Posts Tagged ‘positioning’
Tuesday, February 28th, 2012
In this crowded marketplace, labels can give you a leg up. A snazzy title for your business or for your campaign can capture interest and kick off market momentum. It’s a popular request from my clients.
This handy article from Entrepreneur magazine offers a quick and easy way to come up with a name. What I like: this article gives you three options so your creativity is not limited by one process. What I recommend: use this system for more than naming your business. These tools are great for naming anything that needs three words or less.
Warning: don’t use this for naming your speeches or articles. Titles here need more description.
Tags: branding, experts, Marketing, positioning, Vickie Sullivan
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Thursday, February 23rd, 2012
You’ve talked to the buyer several times. They are so enthusiastic about your topic and expertise. You just KNOW that you’re gonna speak to this group. You can just see all the spin-off business now…
And then reality hits. All this time you’ve been talking to a false positive buyer — someone who can say no but can’t say yes. What’s worse: you asked them if they were a decision maker and they said yes. Did you just get lied to?
Kinda-sorta, but not really. Here’s what happened: the person you talked to was assigned to find a speaker. They were assigned by the real buyer, who found someone themselves and told the false positive folks to shut down the process. It happens all the time. Too often.
Which is why I am stepping out of the bat cave and getting on the phone. I’m launching Big Fee Speaking Conversations for one reason: because too many speakers with good leads still aren’t getting business. Why? Because they don’t know the new magic words to say to buyers. When you say the right words to the right people, magic happens. I’ve helped my high-end clients with sales conversations for years. It’s time to help the rest of you. Join me on February 29th. What you say to buyers is about to change forever…
Tags: conversations, experts, positioning, speakers, Speaking, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Tuesday, February 21st, 2012
We’ve all seen it: conferences are no longer a series of educational sessions. They are learning “experiences”, creating a community by connecting and conversations, right?
That’s right — but it’s not happening on the even’t social media site, according to a recent survey. Market research firm Event Survey Group found that 89% of attendees want just the facts — place, date, and description of what is available. What they don’t want: hype, too much chatter, and disguised product ads. (Survey can be purchased at http://www.eventsurveygroup.com/attendee-survey.html.)
Does this mean that your presence as a speaker isn’t important for this channel? Absolutely not. Just don’t be surprised if you hear crickets chirping when you try to get more engagement at the sites. Instead, focus on showcasing your content via video. If you bring your “A” game, you can use their social media sites to generate standing room only at your next presentation.
Tags: branding, events, experts, Marketing, positioning, social media, strategy
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Thursday, February 16th, 2012
Where there is money, there are more then two people trying to get it. And when it comes to speaking for big fees, there are a lot of folks going after that gig. The problem: branding at 30,000 feet will get you in the door, but your conversations get you the invitation. Any expert who wants big speaking fees has to deal with these two very strong competitors:
- Internal Resources – in corporate, it can be the president or someone from the C-suite. Buyers know they aren’t the best speakers, but sometimes politics trumps common sense. In associations, they can be panel discussions featuring members or sponsors.
- The Favorites – these are speakers the buyers know and love. If you’re one of them, great. But don’t assume you are alone. Buyers know they have at least ten people vying for every speaking slot. If you’re not, that’s okay. You can get in, but you have to neutralize the folks in this group. It’s possible, but — as we say in Oklahoma — it takes “some doin’”.
- And the third is the most deadly of them all. It’s the option buyers fall back on before the decision is made. Speakers who don’t prepare for this competitor get blind-sided all the time.
Want to know more? That’s why I’m launching the Big-Fee Speech Conversation series on February 29th. We’re not talking at 30,000 feet here. I’m drilling down on exactly what to do and say to get these lucrative opportunities. Click here for more details. Space is limited.
Tags: conversations, experts, opportunity, positioning, Speaking, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Tuesday, February 14th, 2012
We all have fans — folks who just love our work. We all have places we hang around for years because that’s where we started. We’ve met our BFFs (business friends forever) there. As you grow your business though, things change. Question: how do you love your community when you’ve outgrown the group? Do you stay involved or do you leave with fond memories?
Places where I used to market no longer work as I raised my fees over the years. So, when I’m asked to speak or volunteer, I have a different benchmark. If I have the time to give, I do it. But I don’t file my involvement under marketing. Why? Because I don’t want to fool myself into thinking, “Hey, I’m marketing — I’ve got three speeches this month.” Because if I think that, I’ll slack off on marketing to groups who are willing to pay my fees.
