Archive for the ‘branding’ Category
Thursday, April 15th, 2010
What drives buyers (and me) crazy: when we ask a question and get a story. Folks, this is a test to see how clear you are and if you have anything worthwhile to tell the marketplace. Stories that start without insights send a message: I got nothin’ but platitudes, so I hope to blind you with my stellar storytelling skills.
The time to launch into your favorite client success story (or your life story) is AFTER you’ve answered a compelling point. Media will hear the soundbite first, then they can hear the story because it illustrates the point. Look for my proprietary formula on compelling soundbites on next Tuesday’s Extreme Mini Makeover call. I’ve spent years refining this formula and it’s worked for thousands of experts. To register for the series, click here.
Tags: branding, experts, Extreme Mini Makeovers, positioning, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Tuesday, April 13th, 2010
We all ramble. Why? Too much information and not a good way to decide what is the most important. The catch: what we think is important and what the buyers want to know first are usually two different things. It’s easy to get too emotionally involved in our “babies.” I call this “strategic use of details.” Here’s my latest video rant on this mistake and how to create those killer sound bites.
Want more? Sure you do. It’s not too late to register for the Extreme Mini Makeover series. All the calls are recorded, so it’s easy to catch up. This is a no-hassle way to eat the huge branding elephant one bite at a time. Take advantage of this step-by-step approach by clicking here.
Tags: branding, conversations, Extreme Mini Makeovers, Marketing, positioning, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Tuesday, March 30th, 2010
Fascinating research from RainToday.com and Hubspot about how buyers find experts points to one common denominator: prominent brands work. According to 200 buyers (who represent over $1.7B in professional service purchases), the top get-in-the-door tactic is also the world’s oldest: referral from colleagues. Other highlights:
- Personal recognition and awareness (that’s branding, people) comes in at a close third at 73%.
- In-person seminars (66%) slightly beat out industry presentations (62%).
- Internet search was ninth at 55%.
- Rounding out the top ten: industry web site or story.
Moral of the story: good ol’ fashioned reputation trumps Internet activities every time. Here’s the link if you like bar graphs.
Tags: branding, Marketing, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Thursday, March 25th, 2010
Talk about bad news traveling fast. Mess up a speech, and deal with an avalanche of disparaging tweets in real time. It now has a name: tweckled. I knew there was a dark side to those dang tweets… Whatever happened to going up to a speaker and talking to them face-to-face?
Want to avert that disaster? First, use Twitter to announce your acceptance so you can do some research and get feedback from attendees. Second, check out Jeff Hurt’s blog “midcourse correction.” Very passionate about how associations, their conferences — and their speakers — can stay relevant and focused on the attendees. What I like best: his views are research-based. Very generous with his information. A great insightful resource we experts can use to stay ahead of the curve. He even has a free ebook on how social media will impact meetings this year. Here’s the link.
Tags: branding, Speaking, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Thursday, March 18th, 2010
I’ve got bad news for a lot folks out there. This is something people you just met don’t want to tell you to your face. But it needs to be said. Unless you’re famous, the marketplace doesn’t really care about your story. Yes, they will express empathy for about 30 seconds. But that’s not enough to buy your book or invite you to speak.
And here’s the ugly truth about why: there’s nothing in it for them. They can’t help you — whatever you overcame already happened. Sure, they can celebrate the happy ending, but that’s about you, not them. And the surprising reason we tell our long story: because too many of us think that’s the only thing that differentiates us. Wow. That’s sad.
Instead, I have three ways to use your story as a springboard to introduce something more intriguing. And I’m drilling down on those strategies for the next call of the Extreme Mini Makeover series next Tuesday. Click here to register for the series.
Tags: branding, Extreme Mini Makeovers, Marketing, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Thursday, 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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Tuesday, 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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Friday, 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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Tuesday, 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
Posted in Marketing, Speaking, branding, strategy | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
After last week’s call on Big Dawg bios, I’m still getting questions about how to tell your story. Here’s a great example of how to use your expertise in one area as a springboard to a completely different place. Here’s how Fast Company reframed Phoenix Suns’ Steve Nash in last month’s issue:
“To watch Steve Nash is to observe someone uncannily at ease with change. Rapid change. (Enter basketball achievements here.) No one better embodies the metabolism of our times, when industries, technologies, and careers are in constant flux. (Enter more basketball stuff here.) Nash demonstrates how to navigate uncertainty — with flexibility, collaboration, and inventiveness. He has developed a gift for finding order in chaos.”
See how they did that? They reframed his success on the basketball court and related it back to what we are all facing. They took this basketball star and branded him as a change agent. Click here to see the entire article.
BTW, it’s not too late to sign up for Extreme Mini Makeovers. We recorded last week’s call so you can get the MP3. Next session later this month will be on everybody’s favorite: those dang elevator speeches and other tricks for high-end networking. Click to hear my latest rant on creating your best bio and to sign up.
Tags: bios, branding, Extreme Mini Makeovers, Marketing, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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