High Tech Connect

Marketing communications people, almost be definition, are gregarious and quick to socialize with … well, almost anyone.  Even professional schmoozers might be a little bit picky about who they’re hanging with. Freelance Switch, one of our favorite blogs, has a great post about spending time with clients as well as friends.  Here’s a sample:

We are all more comfortable hanging around with people who are like us. It is a lot easier to pop into a discussion with other copywriters, or other web designers, or other management coaches, than it is to get engaged in discussions with a group focused on manufacturing, or financial services, or small business strategies.

But there are many, many benefits to making the effort to “move in” with your target market, to become at home in their world:

* Get advance intelligence. If there are changes coming to your clients’ industry, if there are going to be shifts in the way they do business, you’ll learn about it much more quickly from them than you will from either your peers or from the media. [more]

Getting advance intelligence about your clients’ business is priceless.  It might tip you off that there are new opportunities, or it might give you the ‘heads up” that it’s time for you to reinvest in your new business efforts.

Richard Branson needs no introduction.  The founder of Virgin Records, Air, Cellphones, Everything — Branson is a successful entrepreneur by any measure so, when he has some advice, I’ll listen.  In a recent article on American Express’ Open Forum site, Branson shared his experience about time management, taking time off from work and success.

The challenge of making time for one’s family is equally tough and closely linked to the need to let go. To many just starting out in business, the difficulty of simply surviving can make striking a balance between work and family seem impossible, but spending time away from work is important to helping you maintain perspective on the challenges you face, and thus to the future of your company.

I employ two solutions to help achieve a balance, though they may not be possible for many people. Ever since I first moved into the houseboat, I have always tried to work from home in order to stay close to my family. When our family became too big for the houseboat, we moved to a house in Holland Park in London, and we now live on Necker Island, in the British Virgin Islands.

Second, I took my family on business trips, especially when the children were younger. This meant that we did not spend too much time apart and I would often see them when the children wandered through meetings — a welcome distraction from the worries of the business world. It is amazing how the bright smile or questions of a child can help relieve even the most stressful situation.

I’m not entirely sure about taking my family on a business trip, but we shouldn’t argue too hard against success. I think the warm breezes and shrimp ceviche of Cabo San Lucas are calling me right now.

Here’s a link to the entire article.  Let me know what you think!

Seven hours of meetings in one day and then you still have to get the “real” work done.

That’s what many of our corporate clients do daily in the high-tech marketing industry. Full-time employment isn’t even close to a 40-hour job any more. Seems they are not alone.

Jason Fried, a CNN reporter and author of a new book called Rework, says, “The modern office has become an interruption factory. You can’t get work done at work anymore.”

I’m thrilled on Fridays when usually only one other team member is there in our small office — because I get SO much done. And when I need to crank out an important article or focus on a strategic project, I’m always more efficient and creative between 10 pm and 2 am. Too many college cram sessions, I guess. On the other end of the spectrum, Michelle Stewart gets up at 5 am to plow through her email and tackle client issues before they even log in for the day.

The point is, not everyone works efficiently in a traditional office and this is why clients have reached out to High Tech Connect for home-based expert help over the past 14 years. We were freaking visionaries, way ahead of our time!

So how about some solutions? Jason says there are a lot of things you can do to discourage interruption at work and give people longer stretches of uninterrupted time to get things done. Here are a few:

1. Instead of casual Fridays, how about no-talk Thursdays? Try it. You won’t believe how effective it is. On Thursdays — and you can just try this once a month if you want — no one in the office can talk to each other. You’ll be blown away by how much work you’ll get done that day. I’m just asking for one day a month to start. Try it, trust me.

2. Use passive instead of active communication tools. When someone calls your name, knocks on your door, or stops you in the hallway, you can’t avoid them. Even if you try, you’re already distracted. So, instead of relying on so much face-to-face communication and collaboration — what I like to call “active” communication — try more passive methods of communication. Use e-mail. Use instant messaging. Use collaboration software. Here’s why: If people don’t want to pay attention, they can turn that tool off. They can hide it. They can put it away. You can’t put away a knock on your door or someone calling your name. But you can quit your e-mail app for a few hours. Then, when you’re ready, you can open it up — on your own schedule — and get back to people.

3. Cancel your next meeting. Or just don’t attend it. I’m not suggesting you boycott all meetings — just the next one. Life will go on. And all that stuff you thought you had to talk about with eight other people around a table will get worked out some other way. You’ll gain an hour of time you can spend on more important things. And so will those eight other people. Work can happen without that next meeting. Once you recognize that meetings aren’t as necessary as you thought, they’ll become a last resort instead of a first resort.

