March 9th, 2010
President Obama is looking for money in nooks and crannies. One seat cover cushion he’s lifting: the use of subcontractors. If the budget is approved, the Internal Revenue Service will add 100 new boots on the ground to crack down on the misclassification of workers as independent contractors. The IRS isn’t waiting though: last month they also began a three-year audit of 6,000 companies (2,000 per year). These audits are chosen by “statistical sampling” — aka random selection. The size of the company won’t matter. This is a break from their focus on larger companies with questionable returns.
Who should worry the most? Small consulting companies who do more than advise for a few clients or any one local admin/fulfillment help in their home office. Even if the latter is part-time, the IRS could rule they are an employee. Check with your tax advisor to make sure you can stand the scrutiny. As if we have time for this…
Tags: IRS, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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March 4th, 2010
Want to speak at corporate and association events? Then listen up: budgets are back…at 2008 levels. Even the big dawgs — like the insurance industry — have the budget blues, according to a small (100 respondents) study by Financial & Insurance Conference Planners (FICP). The good news: meetings are on top executives’ radar, so killer speeches will be noticed by high-level buyers. The bad news: doing more with less has resulted in meeting consolidations and more pressure on “value.” The new buzz word: prudent search. Translation: even if you offer reduced speaker fees and other goodies, buyers will keep looking for a better deal. So don’t expect your gimme’s to speed up the close.
Bottom line: Everyone — even those who can afford lavish events — are scaling back. Says one respondent: “the days of Bruce Springsteen singing at our event are over.” Bummer…
Tags: branding, Marketing, Speaking, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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March 2nd, 2010
Gave a short talk on branding in Phoenix the other day. An interesting question was raised: how do you get full value from folks you hire to help? One person thought that issue was on the vendors. “Be very clear about what you are going to get,” she said.
I agree, due diligence is a smart move. Some folks will say anything to get a client. As someone who both hires and gets hired, I think return on investment rests more on the client. Three questions to ask ourselves before we hold outsiders accountable:
- What is solving this problem worth to me?
- What am I willing to do to get what I say I want?
- And very important in this economy: what resources am I willing to invest in meeting this need? (Over 75% of the incoming calls I get can not answer this question. Seriously.)
Every problem has a price, both in time, effort, and in money. Not only must we be clear on our needs, we also must be willing to implement and invest in what we need. Perhaps the due diligence starts with us.
Tags: accountability, branding, Marketing, value, Vickie Sullivan
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February 19th, 2010
Finishing up my analysis on elevator speeches for the upcoming Extreme Mini Makeovers and here’s the biggest aha: people assume that if you have done something more than once, you can do it again. For them. The “gotta have” folks use this assumption to their advantage.
The most intriguing introductions focus on one thing — one specific claim — that opens the door for more conversation. The more specific, the better.
Example: a process consultant could say something like, “I’m Billy Bob Jones, and I develop processes that save XXX companies an average of a bazillion dollars.”
Has Billy Bob done other things? Of course. But he focused on the one thing that would get the most attention. And that’s the second secret: you can have more than one way to introduce yourself. Elevator pitches are like domain names: you can have as many as you want.
Can’t wait to unveil more specifics to creating these powerful statements. If you want to join in the fun, it’s not too late to sign up. Click here to get more info and to register.
Tags: elevator speech, Extreme Mini Makeovers, introduction, Marketing, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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February 16th, 2010
Talking with a lot of folks about their elevator speech. What I notice: people are putting way too much pressure on these two or three little sentences. They expect someone to say “Wow! I’m gonna hire you right now!!” Let’s stop and think. Do you really believe that happens? What the “gotta have” people get: a raised eyebrow and a “we need to talk” reaction from buyers they network with. That’s what I’m focused on for next week’s Extreme Mini Makeover call on introductions. Click here to check out my latest video rant on the subject.
What we all want from an elevator speech: to feel confident about how we describe what we do. And when we have that clarity, people we’re meeting want to know more. Hope my ideas can help…
Tags: elevator speeches, Extreme Mini Makeovers, introductions, Marketing, Speaking, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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February 11th, 2010
Got into an interesting conversation the other day that got me thinking about focus. Someone wanted to sign up for Extreme Mini Makeovers and had a “what if” question. I pride myself on customer service, so I jumped in and tried to figure out the best way to handle the situation. But then my trusty sidekick, Vicky Likens, asked this billiant question: “What are the chances of this scenario actually playing out?” The answer: very slim to none. Then she went in for the kill with this: why are we focused on figuring out the answer to something that likely won’t happen?
And that answer was even more revealing: I was about to spend a lot of time figuring out a scenario that will likely never happen to make someone else happy. Someone I don’t even know. Someone who kept asking me this same question repeatedly.
Moral of the story: it’s easy to go on a wild goose chase, especially when a potential customer eggs us on. Don’t do it. Not all questions deserve an answer. Sometimes, “I don’t know” is the best answer you can offer.
Tags: conversations, lessons learned, Vickie Sullivan
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February 9th, 2010
Theme for experts who speak: be a bargain. That’s what buyers are looking for now according to Meeting Professional International’s FutureWatch 2010. Top three concerns: budget cuts, doing more with less, and not having enough staff. Basically saying the same thing in three different ways: no money or time for frills. Get ready for intense negotiations on speaker fees. Your antidote: have no less than five things you are giving away — for free — for every paid speech.
Yes, there is good news: overall, respondents expect a 2.8 percent increase in meetings this year — especially the corporate market, where planners project a 3.6 percent increase. Click here for a free summary of FutureWatch 2010.
Tags: experts, meetings, Speaking, strategy, trends, Vickie Sullivan
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February 4th, 2010
Interesting findings from CareerBuilder’s 2010 Job Forecast survey. Social media experts will have plenty of work this year, as organizations plan to restore their brands through these campaigns. Other big opportunities loom for hiring experts, as organizations invest in efforts ranging from recruiting a diverse workforce to finding top performers.
Bad news for meetings, especially in the association market: Corporate America will continue to cut travel expenses in this year. Why do we care? Because convention attendees won’t go unless their employers pay for travel. Which means attendance challenges will continue to dog these groups, which means less money for speakers. Their antidote: virtual meeting attendees for association conventions. Stay tuned…
Tags: Marketing, meetings, Speaking, strategy, trends, Vickie Sullivan
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