I’m going to be totally honest with you guys. I love anyone who follows the Edward Tufte school of thought that PowerPoint is dumbing us down. Peggy Klaus didn’t reveal her allegiances until the very last chapter, but I’ll forgive her, since I enjoyed the rest of her book so much.

Peggy’s book, Brag! The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without Blowing It, should be required reading for designers, even though it’s not specifically targeted at us. Designers are notorious for despising self-promotion – I can list on one hand the designers I know who actually enjoy it. But here’s the thing: If we don’t promote ourselves, who’s going to do it? Peggy points out the obvious but increasingly important point that the workplace is no longer “safe.” Loyalty to a company in exchange for job security is going the way of the dinosaur. (Some would argue that it already has gone.) So we can’t just assume that the work we do is going to be enough to keep us employed or help us find our next job (or client).

The book is divided into sections: bragging myths; the “Take 12” self-evaluation; business bragging (including the infamous elevator speech and handling performance reviews); “techno-bragging”; converting job interviews into job offers; leveraging networking when you don’t have a “real” job; using your personal history to give yourself and your company credibility; “brag nags” (key communication techniques); and “12 Tooting Tips”.

One of the first things Peggy teaches her readers to do is to create “brag bites.” These are little snippets about you that stick – they are “authentic, compelling, and delivered in a conversational way.” For example, one of mine might be a favorite story that my mother likes to tell.

One Saturday morning when I was about 10, I took a card table, a piece of posterboard, and my little brother out to the front of our house, and sat down on our front steps. We were out there for a few hours, so finally, my mom came out to find out what we were doing (and why my brother was running after the occasional car that came down our street). She thought we were selling lemonade, but discovered that I was actually selling my handmade jewelry.

This little story is memorable, short, and shows off some great personality traits (creativity, determination, and enterprising spirit). But if I were to tell you that story in the context of conversation, say, over dinner, it’s unlikely you’d sit there and think, “Wow, this Erin chick is really full of herself!” And therein lies the secret. It’s all about presenting yourself in a way that lets people draw those great conclusions about you on their own, rather than you having to shout it from the rooftops yourself. (Because, really, that’s just annoying for everyone.)

Some of the most useful chapters in the book cover what Peggy calls “techno-bragging” and the workplace. With more and more people working off-site, or simply dealing with the deluge of emails and voicemails they get buried under every day, it can be hard to stay on your boss’s radar. Just “making the numbers” isn’t good enough. I found this one particularly relevant as a designer, because I think we often believe that the quality of our work shows off exactly how awesome we are. But the truth is, it doesn’t. We’re not always in jobs (or working with clients) where we get to do our most creative work. And even when we are, it is still sometimes a struggle to explain how our excellent design work brings value to our company (or client). So we have to make sure people know who we are, what we’re doing, and why it’s important to them. There are some great examples of how people have used technology to their advantage, keeping them on the radar of bosses and higher-ups (including one story about a guy who needed to not only make himself visible, but had to figure out how to deal with an attention-hogging coworker), as well as how to ace a performance review.

By far, my favorite thing comes at the very end of the book. Peggy tells the story of going to a conference she was invited to speak at, and receiving a nametag that listed her as “Peggy Klaus, Communications Expert.” She panicked at the sight of “expert” attached to her name, saying she felt like she couldn’t possibly be an expert, despite the fact that she was invited to speak at this conference! (She actually tried to scrape the word “expert” off her nametag with a butter knife. She only got as far as the T.) On some level, we all suffer from the Imposter Complex, regardless of how much we actually do know and have accomplished.

So go forth, BoDo readers, and find a copy of this book. (And read it. Don’t go using it to prop up your coffee table or filling in your bookshelf.)

Erin Harris | Visual Communication Designer
erinmharris.com | BoDo Author | Erin Reviews

Well, better late than never. We’re having a heck of a snow storm today and the phone and email have been ringing off the hook. Shhhh … Don’t tell Cat I’m late with my post, though. She’ll have my head.

Alas, I digress. On with some tips about tips.

You’re probably pretty good at what you do. If you weren’t, you wouldn’t be in business very long. Along the way, you’ve likely picked up quite a bit of knowledge about your field, had some ups and downs, a few horror stories and [hopefully] many success stories.

