My Favorite Books of 2014

December 23, 2014 by Leave a Comment

My Favorite Books of 2014After reading so many wonderful books in 2013, I wasn’t sure how 2014 was going to be able to compete, but compete it did. 2014 provided a treasure trove of insight, information, and realizations. There are some stellar pieces of work out there.

Without further ado, here are my favorite books of 2014:
80/20 Sales and Marketing by Perry Marshall. One of the best books I’ve ever read on sales and marketing, period. This is not only an eye-opener, but a shock to the system. Marshall is a visionary and his ideas will change the way you see marketing and life. I’m not kidding when I say this book will literally blow your mind. He doesn’t talk theory, he talks realities, and he’s got real-life examples and proof that what he’s talking about works. If you want to achieve amazing results with your sales and marketing, read this book.
difference by Bernadette Jiwa. This book is a mere 95 pages, but don’t let that fool you. This book contains more wisdom on marketing than books three times the length. It provides some thought-provoking written exercises for you to complete. This book helps you strip away the unnecessary BS to get at the truth of what really matters. It’s a beautifully written work and a sheer delight to read. After reading difference, you’ll see marketing, and your role in it, in a different way.
QR Codes Kill Kittens by Scott Stratten. Stratten has compiled an entire book of terrible uses of QR codes and of inappropriate marketing decisions. Each example leaves you scratching your head and wondering, “what was that company thinking”. It’s a hilarious look at what’s wrong with marketing today, but it’s a great reminder of what not to do. Read it and save a kitten.
Show Your Work by Austin Kleon. Where his previous book Steal Like an Artist talked about creativity, this book delves into getting your creative work noticed. Kleon lays out how to go about this in 10 steps. Filled with examples from his own career, as well as those of other famous artists, the steps are well thought out, and best of all, do-able. Kleon writes in a way that makes you feel like the mystery behind achieving success has been lifted, which is a gift in itself.
The Promise of a Pencil by Adam Braun. An inspiring story of how a 24 year-old employed on Wall Street, found his true calling by giving. Braun was in India when he asked a young boy what he wanted more than anything in the world. He answered, “a pencil.” Braun was inspired to leave his job and work on a “purpose” instead. That purpose was the organization he started, Pencils of Promise, which has since built over 200 schools across the world. An inspiring read, and it makes you realize one person can make a difference.
Choose Yourself by James Altucher. A sometimes unconventional approach on how to live the life you want. Altucher is one person who moves to the beat of his own drum. He has wonderful insights on how to achieve what it is you want out of life and he does it with vulnerability, humility, and humor. If you want to take charge of your career, love life, and finances this is essential reading. After reading this you’ll want to get your hands on his other work, his blog, and podcast. He’s just simply one of the most fascinating people you’ll run across.
Body of Work by Pamela Slim. A great book to help you bring all the loose ties of your career together. After reading this and doing the exercises, you’ll have a greater handle on your career so you’re able to tell a compelling story of your work and your accomplishments. If you are transitioning careers or in between jobs, I highly recommend getting your hands on a copy of this as quickly as possible.
The Power Formula for LinkedIn Success by Wayne Breitbarth. There’s not many more people more knowledgeable about LinkedIn than Breitbarth. If you want to boost your visibility on LinkedIn and give yourself the advantage over everyone else, you’ll want to read this book and implement every Breitbarth suggests. It’s jam packed with helpful tips to get you to standout from the crowd and help you land your next job, win new clients, and make more sales.
Are any of these titles on your list? What were some of your favorites? Is there something you’re looking forward to reading in 2015?
Happy reading!

