Cal Ripken has been inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame - not so much for his baseball numbers as for the fantastic brand he created. Cal’s career batting average is not even close to .300, and he did not average more than 25 home runs or 100 RBIs a season.  Yet he is one of the most popular, memorable, and most marketable players of recent history.  Why? 

Throughout his 21-year career, Cal Ripken has been a living example of what marketers need to do to build a successful brand.  For Cal, building his brand came naturally.  It flowed from his love for the game.  Let’s look at the incredible, almost textbook branding lessons to be learned from Cal.

Stand for One Thing
You can’t be all things to all consumers.  It never works.  You have to carefully determine what you are selling, and I’m not talking about whether you are selling software or accounting services.  What is the soul or the vision behind what you are selling – what are you asking your consumers to identify with emotionally?  

Hundreds of baseball players are selling baseball skills, but that doesn’t turn them into a popular brand like The Iron Man.  Throughout his career, Cal was always selling RELIABILITY and DECENCY.  Consumers identified with his blue-collar work ethic and “bought into” his brand.  Day in and day out, everyone knew what they were getting from Cal.

Clarity of Message
Once you have determined what it is you are selling, you need to make sure that this is clearly communicated through all that you do - from your PR and marketing messages to your people on the street to the products and services you provide.  Not 9 to 5.  But 24 hours a day!

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There is a lot of talk about the “death of SEO” and “the death of ranking reports” lately.  It all stems from some sessions at PubCon in Las Vegas.

Remember we all want to get our message out there and have our voices heard and one way to do that is to make a dramatic statement.  So that is what you are seeing.  The truth is SEO is not dead – it is just evolving.  And the other truth is…. the more things change, the more they stay the same.

What I mean is; of course the SEO universe is evolving – search is so much more sophisticated than it ever was before.  We have universal search, geo-targeting and we have personalization.

However in spite of all that – the foundation has not really changed.  To get ranked you should have always been focused on creating high quality content, getting good links into your site and creating a useful, informative site that is focused on the user experience and ultimately on getting the sale.  None of that has changed – that is all just as important.

People talk about the death of ranking reports – but for those that know what internet marketing is all about – you should know that ranking reports were never that important.  Sure we provide them to clients, to give them an indication of where they stand in the engines – but the real results come from how much increased traffic and sales they get, not from how many rankings they can see on their report.

It’s true with personalization, universal search, intent based search and geo-targeting the landscape is changing and different results will be displayed for different people.  That is all good news!

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We will state the obvious for the year with a twist…not since the last major downturn in the early ‘80s have firms in the PC, CE industry had such an opportunity to:

• slash costs, downsize the workforce,  shrink to core (known) market opportunities
• evaluate product/product segment/customer ROI/opportunities; realign product/service investments based on long-range strategic plans

Do you see the differences?

Management in the first group of firms who focus on cut and retrench will circle the wagons to force short term results regardless of the long-range potential of the market segments.

Management in the second group will take the opportunity to reduce staffing back to core teams, evaluate and eliminate product lines and customers which have little or no long-term growth and strategically invest in product/service innovations that should prepare the companies for 2010 – 2012.

Industry executives are most certainly jealous of the support governments are providing to their local financial and auto industries.  The problem is it is impossible for them to admit that they have run out of ideas that will correct the situation!

The first quarter of 09 will be a period of slow, careful realignment as firms see how quickly the governmental cash infusions rekindle IT and consumer confidence.

The downturn in the first half of last quarter had a positive effect for the consumer because it forced management to significantly lower prices (and profit margins) to stimulate sales.  This assisted desktop/notebook computer, personal/home entertainment sales and…impacted profits. 

             
Reshaped, Refocused

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January 1st is always fun since it is somehow the beginning of a whole new set of opportunities.  We seem to divide our business year by holidays.  Memorial Day is the beginning of summer so vacations slow down sales.  Labor Day is the beginning of the last quarter so we must push to achieve our goals, and New Year’s Day is the opportunity to start with a clean slate.

So, let’s look to 2009 as the year that will be a challenge for all of us.  Since the economy seems to be on hold for a while, we need to generate a lot of activity.  Some people feel that if they can keep their existing customer base they are doing well and that may be true.

Wouldn’t it be exciting to grow your business in 2009?  Think of all the sales people who will be sitting on the sidelines waiting for “the turn around.”

The way to be different from the “crowd” will be to go out and get every piece of new business in your market.  Don’t wait, go after everyone.  Prospect like crazy in every market available to you.

This is the time to make all those cold calls you should have been making for the last number of years.

I literally mean call on everyone.  If nothing else imagine the list of prospects you will get.  You may be the only supplier that calls on people who actually need your products and services.

This is the time you will walk right into sales, surprise opportunities that make selling the best profession on earth.

I like to tell seminar participants that you owe it to your prospects to get out there and call on them.  They may be sitting in their offices just waiting for your call or visit.  It is rude to not call on them!  They need you.

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I’ve always been one for giving information away for free. Some people tell me I shouldn’t do it and other people say that it’s a great thing to do. I’ve tried both. Generally though, I find that giving something away for free does help my business.