Here’s an idea. Share your knowledge and wisdom. Consider putting together some special reports that teach your clients and prospects something, how to avoid common mistakes or get better results. I’ve written about this often, but I’m going to give you some additional ideas in this post.

Using education as a marketing tool is a great way for service professionals to position themselves as experts. So, where do you start? Glad you asked. Begin by grabbing a legal pad and pencil. Then simply jot down potential topic ideas. “How to …,” “10 tips for better …,” “How to avoid the top 5 mistakes in …” You get the idea. These don’t need to be perfect (ergo the pencil). Cross out or erase the losers and whittle your list down to what you believe are some winners … that you can follow through on.

Tips sheets are pretty easy as starters. Odds are, you’ve come across the same problems over and over in working with your clients. Bingo! You’ve got a tip. Start off by stating the problem. Maybe several of your clients have a hard time communicating their project goals. How about writing a tip sheet like, “5 tips for writing a killer project brief.” Short, sweet and to the point.

Next, simply write down what you ask your clients. What questions always come up? Maybe it’s “Establish your project goals,” “Defining your audience.” “Determine your schedule,” “Create your specifications,” and “Determine a workable budget.” Once you have your topics, toss in an example or two. Follow that up with how this helps move the project along on target. Voila! You’ve got a tip sheet. How easy was that?

After you’ve got several tips sheets put together, you can use them as the basis to draft a special report. Ooooo! “Special Report.” Sounds like it has a lot of authority, doesn’t it. Well, it should if you did your homework.

Okay … so now you’ve got tips and maybe a report or two. What do you do with them? Here’s a few ideas:

Use them as leave-behinds after a meeting. This goes for prospects and clients alike.

Send out a postcard promo and offer a tip sheet or report as a freebie. Simply put a line in there that says something like, “Call today to receive our special report, “How to use graphic design to win thousands in new business.” Next thing you know, prospects are calling you and a dialogue begins.

Offer them as complimentary downloads on your site. Ideally, have a vehicle in place to gather names and email addresses. A database function is ideal for this, but it can simply be a matter of having them email you to receive the material.

Submit them as articles to relevant sites. Be sure to include a link to your site. This will help build some additional link popularity.

Give them to your network of associates for them to distribute to their clients and prospects as a free gift or leave-behind.

When your making cold/warm calls, before you hang up ask them if you can send them a copy. Nine times out of ten, they’ll say, “Sure.”

Here’s a nifty idea to generate some additional revenue. Contact a reasonably large company that supplies something to your target audience. Get with the Marketing Director or Sales Director. Ask if they would like copies of your report to use as a free gift for their customers. Maybe dupe a CD or DVD with your report and sell it to the company for a fee. You get some dough and they get a great gift to give out. Quality information that can really help their customers is better than a pen, notepad or a mug any day of the week.

And there you have it.

Okay … maybe you aren’t exactly a Hemmingway. If that’s the case, consider hiring a ghost writer to either write the stuff for you or edit what you write. You might even be able to trade services. If you don’t know any writers, call or email me. We’ll talk.

Until the next
Marketing Minute
all the best,
nt

Many designers think they have decent positioning in the minds of their clients and prospects, but in reality, it’s often a first cousin to “me too” marketing. When everybody’s saying the same thing, they’re ultimately saying nothing. That makes it pretty tough for you to stand out in the crowd.

Think about how often you hear things like, “We’ll do it faster, cheaper, yada, yada, yada.” What happens with that kind of message? You run the risk of working yourself to death for little money. That would be bad. You also run the risk of being confused with the other guy or gal who’s wooing your prospect, too.

The big idea here is to find a way to zig when your competitors are zagging. Sit down and give some serious thought to what makes you different … really different. The truth be told, anybody with a computer some software can call themselves a designer. The competition is stiff and it’s not going away.

What value do you bring to the table? Maybe it’s your experience and insight in a particular industry such as healthcare, or or service like designing annual reports. Clients and prospects are reassured when they know the person they’re working with has done this before and knows the ins and outs. Perhaps you have a peachy process that make working with you a snap and totally on target. When you bring real value to the client relationship, it goes a long way to justifying higher fees.