Here’s the entire CNN article and video from Jason.

What do you do to minimize interruptions at your job?

At High Tech Connect we see hundreds of résumés a year and to be honest, most of them stink.

What’s really troubling is we work with professional communicators and marketers who should have mastery of the English language and know how to package themselves. So if your entire career is summarized in one document, listen to Karen Burns, author of The Amazing Adventures of Working Girl, Real-Life Career Advice You Can Really Use.

Before you send that résumé out, check it for buzzwords. Like “team player.” Or “detail-oriented.” Or “accustomed to fast-paced environments.” They make your resume look like everyone else’s. And they’re probably not among the keywords employers search for. The best way to sell yourself is to show, don’t tell. Explain your accomplishments rather than spouting them off in trite ways.

So check your résumé for these buzzwords and phrases. If you find them, replace them—or at the very least, elaborate upon them—with real-life, specific examples:

1. Team player

2. Detailed-oriented

3. Proven track record of success

4. Experienced

5. Excellent communication skills

6. Leadership skills

7. Go-to person

8. Managed cross-functional teams

9. Exceptional organizational skills

10. Self-starter

11. Results-oriented professional

12. Bottom-line orientated

13. Works well with customers

14. Strong negotiation skills

15. Goal-oriented

16. People-person

17. Dynamic

18. Innovative

19. Proven ability

20. Top-flight

21. Motivated

22. Bottom-line focused

23. Responsible for

24. Assisted with

25. Skilled problem solver

26. Accustomed to fast-paced environments

27. Strong work ethic

28. Works well with all levels of staff

29. Met (or exceeded) expectations

30. Savvy business professional

31. Strong presentation skills

32. Looking for a challenging opportunity

33. Cutting-edge

34. Multi-tasker

35. Proactive

36. Seasoned professional

37. Perfectionist

38. Highly skilled

39. Functioned as

40. Duties included

41. Actions encompassed

42. Best-in-class

43. Strategic thinker

44. Trustworthy

45. Flexible

46. Works well under pressure

47. Quick learner

48. Partnered with others

49. Results-focused

50. Out-of-the-box thinker

What other trite, useless words or phrases make you cringe on a résumé? Share them with us, please!

Other than being a customer, I’ve never worked in the world of fashion but I have the impression that it’s a very difficult business where personality counts almost as much as talent and being nice doesn’t always spell fame and fortune.

One of the exceptions to the rule, as far as I can tell, it Tim Gunn from Project Runway.  Maybe it’s because Tim was a teacher and then the dean of one of the world’s most prestigious fashion schools and worked with so many kids in so many different stages of their careers, but Tim never comes off as too catty or negative. Instead, he seems to be sincerely interested in being helpful, honest, but helpful.

Recently, Tim came out with a book, Gunn’s Golden Rules: Life’s Little Lessons for Making It Work and I haven’t read it yet but it’s on my list.  Copyblogger, a blog for writers that I pay attention to, recently published a riff based on Tim and his “make it work” attitude.  Take a look at this sample:

5. Carry on!

Great blogs don’t just happen — they’re built.

A fantastic blog is crafted, just like a fashion collection that shows up on the runways. Designers and artisans spend hours painstakingly creating each piece that makes up the collection, and they all work together.

It amazes me that Tim Gunn isn’t a blogger, because he truly knows how to make it work. So if you’re looking to build a blogging empire (or simply one that makes you proud of what you’ve built), remember that it’s all about community and critics.

Your community needs to be built and nurtured. Your content needs to be shaped around their interests and desires. They’re the ones who will buy your stuff and wear it proudly.

Your critics will give you things to think about and ways you can improve. While some will be full of hot air and in love with the sound of their own voice, if you listen hard enough, there will be some pearls of wisdom worth stringing together.

And pearls go with everything.

Here’s a link to the post.  Let me know what you think.

You just finished the easy part. You peered deeply into your prospect’s brain and read her thoughts to understand what she needs. You’ve presented a proposal that convinced her you’re the only person in North America who can deliver what she wants, when she wants it and at the price she can afford. And you negotiated the narrow, high straits of a contract. Now comes the hard part.

The project begins. The client has a clear expectation about what the deliverable should look like.  The texture, color, shape and size.  You’re the marketing communications person, not the client, and this puts you at a disadvantage. By definition, you’re the better communicator of the two, or you should be.

Then there’s the second scenario:  The client has, at best, a vague notion of what she wants but will let you know when she sees it and now you’re working in Nordstrom, hoping you have something on the floor she’s going to love. And that you don’t burn up so many hours letting her try things on that the project becomes hopelessly unprofitable.

