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It’s a soft snow, but more than enough to block the view I expected this morning: the ridge across the valley and the White Mountains behind that. Wanted to see the snow on Mt. Washington but don’t have to look that far to see snow this morning. Yesterday was dark, rainy, and cool but we got the full view, with clouds just bumping the tops of the hills. This 2-3 inches would paralyze us back in Atlanta. Ah Spring! I asked my nephew if he knew the guy who was responsible for this and he allowed as he did and he’d be talking to Him today, as he always does.

Mexico, Maine-Welcome To Town

All 4 Fast Forward Main Street communities share the common issue of dealing with economic stress. But the Androscoggin Valley’s struggle has been a long one, not the result of a sudden event like a hurricane or severe economic down-turn. The other areas are urban while this is rural, the combined population of the 3 towns less than 12, 000. These folks are the tough, quiet types you’d expect to find in Maine; hard working, honest, and generous. They’re also hard people, handling what comes their way, kind but slow to befriend. They want to know who you are and why you’re here and they ask some hard, direct questions. They’ve seen my kind before and they don’t want to be disappointed again. They’ve had enough of that. Just want a chance to work, take care of their families and enjoy God’s blessings.

Rumford Falls, Androscoggin River

So FF Main Street is off and running in Rumford, Mexico, and Dixfield, Maine. We’re honored to be able to work alongside our new friends. Looking forward to the hard work ahead.

Had a great conversation today with Graham Wickham, President and CEO of the Wickham Financial Group in Marietta, GA. Graham mentioned one of his agents, a new guy, made comment on a book he was reading. It brought to mind part of the definition of a good client for me: a life long learner. I’ve always enjoyed learning new things and reading. That pleasure seems to grow as I get older but I wish I had been more diligent about it when I was young. One of the best bits of wisdom ever imparted to me was by my old mentor and friend, Fred Yeager, of Met Life in New Orleans.  Fred once told me that “We don’t know what we don’t know.”  Kind of the premise of the book I was moaning about some months back, The Black Swan.

As we near the milestone of December 31 and prepare to cross into 2010, we hear the usual wisdom about getting your plan for next year complete. We all nod our heads and our hearts fill with good intensions but, ultimately, some of us will plan and most of us won’t.

I’m not sure what works for you. I do know that one needs to pause and reflect occassionally on what you are doing. Because as a business owner or independent sales person, you are sliding behind if you are not learning and adapting. The pace of change keeps increasing.

Discussions regarding the economy break out at the drop of a hat these days. Are we still struggling in recession? Are we in recovery? If we’re in recovery, what is the pace of it, how long will it last, is it temporary? And on and on. While staying current with all that, the most important question to consider is, “What does it all mean to my business and what do I need to be doing every day?”

With all this change and upheaval, it might be a good time to consider your business anew. Is your message (USP, Elevator Pitch, tag line) still relevant? Have customer/prospect needs changed? What are their current concerns and am I speaking to them? Am I providing the right products or services?

We will probably be attending various Holiday parties and functions; good networking opportunities, all. However, while meeting with clients, friends, colleagues, and prospects, this might be a good time to conduct a little market research and find out people’s concerns in the areas you provide solutions. A little Q & A could provide you some valuable information regarding who is in real need of what you provide and what their main concerns are. Maybe it’s time for some chages.

Besides, they will be impressed with what a good conversationalist you are if you let them do most of the talking.

I have the great pleasure of eating breakfast most Tuesday mornings at Matt Capozzi’s NY Deli on Roswell Road over here in East Cobb. The group is an ad hoc group of business people who meet because…they want to. That occurred to me today. And as it occurred to me, it also occurred to me that this unique group results from the culture established by a couple of folks in the group. You see, this group, like many around the Metro area, sprang up fairly spontaneously, not as part of a larger organized network. They wanted to create a group that attracted people who wanted to help each other. Not so unique; that’s what all these network/referral groups aspire to. However, not all achieve it.

At this point, I need to embarrass one of the founding members, Bob Zartarian. Those who know Bob, know him as a very outward looking fellow. He’s always looking for the benefit he can bring to other people. Bob’s attitude is representative of the group and is apparent to everyone who visits and, as a result, we have grown from 5-6 people to over 20. We have few rules but things run smoothly. And, most importantly, connections are made, business referrals are passed. There certainly are others in the group who add to the culture, Cliff, Tim, Peg, Larry, Bill, Ruthe, Eric and other regulars. All there regularly. All there to help each other. We call ourselves TONIC and the group truly is.