When you can distill down what you really sell … the benefits … you’re well on your way to crafting a value proposition and positioning statement that really sets you apart from everyone else out there.

Until the next
Marketing Minute
all the best,
nt

Confession: I didn’t start networking because I’d heard it was the newest fad in self-promotion, or because I was looking to increase my business. Nope. I started networking because I’d just had a baby, and those once-a-week networking lunches gave me an excuse to get out of the house, and get some much-needed adult conversation.

So…once a week, I’d get dressed up nice in my post-maternity outfit (which, by the way, looked an awful lot like my actual maternity outfits!), and go spend 90 minutes eating good food and talking about grown-up stuff…with a little business talk thrown in for good measure.

See, because my main priority was something other than business, I didn’t have to wear my salesperson hat. Instead, I focused on learning about the members of the group, and building relationships with them. And wouldn’t ya know it? Over time, as the people in the group got to know me, I began getting business. It was then that I realized the remarkable power behind building a professional network, and that to make networking WORK, I had to build relationships!

Since that first networking experience way back when, I’ve gone from a reluctant networker to an avid networker, and now I even run my own monthly networking group. For me, networking is not – and has never been – about selling…otherwise it would be called “net-selling” or “sell-working” (both of which evoke images of over-aggressive used-car salesmen types.) Maybe a more apt term would be “relationship working,” or better yet, “relationship building,” because ultimately that’s what successful networkers are doing: building a network of professionals with whom they have a relationship or connection with.

So the next time someone mentions networking, or invites you to an event, leave your salesperson hat at home. Go meet some people, be yourself and have fun! Eventually, what you do for a living will come up…but by that time, they’ll already love you, and will be more than happy to start sending business your way!

Join me next time, as I continue my journey Out of the Bedroom,
Tamar Wallace | Principal, TAMAR Graphics

I’m back from the holiday hiatus. Well, okay, it wasn’t a real hiatus. It was too much holiday and I got plain ‘ole lazy. Bad, nt! Bad!

Here’s a little story for y’all. My son wrestles for his high school team and also plays football. He’s pretty good at them, too. But that’s another story. Back in the Fall, I get a call from the mother of my son and former Mrs. T. Seems she was recruiting donations for the school’s Booster Club auction.

Aside from skiing, I wasn’t much into sports in high school, so I didn’t have a clue what a Booster Club did. But, being the nice guy I am and wanting to support my son, I donated a small website. I also whipped up a nifty little poster to display on the auction table along with a holder for some business cards. As it turned out, this was one of, if not the most, pricey things in the auction.

Am I altruistic, or what?

Okay … confession time. Sure, I wanted to help out the Booster Club. But, I also knew there would be a lot of business owners and corporate types at the auction. I figured it would be a good way to get the name out there. I also figured some local insurance agency, travel agent or the likes would win the bid.

Boy, was I wrong.

About a week after the auction, the phone rings. It was the guy who made the top bid. We talked for a bit and set up a meeting … at the swankiest, high roller country club in the area. The Fates had smiled on me. He owns seven companies and needed to consolidate a variety of sites into one. He also needs a capabilities brochure and some other literature, along with marketing consulting.

Cha ching! A small donation on my part not only got some dough for the Booster Club, it parlayed itself into several fairly large projects.

The moral of the story is that doing a good thing can often have a big pay back. Plus, looking out for more unconventional marketing opportunities can help separate you from the pack.

Until the next
Marketing Minute
all the best,
nt

Here’s a typical scenario. A designer gets a call. The person on the other end of the phone needs a [insert gig du jour]. After a wee bit of a scramble, a proposal or estimate is whipped up, the project is confirmed, money moves and things get to rockin.’ The project moves along and is finally finished. The client is pleased as punch. Our designer gets paid. Everybody’s a happy camper and move on to the next thing on the list. All is well with the Universe.

Or is it?

Although this is the way most independent designers work, it tends to be a first cousin to the notorious “feast or famine syndrome.” Our little scenario is project-based thinking and not necessarily a good idea for you or your client.

Why?

Glad you asked. It’s not a great working model for you because it centers around the one-shot deal. When things dry up you might find yourself flipping burgers to meet your overhead. Although you might look simply smashing in a nifty fast-food uniform, odds are, it’s not what you had in mind.