 

Filed Under: Books, Inspiration, Marketing Tagged With: , ,

The Reason to Explain the Obvious

December 16, 2014 by Leave a Comment
The Reason to Explain the ObviousHow often have you seen messages like these on packages:
To open, lift flap. (On a cereal box)
Caution. Contents hot. (On a coffee cup)
Harmful if swallowed. (On practically anything that’s not food)
Keep out of reach of children. (On insecticides and household cleaners)
We tend to think, “well, duh.” It seems so obvious, and in these cases this is probably done more for legal reasons than for anything else.
But, as marketers there’s a reason to explain the obvious. It’s to get people to do what you want them to do. What’s obvious to us, is not obvious to the casual observer.
How often do you go to a store (or a website) and have difficulty finding what you’re looking for? Out of frustration you’ll leave. How many others will do the same?
We want someone to lead us to what we want, without making it seem like we’re being led. That’s why marketers need to make things as simple as possible.
The customer needs to feel like they are in the right place, at the right time, looking for exactly what they want. Take them down a path they won’t regret.
You need to address questions as simple as: How do I buy this? Where do I find more information? What hours are you open? What is your address? What does your business do? Seems pretty basic, doesn’t it? Yet, it’s surprising how many times you can’t find this out. Answer the basic questions then go further.
Explain how the product works: This can be done with videos, testimonials, and product reviews.
Provide steps so the customer knows what to expect: If it’s online, show how many steps it takes to complete a transaction and where the customer is in the process. Let them know what information they’ll need to complete a transaction. That way they’re not rummaging through file cabinets looking for paperwork, which takes them away from completing their task.
Communicate with the customer: Provide information about the transaction, as well as contact information of who to reach for certain situations. Follow-up after the transaction to see how the customer is doing.
We all want to be assured that we’re being taken care of and explaining the obvious is a good way to do that. It doesn’t take much more than caring to take care of a customer.
Filed Under: Marketing Tagged With: ,

Here’s to the 20 Year Anniversary I Didn’t Celebrate

December 9, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Here's to the 20 Year Anniversary I Didn't CelebrateI went to visit some friends who work at AT&T at the very building where I started my career with the company, back when they were known as Ameritech. 10 days earlier some of my former colleagues celebrated their 20 year anniversary with the company.

I was a little jealous. I wasn’t able to participate and celebrate with them because my job was downsized eight years ago. I felt I should be celebrating with them. The 20 year anniversary made me think about what might have been.
It was great to see so many people that I hadn’t seen in a while, 15 years in some cases! As I walked around the office, which hadn’t changed at all since I started there 20 years ago, I realized that what I wanted was the status that being someplace for 20 years earns you. It shows commitment, dedication, and a certain level of respect. It was an ego feeder.
I had no reason to be jealous. Although life has taken me in different directions, I am much better off now than if I had still been there. In the eight years since I’ve parted ways with AT&T I’ve found a new career in marketing, even earning an MBA along the way. I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing now. And I wouldn’t be as fulfilled. Life is much richer.
Instead of looking at what might have been, look at what is. Now is the only moment that matters. Yesterday is a story that can’t be re-written and the sooner we let go of what was, the sooner we get to appreciate everything that today holds. My visit was a good reminder of that.
Here’s to the 20 year anniversary I didn’t celebrate and here’s to today!
Filed Under: Life Lessons Tagged With:

