Easier said than done.

Why do people do this? Primarily because they want to be liked or they do not want to rock the boat and cause trouble. If their opinion is received badly they may get hurt, or if they may be perceived as troublemakers and dissenters. What do you do with troublemakers and dissenters? You ignore them or get rid of them.

What if you are the questioner? Your job is to get their opinion. The challenge is to get a person to open up in a way they feel comfortable. To do this I can think of a few things to do.

[I love making lists...]

1. Engage them in a conversation as opposed to an interrogation.

2. State initially what you are trying to achieve.

3. Tell them that you need their input.

4. Show appreciation for their input.

5. Demonstrate that their information will be used as part of the whole where they will not get singled out (unless they want credit, and then show how they will get credit).

6. Tell them about the expected results of your questioning. It may be that you just want to learn and be a better person.

Most people appreciate someone seeking their knowledge. However, they do not want to get hurt by providing it. Remember an earlier post when I stated that the first and foremost on people

It is the same question as what is your goal, but it can also be a lot less intimidating. Goals imply organization and thought. IF ther are no goals then there must have been no organization or thought. On the other hand, trying to do something is more relaxed. If someone really has not set goals they will more likely be just trying to do something.

Today I asked that of a client; within 10 minutes I got a call back from there head of marketing. A very excited person was telling me about all sorts of things they are doing and all this help they would like. We had to plan on another conversation this week. That simple question opened up a lot of doors.

What are YOU trying to do?

How can you increase your sales potential without doing any sales? Here is how.

Today I took some time to increase productivity. Every day I spend about half of it on the phone talking with clients about growing their business. Yesterday I received an email from someone that had an Excel file with data (on one spreadsheet) for many clients. The idea was that I would have to split up this data into the 27 files needed and Email it to each of my clients.

Wait a minute. Split into 27 files?

Wait another minute. I was receiving this from someone whose job was to notify the clients with this information (not my job).

The problem was that she had 16 people she was sending this information out to. She had mailed all these clients before, but what was the problem? The problem was creating culling data and creating files for over 400 clients.

For me to do this would have taken probably two hours, not counting mailing it out. So, it was equivalent of about 2 person days worth of work for our team.

You are probably thinking: Oh, why did she not first create an analysis program that created 400 separate files? I do not know. Having worked with analysts that create these programs (and having been one), at some point you realize that creating one big file is not going to work, since the readers only can see one part of it and there are many readers. You create multiple files. In most cases, this happens because a) the creator of the program is not talking to the user of the data, and b) the user of the data does not know how to create this program or even ask for it.

Instead of just doing it (or more likely, forgetting about the file and waiting until someone asks for the data), I remembered something. I had written a program a couple of years ago that allows you to split data from one spreadsheet into multiple files at the touch of the button. Why had I written this? At that time, I was getting similar files that needed to be broken up.

So, today I opened up that old program and upgraded it to work for Excel 2007 and added a few bells and whistles that made it more user friendly. Furthermore, it would be able to handle some of the quirks in the data file and still work.

I emailed it to the sender of the file; and told management that they now had the capability of sending that out directly to the client without bother us.

What did I really do? I eliminated 2 days per month of my team’s time. That comes to 24 days, or approximately 1 month, or 8% of a yearly cost of an employee. 8-16,000 dollars. Not bad, need to put that on my resume somewhere…maybe.

However, on our team that extra month of time can translate into a lot more revenue. Our focus us to create more revenue, so, 1 month could be worth … another million dollars? That is not really that much of a stretch when you consider that the combined efforts of our team tally up to a lot of revenue.

So, today I possibly created somewhere around $1,016,000 in value by working on that program and enabling people on different teams to focus their time elsewhere. The cost? One day today and about one day before initially creating the tool. Two days. However, I already had the tool, so that first day was a sunk cost. The investment of today enabled it for this company. One day. One Million Dollar Day.

Of course, the program works on many other types of data…even more savings in time…and more creation of value.

New article up today on CNN called Best Places to Launch.

http://money.cnn.com/smallbusiness/best_places_launch/2009/snapshot/241.html

The article provides you a list of 50 places and why each place is important, statistics about each location, and resources for getting help in that location.You can organize the information by what is near you, lending hot spots, business climate (growth), and costs (example: wages).

I came up with several ways to use this article.
1. Find resources to get assistance.
2. Contact these resources to learn about networking groups in your area.
3. Identify other cities to launch your products and salespeople.
4. Identify locations to make your products/services.

The idea is that this is a starting point to get more information.

It is absolutely true.

You have seen those cheesy fliers: multiple fonts, different designs, gaudy colors. Looks like a third grader did it except most third graders probably know better. How about those awful websites: fifty different fonts, funky colors, etc.

Several years ago, I read a book on selecting fonts for marketing materials. I remember a few basic rules and its great to remember them.

First a bit of nomenclature. Serif fonts are those fonts that have the horizontal marks hanging off each letter. The New York Times uses this font. The little horizontal marks help you read across a page.