Freelance Switch has a post you might want to read, A Method for Meeting Client Expectations.  I sincerely hope you don’t learn too many new things in this post because you probably need to be at a more advanced, competitive level.  On the other hand, you really need to have these lessons incorporated deeply into your consulting practice. For example…

On some instances, I’ve shown clients clips of my work to show them the different options in tone they can use; otherwise, they may think all copy is the same. For example, do they want short, punchy headlines? Do they want the content with bullets? Do they want things written in first- or third-person tone? I go right to the nitty gritty, because the more information you have, the better you can produce what the client has hired you to do. Just because they cannot articulate themselves doesn’t mean it’s a free for all–you have to know how to get your clients to express what they want. (And most of you know, that’s more than asking, “What do you want?”)

Here’s a link to the entire post. What tips can you share?

I received two thank you notes this week. One was from Smog King thanking me for my business and offering a discount for a friend, and the other was from Tiny Prints thanking me for my patience while they corrected my holiday card order.

Hand-written notes are one helluva way to surprise and delight a customer! It makes a HUGE difference with employers, recruiters and other professional contacts. Here’s one example of a thank you note resulting in a job, told by Seattlepi.com’s Get to Work blog:

Having a good attitude goes a long way in a job search,” a hiring decision-maker recently told me. We were talking about what makes a job candidate stand out from the crowd. In a close race between two job candidates, a gracious attitude does make a difference.

As job seekers prepare for their job search, developing personal branding statements and introductions, one of the most over- looked pieces of the puzzle is a genuine attitude of goodwill.

Here’s an example of how an attitude of goodwill can work for you: Several months ago, a candidate had an interview, then was asked back three times to meet with the staff he would be managing as well as the senior management team. Everything appeared to be moving ahead. Then the company representative called to tell the candidate someone else had gotten the job. They told him they would keep his resume on file for future openings.

It was a difficult conversation. Naturally, the candidate was disappointed, but he decided to write a thank-you letter conveying his gratitude for their time and consideration. This was not a form letter but rather an expression of genuine interest and desire to keep in touch with them in case they needed help in the future.

Two months passed. This candidate found a couple more good leads and was planning to broaden his search to other cities when he received a call from the hiring decision-maker, who informed him the position was open again and asked if he would still be interested. As you can imagine, the job candidate was interested, and within a week he received an offer, accepted it and had a start date.

Even though he was very disappointed at not being chosen initially, this job candidate’s attitude got the employer’s attention. It got him remembered. When the search for a replacement took place, they called him immediately. He had never left their minds, and his thank-you letter was part of the reason they called him again.

Being memorable starts with being genuine and having a good attitude, even when decisions don’t go your way.

Having a thankful spirit is contagious and will help you stand out. Take the time to follow up with people who have helped you and express your appreciation.

This is a great time of year to reach out and thank recruiters, networking contacts, colleagues and employers who have shown interest in your background.

You never know when a thank-you letter will turn into an opportunity.

Remember Howard Beale in the movie Network?  The year was 1976 and Faye Dunaway and William Holden were the big, sexy stars of the day. (Just to put this into a chronological perspective, Kate Hudson was minus three-years-old at the time.) Anyway, even though I was in diapers at the time, the movie made a deep impression on me and I recently read something that made me think about the famous “mad as hell” scene.

I was reading Erika Nepolotano’s blog. You might remember Erika if you used to shop at T.J. Maxx in Denver. She was the redhead. Erika made a successful career transition from gadget store clerk and waitress at TGIFriday to a copywriter. Really.

While I don’t always agree with her opinions (and don’t approve of some of her language), Erika has a sense of style and level of energy that’s hard to match. Essentially, Erika can get mad. Really mad. Redheaded mad and she shows no mercy and asks for none in return. Sometimes I wish I could be so ballsy. Recently, Erika attended DEMO in Denver and totally lost her cool about the buzzwords bandied about and here’s a sanitized snippet from her blog. Communicators, take note:

You and your buzzwords. They’re meaningless. They’re the uncooked spaghetti of marketing-speak: you throw them out there and they don’t stick, they just fall to the floor with a pathetic splat. And it’s because they no longer have meaning.

…Here’s an idea: if you’re going to tell me about your product or service, tell me how it solves my problems. I don’t care HOW it does it. I want the hook. The reason I’d push over a pregnant woman standing in line in front of me to be the first one to taste what you’re cooking. I could give three fine frog hairs if it’s an innovative software that integrates my content to provide an overarching, game-changing perspective.

