Friday, July 10, 2009
Quote for the Day
"A trusted advisor gives you the best options & advises you which to take based on your needs, not the paycheck he hopes to have at the end." --Tracy Diziere
Monday, June 29, 2009
Increasing Sales Article Launching Tomorrow
Tomorrow I am sending out the Q2 newsletter article (yes, on the last day of the quarter!) on how small businesses and start-ups can increase sales. To read it, sign up to be on the distribution list at http://tinyurl.com/tdiziere.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
A Client's Pricing Issues
I just saw a very funny--or is it sad?--YouTube video on how client pricing issues would get played out in real-world scenarios. My apologies in advance to those clients who understand the difference between a taco-stand taco and a filet mignon vs. those who believe they are paying for beef.
It should be said, these issues are more likely to happen with large agencies and when clients are unfamiliar with pricing structures, have not been educated appropriately about the services they are buying, or in general lack the experience or humility to succinctly acknowledge differences in expectations. This can be exacerbated when a marketing firm is too busy to develop the relationship or believes the account is too small to act as a trusted advisor.
It would be interesting to see the client-side version of this video.
See for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2a8TRSgzZY
It should be said, these issues are more likely to happen with large agencies and when clients are unfamiliar with pricing structures, have not been educated appropriately about the services they are buying, or in general lack the experience or humility to succinctly acknowledge differences in expectations. This can be exacerbated when a marketing firm is too busy to develop the relationship or believes the account is too small to act as a trusted advisor.
It would be interesting to see the client-side version of this video.
See for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2a8TRSgzZY
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
What Peter Says
Here at iabc phoenix copper quills after peter shankman's keynote so forgive the lowercase etc. It was hard to hear but what I took from the talk was:
1. It's a conversation. Freakin listen. It's not just spouting off . . . And talking About irrelevant stuff.
2. The average person has an attention span of 2.7 seconds. Ouch!
3. We don't even talk to people in our network on a personal level (guilty). Seriously, reach out!
4. Social media=the chance to screw up on a larger scale
That's all I got now. Was it longer than 2.7 seconds?
1. It's a conversation. Freakin listen. It's not just spouting off . . . And talking About irrelevant stuff.
2. The average person has an attention span of 2.7 seconds. Ouch!
3. We don't even talk to people in our network on a personal level (guilty). Seriously, reach out!
4. Social media=the chance to screw up on a larger scale
That's all I got now. Was it longer than 2.7 seconds?
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Join me at the WVCCC Kids at Heart Luncheon
On March 25 from 12-1 p.m. at the Renaissance Hotel & Spa in Glendale, West Valley Child Crisis Center (WVCCC) is hosting its annual Kids at Heart Luncheon to benefit abused, neglected children. WVCCC provides a temporary shelter for these kids in a safe, nuturing, home-like environment staffed by professional caregivers.
The luncheon is free and the presentation will hopefully inspire contributions from us all.
I am hosting a table of 10 and 5 spots available as of today. Please email me if you'd like to attend and I will add you to my group.
For more information or if you cannot attend but would like to contribute, you may download an invite and form here: http://wvccc.org/documents/KidsAtHeartRSVPPacket_000.pdf
The luncheon is free and the presentation will hopefully inspire contributions from us all.
I am hosting a table of 10 and 5 spots available as of today. Please email me if you'd like to attend and I will add you to my group.
For more information or if you cannot attend but would like to contribute, you may download an invite and form here: http://wvccc.org/documents/KidsAtHeartRSVPPacket_000.pdf
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Quick Plug for Central Arizona Shelter Services
I received an event invitation for one of my favorite non-profits--CASS. They are hosting a Mardi Gras Night on Feb. 21 in Scottsdale. Please consider attending or simply sending a donation (that's what I did) to aid Arizona's homeless men, women, and children with shelter and services that empower them. Details at http://www.cass-az.org/
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Worth a Look: Process Development & Improvement
Many small business owners are much too busy running their businesses to look at how they're doing it. With all the clamoring for marketing, you'd be surprised to learn how effective process development or process improvement can be instead. All you need is a little time to invest, a place to start, a little direction, and a reason to do it.
1. The Reason. BPTrends has an excellent summary of why companies might look at their processes . . . “In good times, . . . to create new processes and expand organizational capabilities. In bad times, . . . . [to] focus on eliminating unnecessary activities and on saving money." (Wolf & Harmon, Volume 7. No. 2 of BPTrends' email newsletter)
2. The Starting Place. What keeps you awake at night? What's your company's biggest barrier to success? What's your customers' biggest complaint? What's the hardest thing for you to achieve right now? What do they have that you don't?
3. Time. Carve out time to explore the questions and choose one area of focus. Promise yourself that you will schedule time over the next month to resolve this issue.
4. Direction. Beginning with your question, ask what you do and why and continue to ask what and why until you determine (at each stage) whether you are doing something because it is: (a) required by law, (b) needed by management for the daily operation and oversight of the company, (c) needed for product quality and/or production, (d) needed by distribution channels and/or customers. Everything except (a) is negotiable so look for areas of elasticity and potential change that would result in streamlined processes or cost savings. If you need more direction, call in reinforcements.
(NOTE: BPM is a huge field; this post only attempts to make certain aspects of it accessible to small business owners and microbusiness owners. Expert posts are welcome in order to achieve this goal.)
1. The Reason. BPTrends has an excellent summary of why companies might look at their processes . . . “In good times, . . . to create new processes and expand organizational capabilities. In bad times, . . . . [to] focus on eliminating unnecessary activities and on saving money." (Wolf & Harmon, Volume 7. No. 2 of BPTrends' email newsletter)
2. The Starting Place. What keeps you awake at night? What's your company's biggest barrier to success? What's your customers' biggest complaint? What's the hardest thing for you to achieve right now? What do they have that you don't?
3. Time. Carve out time to explore the questions and choose one area of focus. Promise yourself that you will schedule time over the next month to resolve this issue.
4. Direction. Beginning with your question, ask what you do and why and continue to ask what and why until you determine (at each stage) whether you are doing something because it is: (a) required by law, (b) needed by management for the daily operation and oversight of the company, (c) needed for product quality and/or production, (d) needed by distribution channels and/or customers. Everything except (a) is negotiable so look for areas of elasticity and potential change that would result in streamlined processes or cost savings. If you need more direction, call in reinforcements.
(NOTE: BPM is a huge field; this post only attempts to make certain aspects of it accessible to small business owners and microbusiness owners. Expert posts are welcome in order to achieve this goal.)
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