7 Steps to Become a Learning Machine

December 2, 2014 by Leave a Comment
7 Steps to Become a Learning MachineIn my last post I wrote about finding the motivation to learn something new. Once you have the motivation, how do you do actually go about learning?
There are three different ways to go about it; some people learn by listening, some by watching, some by doing. This is how school is set up. A teacher stands in front of class and lectures about a subject, writes on the board, and then has you work on it. But, how do you go further than that? How do you go from memorizing something to becoming intimately familiar with it?
Here are 7 steps to become a learning machine:
1) Model someone successful – Who can you model yourself after? Find someone who has done it before, with the kind of success you admire. How did they start? How did they learn? What were their breakthroughs to improvement? If you can learn shortcuts that will help you avoid their mistakes it might save you some frustration.
When I was learning to write songs, I copied what my heroes did. I tried to write songs like them. Listening back now I can still hear the influences – The Beatles’ “She’s a Woman”, Fats Domino’s “Walking to New Orleans”, or Roy Orbison’s “Only the Lonely”. I was learning how to craft songs like they did, but eventually I developed my own style. This also leads us to number two.
2) Model everyone – When I was trying to be a better baseball player as a kid, I tried to model my swing after dozens of major league players. I knew how everyone on the Milwaukee Brewers batted, along with others from the Royals, Yankees, Angels, Red Sox, and anyone else whose swing I liked.
By trying to copy how others players stepped up to the plate, approached their at bat, and swung at pitches, I could find out what worked and what didn’t work for me. Eventually I settled on a cross between Paul Molitor and Dave Winfield. Not that I was trying to be them, but what they did worked for me.
Today, I golf instead of play baseball, but I use the same philosophy. I model my swing after Ernie Els (because we’re about the same body type) and Inbee Park (because she reminds me to be fluid and take my time). Two different swings, but I can take something from each to make it my own.
Try everything you can to find out what works for you.
3) Read – This goes without saying. Read all you can about a subject; everything from the masters to people who might not be famous but have found great hacks to become skillful.
Make sure you mark up the book, take notes, jot down reminders or ideas as you read. If what you read just blows you away, re-read it. There will be a lot you missed the first time around. The lessons that resonated with you the first time will get stuck deeper in your head and you may look at other points differently.
4) Learn the basics first – We often expect expert results when we haven’t even achieved beginner’s skills. You need to learn to crawl before you can walk. It’s the same principle.
If you look at anyone who goes through a slump or tries to re-energize what they’re doing they always go back to the fundamentals. You’ll hear this in sports a lot.
The basics are the foundation on which you can go off in different directions, maybe in places no one else has ever gone before. But, but before that happens you need to understand the fundamentals.
5)  Practice – It takes time to learn something. We’re not going to be good right away, yet we are devastated when we aren’t. Instant gratification cheats us out of proper development time. I think our ego gets in the way of this. We expect to be good and we want to show others we know what we’re doing. We want to do this before we’ve put our time in. That’s what “paying your dues” is all about.
When you first try to learn something you’ll probably suck at it. That’s okay. Everyone starts out the same way. Give yourself permission to try something without having to be perfect at it.
We look at professionals and think they burst onto the scene overnight or they have natural talent that they didn’t have to work on. It may even be portrayed that way in the media. That’s false advertising. Those people spent countless hours practicing their skills before they got any sort of notoriety.
Nobody sees the sacrifice that went into developing their craft. Nobody sees the musician practicing scales at all hours of the day and night, or the swimmer doing laps at 4:00 am, or the baseball player at the batting cage all winter long, but we do see the concert, the Olympic Medal, and the home run to win the game.
Without those private hours of practice those public moments of glory would never have happened. They couldn’t happen. So, don’t take practice lightly, it’s your building block to personal greatness.
6) Never think you’re done learning – No matter how good you are at something, you’re never an expert. This keeps your mind open to continuous learning. Once you think you’ve mastered something you are closed off to new ideas about it.
Think of yourself as an explorer. There’s always something new to discover. With all you know, there’s so much more you don’t know. You needn’t look any further than the library. There’s so much information that’s written that it’s physically impossible to read everything out there and know everything there is to know. You’ll never know it all, so keep your mind open.
7) Share your expertise – When you share what you know it keeps you on your toes. It reemphasizes what you know (or maybe don’t know – re-read point #6) but it also allows you to see it from the vantage point of the person who is just learning.
Teaching also takes us back to each of the other six points mentioned. It can re-introduce you to the fundamentals, it can bring back memories of the people you modeled, and you may find something new to read. Sharing what you know allows you to experience learning all over again.
What steps have you taken to become a learning machine? Are there any steps that you use that I didn’t mentioned? What are they and how do they work for you?
Here’s to becoming a learning machine!
Filed Under: Inspiration, Life Lessons Tagged With: , ,

Learning Something New

November 25, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Learning Something NewWhen I was 10 years old my sister and I went with my mom to visit one my mom’s childhood friends in Jackson, Mississippi. My mom’s friend had kids around our age and every afternoon we’d head to the local swimming pool. At first I didn’t want to go because I didn’t know how to swim. Being in the water was terrifying. I thought I might go under and drown.

