating. And no trying to fleece opportunity-seekers into believing the speaking business is a fast, easy, and glamorous way to make money. [It is NONE of the three!] 

Speaking professionally today is about thought-leadership, adding value to corporate, association, and entrepreneurial sectors, and understanding all the different ways that audiences and buyers want to access, use, and deploy your expertise. The book spans a wide range of business models, distribution methods, and revenue models. As it should - to reflect the current reality of many successful speakers (very few of whom have business models that look anything alike!) 

The key value in buying a copy of PAID TO SPEAK, dog-earing it, highlighting it, and taking notes in the margins... is that you will emerge from the experience with a wealth of information, some clear decisions to make, and a game plan to put it all together in a style and manner that suits your personality, your strengths, and your preferences. This is no "one size fits all" template for "THE" way to become successful. There are MANY paths up the mountain - and PAID TO SPEAK should be your personal handbook, guide, and reference to get you there miles ahead of the competition! 

Marketing concept for today: Storytelling for Business. This infographic came across my desk recently from the folks at Fathom Business Events. Whether your preferred method of telling your story is LIVE, such as speaking and seminars, or other online/offline channels, THIS is exactly what you should be spending your time doing:

What do you think? Please use the COMMENTS area below to (wait for it...) share YOUR STORY about how these strategies have worked for you!

1. I'm scared to...

2. They won't let me...

3. It sounds too simple...

4. It sounds too complicated...

5. I'll never find the time to...

6. Sounds crazy...

7. I've never done anything like that before...

8. I've done that a bunch of times...

9. It'll turn everybody off...

10. I don't know how...

11. That's not the way we do things around here...

12. It's too expensive...

13. It's too far-fetched...

14. I need another 6 months to test it...

15. I need to be 100% sure...

16. It's not perfect yet...

17. People will say I'm foolish...

18. People will say I'm crazy...

19. I would never buy something like this myself...

20. I don't know...

21. I'm not ready...

22. I'm not smart enough...

23. I don't have the right degrees and certifications...

24. What's the exit strategy?

25. The competition is already way ahead of us...

26. We can't just pick up and start...

27. The other guys are bigger...

28. The other guys have more money...

29. The other guys are so well-connected...

30. It'll never work...

31. Maybe next year...

Which one(s) of these scare YOU the most? Please use the comments area below to share your SCARIEST source of fear, uncertainty and doubt... so we can overcome them TOGETHER!

Want to blow past all these scary excuses and tackle your most important marketing, sales and business growth TO-DO items all in a single, super-focused day? Check out DO IT DAYS and join us for the next one.

Welcome to the first in a series of powerful marketing concepts... you can call them riffs, sound bites, or guiding principles.

When folks come to us for marketing mentoring, marketing speaking, or our done-with-you marketing services, the first place we begin is to help them operationalize one or more of these marketing concepts.

If YOU try them, you'll be amazed with your results. (And when that happens, please stop by here again to leave a comment and share your success stories!!)

The first one is among the most powerful - and it's the marketing concept of overcoming inertia.

Marketing Concept: Get Started - Now!

Starting.

Moving.

Implementing.

Executing.

DOING!

As my motivational speaker friend Scott Ginsberg likes to say, "You don't need an idea - you need an I DID."

No matter how small the action - stop planning and start DOING. Only action creates results.

Scottish mountain climber W. H. Murray wrote:

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way."

Whatever your big idea happens to be - writing your book - launching your product - kicking off your new service - shipping your insanely great software - putting on your amazing conference - reinventing your career - birthing your awesome project - embarking on your new adventure...

Get Started - Now!!

• Leadership Skills
• Teambuilding
• Motivation
• Supervisory Skills
• Customer Service
• Meeting Facilitation
• Process Improvement

• Healthcare
• Corporate
• Financial Services
• Small Business Owners
• Entrepreneurs
• Non-Profit
• Faith-Based Organizations
• Anyone who wants to maximize potential, overcome obstacles & achieve goals

• Architectural drawings
• Building plans
• Hammering
• Screwdriving
• Framing
• Drywalling
• Plumbing/HVAC
• Roofing

• Tall people
• Short people
• Families
• People who want a new house
• People who'd like to move
• Caucasians
• African Americans
• Asian Americans
• Latinos
• Anyone who wants a house they can call a home, a roof over their heads, and to obtain housing

MARKETING TIP: Nobody CARES about YOU and what YOU do! They want to hear about the outcomes. Outcomes go way beyond features, benefits, processes, and methodologies.

Sell me on the HOUSE and what my life will be like when I've moved in, or have guests over, or have a picnic, or retire.

Talk about ME, MY life, and what MY experience of your product/service will be. That's all I really care about!

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David Newman is a marketing speaker and marketing coach who works with professionals who want to do a better job of marketing so they get more leads, better prospects, and bigger sales.