…Why do we even bother with buzzwords? Do they make us feel smart? If anything, they make us look pretty dumb for using the same nonsensical speech as everyone else. To make yourself stand out from the crowd, why not do yourself a solid and actually talk about solving problems instead of playing a zero-sum game of monkey see, monkey do?

…I’m never afraid to be the a@(#**@e. My gig as a writer is words. Which is why when companies and potential clients inevitably ask me what I do, it’s easy.

Here’s a link to her entire post and you’ve been warned about the language, right? And let me know if you think Erika is channeling Howard Beale.

Case studies are extremely powerful marketing tools. But how do you choose the right customers to profile for case studies to make the most of limited marketing dollars?

Cheryl Goldberg, one of our expert writing consultants, offers some of the criteria companies use to identify the most strategic case studies. You can read more on Cheryl’s blog here.

Star Power

If the customers you’re going after Fortune 500 companies, you’ll certainly want the legitimacy that having case studies from big name customers will provide. Certainly, I have plenty of clients chasing after these big names.

However, beware that these are the most difficult to line up and can result in wasted resources. Many large companies have policies that prohibit them from endorsing other vendors’ products—thus be prepared to expend much more time and effort finding big companies willing to do a case study. Even if a company says they do case studies, approvals may be withheld at the last minute, often with no explanation. This can result in wasted money for stories that are never approved. You can minimize (but never completely eliminate) this risk by determining in advance the company’s policy on case studies, who’s in charge of the project, and ask their permission before beginning the process.

Target Industries

Often, customers are concerned about whether you understand their specific industry—whether that’s manufacturing, retail, or life sciences. Creating case studies about customers in all of the industries that constitute your target markets will ensure you have the right materials on hand to alleviate those concerns.

Product Line

Clearly, you’ll want case studies for each product in your product line so you can demonstrate your success in delivering promised benefits for each product.

Geographic Area

Some companies target case studies geographically. For example, one client that markets to physicians highlights customers practicing in each region of the country.

ROI

ROI can be extremely difficult to quantify. In many cases, companies that want a lot of case studies will produce some that highlight qualitative benefits. Still, make sure that some of your case studies demonstrate strong quantifiable ROI.

Momentum

In many cases, quality will be more important than quantity. If resources are an issue, you don’t really need dozens of case studies that illustrate the same point. It’s better to make sure you have at least one case study for each key product, target market, or other initiative. At the same time, some companies find it very important to demonstrate momentum and adoption in their marketplace. One way to meet these requirements is to create customer press releases; short and sweet descriptions about your new customers and why they’re choosing your products and release them on an ongoing basis over the wire services.

Miscellaneous

Every once in awhile, I’ll come across a unique reason to create a case study or customer press release. For example, one company produced customer press releases and case studies specifically about customers who had come to them after defecting from their main competitor. This was an interesting exercise because no customer will allow you to directly say that they dumped a previous vendor in your favor. What you can do is produce a standard case study or press release about these customers. And presumably, the sales rep can fill in the missing details in one-on-one conversations.

Another customer had come from a business that had evolved over time from a document printing company to one that automated document processes. A prize case study for them was one that covered the entire automated process, rather than individual automated capabilities.

Companies produce case studies for many reasons. When you’re looking for customers to profile, chose the ones that are most strategic for your business.

How does your organization select customers to profile with case studies?

You’re an expert … in marketing, communications, or marketing communications. Not accounting. Accounting is one of those areas best left to a specialist, like performing an appendectomy or defending yourself against a felony charge.

- Can you write off your workspace in your home?
- Is your mileage deductible? Under what circumstances?
- Should you have a separate bank account for your consulting practice?
- Should you incorporate? What are the advantages?
- Can you use your SSN or should you open an EIN? What’s an EIN anyway?

These are important questions because one little slip and you might end up spending more time working with the IRS than with your paying clients. Why bother? Why take the risk?

But how do you pick an accountant short of turning to the person you sit next to in church? One of our favorite blogs, American Express’ Open Forum, has an excellent post about how to chose an accountant and here are some of my favorite tips from the post:

1. Look for a Good Personal Connection
2. They Need to be Reliable
3. They Should be Proactive

Fortunately, we were referred to our accountant Tammy by a mutual friend, and she’s been absolutely priceless to our business. Tammy delivers all three of these qualities: she’s become a dear friend and team member, she’s discreet and protective of our data, and she’s more like a strategic CFO than a number-cruncher. Tammy is a trusted adviser and we are extremely lucky to have her on the High Tech Connect team!

Here’s a link to the entire post.  Let me know what you think.