When I’m in town, I make it a point to attend. Not just for the business opportunity, but for the camaraderie of truly good people. For those of us who are “Lone Rangers”, working our businesses mostly alone, such company is essential for success. Look around for such groups, whether they are part of a larger organization or a neighborhood group like TONIC. Become a part of one. Contribute.

The good thing about our world is that there is an abundance of opportunity, in every sense. And that includes good people creating good networks.

“ Strategy without tactics is the slow road to victory but tactics without strategy is merely the noise before defeat.”   

                                                                                                                            Sun Tzu                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

It seems that the idea of developing a business strategy is gaining more attention all the time.  I’ve often related my favorite quote, above, to business people I know.  And the theme is showing up more and more in books, articles and seminars.  Good stuff, all, and certainly important to business success.  But it’s one thing to articulate a good strategy and another to implement it.  In military circles, things like the fog of war are recognized as disruptions to even the best strategies. 

This fog of war shows up in our business world as the day-to-day execution of the “thing” we do. In fact, the biggest challenge that we may have is executing well on a consistent basis while maintain focus on our longer range strategic intent.  Strategy has more to do with competitive advantage while tactics are about delivering the goods.  Not easy when you’re wearing many different hats on the organizational chart, like most of us do. 

Lately, I have been in a few discussions about “networking”, what it means, what works, and what does not work so well.  Seems like every event, political, social, business or otherwise is a must-do because of the great networking opportunity.  Makes me wonder what this networking thing is all about.  We used to get together on occasion for the purpose of just getting together.  Of course, we “networked” in the sense that we developed relationships by spending time together and learning more about each other. 

It seems to me that “networking” has run amuck, gone wild, is out of control, taking on a life and purpose of its own.  We’ve got to attend all these events because they are networking opportunities and you can’t afford to miss one of those now, can you? 

Which brings me to the thought of broad vs. deep in building your network.  Broad is good, even necessary but deep is better. 

I know that broad vs. deep can spark great discussions, with the deep thinkers coming down on both sides of the fence.  Creating a diverse network gives access to a wide range of contacts, both numerically as well and from the perspective of variety.  This is good but not entirely for the reason we think: getting referrals for us.  While there are a number of things that can result from wild networking (spaghetti-on-the-wall theory), it is random and not a good use of your time.  And it doesn’t necessarily work well in getting to your target market.  However, broad may be  valuable as a way of developing referrals for your referral partners.  Some people are good at broad and that is why you want them in your well-rounded network. Remember Gladwell’s Connectors.

But to me deep deserves more attention.  Barring the person locked in their office all day, most business people get out reasonably enough and know enough people to be valuable referral partners.  If fact, they may know all the people you’d  ever need to keep you in business for years.  But we’re not tapping into that resource because we are not purposeful in our networking as a tool to building referral relationships. 

I’d like to hear a bit about “broad vs. deep”  and  your take on networking as we know it today.   

Tis the season to plan and project.  CEO’s, COO’s, sales managers, business owners, business coaches, consultants, and all manner of folks remind us that we should make our plans if we expect to be successful in 2009.  Quotes by famous people, age old axioms, and various studies all point to the increased likelihood of success of those who take the time to plan.  And we all feel good when we complete our plan.  Of course, we are encouraged to implement an accountability process and review mechanism to ensure that the plan is more than just an annual exercise and becomes a document that guides our activities throughout the year. 

Planning came to mind as I have been battling my way through a thought provoking book, The Black Swan, by Hassim Nicholas Taleb.  I may have permanently injured my brain trying to understand everything Mr. Taleb presents and I hope he doesn’t have any kind of Google alerts that will let him know that I have, lamely, attempted to apply his writing to marketing. 

The sub-title of the book is “The Impact of the Highly Improbable” and I can’t possibly get into a whole lot of his ideas here.  However, a couple of the points made apply to our efforts to make projections and develop marketing plans. 

In a chapter entitled “The Scandal of Prediction”, we come across the phenomenon of anchoring.  This is the tendency of the mind to latch on to any random number and have it become the reference point for subsequent estimates.  The idea of setting goals and how we arrive at them came to mind as I read this. 

We often set goals based on a number that sounds good to us: $100,000, $500,000, ONE MILLION DOLLARS!  So where are we getting the numbers that will guide next year’s activities?

Another trap that we fall into as we plan and make projections is the absolute qualities we attach to the goals we set.  The truth of the matter is that our projections become subject to larger and larger error as time passes.  Immediately upon completing your Excel Spreadsheet, your assumptions (the basis for you projections) start to fall apart.  The countless improbables that occur daily begin immediately, and delay and shortfall add and multiply the process of decay.  So the predictions that we make, and which are the basis for our plan, become flawed and erode with time.  Think about what happened this past year and how much of that any us, experts included, anticipated.  You can see the challenge of trying to rationally allocate resources to achieve the moving targets that are your projections. 

