Do It! Marketing Blog: Marketing for Smart People™

Every day here at Do It! Marketing HQ, we work hard to make sure the clients we love are extremely happy with our work and our results. At the same time, we work hard to keep OUT clients who will make us nuts, sap our energy, or for whom it will be impossible to do our best work.

In this spirit, here is today's marketing concept: Your Client GPS tool (Goofball Prevention Screening)

A client may well prove to be a Goofball if they…

1. Lack high standards of excellence – Good enough is good enough…
2. Don’t care about increasing their knowledge – Not committed to becoming valuable resources to their own clients and customers…
3. Refuse to work hard and commit to their own success – Lack persistence and are unwilling to try new things to achieve results…
4. Think they already know everything – And are unwilling to accept help in expanding their skills, expertise, or capabilities…
5. Resist investing in themselves and their business – They fail to understand that this is the best investment of all…
6. Operate from a mindset of fear and scarcity – They can’t make good decisions long-term because they are so risk-averse in the short term…
7. Won’t (or can’t) pay their bills – Their lack of financial responsibility spills over onto others in the form of late payment, non-payment, and endless excuses…
8. Exude negative energy – Negative self-talk, pessimism and cynicism repel new opportunities, new partners, and new ideas (all vital to success)…
9. Can’t commit to mutually supportive relationships – In business and in life, the most successful people don’t make it alone…

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

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As a marketing speaker and marketing coach, the question often arises about how to deliver persuasive speech topics effectively. 

This week, we lost one of the great journalists of our time, Andy Rooney. As a side note, there is a strong case to be made that Andy Rooney was the very first video blogger - and certainly the first man to produce viral videos. You can see some examples here and here and a CBS-produced retrospective here. 

So as you're crafting your next persuasive speech topic, here are seven lessons from Andy Rooney to inspire your preparation and increase your effectiveness...

1. Start strong - don't waste a lot of time in the wind-up. Begin like a good courtroom lawyer and come out swinging with no doubt as to your position and perspective.

2. Use specific examples we can all relate to. Model your favorite stand-up comedian: "Don't you hate it when..." "How come that every time you..." or "The thing that makes me crazy about ABC is XYZ." Specificity sells your ideas - and in the case of comedians, it also adds humor.

3. Go negative when it makes sense. And it almost always makes sense. Yes, when it comes to marketing and persuasion, some people will tell you to plant yourself firmly in the world of aspirations, dreams and goals. I disagree - the sound bite is "If you're going to sell fire extinguishers, first show the fire." Sell their problem - then you can sell your solution.

4. Don't be afraid to share your opinions on the facts, not just the facts. Yes data is important - but it's emotion that sells. Andy Rooney always had plenty of emotion behind his comments - and he often tapped into yours. Spark an emotional reaction and you'll quickly separate your supporters from your detractors. And when you're trying to persuade, it's the middle of the road where you find the roadkill. 

5. Don't let the critics get you down. As I always say to my audiences as a marketing speaker, "if you don't risk turning some people off, you'll never turn anybody on." If you are working on a persuasive speech topic that is selling an emotionally charged idea or one that requires your audience (prospects, colleagues, boss) to take a leap of faith, you will have to deal with critics, skeptics, haters and even some saboteurs. Take it all in stride and understand what my friend, motivational speaker Marvin LeBlanc likes to say - "You ain't nobody 'til somebody hates you."

6. Charm will go a long way. Even at his most ornery moments, Andy Rooney always had a twinkle in his eye. Yes, he could be sarcastic, negative, nasty even... but although he took his subject matter seriously, he never took himself too seriously. And his good-natured charm showed through his most acidic banter, sarcasm, and negativity. It set a unique contrast. It was effective for him and it might be effective for you.

7. Share your passions. Persuasive speech topics are nothing without the persuasion - so once you've made your case, don't be afraid to go positive in a strong way and share what you love, what you believe in, and what you want your audience to believe in. One of the greatest examples from Andy Rooney is this piece in honor of newspapers.

Andy's obituary in today's New York Times concluded like this:

Mr. Rooney frequently said he considered himself “one of the least important producers on television” because his specialty was light pieces. “I just wish insignificance had more stature,” he once said.

But he put things in perspective in his 1,097th and last regularly scheduled “60 Minutes” appearance.

“I’ve done a lot of complaining here,” he said then, “but of all the things I’ve complained about, I can’t complain about my life.”

Thanks, Andy - for showing us how to persuade, how to spread your ideas, and how to have a great time doing it.

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!!