San Serif fonts are without those little horizontal marks. Arial font is like that.

1. On any piece of marketing do not use more than four types of fonts.
2. Of those four, only one font can be a graphic or picture type font. This includes fancy design fonts, cursive fonts, or anything that is not a regular serif or san serif font.
3. Of the remaining three fonts, they can be two serif and one san serif or two san serif and one serif. Do not make three fonts all serif or all san serif if you can avoid it.

That is it: three basic rules to avoid cheesy use of fonts and make you more credible. Remember, credibility is key when communicating your marketing.

Advertisers are always looking for ways to effectively market their products, and you have been building an enthusiastic community around your specific subject. You’re practically doing them a favor! Most people immediately flock to Google AdSense, which displays targeted advertisements on your webpage, rss feed, etc. You can certainly make some money using this, but it really doesn’t pay very well, and it can make your website look cheap. I think we can all agree that making your website look like a NASCAR driver is probably not in the best interest of your online community, so moving on…

One of the methods Vaynerchuk suggests is placing classy banner ads on your site. See this link?for an example of how to do this. You can also try cold calling companies to see if they are interested in buying adspace on your website. Sounds ridiculous? It’s not. Go to and search for your subject. See which advertisers are using Google AdSense for ads to be posted on these websites, and take note. Call these guys up, and see if they will spend money with you. Think about it, they’re already paying for Google AdSense, so they believe in advertising online. By sponsoring your page directly they will not get lost in the clutter like they would with AdSense, and you won’t look like a NASCAR driver.

One note about advertising, you should only advertise companies and products that you yourself endorse. Don’t put something on your site that you don’t believe in.

Speaking engagements

Come up with an interesting topic, then call a show or conference organizer and offer to give a free talk about your topic. This will give you a chance to discuss something you love, build some credibility, and to do so in front of an interested audience. This could eventually lead to money: You could be paid next time you offer to speak, or even better, your discussion could lead to new clients or opportunities.

Affiliate programs

Affiliate programs allow you to get a commission on products sold through links on your website. For example, if you are interested in purchasing the book I’m discussing, click this link… Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion?and I’ll get a small cut. Cool, huh? One way to go about doing this is to simply do a google search for affiliate programs; there are tons of them out there. Vaynerchuk suggests Commission Junction and Amazon. Also, don’t overlook local businesses, there could be some good money and opportunities for you there as well.

As with advertising, remember that all of the products that you link to should be relevant to your subject / topics, and should be something that you yourself endorse.

Retail

Vaynerchuk suggests that you can create a product or a service that is related to your business. One site that I’ve seen do this effectively is Open Source Marketer, which is also an excellent resource for you evil marketers out there. You could also design T-shirts promoting your site. If your community is big enough this could be profitable in the short term, and more importantly it can help promote your website to the masses.

Articles

You are an expert in your chosen subject, right? You can contribute articles to online and print magazines, and even other blogs. You’ll see some of my posts re-posted on vcplan – The Path?to Success?(you may even be reading the re-post) which is an excellent resource for entrepreneurs looking for venture capital investment. I don’t get paid for this, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t. At the worst, at least you are getting your name out there in your community.

Seminars

If your subject lends itself to how-to type of stuff, then put together an event, conference, webinar, etc.

Books and TV

Your blog and community building efforts could lead to book or television deals. Hey, it worked for Vaynerchuk. I wouldn’t?be reading his book if it didn’t.

Consulting

As my boys at Marvel Comics say, ‘Nuff said.

Notable quotes from this chapter:

• Be patient. In time, if you continue to hustle, you’ll grow your presence and improve your skills to the point where the fish – really, really big fish – will be jumping straight into your hands.
• Anything is better than zero.

If you know of any other opportunities, or have any other links, post in the comments, or email me at edwardviator [at] evil-marketer [dot] com

1. Buy your domain name, preferably firstnamelastname.com When you sign up for Twitter, Facebook, etc, use this domain name (ex: )www.facebook.com/edward.viator
2. Start a Wordpress or Tumblr account and host your domain on it.
3. Hire a web designer to make sure your user interface is excellent. If you can’t afford one, get started anyway, but know that you should hire a designer in the future (as you can see, I can’t afford one yet).
4. If you’re doing video, buy a $150 Flip camera.
5. Create a Facebook fan page.
6. Open a Twitter account with your domain name.
7. If you’re doing video open a Tube Mogul account; if written word, sign up for Ping.fm.
8. Create content and lots of it. Use personal anecdotes and let your personality shine.
9. Tweet or post your content using Ping or Tube Mogul.
10. Go to search.twitter and start searching for subjects relevant to your blog. Start following many of these.
11. Go to blogsearch.google.com and search for blogs similar to yours. Comment and leave your name which should be linked to your webpage.
12. Search Facebook for pages that relate to your topic. Join the active ones. Do the same for groups.
13. Repeat 5, 8-12.

