Are you In or Out?

How many times, as a kid, do you remember your parents saying this?  It's summer time and you constantly are going in and out of the house.  Your parents always would be upset and if the air conditioning was on, you better believe you heard..

"Are you in or out!?"

Some people prefer air conditioning and sitting in a home comfortable and away from outside elements.  Personally, I hate bugs and anything coming from outside that could annoy me.  However, some people prefer breathing in the air that comes outside.  Everything that comes outside can be a nuisance to your home.

In a weird way, this reminds me of Inbound and Outbound marketing.  If I could sum them up I'd say:

Inbound (Pull) - 

This was coined by HubSpot.  It's all about producing market messaging to people already curious about what you offer.  Inbound is more than just content marketing and info-graphics.  It's about taking the time to truly understand what attracts people to your offer.  There's so many resources on inbound marketing because it's now the "IT" thing.  When you really sum it up, it's making people at ease with you and pulling them in your world.

Outbound (Push)-

This is considered the old style of marketing and sales. Outbound marketing has one message that's broadcasted to as many people as possible.  Outbound marketing can take the form of TV, radio, snail mail, or good ole fashion cold calling.  It's been one of the most "trusted" methods in marketing and sales.  It's one voice delivered to everyone in hopes someone will respond and buy.

Do you Push or Pull?

This is really up to your industry and methodology.  If you ask most marketers, they will tell you Inbound is much more cost effective.  Inbound takes the form of utilizing the most of your current resources.  You put yourself out there to answer questions, concerns, or opinions from customers.  If you have a service minded business, Inbound will be the way you truly pull people into your business.  Getting wrapped up in the numbers game can be very short sighted and that's a downfall with Outbound.  Outbound also has been utilized for decades and does offer success in certain industries. 

Whether you leave the door open or not, it's up to you if you should be in or out.

Patient through the noise

(Great artwork by Alliecat at DeviantArt)

For a moment, think of any networking or social media based environment.

So many people to speak to yet so little time to do it.  You're excited because you know exactly what you want to say to anyone who give you attention.  You're like a dog when they see the leash in the owners hand for the walk.  You ask all these questions to yourself so you can anticipate the moment to say..

Keep calm...you will eventually hear the words you want to hear.  You just can't force it.  Remember, effective marketing nowadays is about pulling people into your world and having them become curious.  A sense of mystery goes a long way.  I look on LinkedIn and I see businesses that post content and it always comes back to what they really want to say:

"Come see us at ________ We can help you solve your problem." (Not sincere)

With more and more digital noise, this has become an annoyance for people.  Skeptics will believe you wrote the post for your business, not solely to provide a great nugget for people to remember and use.  All this digital noise turns into a cacophony.  It's way too much noise. People tune out noise.  If I can quote a song lyric from AlunaGeorge:

"It's just noise. white noise."
"I'm hearing static, you're like an automatic. you like to keep me on repeat and hear me crying."

Once you look at a conversation and provide a sincere opinion or statement,  you'll pull that person in and they will say...

"So tell me, what do you do?"

SUCCESS


Now Playing- "White noise" (by AlunaGeorge)

Failing on an ice breaker

Fall in Chicago has me dreading the harsh reality that winter is not too far.

For the last four winters in Chicago, I have not worn boots.  The main reason is how ridiculously expensive they can be and how much a pain it is to take them off.  Wearing regular dress shoes on ice, has me tip toeing to the train station.    My biggest fear....

I'll fall like charlie brown trying to kick a football.




The more resistance I put on my foot steps, the easier it seems I will fall.  

It can apply to over thinking a situation and a person's response.  We always talk about "ice" breakers to get people comfortable with us.  Too many times, people are scared to break the ice for fear of falling.  One of my sales managers always told me you slowly walk on the ice to get your footing.  Once you do that, you begin to take quick steps so you are confident.  You ask questions leading to the reason you are talking to that person.  Whether you ask for a close, or a conversation, don't be afraid to ask for what you want!  You test the ice by jumping a little and you simply ask for what you want.



The ice is stronger than it appears.

The Neverending story

You must like my Never-Ending story title reference.  As a child, this was one of my favorite movies.

Enough 80's cheese....

I'm a big fan of TV screenwriters.  It's really challenging to write something that will catch a person's attention over 22 minutes ( subtract for commercials) There'e so much character development in creating a villain and hero.  Imagine how much tougher it is grabbing someones attention for 30-45 seconds.

There's a story that never ends and it's a story of conflict.  Every story has to have a section where you raise an eye brow.  In sales, we talk about pain so much that it pains me to say the word.