It was the middle of August and let me tell you it was hot, really hot. It didn’t take long before I decided I had to get in the deeper water to cool off. My mom’s friend’s son showed me how to do it and it didn’t take long for me to catch on. By the end of the week I was looking forward to going to the pool. I learned to swim in one week!
This is in stark contrast to my swimming lessons from five years early. My mom bid on, and won, swimming lessons from the Channel 10 PBS auction. She thought it’d be good for me to learn how to swim. Only I wasn’t ready to learn. Every time I got in the pool I began screaming. Even though I had a board to help me stay afloat I resisted every chance I got. I was sitting in the bleachers by the end of every lesson. I only went to about three or four lessons before my mom stopped taking me, I think out of sheer embarrassment.
There are many reasons we resist learning something new; our own ignorance of the subject, prior history, other people’s opinions, a bad experience the first time we attempted it. Whatever the reason, we can overcome it.
If we want to learn something new we are fully capable of doing so. We just need to make up our minds and see the value in it. When I was five there was no value to me in learning how to swim. I didn’t care, and that was reflected in my attitude. When I was 10 there was a huge value to me – I didn’t want to fry in the sun!
What have you been putting off doing because you’d have to learn something new? Find value in learning it and then start. Find a mentor, attend classes, or watch tutorials on YouTube. Just start. It will be rewarding when you learn it, and you’ll be surprised how much more of the world is open to you.
Filed Under: Life Lessons, Motivation Tagged With: ,

Giving More Than What’s Expected

November 11, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Giving More Than What's ExpectedBack in the days when record albums were issued in vinyl, I used to base my decision to plop down money for the entire album on whether or not I liked the B-side of the single. My thinking was, if the B-side was good the album would be good. If the B-side was good but wasn’t on the album, the album had to be great because they had more material than they could fit on the album.

In both scenarios I was almost certain to go out and buy the album. If the B-side wasn’t that good or felt like a throw-away track I wouldn’t buy the album and figured that the band didn’t have enough good material to make a strong album.

Maybe my logic was a little harsh, but I wasn’t going to let them get any more of my money when they didn’t care about putting out a quality product. And for a 45 that meant two solid songs. Maybe some record labels or artists wanted to save their best material for the A-side of the singles when they didn’t realize that the B-side was an opportunity to give fans, and more importantly potential fans, a reason to love them.
When someone knocks your socks off you’ll brag to your friends about them. Today, people have thousands of friends in their social media contacts. When they share their experiences the ramifications can be huge.
Maybe I’m just jaded, but for me that bar is pretty low. It should be easy to impress, but sadly, that’s rarely the case. The companies that do though, reap the rewards. The ones that don’t won’t last. How to do it? Give more than what’s expected.
Gary Vaynerchuk talks about this a lot. He says the key to success is to care…a lot. Giving more than what’s expected is caring in it’s truest form. People don’t forget experiences, good and bad. Do your best to make it memorable by giving more than what’s expected and you can turn an okay experience into one that’s special.
Have you been impressed with a company that went above and beyond? What did they do that was different? How do you give your customers more?
Filed Under: Customer Service, Life Lessons, Marketing Tagged With: , , ,

It Pays to Be Nice

November 4, 2014 by Leave a Comment

It Pays to be NiceYears ago my wife and I were flying out of O’Hare in Chicago during the Christmas holidays. We asked the gate agent at the terminal if there was a meal on the flight. He checked our tickets and said there wasn’t. We thanked him and headed to the food court to grab a couple of sandwiches.