It’s not a good deal for your client because, frankly, you’re doing a disservice by providing only what they ask for and not using your gray matter to root out what might be of value to them.

I’d like to offer a better idea. Ask a boat load of questions. Get to know your clients’ businesses, their competitive arena, their industry, their audience. In essence, learn all the gory details and become a partner in their success. Then, put on your consultant cap and get to thinking. What would help them out? What ideas can you offer up?

The thing is, just because a client asks for a whatever, it doesn’t necessarily mean that’s what they really need. By asking questions and digging deep, you can offer ideas that will help your clients meet their goals. You add value to your relationship. You become a needed resource. You separate yourself from your competition, because they’re not doing their homework.

As you learn more about each of your clients’ businesses, you can position yourself as a consultant and offer up suggestions. Now you’re getting somewhere. You’ll find you no longer live project to project. You begin to create projects.

One of the best times to map things out is during an annual client review. December and January are good times to do this. Set up a time to get together with each of your clients. Lunch is a nice idea – on your dime, of course. Review what’s been done during the previous year. What worked well, what could use some improvement and such. Ask them about their goals for the upcoming year.

Take what you learn and give it some thought. What can you do to help your client meet their goals? Put together a proposal and present it to your client.

If you handle this right, you’ll find you can schedule much of your workflow for an entire year, or at least several months out. You’ll know what needs to be done and when. You’ll decrease or eliminate those nutty rush gigs. Your clients can accurately budget for upcoming projects and avoid rush fees. You’ll both sleep better at night because you’ll know what needs to be done, when and how much it’ll cost. No surprises.

In addition, raising yourself to a valued consultant status can justify higher fees. Plus, you become proactive by generating projects rather than sitting at your desk waiting for the phone to ring.

Until the next
Marketing Minute
all the best,
nt

Voicemail. Love it or hate it, it’s here to stay as the new gatekeeper. Here are a few ideas to get it working for you.

When you call a prospect and get their voicemail, consider it a blessing. You get to leave a detailed message without interruption. Plus, the message will be without potential errors that an operator/receptionist might make, or worse, forget to pass along the message.

Before you start dialing for dollars, have a clear idea of what you want to say. That may sound pretty obvious, but when you make a connection it’s easy to get a wee bit flustered and confused. You can ramble on about this and that, hang up and then realize you forgot to leave your phone number or other pretty important information.

It’s also a good idea to write it down. Not so much as a script, but highlights to keep you on track.

Speaking of a message, it’s usually a good idea to have one. Don’t just say, “Hi this is Mortiemer Marketer. Please call me back at 555-5555.” Unless the prospect is already aware of your brilliant capabilities and stellar services, there’s no incentive to make that long stretch to the keypad and punch in your number.

A better idea might be saying something like, “Hi Ms. Bigbucks. This is Mort with ABC Design. Jane Doe suggested I give you a call. She thought you’d find our free report, “How to make a million bucks in less than 2 hours,” useful. If you would give me a call back at 555-5555, I’d be delighted to share the details with you. I’ll be in the office this morning until 11:15 and back in after 3:30. I’ll look forward to hearing from you! Again, my name is Mort Marketer and the number is 555-5555.”

Let’s take a look at what just happened. First, you made contact. That’s a good thing. Next, you dropped a name to make an association. If you don’t have a referral, you might use a group you both belong to, like the Chamber of Commerce, or reference a news release, their web site, etc. You provided an offer that might be helpful to the prospect. Give to get and become a resource. Finally, you gave your phone number and the times that you’d be available, along with repeating your name and number. That saves the prospect from having to replay your message.

Other things to consider when playing the voicemail game are:
1. Speak slowly and clearly

2. Get to the point and don’t ramble on

3. Your tone should be friendly and approachable

Even though voicemail can be more reliable than a real live human, don’t make book on your message getting through. This stuff isn’t perfect. On occasion, I’ll check my messages and when I sign in to the system, I get somebody else’s voicemail. I can only assume somebody else is getting mine. It doesn’t happen too often, but it does happen.

Also, give your prospects a break. If they don’t come rushing to call you back, it’s likely that they’re busy with their job. Odds are you’re not at the top of the list, unless there’s a very pressing immediate need. That happens too.

