Gushing on Tamsen Webster's ideas regarding "Why Your Marketing Doesn't Work"

I'm very much crushing on Tamsen Webster at the moment for the creation of this podcast about why marketing doesn't work.

Her key points reinforce several of my betterment pursuits, including how to give an effective presentation:

• The brain cannot take more than 20 minutes of content at any given time
• Any presentation scheduled to go for more than 20 minutes should be split into 20 minute chunks! At least change the format by asking the audience to answer a question, participate in an activity, tell a story, watch a video, etc.
• Keep the inspiration for change -- i.e.,  "how this affects you" proof statement -- in front of the presentation.

She also shares a really clever simile about how brand are like religion:  

• Our devotion to brands happens in a similar way to devotion to religion, and you're rarely going to convert anyone by yelling out orders to repent.
• It's up to marketers to create beliefs, not just educate.
• Who am I talking to, and what do I want them to do?
• What do they need to belief in order to do the thing I want them to do?
• Key for sales: It's important to paint the picture of why it is worth it to make a change and instill confidence in the resulting decision.

Furthermore, Kerry acknowledges the role of emotion in decision-making, a factor that is often perceived as shameful but impossible to remove. 

• In the end, it's usually an irrational, emotional decision that gets made. We use facts and numbers to justify our emotional reactions. 

And I love her perspective on what makes a great salesperson!

• Great sales people understand how prospects pay attention, process information, what they will respond to, how they make decisions, and what they understand. They are extremely perceptive. 

Curing FOPS: How to give a compelling presentation

Remember my Fear Of Public Speaking?

"Sell vs. Tell" is this week's motto:

"The best way to sell something is to let the customer talk himself [or herself] into it, according to Dale Carnegie. Which means the most effective sales and marketing presentations are collaborative conversations where both sides are contributing."

Source: MarketingProfs

A Tale of Two Mixers: Part 3

The two mixer events I've blogged about recently (a theme camp leads mixer and a marketing and sales focused executive breakfast) had a number of similarities that contributed to the success of each. Below are takeaway tips for the next mixer I plan:


Provide Name Tags - Name tags provide good conversation starters, especially when titles and organization names or descriptors are included.

Set the Agenda - Set expectations regarding what participants should get out of each event by reading off an outline of what is to be accomplished.

Facilitate Conversation - Have pre-planned topics queued along with activities that stir conversations. Play games that encourage interactivity, and have a means of displaying topics for continued discussion.

Encourage Questions - Always include a Q&A portion! I didn't do this at the Theme Camp Leads Mixer, but it would have been an excellent opportunity to have participants ask burning questions and express feedback to event organizers.

Focus on the positives first - This one was learned from Cooper's advice. Keeping things positive tends to move the conversation forward and opens up a broad horizon of solutions and idea exchanges.


What are your tips for creating effective mingling?

A Tale of Two Mixers: Part 2

My company hosted what could be considered a mixer a few weeks ago, though the event was technically a breakfast with a panel discussion about building B2B pipeline for 2015.

People mingled for the first 45 minutes until it came time for the speaker portion. Our Sales Director then announced an interactive intent and then polled the audience for their respective professions and motives for being present.

We heard from a series of sales reps, marketing professionals, and entrepreneurs. At least three people were in attendance with similar self-introductions to this one:

"My name is _____. Our company is a manufacturer of water pipes. That's right folks, we're a bong company."

The majority of a the audience had a good laugh, and I would be willing to be I was not the only one who was pleasantly surprised when the three "water pipe manufacturers" turned out to be thoughtful contributors to the conversation.

Our Sales Director asked hard hitting questions to our CEO and a representative from a partner organization as the audience listened and shared their own best practices - as well as their struggles - with marketing and building their own businesses.

I'd consider the event a success, especially since our sales team walked away with a handful of business cards for people looking to build a lead generation program.  I also had the pleasure of meeting a (now new) colleague who seems to have the same affection for the color purple as I do!