Here are the reasons why I think giving away information for free is a good thing:

1)    It helps establish you as an expert
2)    It lets people experience what you do without any risk
3)    People start to like and trust your approach
4)    It allows you to build up a relationship with people

I think most business owners would agree that giving away some free information is good. The difficulty is when to draw the line and stop.

There was a time when I gave away nothing at all (after some advice from a business contact of mine who thought I gave away too much), but it was an approach that just didn’t work for me. So, when I decided to start giving away information again, I thought very carefully about what was free and what I wanted people to pay for.

My guidance (that I’ve set for myself) is that I’m happy to give away knowledge in the form of article & tips, advice on forums and sometimes advice to people in meetings – more about this one in a minute. But, all the advice I give away is general advice that applies to anyone. My rule of thumb is that if someone wants specific advice and help that applies to them then they need to pay for that.

There are of course exceptions to this. There are times when I’ve been feeling very generous in meetings and given away lots of help and advice to the person. When I do this I have to check with myself that I’m happy to do that and I’m not going to walk away from the meeting feeling bitter. As long as I’m ok, then I’m happy to do that.

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Writing copy for your website is different than traditional copywriting for direct marketing like brochures, sales letters or 4-color postcards. Website copy requires an expertise in direct response marketing because sentences need to be shorter, to the point and demand action quickly and effectively.

WRITE COPY FROM THE PROSPECT’S POINT OF VIEW

An experienced website copywriter will write copy from your prospect’s point of view; identify what problems or challenges are plaguing them in today’s business environment and what are the solutions. Then how is your company the best qualified to solve my problem, quickly, cost-effectively with the most value for the money.

WRITE COPY THAT ATTRACT THE SEARCH ENGINES

Talented direct response copywriters weave persuasive, convincing copy while maintaining control over keywords and phrases that attract the search engines to rank your site higher. Where your company ranks in that search can spell the difference between success and failure from your online marketing strategy.

If you want to rank higher in the search engines, write carefully crafted copy that not only entices the reader to take action, but is also search engine friendly . . . . meaning, when qualified prospects search the internet, your site pops up as being relevant to what they are looking for. When they get to your site, your copy answers their question or solves their problem. If not, they will leave faster than it takes to click a mouse.

Is Your Website Simply a Pretty Billboard or A Lead Generation Machine?

Your job is to qualify website visitors and persuade them to take immediate action. Using your website as a pretty billboard to show off your fancy new office is a waste of time and money.

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You’ve heard the phrase “you never get a second chance to make a first impression” many times during your life.  While this concept rings true in every aspect of life, perhaps the most important time to stop and consider what this means is when preparing for a job interview.

The overall impression that you make begins, and in some cases ends, with your appearance.  The moment you are introduced to a job interviewer, he or she forms an initial impression based on your appearance.  When you have a chance to interview for a job that you want, it is important that you do everything that you can to make a positive impression on the interviewer. 

When it comes to job interviews, it is a simple fact that appearance matters.  If your overall appearance conveys a favorable impression, the interview is off to a positive start.  However, if your appearance sends the wrong message, the interviewer will probably decide then and there that you are not the right candidate for the job.

The clothes that you wear to your job interview play a major role in the first impression you make on the interviewer.  You should always wear professional attire to an interview for a professional job, even if the office observes a more casual dress code.  In addition to being professional in style, your attire must also be clean and pressed. 

Your grooming also sends a message to the job interviewer.  Women should wear makeup to job interviews so their appearance looks “finished”.  However, it is important not to wear too much makeup.  Hair should be clean and well-groomed.  If you need a hair cut, get one before you go on your interview.  Unkempt hair is often interpreted as an indication of disorganization and laziness. 

The accessories that complete your interview outfit also contribute to the overall impression you will make on the interviewer.

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Whether you are considering selling your business now or sometime in the future, the most important thing you can do to ensure a successful and profitable sale is to take steps to properly prepare your business for the sale.  There are hundreds of reasons why a company is difficult to sell or offers are not as expected, most of which can be attributed to a lack of planning.

Selling a business is like selling a house.  The better and more salable you make it look, the faster it sells and at a more favorable price.  Whatever your reason for selling, I strongly suggest that you start preparing your business two years before your desired time of sale.  All too often, owners come to us wanting to sell their business “yesterday,” yet they have done nothing to position themselves or the company for a sale. Recently, a company failed to sell because the lease had less than one year remaining and the building’s owner would not renew the lease.  The buyer would have incurred several hundred thousand dollars to move the operation, which made the sale unattractive. There was also an owner who made every decision himself and did not want to remain with the company one day after the sale.  A new owner would be lost for months without assistance from a key employee or secondary manager.

Pre-sale planning
The goal of pre-sale positioning is to deal with any negative aspects that might hinder or prevent a sale, as well as to show the business in its best light.While each situation is unique and there are often many solutions to any one situation, following are some of the major issues an owner must deal with in positioning the business for sale. (Note: A negative situation for one company may be a positive situation for another.)

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