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Jan 1 2013
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Give Us the Rules and Let Us Go Kick Butt

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John Jantsch talks Fiscal Cliff on Wall Street Journal Radio

fiscal cliff

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There’s plenty of talk and a fair amount of angst swirling around the made for reality TV Fiscal Cliff negotiations.

I was asked several times last week about the impact these talks and falling over the cliff might have on small business. I appeared briefly on the Daily Wrap show on Wall Street Journal Radio and gave my two cents. (Listen to the 5 minute or so segment above.)

As I shared in the interview I believe so much of the talk about the economy is rooted in a bygone era of the Industrial Age. I’m not saying that people won’t be impacted by whatever legislation comes about, change often has to impact someone.

I do find it funny that every time we have a political decision facing the economy we trot out small business owners and put them on display as the backbone of the economy only to run roughshod over this same group when the musical chairs game comes to an end.

Small business owners are a breed that few understand. We are used to assessing the rules we are handed and making something out of nothing. If we fall over this cliff or don’t there will be another hurdle and another.

We just take it as it comes, adjust course and go make money. There’s no need to use us as your argument for continuing the Industrial Age – we’ve moved on to the Information Age and will be just fine. All we ask is that we know what the rules are so we can go about winning the game!

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Dec 26 2012
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We Are All Artists Now

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Marketing podcast with Seth Godin

seth godin icarus deceptionFew people have captured the post industrial world of work like Seth Godin. Now, you may think of him as a marketer – and he is a brilliant one indeed. I believe, however, his greatest contribution to business is the very clear message about how work has evolved from one of factories and rules to one of making ideas and art.

To be sure there are still many who play in the world of producing things by way of orderly process but, increasingly, people are trying things on the side of design and causing a good ruckus while they play.

As the cost of making things, trying things, starting companies and practicing your art has come down, so too has the cost of failure. Trying your idea out and failing is not such a big deal any more, playing it safe and normal is.

I spoke with Seth Godin for this week’s episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast and he shared his thoughts on some of the myths and deceptions that hold people back.

Godin recently set the publishing world abuzz, once again, by using a crowdfunding service to prove that people were interested in the notion of his next book before he ever sought a publisher to produce it. With a guaranteed large print run in hand he was able to dictate, to a large extent, the type of deal he wanted.

In his now published work, The Icarus Deception: How High Will You Fly, Godin reveals the often mistold told story or Icarus. As most people will recall, Icarus famously flew too close to the sun against his fathers advice. This act of hubris led to his demise. The lesson of course, is don’t try to soar too high, right?

The part of the story that is rarely told is that his father also told him not to fly too low as the salt and mist of the sea was equally fatal. Godin’s contention is that the current environments of work, school and even organized religion are often to blame for people aiming too low.

The Icarus Deception is above all things a cry for a revolution of sorts. A cry to get more people to start sharing their ideas, designing their lives and telling people about their art.

One of the best ways to embrace this idea may be to attend one of the more than 1,000 Icarus Sessions happening on Jan 2. You can find or organize an Icarus Session here and read all about how the sessions work here.

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Dec 19 2012
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Does Every Consultant Need To Write a Book

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Marketing podcast with Guy Kawasaki

Consultant Books

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I asked the question contained in the title of this post in a community I moderate on Google+ (Consultant Exchange- join us if you are a coach or consultant)

Somewhat predictably answers fell into two camps – those with a book said yes it was very helpful and meaningful to their business. Those without a book said no they didn’t think it was necessary and that a well written blog might be more important.

In my business having a book (and now three) made a significant difference in terms of creating more speaking, branding and consulting opportunities. Now, a key measure in the equation is that these books are well regarded and sold well enough to stand on their own – but there’s no question my books have led to a bigger brand for Duct Tape Marketing.

I posed the same question to my friend Guy Kawasaki and his take was a little more reserved – “Writing a book to open other opportunities is the wrong reason to write a book. You should write a book because you have something to say or are passionate about promoting a cause or idea.”

Kawasaki has written twelve books, including the just released APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur – How to Publish a Book. Kawasaki wrote the book to reveal everything he’s learned along the way as an author and entrepreneur with the added lessons gained from publishing his last two books without the aid of the traditional publishing machine.

APE is meant to introduce the concept of “artisinal publishing” as a powerful avenue for anyone wishing to get their message heard in the form of a book much like an artist practicing and promoting their craft might do.

As someone that’s written several books I can tell you that if you have a desire to write a book, but have no desire to publish on your own, the section on writing a book is worth the money. If you do plan to write and publish your own work the guidance on the very specific elements of editing, formatting and submitting digital books is a gold mine.

I do believe that we have come to a point where honing and communicating a specific point of view is an essential practice in the worlds of coaching, consulting and marketing and a book is one format to do so.

More importantly perhaps is that you practice your craft in a way that allows you to gain the experience and insight needed to construct a point of view worth sharing – do that and you’re on your way to writing that book.