As a speaker marketing expert and head honcho of an inbound marketing agency serving speakers, consultants, and thought-leading professionals, I often find myself with prospects who want to get involved in social media but - sadly - do not understand the intent, ideas, or influence factors that make social media an effective tactic in their overall marketing arsenal.

How can I put this? Ummm... well, they're idiots.

Relax... IDIOT is an acronym that stands for the 5 key misconceptions, faulty assumptions, and pillars of goofy thinking that prevent most thought-leading professionals (YOU perhaps??) from generating maximum results from your social media efforts.

Namely...

I: I, Me, My syndrome

D: Dumb it down

I: Information without invitation

O: Over-selling

T: Today vs. tomorrow focus

Let's take a look at each of these in a bit more detail:

I: I, Me, My syndrome. No, your social media postings do NOT need to be all about YOU. In fact, if all you talk about is YOU - your company, your book, your blog, your brand, your articles, your resources, your tools, your programs, your products, your services... people will ignore you, tune you out, and dismiss you for the self-centered idiot that you are. (Please remember - idiot is an acronym used throughout this post.)

Experts promote other experts. Experts are not insecure about shining the spotlight on others. Experts are curators and pointers-out-of-cool-things. Experts post book reviews BY other experts FOR yet other experts' books.

As long as YOU can be counted on to share interesting, relevant, valuable, sometimes even edgy content, guide your followers to the "good stuff" online, and position yourself as a reliable sherpa in your expertise, you'll get PLENTY of attention, love, and respect. Even MORE SO if you're not a mental weakling who is focused only on hyping your own crap.

Grow up. Step up. Be a real expert and learn once and for all - it's not about YOU.

D: Dumb it down This mistake comes from the fear that if you give away your VERY BEST ideas, strategies, tools, tactics, insights and other secret sauce (yes, the stuff you get paid BIG BUCKS for with your paying clients!) that you will somehow diminish the demand for your paid products and services.

So you "dumb it down." You post that second-rate article. You remove some detail from that tip sheet because you want people to buy your consulting services and not do it themselves. You post the video that only has 3 of your 10 key ideas because heck, if you gave all 10 ideas, they'd never hire you to keynote at the big industry conference - you've already "spilled the candy in the lobby."

Yep - you guessed it: You're an idiot.

The reality is - it works 180 degrees the other way. The ONLY way folks are going to pay you the big bucks is if they have a FIRSTHAND experience of your genius - if they feel it, taste it, touch it, and fully experience it. ONLY THEN will they want more. ONLY THEN will they share it with their colleagues. ONLY THEN will they call their boss over to look at your website or email them your link.

Do you want to be SHARED - or do you want to be SCARED? Your call - but you already know which answer will make you more money. Unless you're an idiot. 

I: Information without invitation  Social media sites are not a dumping ground for your old, outdated, crappy content from books you wrote in the 1980s or articles that you could never get published.

Even rock-solid, current, highly relevant information is NECESSARY but NOT SUFFICIENT to fuel your thought leadership platform and build your empire as an expert.

Here's a secret - the internet actually does NOT need more information posted on it. Not from you. Not from me. Not from anyone.

An effective social media campaign will share information of standalone value and then INVITE a two-way (or 5-way or 17-way) conversation around that information.

Ask questions, seek engagement, invite involvement. 

Offer value, seek opinions, spark conversation - and ask the most powerful question in sales AND leadership AND relationships: "What do you think?"

O: Over-selling One particularly idiotic individual told me that he wanted ALL his Facebook posts to have a hyperlink. Every. Single. One.

Hyperlink to where, you ask?

To HIS online store, HIS products, HIS books on amazon, HIS speaking page, HIS consulting page, HIS services overview. He said, "If you're not linking every Facebook post to a selling opportunity, you're just putting a lot of dead-end junk on Facebook and you'll never make any money." 

Wow - this guy is a WORLD-CLASS idiot.

Social media is not about posting "here's how to buy my crap" - it's not about creating an extra dozen or so sales pages for your products, services or programs.

If your goals are: Sell on Twitter. Sell on Facebook. Sell on LinkedIn. Sell on YouTube...

Your results will be: Unfollow. Unfriend. Unlink. Unsubscribe. You're done. Buh-bye. Idiot.

Lesson 1 for you to share with your idiots: Content comes before commerce.

Lesson 2 for you to share with your idiots: First you earn their attention. THEN you earn their money.

T: Today vs. tomorrow focus The final mistake is to think of social media in the same way that you might think of outbound sales activity.

Think about it: Cold calls. Email blasts. Direct mail. Do those things and the natural question to ask is - OK, how much did we sell?