We bought our food and headed back to the terminal when we heard our names over the PA. When we approached our gate agent, he told us that he had moved us to first class, and that there was a meal in first class. He smiled as he said the last part. We expressed our gratitude while he changed our tickets.
It was a crowded flight and he could have done that for anyone. What probably set us apart from the others is that we didn’t complain when we found out we didn’t get a meal. It wasn’t his fault, but I’m sure he heard complaints about it from others.
The lesson here is that it pays to be nice. You should always be nice without the thought of getting something in return; because it’s the right thing to do. Often you’ll be rewarded for it. We were rewarded for treating the gate agent respectfully. After all, he had no control over whether or not there was a meal on our flight.
I’m sure he felt good giving us the surprise upgrade. When people are nice to us we want to be nice back. If a server at a restaurant makes you feel special you’ll leave a larger tip. If employees at a company treat you like a friend and not a transaction you’ll visit more often, spend more money, and tell others about your experience. We love being valued.
When we are treated how we think we should be treated we remember it. It can fuel us for days with positive energy and it inspires us to be kinder. Thankfully, as human beings, we have the power on how we treat others.
Companies often forget that customers are human beings; not an account or ID number. We have names. We have feelings, aspirations, and fears. It benefits everyone to remember this. When we treat someone like a decent human being amazing things can happen.
Filed Under: Inspiration, Life Lessons Tagged With: ,

It Pays to Ask

October 28, 2014 by Leave a Comment
It Pays to Ask

Malcolm Gladwell at INBOUND14.

Last year I won tickets to go to INBOUND in Boston. In the marketing world, it’s a big deal. The conference boasts an amazing lineup of incredible speakers, authors, and experts. Unfortunately, I couldn’t work out my schedule with my employer and wasn’t able to attend. As the conference approached, I looked at going this time around.

I sent a message to the person who I won the ticket from last year; the company’s Chief Marketing Officer. I briefly explained my situation and asked if there would be any way I could cash in on the ticket this year since it didn’t work out for me last year. The worst he could say was no, right?
He emailed back the next day. His message was “sure, no problem.” He gave me a code to use and an email for someone to contact if I ran into problems. I immediately signed up and made preparations to attend the conference. By asking, I saved $999. It pays to ask!

How often do we want something, but never get it? They say that’s one of the main reasons a sales person doesn’t sell something is because they never ask for the sale. A simple, can I wrap that up for you, should we fill out some paper work so it’s yours, or do you want to buy it, could be all that’s needed to close the sale.
People aren’t mind readers. What you think are obvious signs are not that for others. Implying you want something and asking for it are two very different things. Children have no problem asking, “can I have this?”
That special someone you want to invite to dinner? There’s no chance they’ll go if you never ask. Sure, they could say no. If they do, you’re in the same predicament as you are currently. If they say yes, who knows what could develop. If you make your intentions known the possibilities are endless.
As I expected, the conference was phenomenal. The speakers were brilliant and I met talented people from across the country. I even made some new friends. It was such a blast that I can’t wait to go next year, even though I’ll have to pay.
I certainly learned that it pays to ask. What are you going to ask?
Filed Under: Life Lessons Tagged With: , ,

“Stop Talking. I’m Painting.” A Lesson in Focus and Eliminating Distractions.

October 21, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Stop talking. I'm painting.Recently my sister decided to give my 3 1/2 year old niece some paints, brushes, and paper; figuring that she’s old enough to be able to have fun without making too much of a mess. My niece enjoys coloring books and drawing, so it seemed like a logical progression.