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Dec 12 2012
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The Myth of a Salesman

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Marketing podcast with Dan Pink

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My father was a salesman in the classic Willy Loman kind of way, without the sad tragedy part. He got up each week, packed his bags and went on the road to exchange his time and information for the monetary reward of an order. However, one thing he knew and stated often was that everyone sells for a living he just happened to know that’s what he did.

While 1 in 9 people in the workforce seek sales in the classic sense, we all “seek resources other than money.”

When I write a blog post I am selling in today’s world of marketing, when I speak at a conference I am selling, when I talk to a journalist, when I refer another business. All of these activities collectively make up the world of sales today just as surely as an appointment for the stated purpose of getting someone to buy my wares.

Few people have addressed the changing manner in which the world works over the past decade better than my guest on today’s episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, Dan Pink, author of To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others.

Pink’s earlier works Drive, Whole New Mind and Free Agent Nation defined working trends that have become accepted norms in the world of work today. His TED Talk – The Puzzle of Motivation has been viewed nearly 5 million times.

Prior to becoming a free agent in his own right he wrote speeches for Vice-President Gore and helped sell a nation on ideas worth investing in.

While the need to sell in any environment has perhaps become more important than ever, the role of the traditional salesperson has forever been altered in ways that require us to rethink what it even means to be a salesperson.

Traditionally, the salesperson was the outgoing go getter who possessed the secret information. Today’s successful salesperson is a cross between marketer, educator, information seeker and innovator.

According to Pink this is not a change in degree, it’s a fundamental change in kind.

The days of transactional selling are over, the days of solution selling are coming to an end as today’s sales skill is one of problem finding – correctly identifying and solving problems people didn’t even realize they had.

So the idea of selling now must be woven through everything that everyone in the organization is doing.

In our interview Pink cites an example from his book of a company doing a quarter billion in sales that claims they have no sales force. Their view is that they have no salespeople because everyone is a salesperson.

The implication of this idea is extremely important for both entrepreneurs and those that would call themselves salespeople in today’s market.

Is everyone simply a salesperson or has the role of the salesperson simply changed?

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Dec 4 2012
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Likeable Is Not a Department

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Marketing podcast with Dave Kerpen

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Dave Kerpen had the foresight a few years ago to lock up the term Likeable. It’s the name of his business, Likeable Media, the name of his mega selling book Likeable Social Media and it’s been applied to his latest work, Likeable Business.

But as Kerpen quickly points out, being likeable in business isn’t about social media or even the marketing department, it’s about a profitable way of doing business.

Applied to the business globally it extends to behaviors as much as tactics. It applies to how you listen and respond, how you tell stories, how authentic and transparent every aspect of your business is, how you change and adapt, how surprise and delight, how you partner, how you do business in general and even how you say thank you.

In many ways we no longer have a choice about being transparent and authentic – we either are or we aren’t and it’s pretty much on view for the world to see, consider, write about and share.

In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, Kerpen talks about businesses that are getting this right and how any business can naturally become more likeable.

It’s time to understand that this isn’t something nice to consider when you’ve got a moment or two, this is a highly practical way of doing business that is fast becoming an expectation in every market segment.

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Nov 14 2012
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Power Seduction War and Mastery

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Marketing podcast with Robert Greene

Robert Greene Mastery

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It’s funny how pretty much everything is instructional in one way of another.

When Robert Greene published the now cult classic The 48 Laws of Power people were a bit polarized.

According to LA Times the book, “turned Greene into a cult hero with the hip-hop set, Hollywood elite and prison inmates alike.”

But for some, a thorough explanation of laws such as – Never outshine the master. Never put too much trust in friends; learn how to use enemies. Conceal your intentions. Always say less than necessary, seemed almost evil.

For Greene, the book simply explained the world as it is and in doing so offered instruction for those that wanted power and those that wanted to be aware of how people might abuse power. I recall reading the book when it came out and it’s funny how the book impacts me much differently today than it did fifteen years ago.

In his latest work, Mastery, Greene returns to the subject of power, but a form of power and intelligence that he suggests represents the high point of human potential and the source of the greatest achievements and discoveries in history.

According to Greene, Mastery is the compilation of twelve years of going deep into the stories of high achievers and piecing together a systematic pathway to power that is universal.

In Mastery, Greene reveals a path that he believes anyone can follow. There are elements that are intuitive and some that are not. The path is relatively simple, but hurdles exist in many places.

Green’s five point path presented in Mastery is this:

  • Discover your calling – a deep interest in a topic or at least remaining open to that interest is pretty much the key to starting the process.
  • Apprentice with intensity – Learning everything you can from mentors and those that have come before you is how you gather a deep knowledge of your subject
  • Gain social intelligence – This is the point where many stall as it involves gaining both a knowledge of human nature and of yourself. This is the place where society butts heads mastery.
  • Awaken creative energy – The people that I call master possess the ability to recognize patterns and trends and see very clearly how things could fit together.
  • Develop high-level intuition – This is basically the ability to make unconscious observations about what’s going on around you and see into the future. It’s that point where something is so vivid to you with just a glance while others have no idea what you’re seeing.

I believe that the pursuit of mastery is perhaps what we’re all meant to do and certainly it’s a calling that entrepreneurs feel strongly, even if they don’t know why.