You made 100 dials, you connected with 20 humans, you had 14 conversations, you qualified 5 serious prospects and then how much did you SELL TODAY?

You sent 10,000 postcards. Requests came back for 300 quotes. So how many widgets did you SELL TODAY?

Social media doesn't work that way. Social media is... well, social. It's about relationships and trust. Relationships and trust don't have an ON/OFF switch - they develop over time.

Transactions happen today from relationships you built last week, last month, and last year. The benefit of that - and the reason it's worth the "wait" is that social media gives you a permanent asset - TRUST.

Blog entries are forever. They continue to sell your expertise, your company, and your value day after day, week after week, year after year. LinkedIn recommendations are forever. People that wrote glowingly of you in 2002 are still "selling" for you and your reputation TODAY.

A voice mail? BEEP - gone. An email? ZAP - gone. A face to face meeting? DONE - bye. Those happen today and they're gone today. 

Sure, you have to sell today. You have to make your quota today. You have to feed your family today. But social media marketing helps you ensure that what you create ONCE today works and lasts and brings customers and clients to you for many years to come...

Not because you SOLD them like an IDIOT -- but because you built the trust and relationships that HELPED THEM BUY today, tomorrow and beyond!

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So... what do YOU think?

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!

Guest column by Tom Marin, Orlando Business Journal

Brand marketing is facing a power-shift in today's marketplace. Customers want to be part of a brand's direction and development.

Listening to their expectations can determine your firm's level of success. To take full advantage of today's market share, companies will need to "lose" control of their marketing strategy to ultimately gain it, by embracing this powerful dynamic of customer expectations.

Fifty years ago, there weren't the number of brands or media choices there are today. The market is filled with brands, sub-brands, cross-brands, and strategic-brand partnerships. Add to that list the ever-increasing media choices, including Internet marketing, and it's difficult to make a minor change to a brand that will affect top-line sales significantly.

Investing in cutting-edge, no-cost and low-cost promotional tools for branding ideas will allow you to market your company profitably.

Consider these suggestions for energizing your brand in today's marketplace:

• Create uniqueness. Uniqueness is a brand's No. 1 asset. The greater the brand uniqueness, the higher its score in market share. And those brands that create a unique brand category usually become the leaders. What comes to mind when you consider: theme park, soft drink or overnight delivery? Most likely it is Disney, Coke and FedEx. They are the recognized leaders, though there are other brands in their categories. Your brand's uniqueness can be determined by completing this sentence: Our (brand name) is the only (product category) that (does what).

• Replace repetition with interactive promotions. A common branding strategy is repetition of the brand message to build awareness. This strategy is not as effective as interactive promotions. For example, a 30-day trial use, a sample pack, an on-premise presentation or a portion of the service you offer are all effective interactive strategies. They allow customers to discover the benefits of your brand and move closer to making a purchase decision than the repetitious sales pitch provides.

• Replace outbound marketing with inbound branding. Traditional methods of outbound marketing include telemarketing, voicemail campaigns, e-mails and direct marketing. These standard marketing strategies have become less effective because people use spam-ware, caller ID, firewall devices and the "circular file" to eliminate them. Internet searches have become a primary source for obtaining product information. Popular Web sites such as Google and Yahoo are tapping the exploding volume of today's online buyer.

To increase your potential customer base, consider using these methods:

1. Publish articles on Web sites that are relevant to your target audience.

2. Write book reviews on related topics for Web sites such as Amazon.com.

3. Publicize your brand on Web sites like prnewswire.com and prweb.com.

4. Increase your online identity with listings on LinkedIn, ZoomInfo, Ziggs, Naymz and others.

• Replace monolithic marketing with customer-centric branding. Don't be a follower. If you're trying to overtake a brand leader, don't emulate their strategies. Create your own. And let your strategy strike at the heart of what your key customers want. Of course, knowing what they want will be paramount to your success, so ask them.

• Don't plan for overnight success. If someone offered me $10 million to help them launch a successful brand tomorrow, I'd tell them instead to give me $1 million and five years to make their brand successful. Understanding this dynamic of time, I'll bring home the bacon based on what prospective customers want.

Accepting and using this branding power-shift between you and your customer will allow you to involve their needs in your strategy and, in time, will establish your brand successfully. Their involvement offers them new reasons for becoming a loyal customer.

As a speaker marketing expert, and professional speaker myself, I feel it's important not to OVER-emphasize social media... and also not to UNDER-emphasize it either. 

As John Jantsch likes to say, "social media is a tactic, not a religion" and I have to agree. Here are 10 social media tips for professional speakers that will help you balance your mix...

