Guru's Vs. Gossip's

Each new day I fire up my newsreader program, FeedDemon, and cruise through several channels of news and noise generated in the previous 24 hours by bloggers and media. It's not a tough ritual at all... much more productive for me than reading the paper or watching Headline News. I have come to understand though that the main providers of the information flowing into my newsreader, bloggers, can be divided into two groups (is there anything in this world that cannot be separated into two groups?). The two groups are the "guru's" and the "gossip's".

The Guru bloggers generate "first-time" content. When content appears on a guru site it is typically new. It may be links to current affairs (see Slashdot) or information with commentary (see Defective Yeti), new thinking and lessons targeting a particular group of readers (see MarketiningProfs) or simply a personal conversation made public (see Dooce). Most important about this group is that what they publish is fresh and new.

On the other hand, Gossip bloggers are mostly concerned with linking and ranting. Rather than develop new stuff, gossips feed on what others are discovering. In some cases they offer redundant opinions in favor of the author, and in others they shoot bullets and sarcasm at the author or story for being so "wrong". In the gossip group it appears to be all about getting and giving links to boost search engine rankings or simply to be noticed by others. I won't be offering any links to blogs I consider to be in this second group. You'll have to decide for yourself which ones they are.

It was this article at GeekyBodhi on blogger burnout that got me thinking about these two groups this afternoon. My thought, for myself and for other bloggers that worry about the quality of what we publish, is that I hope to be of the first group, not the latter. People I know professionally read my blog. It's part of my reputation and the impression people gather about me from day to day.

I hope when I sound like a gossip someone will send me a slap-upside-the-head email to straighten me out. In the meantime, the other day you would not believe what I heard.... (grinning).

When is Too Much Too Much?

This post over at the blog Selling On Ebay encourages all business web site developers to be "closing on every page of the site." I can imagine there are some businesses that could benefit from the advise. But in the bigger picture I believe those businesses would be a very small percentage of the total.

AOL is currently running a commercial on spam protection. A man (representing unwanted spam) comes out from behind a pillar at the door to a business and starts shouting about free offers and "you are a WINNER" at people walking into the building.

The advise offered at Selling on Ebay has the same in-your-face feeling. When listing priorities for developing a web site, or any collateral, if every page is a selling page I can only imagine how negative and irritating that would be for visitors, prospects, and clients.

The writer of the advise goes on to say, "...when you continually close throughout your pages, you increase your chances for success. You build deeper relationships with customers and prospects; you guide readers through your site; you usher people toward the shopping cart; you up-sell and cross-sell, loading their cart up with extras and complementary products; and you generally get them to move in your direction or begin saying yes to your entreaties".

Being "ushered" around a site doesn't sound like very much fun at all. It feels like walking into a store to be greeted by salesperson that never shuts up and keeps nudging you every time you look away from where you are being directed. How any of what the writer recommends can, in his words, "build deeper relationships", I have no idea.

I would imagine the writer has had some success as an Ebay merchant, and in that context, to other online auction sellers his advise may make sense. I am going to continue to use marketing as a means to get invited into peoples lives and shy away from pushing my way in.

Group Hugs that Develop New Business

In 2001 a business friend and I created a small networking group with a great purpose and a tacky name; MoMM (Meeting of the Marketing Minds). We invited marketing leaders from Southern California professional services firms to meet once a month and talk about current challenges and share their successes. Four years later I can't imagine how I might've accomplished anything without guidance from MoMM.

Thom Singer teaches us exactly what peer groups can accomplish. Read his words and heed his advise. You will be rewarded!

Technorati Tags: Legal Marketing, Professional Services Marketing, Marketing, Business Development, Sales

Finding a Pillar in a Haystack

Being able to immediately find something on a computer or a network just keeps getting slicker. It's no secret that in professional services being able to retrieve large volumes of data and documents is as vital as breathing in and out. To accomplish this monstrous task of being organized has become its own industry. Individually we devise folder naming strategies and filing methods in the hope that we'll be able to find the information later. Unfortunately, as the haystack of information gets larger and older, the needle we're looking for keeps shrinking.

This article at Wired.com spotlights a new program for Mac OS that follows the Windows desktop search trend. I have been using X1 (www.x1.com) on my computers for a couple of years now and have almost completely stopped worrying about were I've stored things. Emails all live in one bucket, all document files live in one folder, all graphics in another, and iTunes handles media. When I need something X1 can find it as fast as I can type. I save time, and it's just so much easier.