Mastery is an inspiring read and a book that I intend to revisit.

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Oct 31 2012
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Reexamining Why You’re In Business

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Marketing podcast with Harley Manning (Click to play or right click and “Save As” to download – Subscribe now via iTunes or subscribe via other RSS device (Google Listen)

I think most of us would agree that the reason our businesses exist is to exchange value with a customer for payment. Now, that’s not the same as why we are in business, but it plays a part.

happy halloween

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I wonder how often, however, we really think about putting the customer first. I know it’s very popular to say that’s the case and, if you really get down to it, there is no business without a customer, but are we putting the strategic emphasis there?

I know for a fact that when I stay locked up in my office hatching all my evil plans in a vacuum it’s easy to make decisions on what seems best for me. But, when I get out there and meet face to face with the real people I’m doing all of this for, my perspective changes dramatically.

In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast I visit with Forrester’s head enterprise-level customer experience research and author Outside In: The Power of Putting Customers at the Center of Your Business – Harley Manning.

Sure, putting customers at the center of your business sounds logical enough, but are we doing it?

Manning suggests a number of disciplines that are required to do this and while he often writes in the language of enterprise, every business can learn from these findings.

In my mind a customer centric business is first and foremost an employee centric business and an employee centric business starts with an overall strategy that puts that forces the customer to the center.

To complicate matters more, I believe that the only way this happens is when the owner of the business truly believes this at the core and lives it in every word and action. And even when that exists, it takes constant reexamination and process to make it so publicly.

Have you reexamined why you’re in business lately?

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Oct 19 2012
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With Email Marketing Sometimes You Need to Question the Rules

Marketing podcast with DJ Waldow and Jason Falls (Click to play or right click and “Save As” to download – Subscribe now via iTunes or subscribe via other RSS device (Google Listen)

There are a handful of generally accepted “best practices” when it comes to email. Some have withstood the test of time and experiment, but others stay in place as hard and fast rules simply because enough people keep saying so.

Rebel's Guide to Email MarketingThe only hard and fast rule you should adhere to in marketing is what works for you. Now, what this means first and foremost is that you must be testing, measuring and analyzing what works for you or you’ll have no choice but to follow industry norms.

Sometimes norms present great opportunities to stand out. If everyone is doing something one way, there’s a pretty good bet that you can get some attention breaking the rules.

Today’s guests on the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast are DJ Waldow and Jason Falls, co-authors of The Rebel’s Guide to Email Marketing: Grow Your List, Break the Rules, and Win

In the Rebel’s Guide they take on some of the common best practices and illustrate some great examples of people finding success in email marketing by bending and breaking the rules.

Below are some examples of the types of common practices you need to test and push in your email marketing efforts.

Subject lines

I call the subject line of an email the ad for opening and reading. If you don’t hook someone with it, you stand little chance of getting your email read and no chance of getting someone to click through to an offer.

Common wisdom is 30-40 characters with call to action or benefit right up front. What if you experimented with very short, intriguing subject lines that played to curiosity?

From line

Common wisdom here is that you want the recipient to see that the email is from someone they know. Makes sense, but what if you tested sending email with clever attributes that couldn’t be mistaken for anyone else, but also added a little fun and flair – example might be: From: Your Favorite Plumber

Preheader text

This is the second ad and most people waste it. It’s the very first bit of content that shows up after the subject line in a lot of email clients. Most people start with something like “having trouble reading this, blah, blah”

What if you used this to text to urge them to open – “You know you need to open this” “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain, open this”

Alt images

The default setting for Gmail is to leave images turned off. This means the recipient must click something to actually make your images show. If you are using HTML email that relies on images to make greater impact you want those images turned on.

Common practice suggests that you use the Alt images attribute to describe your images as the alt text will show in place of images. What if you used this to convince people that they are missing cool stuff by leaving images off. “If you had images on you would see something really awesome here”

HTML and text

Another common spam filter fighting practice is to send your email in multiple formats. Your nice, pretty HTML email should have a text-based only version. It helps assure the ISPs that you are sending useful information.

One of the things that I think you need to experiment with is the use of text only emails or at least mixing the format up from time to time. When people get used to seeing your standard HTML template they get complacent. Send very short, personal emails using text only to make even greater impact.

Personalization

Another common practice is to add personalization from data fields. You know, Hey John, did you know that John could get a free blah, blah.

I agree there is a place for this, although it gets abused in absurd ways as well. This is something your want to play with. One of the most widely commented emails I ever sent intentionally played on the fill in the blank fields with fake data fields like [put new best friend’s name here] and [say something here that sounds authentic]

Opt-out

This one is not only common practice, it’s the law. You must add a way for people to opt-out of your email and you should make it obvious.

Most people hide this at the end of an email and use the default government language.

What if you put it first and had some fun with it. “I really, really don’t want to see you leave, but if you must break my heart, do it here.”

Every element of your marketing is only as good as your testing tells you it is, so study common best practices in everything you do and then figure out how to interrupt the best practices with testing.

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