1. YouTube One Of Your Speeches – The best form of advertisement when it comes to professional speaking is showing your abilities online. When people have seen your electrifying speeches, they will be more likely to want to book you. Adding in a small link to your site during your Youtube video also will bring traffic to your website. Adding your Youtube video to your website will also get buyers more confident in your skills. After all, with many decision-makers and meeting planners, even the most eloquent writing will mean nothing to them if they cannot watch you in action. Try and get video in front of a high-octane audience. The more excited the audience is, the more dynamic your video will be.
2. Post Blogs On Related Subjects – If you are a professional speaker who makes a living from leadership speeches, having a blog that offers daily leadership tips will get more targeted leads to your site. Moreover, having extremely good leadership information and articles will also get people spreading the word about your site. There are plenty of authors out there who were able to sell books through their blogs; why should you be any different? As a general rule of thumb, the more content that you generate, the better your marketing results will be.
3. Podcasts Are Your Best Friend – Audio recordings of some of your shorter speeches or "snippets" are a great way to advertise your expertise. Including these in a feed will keep fans and customers updated on your latest work, and also will help spread the word about your speaking abilities. Even better, selling audio programs on your site might just make you a little money. Remember to add a little audio blurb in each audio program telling your audience how to book you for their next event!
4. Link It All Together – On each of your social media profiles, add your website link, your blog link, and upload some videos, photos, and audio recordings if possible. Making yourself as accessible as possible will let people know that you are serious and open for new business. People also will enjoy the convenience of having everything linked together in an easy-to-access way no matter where they may land in your web empire.
5. Get As Much Social Bookmarking As Possible – Got videos online? Get them ‘liked’ on Facebook. Encourage your audience to Tweet links to your website, blog, or show pages. Whenever possible, install as many social bookmarking tools as possible, and try to use all of them (Digg, Delicious, StumbleUpon). The more that you can get people to share with ease, the more your expertise will spread.
6. Twitter Is Great – Tweeting your updates is an easy way to keep people informed about your latest thoughts, insights, and audiences. However, the best way that you can use Twitter is to engage your fans and prospective clients. Being able to chat with you via Twitter will show people that you are still a real person, and that your fans/followers matter to you!
7. LinkedIn Is Best For Corporate Speakers – LinkedIn has long been known to attract professionals in just about every field. For business speakers, it’s a smart move to put your biggest social media efforts into LinkedIn. Then take those relationships offline - perhaps even networking with local managers in your area to get you some steady gigs as their favorite professional speaker.
8. Keep It All Short N’ Sweet N’ To The Point – No matter what social media tool you are using, make sure to be direct and impactful in your communications. No one is going to read a page and a half of advertising. No one is going to show up at one of your events if you forget to give the date and time. Expect people to have short attention spans.
9. Use Each Form Of Social Media To Strengthen the Others – For instance, using Twitter to get more Facebook likes will give your Facebook advertising more power. People who have friends on Facebook will see your ad, and then ‘like’ it themselves. Getting people to post your YouTube videos on their walls will make your YouTube marketing efforts more successful.
10. Search Engine Optimize Your Blog – If your blog gets picked up by search engines like Google, using your social media tools to market yourself will be easier. The best part of using SEO to increase your hits is that you can often do it yourself combining titles, tags, and key words into some simple strategies to greatly improve your organic web traffic. 

As a marketing speaker and marketing coach, I've seen firsthand that there are three kinds of service business owners and independent professionals - which one are YOU?

1. You may have NO thought-leadership products and wish you did (audios, ebooks, high-value binders,client-pulling premium special reports, etc)...

2. You may have a published book through which you're selling your life's work for $20 a pop and you realize that's not smart professionally or financially...

3. You may have a mix of professionally published and self-published work both electronic and hardcopy but you want a NEW high-value information product that better reflects your current niche, expertise, or opens up an entirely NEW market for your services...and you want it FAST!

Good news...The NEW Product Development Toolkit 8-week group coaching program kicks off on May 10 and you're among the first to hear the details...

http://www.ProductDevelopmentToolkit.com

Somehow, some way, you want to grow your business so you get:

• MORE Leads
• MORE Clients
• MORE Consulting Work
• MORE Professional Services Engagements
• MORE Profits
• MORE Passive Income
• and 100-300% MORE Revenue...

Which will in turn, help you generate:

• MORE Cashflow
• MORE Control
• MORE Products and Services
• MORE Subscribers
• MORE Time Off
• MORE Leverage
• and dramatically MORE Freedom...

Just like YOU, I know what that feels like!