So what do you do?  Give up?  Probably not.  We are an optimistic species so we forget about our past reversals and move on to the future.  The point is not that prediction is futile, it is that we rely too literally on our predictions, assuming them to be perfect.  The fact that they are not should be no surprise and we should act accordingly.  Why not select goals that range from high probability to lower probability of achieving?  Use this range over the planning period to help you prioritize and adjust to the changing business environment. 

The military adage that no plan survives beyond the first shot applies to all aspects of our lives.  The winner is the one most prepared for change and most prepared to adapt to it.  The purpose and vision we have for our business should guide us, not an arbitrary number.  Selecting goals that move you closer to your vision and an understanding that we don’t know what we don’t know is more rational than hanging your hat on a random number based on our narrow tunnel of knowledge.  

I’ve been reading an advance copy of an interesting new book called Tuned In and then I got this YouTube video sent to me. Check out the video and then we’ll talk about the book.

VIDEO

In addition to being funny (at least I think so), this provides a good example of how products are developed and, eventually, marketed. In the book Tuned In, David Meerman Scott, Phil Meyers and Craig Stull provide a process that helps businesses understand and connect with what markets want. They make the point that product development should be driven outside in instead of inside out. The six step process helps you create products and services that “resonate” with buyers.This video could be a great example of application of the Tuned In process. I’m just sure Ed talked to folks and, using his interviewing skills, found that a major area of dissatisfaction with a segment of the pickup driving market was looking “lower middle class” because they saved a little by opting for the model with crank windows. Ed is now in the process; he has identified an unresolved problem: lower self-image as the result of looking lower middle class. (For a great discussion of the application of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to customer experience, see Marketing That Matters by Chip Conley and Erik Friedenwald-Fishman.) He obviously has great insight into his buyers’ personas, step 2. After quantifying the impact of this problem (step 3) Ed created a breakthrough experience (4) for them through the use of a handy item, the battery operated mixer. I don’t know about you but as far as I’m concerned, Ed nailed the “articulating powerful ideas” part (5). It just remains to be seen if he has created sustainable connections (ta da, step 6).

OR

Can you see Old Ed sitting there in his pick-up feeling lower middle class and wanting to do something about it. However, he’s a cheap SOB (I can relate), so wants to minimize expenses and use stuff he has at hand. Eyes light on battery operated mixer and….EUREKA! Great new product idea. He runs it by a couple of his beer buddies and they are knocked out by his genius. Being the articulate fellow he is, he puts together a compelling sales message and whips up a slick video that wows us with this great solution, filling us with the urge to order before midnight. Ed’s thrilled and so are his buddies. Brilliant….but not so brilliant.Ed’s product development process probably parallels that of most companies: from the inside out. It is based on his idea, and his narrow circle’s, of what’s good. His opinion is irrelevant, another point made in the book. It is unlikely that he followed the Tuned In process; he’s got a clever product but I suspect it won’t pass muster. When you run it through the Tuned In filters, Ed might come up short. Ed might find out that his dog won’t hunt; it doesn’t resonate. Introducing this product would be a big risk based on a guess.Watch for this book, which should be coming out soon. I’ll pass the word when it does.Contact us. We can talk about how the Tuned In process can help you promote your products and services.

Some weeks ago I wrote about the idea of socially responsible business (SRB) as it pertains to small businesses.  I’d like to revisit that topic as well as the closely related idea of community responsible businesses (CRB). 

Recently, I became involved in the publication of a small advertising paper called Coffee News.  I got interested because I wanted to learn more about print advertising and how it fits into the media mix for small businesses.  I’ve learned a lot. 

 There are a number of schools of thought on ad copy and lay-out, particularly for small budget efforts.  (Bring up Glazer-Kennedy with folks in the advertising business and the fun begins.)  One thing most folks will tell you is that Coffee News breaks a lot of the rules when it comes to copy and design.  But being around for 20 years and publishing in 20 countries should put a lot of the controversy to bed.  Ranking 68 in the Entrepreneur Magazine Top 500 Franchises (number 1 in its category) ain’t bad either. 

But back to SRB/CRB’s.  I’ve been going around asking for permission to place CN in local businesses.  I have been surprised at the number of businesses, especially large franchise companies, that refuse to allow local papers and advertising publications in their establishments. 