Turns out my niece loves painting. She literally lost herself in it. At one point my sister asked if she wanted a sandwich for lunch. My niece responded, “I’m painting.” My sister asks again, “What do you want for lunch?” Without even lifting her head my niece responded, “Stop talking. I’m painting.” There’s a great lesson here from my 3 1/2 year old niece about focus and eliminating distractions.
How often do we let distractions dictate what we do? Even though her mom was asking her what she wanted to eat, my niece wasn’t having any of it. She was going to keep painting until she was done. It didn’t matter that her mom was talking to her. No one was going to break her concentration.
We often let life distract us. We could be in the middle of something; lost in what we’re doing. Instead of staying in the flow, we get distracted because there’s a meeting scheduled, or the phone rings, or we get an email and we can’t beat the urge to check it. We let those things interrupt us.
Why do we do that? Maybe we think it’s selfish. Maybe we don’t want to be rude. If we ignore the distractions, what we’re saying is “hold on, I’ve got more important things happening right now.” Instead of looking at it as selfish, look at it as self-power. It’s empowering to proclaim, “this is what I’m doing, and I can’t be bothered.”
It’s like those lights that go on when broadcasters are “on the air.” No one would dare interrupt them at that moment. What you’re doing is just as important as anyone else. Take the time to finish your work. You’re “on the air” and your work is valuable.
There is nothing more important than what you’re doing at this very moment. If you give yourself completely to the moment you can get lost in it like my niece. There have been times when I’ve been so focused on something that I’ve lost all sense of time. I did’t feel hunger. I did’t get tired.
It’s an amazing feeling to be so into what you’re doing that nothing else matters. The next time you start something give your undivided attention to it. Sign out of email, and Facebook, turn off your cell phone, eliminate anything that could be a possible distraction. See if you can get lost in it. If you get lost in it often enough, who knows, maybe you’ve just found your calling.
I’m thankful for this important lesson. What do you think? Will this work for you? How do you eliminate distractions from your life so you can focus on the moment in front of you?
Filed Under: Life Lessons, Motivation Tagged With: , ,

Sales and Marketing Lessons from the Apple Guy

October 14, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Sales and Marketing Lessons from the Apple GuyOne of the things I love most about fall is apple season. Apples are my favorite fruit and there’s nothing like having a crisp, fresh, delicious apple. Apple season only lasts about two months, so I appreciate it when it comes around.
When I was a kid, every Sunday after church in the fall, my mom would drive us to visit the Apple Guy, as he was affectionately known. His real name was Mr. Patterson.
Here are four Sales and Marketing Lessons I remember from the Apple Guy, that anyone can use:
Have a Beautiful Presentation – When you drove by, it looked like something from a Norman Rockwell painting; his car was off to the side of the road and the apples were lined up by type in baskets. He also had bags of various sizes ready-to-go. Everywhere you looked, there were apples. I remember him as a friendly man; wearing his blue jeans, plaid shirt, and baseball cap. It looked like he just came from the orchard (he did). His display was something that made you want to stop. Do you give your customers a reason to stop?
Be Helpful – He was the apple expert, but he approached customers with friendly, neighborly advice. He’d tell you what each one tasted liked (sweet, tart), if you could use them for baking, when certain types were going to be ready for harvest. McIntosh were my favorite but that wasn’t the first apple of the season. They were usually ready in mid-September. He’d say, “come back in two weeks, I’ll have the macs then.” He’d also offer a replacement. “If you like McIntosh, check out the Paula Red, or the Cortland.” Look at how you can be more helpful to your customers.
Hook ’em with a Great Offer – The Apple Guy knew how to entice his customers. He’d let you try before you buy. Not just one apple, he’d let you try all the different varieties he had. In the above example, he’d hand me both a Paula Red and a Cortland to try, so I could figure out which one I liked best. More often than not we bought more than one type of apple. What better way to get customers to fall in love with your product than to try it. He knew once you took a bite, you were hooked. What do your offers look like? Do they hook your customers?
Over-Deliver – He’d often give us more apples than would fit in the bag. He’d say those apples would be “for the road.” He’d even polish it up before he handed it to you. We always left feeling we got a great deal, and we’d have delicious apples for the week. Do you deliver or over-deliver?
Patterson Orchards is still in operation today. If you’re in the Milwaukee area you should check them out. Instead of a car on the side of the road, they have a small store that’s open each fall at the Orchard. Besides their own apples, they feature other fruits, vegetables, and bakery products from other local and regional businesses. Hand-written signs provide shoppers with information about the products, just like the Apple Guy used to do. It still feels friendly and neighborly.
I’m not sure if the Apple Guy is still around, but his orchard and his lessons in sales and marketing sure are. The lessons may be simple, but they sure are effective. Make sure you utilize them every chance you get.

 

Filed Under: Customer Service, Marketing Tagged With: , ,
« Previous Page
Next Page »