And as a marketing speaker, marketing coach,and former VP of Product Development for a $5 million revenue infopublishing company, I want to show YOU how to enhance your cashflow, grow your client base, and increase your leverage by helping YOU create your NEXT information product FAST.

http://www.ProductDevelopmentToolkit.com

The Product Development Toolkit is perfect for:

1. Experts who have finally realized that givingaway all their information in $20 books iskeeping them broke;

2. Executives fed up with the rat race, who want to start a business built on their personal orprofessional experience and expertise;

3. Professional speakers who are stuck in thebroken business model of chasing after a different audience for speeches every week;

4. Consultants who are stuck in the trading-hours-for-money trap;

5. Independent professionals who want to build their practice, establish their brand, and break away from the pack of "Same-o, Lame-o" competitors.

You'll get a customized product CREATION *and* product MARKETING toolkit that FITS, WORKS and LASTS... and you're also getting the help and support you need over time to IMPLEMENT it to create RESULTS.

Details and application information is onlinefor you here...

http://www.ProductDevelopmentToolkit.com

I look forward to hearing from you if you're one ofthe FEW smart, brave, and committed entrepreneurs who want more leverage, more momentum, more clients, and more fun in your professional services business...Not someday - but right now.

SPECIAL DEAL: As a reader of this blog, you're also getting a $100 discount on Dan Janal's Guaranteed Press Release Service where he will make sure your press release appears on at least 40 media sites with links pointing back to your site -- or its free! Normal price: $795. Your special price: Only $695.  For info, go to www.PressReleaseSender.com and put "David Newman" in the "referrer" box and you'll be mailed a check for $100 for your discount.

Not sure about sending a press release? Get Dan's free report on "How to Get Guaranteed Publicity with Press Releases" at http://www.pressreleasesender.com

What better way to position yourself as a thought leader than to have 40 or more high-traffic media sites SHOWCASE your expertise?

Hope you'll take advantage of BOTH of these opportunities to significantly boost your thought leadership platform!

Recently, two additional Do It! Marketing team members earned their Inbound Marketing Certified Professional designation - Catherine Bernard and Dusty Meehan.

In order to receive the Inbound Marketing Certification, the recipient must attend a variety of courses and pass a comprehensive certification exam, demonstrating subject matter expertise in the following areas:

• Advanced Search Engine Optimization and Ranking Improvement Strategies
• How to Blog Effectively for Businesses
• Social Media and Building Community
• Business Applications for Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and other Social Networks
• Viral Marketing and World-Wide Raves
• Creating Strong Calls to Action and Effective Landing Pages
• Inbound Lead Nurturing (Turning Leads into Sales)
• Successful Email Marketing
• Analyzing Results and Demonstrating ROI

This certification demonstrates our expanding commitment to serving our community of professional speakers, consultants, coaches, trainers, experts, authors, and thought-leading service business owners as their "instant infrastructure" team combining:

• Inbound marketing services to make the phone ring and fill your calendar in the best possible way (when you get THEM to call YOU!)
• Offline thought-leadership marketing through article placement in leading trade, professional, and industry publications of your target market, webinars, teleseminars, guest interviews, and other hand-selected opportunities
• Admin/backoffice service and support for upselling, cross-selling, and stimulating repeat and referral business from buyers, audiences, and past clients

If you'd like to learn more about how we can help YOU generate more leads, better prospects, and bigger sales - visit Done-for-You Marketing for Speakers, Consultants, and Experts.

p.s. It's also a great way to fill your calendar with LESS time, effort, energy, and drudgery.

A few years back, J.M. Smucker topped the list of the "100 Best Companies to Work For" compiled by the Great Place to Work Institute and published annually in Fortune magazine.

Their extremely simple code of conduct (and the foundation of their strong corporate culture) is as follows:

• Listen with your full attention
• Look for the good in others
• Have a sense of humor
• Say thank you for a job well done

See, it's simple! No big words.

No "mission/vision/gobbledygook."

And what is most interesting to me is that the "corporate code" above is not corporate at all -- it's PERSONAL. It addresses the way each individual person is expected to BEHAVE (not think - but ACT).

What's the corporate code where you work?
Is there a difference between the written code (on the wall in the lobby, perhaps?) and the way people really treat each other? Click in the COMMENTS section below and let's discuss...

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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.

This video clip speaks for itself (you should have your audio/speakers turned on):

What can YOU do that will impress people with YOUR versatility and talent?

These days, "being good" (or even great) is merely table stakes - you need to MASTER your offerings so your audience knows they're in the hands of a professional good enough to deliver A+ work while being confident enough to have fun.