When I was young and silly, I used to love ‘em and leave them. Not anymore. Now I stick around and change my mental agenda. Because everyone needs a place like ‘Cheers’ in their life. Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!
Tags: conversations, experts, Marketing, positioning, Speaking, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Tuesday, January 31st, 2012
Let’s end this month with one more study, this time from the IMEX survey at their trade show last October. Yes, they had all the usual trends — do more with less, shorter meetings, going green. But this finding about associations and educational content got my attention.
According to attendee responses, associations are more firmly planted in the education business. Using content from the conferences before and after the event is pretty standard now. What’s new: the format is diversifying into interactive experiences and, yes, even — gasp — gaming!
I’ve preached for years that we experts need to “gamify” our content for corporate segments. Now it looks like we have a new group of customers coming up. My predictions: look for these formats to be underwritten by industry sponsors. This is a great way to be a guru to a community — you can go from being the expert in (fill in the blank) to being the creator of blah-blah game that is taking the industry by storm. See the difference?
Let’s put that on our resolution list. As for the IMEX study, click here to see the rest of the findings.
Tags: associations, events, experts, meetings, positioning, Speaking, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Tuesday, January 24th, 2012
If Martin Lindstrom says something, I remember it. Why? Because I trust him. In this Fast Company article last month, he explains how that happens.
His theory: our brains store information by how much we trust the source. We link information to the emotional relationship we have with the community, the person, the media outlet where we found the information. Think about it: this happens all the time in politics. How many ideas were dismissed because of the news outlet they showed up in? Or because of the person who had the idea?
Perhaps this is a new standard we should apply to our content marketing efforts. Key question: do our ideas show up in high-trust places? Are there other places our best clients trust even more? Sounds like the old “throw content on the wall and see what sticks” doesn’t work anymore. Lindstrom has other ideas in this article as well. Click here to learn more.
Tags: branding, experts, Marketing, positioning, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Thursday, January 19th, 2012
Like everything else, the structure of meetings and conferences is being overhauled. And that’s a good thing. In the good old days, structure stayed the same, then content was plugged in. What’s happening now and in the future: the structure will be designed around learning and experience. The buzzword you’ll hear more of: meeting architecture.
Yes, the economy is driving these shifts. But so is a belief we all need to be aware of: buyers believe that everything they need to know is online. Yep, our content isn’t ours anymore. It’s out there and anyone can take it. So the emphasis is now on interaction and learning. And we’re not talking about using Twitter and text to ask questions. Think: 30-minute presentations followed by 30-minute breaks.
This provocative article in Meetings and Conventions explores a variety of opinions. For those who speak at conferences and conventions, we need to be ready for any format.
Tags: experts, meetings, positioning, Speaking, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Tuesday, January 17th, 2012
According to this article by strategy giant Booz and Company, it appears that competition and other market forces are driving down profit margins in the big pharmaceutical market. Sound familiar? Sounds like everyone got tossed around in this economy.
My favorite line in the article: ”The next decade for the pharmaceutical industry is shaping up to be not only a period in which the leading companies don’t know what’s going to happen, but one in which they can’t know what’s going to happen, because so many of the conditions under which they operate are in such an unusual state of flux.”
I agree. All of us are in a state of flux. So here’s an idea: let’s stop trying to predict what’s coming up next. Let’s stop sticking our finger in the air to see which way the wind blows. Because that dang wind can change directions in a heartbeat.
Instead, let’s focus on pockets of profitability. What do we do best and who needs that? Can we take our gifts to a new sandbox? And the more important question: how can we deliver on that need in a different way than before? Let’s venture out some and find new folks who need what we have. It’s time to hedge our bets with a little diversification.
This article tells me that: (1) the days of steady, predictable growth are gone; and, (2) now is the time to make strategic bets. A lot of good examples here. Check it out for yourself.
Tags: consultants, experts, positioning, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Thursday, January 12th, 2012
As we enter 2012 with new vigor, it’s tempting to look around and see what you can revamp. Branding usually is on the short list. But not so fast. A band makeover can be expensive and time consuming. The key question: do you really need to overhaul or simply refine and redirect your brand?
This Fast Company article from last Fall has five questions that we experts can easily adapt to our own situation. Yes, the article uses big-company retail examples, but look past that. Ask yourself: are the new benchmarks that refine thought leaders on your side? Do you need to move your brand to a new segment or is there more growth where you are at?
Asking these questions first will not only help you decide on moving forward. You can also clarify what you want your new brand to do. Here’s the article and five questions.
Tags: branding, experts, Marketing, positioning, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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