Some of these large companies spend big parts of their budgets trying to position themselves as “your local …”.  Think about McDonald’s, Applebee’s, and the homey, friendly face other franchises try to paint on themselves.  Yet they won’t help their neighbors, who patronize them and bring traffic to the area, to advertise and promote their business. 

These local advertising publications are very geographically oriented, contributing to local commerce and creating local retail hubs around a strip mall or stretch of road.  As these mini-economies prosper, each of the members of the local business community prospers, as well. 

Starbucks recently recognized their role in the local community and how important is is for them to be seen as supporting local business.  President and Chief Executive Orin Smith emailed his employees “…that free publications are an important part of our coffeehouse culture and that they provide a connection to the communities in which we live and work.”  Having been attacked and criticized as the corporate giant driving out the Mom and Pop coffee shops,  positioning themselves as local-business-friendly through a gesture as simple as allowing local, independent publications to be placed in their shops seems like the proverbial no-brainer. 

Yet so many businesses miss the point.  For the sake of a pristine, corporate look, they forgo the benefits that attach to being seen as a part of the community and a friend to their neighbors. 

 Whatcha think?

I find one of the hardest things to do is to consistently employ the things I know I should do in my day-to-day activities. I mean, I have read a lot, attended seminars and learned much from colleagues, friends and customers. But applying what I know on a regular basis is a real challenge. Having a plan is one thing, following it is another. But the first step is having a plan.

“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” -Sun Tzu

If you haven’t completed a Marketing Plan, a good place to start is with Appendix B of Business By Referral by Dr. Ivan Misner. Identifying 4-8 key referral sources, developing a series of activities for each, and getting those activities in your calendar will yield results. (Using the Networking Score Card to monitor your progress. 100+ points per week will do the trick.)

Remember the 5 M’s of Marketing: Target Market, Customer Motivation, Message, Media, and Metrics? Are you satisfied with your message? Have you tested it on friends and current customers? And what media are you using to deliver your message? One spoke in your marketing wheel makes for a bumpy ride. What media best reaches your target prospect and fits your style of doing business? What are the combinations of marketing that make the things you are doing work better? Single marketing activities may yield results but a series of activities that support each other, build awareness, and call for action will do even better for you.

The media you select will depend on a number of things from market niche to budget, but your personality will play a roll in what methods you employ and how enthusiastically and consistently you market. Some people are suited to building large networks and working them for new business while others are more comfortable creating a small number of close and highly productive relationships. Some enjoy social networking, attending events and meeting new people while others are more comfortable using internet tools to build their network. Or maybe writing articles, public speaking, press releases or advertising better suites your style? All these approaches, however, require that you have a system to manage the relationships you initiate. Plan a 90 day campaign and track your activities and results. Find the marketing combinations that work best for you.

With most businesses success can be achieved through a number of different marketing strategies. The key is to have one and to implement it.

Unlike your typical biz expo, most attendees at a festival will have their kids and spouses along. They are not always looking to buy, they won’t bring much cash, and they won’t be thinking of this as a networking event. They may not have their checkbooks, and they may be reluctant to give you their credit card unless you have fancy equipment with you to capture their data. In addition, you may not have electricity to run a computer or any other equipment that you wish to bring along. You will most likely not even have a wall or table provided. You will probably have only a space, and it’s often on concrete in the sun. What’s a SOHO to do?

What if I told you that for $50 to $100, you could put yourself in front of 10 to 20 thousand folks? Would you be interested then? That’s right. Festivals give you a great deal of exposure for a low fee. The trick is to give people a reason to stop and something to take with them.

Here are some tips:

1. Provide a freebie they will need or want. Depending on the event, they may have purchased a few small items before they get to you. If you think that will be the case, free tote bags - even plastic ones - could be a good practical giveaway.
2. How about a fun something to do? If your business is kid oriented, you could do face painting. If you sell golf clubs, you could have a putting green. — The longer they pause, the more you can say.
3. Use signs promoting the giveaway or fun thing in addition to your signs promoting your biz.
4. Do have brochures to send with them. They will be able to look more closely later.
5. Do have products to sell or samples for them to take with them.
6. Do assemble a team to help.

How do you get them to stop? Stand in the street and greet them. If need be, wave before they get to you. Offer to shake their hand. Smile. Speak loudly. Ask them a question or offer them something. Example: “Good Morning!! I can see you’ve got your arms full! (As you motion toward yourself say…) Come on over and let me give you a bag for all that.”

Even if they do not need your product or service at the moment, some of them will remember you. I have run into folks months later that said to me, “weren’t you at . . . ?” Depending on the freebie, and the events you attend, and how often - some folks will even be looking for you!

Have fun!