If you don’t hear back from them, give it some time and make another call or make some other point of contact like a letter, postcard, etc.

Finally, be sure to keep track of your activities. Trust me, if you don’t you’ll forget who you called, when you called and when you’re supposed to call them back. Keeping track is easiest with a Contact Manager application like ACT! or Now Up To Date. I use an older application called Personal Organizer. It’s still available here.

The nifty thing about these contact managers is that you can make notes about your calls and also schedule reminders for future activities.

So, in the end, consider voicemail your friend and another tool in your marketing toolbox.

Until the next
Marketing Minute
all the best,
nt

I’ve written about planning your marketing efforts several times here on BoDo, but now is the time of year when it bears another mention. Without a plan, your marketing … and your business in general … just “happens” to you. That’s a bad idea. With the new year looming, now is the perfect time to put together your goals for 2008 and your strategies to make those goals a reality.

Your plan doesn’t need to be a lengthy tome that rivals War & Peace. It simply needs to be a written set of goals along with the steps needed to reach them.

So, where do you start? A bit of soul searching is likely in order. What do you want to do? What’s your passion? Are you happy with the direction your business has been taking? Or, is a change in order? The thing is, unless you’re doing something you enjoy and can make a decent living doing it, there isn’t much point. As someone once said, “Find something you love doing and you’ll never work another day in your life.”

Goals are what you’re trying to accomplish. The kicker is that they should be realistic and have a timeline attached. If your goals are out there in the Stratosphere, odds are you’ll lose interest or spend way too much time trying to reach the unattainable. The same thing goes for a timeline. Without one, you’ll likely put things off and/or never know if you’re making any progress.

Once you have a goal - let’s say you want to increase billings by 25% - give yourself a reasonable amount of time to reach it. Maybe June 30, 2008 works. With goal in hand, or rather, on paper, break it down into the steps you need to take to reach it. This does a couple of things. First, it organizes your efforts. Things become clear. Each of these steps is something of a “mini-goal.” So, as you get things done, you’ll feel like you’re making progress and that typically encourages one to keep at it.

If you’re trying to increase your billings by 25%, what would you need to do? Maybe it means identifying and reaching a new niche market. Perhaps it means adding new services. Let’s use the former and break it down.

Goal:
Increase billings 25% by June 30, 2006

Action Plans:
Identify a niche that’s under served, yet offers enough prospects to be profitable
Conduct web searches
Check directories at library
Develop a list of 300 qualified prospects

Create initial mailing to generate name awareness
Design piece by January 15, 2008
Get printing and mailing costs
Print piece
Prepare labels
Label, stamp & mail in lots of 25 each week beginning February 1, 2008

Follow up phone calls
5 calls per day to 25 weekly recipients asking for an appointment
Target one appointment per week

Initial meetings
Research prospect, market and potential needs
Gather background info at meeting to further qualify prospect
Ask if I can prepare a proposal
Use tip-sheet as leave behind

Create proposals

Make presentations

Ask for the sale

You may find yourself doing additional tasks, but this should give you the general idea.

What you’ve done here is set up your marketing efforts for several months. And, it’s manageable. You’ll have some time invested in developing your list, but after that, things start to become automatic. You know each week, for 12 weeks, you’ve got to mail your intro piece. Then, the following week all you need to do is make five phone calls each day. Piece of cake.

Plus, each time you drop your stuff into the mailbox, you’ll get those nifty warm fuzzy feelings because you’re doing something to help reach your goals. The phone calls might be a bit tough at first, but hang in there. I guarantee after the first week or so, they’ll be old hat.

Add into the mix some networking events, writing some how-tos and tip sheets, news releases and other marketing and public relations activities and next thing you know, that 25% increase is getting pretty attainable.

Find some handy place to post your goals and action plans. Maybe the refrigerator door, or the bathroom mirror. Find some place where they’ll haunt you.

I use my contact manager/calendar to alert me with what needs to be done and when. Once you start getting busy, it’s easy to put this stuff off. After a bit, you get out of the habit and Mr. Feast or Famine can quickly come a callin.’

And there you have it. Taking a little time now to make your plans and then working those plans in a consistent manner will help ensure 2008 will be the year of you.

Until the next
Marketing Minute
all the best,
nt