There are a lot of desktop search engines out there (google on "desktop search"), each with its own bunch of features and screens. I've tried several and X1 continues to be the standard, at least according to me.

It's not often that a program jumps the shark at the end-user level; desktop search will make the jump. The ability to turn a needle into a pillar will reset our expectations and set a new bar.
Technorati Tags: Legal Marketing, Professional Services Marketing, Marketing, Business Development, Sales

Are You Right Every Time?

In the movie Lion King Pumbaa, Timon, and Simba are stretched out in the grass gazing at the night sky.

Pumbaa: Ever wonder what those sparkly dots are up there?
Timon: Pumbaa. I don't wonder; I know.
Pumbaa: Oh. What are they?
Timon: They're fireflies. Fireflies that uh... got stuck up in that big... bluish-black... thing.
Pumbaa: Oh. Gee. I always thought that they were balls of gas burning billions of miles away.
Timon: Pumbaa, wit' you, everything's gas.

Truth matters little when we are certain of what we believe. At HBS Working Knowledge this article by Martha Lagace tells us to "start an argument" when we hear "yes" too often. That's a tough challenge... to seek out disagreement.

Partners at professional services firms become partners because they know the right answers. I'VE experienced success because I have good answers. We get used to being "right". Over time we become less able to learn new things simply because we are absolutely certain about what we believe we already know.

In the HBS article Martha states that we are creating our own limits by only listening for "yes". Disagreement sparks ideas, broadens our knowledge, and stimulates growth. Both for the individual and for the company (or firm).

Of course, this is not a call for people to be disagreeable. It's just a warning to all of us that hearing "yes" too often has its own set of traps. Maybe, from now on when I hear a "yes", I am going to ask, "why?"

Marketing Catalyst Joins Rutan & Tucker LLP

I am extraordinarily happy to announce I am joining the law firm of Rutan & Tucker LLP as their Chief Marketing Officer. YES! Of the many firms to work with in Southern California this is a keeper of an opportunity!

The movement of my career is its own case study. I’d like to do as I would normally do and hand out great advise in nice rosy and round tones, extolling the do’s and don’ts of finding a great job… but not here. Not this time.

When it comes to finding a place to work and a job to do I might only suggest that you pick what you love. I did. It’s feeling good.

Plan an Intelligent Pursuit

Lawyer Don arrives at the partner meeting and announces that he’s heard CBA Widgets company is looking to expand through multiple acquisitions over the next several months, and, Don’s referral source informed him that CBA Widgets was also looking for a good M&A attorney. After a brief conversation with the CFO at CBA to secure an meeting the following week Don hunkers down to create the perfect proposal and presentation. Along the way he uses time from other partners, admin’s, and marketing support, and finally the day before, has support people working overtime to get the presentation printed and bound.

When Don arrives at CBA’s offices he observes the company does not appear to be nearly as large as he’d assumed. The cars parked in the executive slots are all older than a few years, the office space is smaller than expected, the reception area is right out of the 1960’s, and the staff has an unmistakable “home-grown” feel. At the meeting, attended only by the CFO and his secretary, he presents his perfectly planned pitch offering up several great benefits for using his firm. The CFO’s first comment after his pitch was complete is, “How much do you charge?”

Certainly there is often more to any story than meets the eye, but if this was an opportunity you were chasing; how does it feel so far? Are you getting that feeling in your gut telling you to cut your losses and get out fast?

This scenario, in it’s many variations, happens all the time and all too often. Some partners will say that it’s just how things are. “You have to take your chances to find the good clients.” I believe the above should NEVER happen… EVER! Here is how you can be certain.

• Never start the proposal process until after you’ve met with the company face-to-face and asked them specifically what they are looking for. Your first meeting with them should always be about getting information; not giving it.
• Always research the company and it’s people before you talk with them or prepare anything for them.
• Always research any information offered to you by the prospect about their markets and opportunities. Their passion for what they state does not always translate into reality.
• Always measure the potential client and business opportunity against your current client base. Is this company a good match for your practice or firm?
• Use the appropriate resources for the size of the opportunity. If your research reveals the opportunity as fairly small, then firm resources you consume should be smaller.
• Only include information in the proposal you’ve discussed with the prospect. Your firm may be able to offer a lot of different expertise, but the prospect should only hear about the expertise they’ve expressed an interest in. Maybe all you need is a short letter outlining what you propose to do and another meeting to seal the relationship. Save the rest for another time.

Technorati Tags: Legal Marketing, Professional Services Marketing, Marketing, Business Development, Sales