A Tale of Two Mixers: Part 1

I have a not-so-secret life that involves festival planning. The festival I plan for is driven largely by theme camps, or collectives who gift some kind of thing or experience, that each contribute to the nature of the event. The event itself is established on the principles of accountability, self-expression, and cooperation.

I had the lovely opportunity of hosting a mixer for Theme Camp leads last Friday. I'd say it went fairly well. My Key Performance Indicator was the number of Post-It notes that were issued that evening.

I can't claim all claim full credit for the awesomeness that ensued. A friend, who seems to be a pretty accomplished guy, had given this snippet of advice:

"Part A:  First, have everyone brainstorm / identify all the things that people liked, that went well, that was successful and things that we want to do again next year.  Keep people in this process and if they have "yeah buts" and " i didn't like that" have them make a note of that for next part.  This starts off on a positive note, creates energy and avoids dealing with downers right at the outset of a meeting, which can derail the whole fucking thing.  Keep these on one sheet of paper."

The first hour was spent mingling as attendees trickled into my home. By the time we had a full house, I stood on top of a cooler and announced these not-quite-verbatim directions:

"So you may have noticed all these categories listed out throughout our space here -- I'm going to give you all Post-It notes, and I want you to write the positive and successful aspects of your camp related to the categories you see."

...and just like that people started brainstorming and talking to each other about what went well with their respective camps.

Fear of Public Speaking (FOPS)

The hardest class I took in college was Public Speaking.

My father would laugh when I told him about my struggles. He said most people used that class to bump up their GPA.

I was terrified every time I was put on the spot to deliver a speech. Thankfully, I had a really awesome teacher who taught me to reach deep inside for the confidence required for oratory presentations. If it weren't for "Madam Duke" (as I adoringly referred to her), I'd be far behind professionally and socially. 

I'm still not where I want to be in terms of squelching my FOPS, but I am still surrounded with very strong influences who push me to exude the same confidence that Madam Duke imparted on me years ago.

Just last week, my intonation was scrutinized, and I was thankful for the reminder to Always Be Improving, a direct link to confidence -- and the ultimate cure for FOPS. 

How do YOU prepare for speaking publicly?

Laying out goals

Most of us have those weeks where we feel less effective. This week is one of those weeks for me. I'm sick with some kind of cold/sinus infection and can't hear very well,  my attention span is about a tenth of what it usually is, and all I really want to do is sleep. I'd love to give myself the excuse of "I just don't feel well", but that shouldn't deter me from the bigger picture.

Whenever I feel like I'm veering off of a productive path, I take a moment to reestablish goals and the tactics that will be required to achieve them -- even if it means pushing past my comfort zone.

Today I present you with three major goals of mine:

1) Be awesome at my job. 

In my current role, I am tasked with growing business among existing accounts. In order to do this, I need to understand individual business goals for each client and how our marketing services can help them achieve these goals. Luckily, I work with awesome team members who pay close attention to the impact our program has on our clients' bottom lines. 

From a tactical standpoint, I will list out goals per client and recommended services that will help them succeed. I will also work more closely with our program leads to gain additional insights into how I can add value to each client relationship without making an overt pitch.

2) Figure out what's next. 

My boss popped a big question a few weeks ago -- "What do you see yourself doing next?"

I found it really hard to answer. I love what I do now, but I will always operate under the principle that there is more I can be doing and learning.

When I was in college, I had high hopes of working in a creative field. Now that I have worked in roles not traditionally considered as "creative",  I've found that creativity does indeed play a huge role in forward-moving career paths. I want to use my creativity to improve processes and make strong cases for change, which is ultimately what selling is really about.

Within the next year, I would like to have a clearly defined career path in which I will thrive on my strongest attributes and strengthen my weakest abilities.

3) Continue growing relationships. 

Whether personal or professional, relationships are absolutely critical to self-improvement. I want to foster my existing relationships by sponging up insights of my colleagues and peers. To do this, I need to be a consistent communicator while remaining sensitive to what drives others.