I'm trying to save the day of people yet sometimes I forget my own story.  The story is imperative to grab the attention of people.  It's way too many products and services out there.  Your product offering is no different than the next persons and very few people have a true monopoly.  Whoever has the most engaging story wins the trust and business.

"We have the lowest prices and offer the best service"

Prospect says, "Ok."

"We actually had a client in similar size to you voice pricing concerns.  We were able to show them some data on costs and they were surprised to see we weren't priced as high as they initially thought.  They told us about the lack of service attention their previous company gave them.  We told them we're dedicated to their business goals and want to help them go farther."
!
"Really?! Ok, we're listening to you now."

Long winded..I am

So on my blog, Not only do I poke fun at marketing and people-I poke fun at myself.  I realize there's something I suffer from and it's being long winded.

I don't mean to be long winded; it just naturally happens.  I'm a mix of visual and auditory  and I feel like it comes from a creative person aiming to be memorable. I was able to break down myself and some of the things I do that keep me long winded.

Going from 0-100 real quick

I constantly think about ideas and concepts.  It's not uncommon for me to wake up in the middle of the night to write down a few ideas or play a musical phrase.  My phone has about 50 ideas now. My older phone has about 200.  My thoughts race against each other so much that I'm interpreting what I want to say to you on the spot. Data driven people call theirs "analysis paralysis."  I like to call it "trying to be a differenter."  Sometimes I try too hard and I admit it.

Natural improviser

When it comes to my music background, it applies to my professional life.  In music you have structure for 8-12 bars but then you come alive and showcase your ability to randomly create for a specific time.  I'm the most comfortable when I have the opportunity to step out of structure.  Don't get me wrong; structure is good.  Too much structure and things get stagnant for me.  I get bored easily if something becomes too predictable.   Stock piling ideas is never good for an improviser and marketers have to be as flexible as a musician.

Storyteller

I've always been a story teller.  Date back to 1992 and I was creating movies with my toy action figures.  I'm long winded because when I tell a story, I want you to see the beginning, middle and end.  I talk with my hands-even when I'm on the phone.  I tell the most basic point in the most dramatic and climatic way.  Have you ever gotten so passionate or excited about a story, it took you forever to get to the point?  It's in my nature and one of the reasons my stories can get long winded.

Prospects initially don't want to hear a long winded response; they want you to get to the point.  If you get long winded like me, save that great story for the 2nd or 3rd meeting.

Now Playing-"One Week"

Marketers have a reset target button

As a tall man with big feet, my in store shopping experience is limited.  Not many retailers carry size 15 shoes.  My only option is big and tall and they usually  have some of the ugliest shoes.  Shopping online has become my best friend.  I go to my favorite brands website, look at shoes for a moment, then I leave the site because something else has distracted me.

I swear I'm getting somewhere with this.

I get on my social media talking to a friend I like enough to talk to but not enough to hang in person.  I see an ad on FB for the same exact shoe item I clicked on.

Deja Vu....

It's not Deja Vu--I've been apart of a re-targeting strategy that the company is using for online "window shoppers." They were able to track my site activity and essentially reinforce my initial interest to buy the shoes.

Re-Targeting

Re-targeting in laymens terms,  targets users who have previously visited a website and displays the websites  ads on social media and other sites.  It's a great way for companies to have their products in the back of their users' minds.  It feels like sales has slowly begun to move toward psychology books and less sales jargon books.  Humans are creatures of habit.  If marketers can host ads in consistent areas, this will increase the chance they convert that user.  

Re-targeting and behavioral based marketing is pretty complex.  If you are interested in learning more,  I've attached some helpful links at the bottom explaining it.  I'm far from an expert on this matter.

Moz Re-Targeting basics- https://moz.com/blog/retargeting-basics-what-it-is-how-to-use-it

How Re-Targeting works- https://www.adroll.com/getting-started/retargeting

Proactive or Reactive

I've always heard the phrase "Be proactive, not reactive." 

People want to be proactive-They really do.  Everyone is not so naive they can't see something isn't  right.

 There just seems to be a greater fear in being wrong.  Being wrong puts your word and credibility in danger.  My boss told me after growing his first start up successfully, He though he was the smartest man in the world.  No one could tell him different.  Then he hit obstacles with the economy and realized, he wasn't always right.  He got fed up with reacting to things out of his control.  I've seen so many marketers become reactive to what others do in their industry that they attempt to play catch up.



 It's easier to say, "Well that firm increased their conversion rate 15% higher! Let's do this." It's much harder to say, "After data and valid assumptions, we believe this could make us the market leader." 

You could be wrong and looked at as a fool.....or you could be right and considered the ultimate thought leader and expert.