If you want to be successful, you’re going to need to focus on step 13. In other words, constantly create new content and reach out to the community online. If you’re going to need to focus on step 13. In other words, constantly create new content and reach out to the community online. If you’re content is great, you will get results eventually. Just remember, you should try to wait as long as possible to monetize your brand. Once you monetize, Vaynerchuk suggests that it is difficult to focus on content, so early on you should focus on building the community.

Notable quotes from this chapter:

• Don’t forget to include a list of all of your social network links on your e-mail signature, letterhead, and business cards.
• Make sure you have a big fat button on your site that says Want to Do Business with Me? or something along those lines.

There are many profound statements in Gary Vaynerchuk’s book Crush It!, but one in particular had me jumping up and down like a maniac (okay, maybe I should lay off the Jack Daniel’s when I’m reading… nah). In his 9th chapter, The Best Marketing Strategy Ever, Vaynerchuk breaks it down for us in the most simple and direct way I’ve ever seen it explained. In his words… care.

That’s it! And you know what, he’s dead right. I’ve worked for many different companies (both as an employee and as a consultant), and this is the one ingredient I’ve seen missing all too often. Many times people care about the wrong things… short term sales, their own jobs, etc. As a marketer you should care about these things, especially about being profitable, but more importantly you should care about your product, your customers, your brand, your industry, and your fellow employees. Look at the most successful people in the world, from business people to pro athletes, and you’ll see this quality in every single one of them. They love what they do, strive to be the best, and do what they can to elevate their chosen cause. Why should it be any different for you? If you put 100% into what you do how can you possibly fail? This goes back to what I’ve been saying in previous posts. Be authentic. If you genuinely care and communicate in an authentic way, then you will have no problem monetizing your brand.

I’ve been involved with companies that only care about profits, and you know what? They don’t last too long. I’ve seen people go from caring about their industry and their customers to caring only about profits and losing jobs. It’s a deathstroke for business, and kills any kind of forward momentum. Why does this happen? Because people at the top level dictate the culture of a company, and when all they care about are the wrong things, guess what? It trickles down to everyone in the company. If you are a business owner, don’t let this happen. Set a good example and care about the right things.

So how does all this apply to building your personal brand? It goes back to everything we discussed before. If you are truly passionate about what you are doing, then it will come naturally. Just keep it in mind the next time you have a tough decision to make. In these trying economic times, it’s easy to get sidetracked into focusing only on profits. If you do a good job at building your brand, the money will come eventually, maybe even sooner than you think. If you communicate your passion in an authentic way, you will most definitely be on your way to building a strong brand with passionate customers.

What do you think? Comment below or email me at edwardviator [at] evil-marketer [dot] com

In my opinion, alot of marketing I see is very phoney. I think that people today are more media savvy than ever before, and they are also aware of how fake marketing efforts by major brands has become. We live in an age where prepared PR statements are a way of life (see my blog for a list of some of my favorites). I’m not fooled by them, and I don’t think anyone else is either. People value authenticity. It’s why?we go online and seek out consumer opinions. By building a community around your brand (personal and as a business), you won’t have to sound your own horn, your community will do that for you.

So how can you build this magical community? Through alot of hard work and time. The basic idea is that you should create your content and distribute it (see previous post for details), then start looking at and commenting on other people’s content. You should make the most of every interaction, stay on topic, and be yourself. Resist the urge to post things for the sake of posting them, and instead only post when you have something of value to share. You should follow people on Twitter, or sign up for some pages on Facebook. Basically, you need to get involved. You can’t just post content and hope that people show up.

When people visit your site, they will be hooked on your outstanding content (you do have outstanding content right?). You also need to make the most out of those call to action buttons (subscribe, follow-me, share, etc).

Next we will discuss the best marketing strategy ever, and you won’t want to miss it.

Notable quotes from these chapters:

• Being authentic and being perceived as such by your audience relies on your ability to ensure that every decision you make when it comes to your business is rooted in being true to yourself.
• Creating community is about starting conversations.

I got a call today from a new client. They complained that they were losing money. When I asked about their previous advisor, they said that he did not help them at all. Can I help them? Fortunately, in my business our clients get a profit report once a month. This profit report lists how much money they make by each of their customers. It shows the revenue and the direct costs for each customer. You can assume that indirect costs (overhead) are about the same for each of them. This client makes approximately $13,000 per month. I told them to take that report and order it by profit from low to high. Start with the lowest, if it is negative, review why and then address it. If you have to, drop that customer; because losing that customer will make you more money! Within five minutes I identify how they can increase their profitability by $1080 per month by addressing the customers that were negative profits. That is more than 8%! I sent them instructions with a breakdown of the customers that were bleeding them money.

8% increase. That feels good. This company is going to be better off.

A lot of lessons can be learned from this but there are some meta-lessons too.

It is a good brag story, which did not take me long to write

Lessons learned:

1. Writing about your successes is fun and can be helpful.

2. Fun writing is faster and easier than writing that becomes a chore.

3. This type of writing can generate a lot of additional articles (I see a few already