Let's face it. There's a ton of noise out there. There's SO much noise, in fact, that many business owners are left wondering how they can possibly get their message out there in a way that can be heard. Many companies incorporate cause-based marketing into their strategy. The idea that helping others can help your branding isn't new. The philanthropic ideology can be good for everyone, assuming it's done in a way that gives the business an opportunity to drip-market in the future. For example, the #MakeASeniorSmile campaign underway with Always Best Care Senior Services of Central CT. Here's the down-low. The family-owned company doesn't do what they do for the money. As a matter of fact, government regulations and the cost of doing business in Connecticut means now more than ever the ... 01/02/2015

Many of us were coloring before we even knew what the word "coloring" was. My parents like telling the story about how I opened up a wrapped present and found a brand new box of Crayola's. "I got tayons, people!" I proudly announced to the world. Creativity began with a crayon.  Scribbles.  Doodles.  Those Van Gogh's of our childhood will never be big sellers.  But they were perhaps some of the most valuable pieces in the establishment of who we would become as individuals. Creativity began with a crayon. But not long after, so did conformity. "Draw within the lines," is something we were taught upon entering school. "Color by number," is something we began to do without even having to be told. And creativity began to die just a little. On Monday, we brought together some of the brighte... 01/01/2015

I remember being excited senior year of high school when thinking about our future class reunion.  My excitement stemmed from a movie I had watched.  In the movie, the star was the ugly duckling growing up.  When he arrived at his class reunion, he was a rich hunk with a gorgeous bride.  I couldn't wait to be "that guy".  I also couldn't wait for all of the "popular kids" to show up at this future class reunion fat and strung out.  It was going to be GREAT. As it turns out, I was entirely wrong.  NOBODY showed up at our class reunion.  Because we never had one.  And I blame Facebook.  The social media giant has helped us all become closer apart. People like to flip out about how there's no such thing as privacy anymore.  There are cameras all over the world.  There are drones...DRONES!.... 12/27/2014

Your closet is full of stories and they're doing absolutely no good sitting on a shelf. One of our favorite clients, Always Best Care Senior Services, is sponsoring a coat drive. There are lots of great causes to support - especially at this time of year. That's what makes it easy to forget so many who have given us so much - senior citizens. ABC is running the drive because so many of them go without proper winter clothing at this time of year. And so I, like many others, saw an opportunity to help some people out and make some space in our closets at the same time. Turned out to be a walk down memory lane. I found my favorite leather jacket first. It hadn't been worn in a couple of years. The last time I wore it was actually for a benefit for another local charitable cause. Fitting th... 12/26/2014

It's the world's largest soft drink maker.  And they want you to start texting.  Sort of like the rest of the world. According to an internal memo from Chief Information Officer Ed Steinike at Coca Cola, office voicemail was shut down this month to "simplify the way we work and increase productivity".  According to the company, it's not about saving money - although it's expected to save about $100,000 per year. Some people are up in arms over it.  "But...but...but...I want my voice to be HEARD!" I'd like to welcome you to 2015.   Ever notice that your iPhone will hold something like 80 billion songs...but when it hits something like 10 voicemails it says "voicemail full"?  I think your phone - and society - is trying to tell you something. We conducted an informal survey of our clients... 12/26/2014

  If you're one of those P.C. Grinches that doesn't want to hear anything about Santa, than this piece isn't for you.  But for all those of you who want to find a lesson in marketing through the spirit of Christmas, read on. I don't care what you may or may not celebrate.  My hope for each and every reader today is that they can take some basic core information about people and understand the impact that a little good will towards men can have when it comes to marketing.       It's Better To Give Than To Receive We don't really think Santa does it all for the cookie, do we?  I mean, come on - the guy gets billions of them.  No, Santa gives because it feels good...AND it helps build his brand.  The marketing lesson here is clear.  Provide value...constantly.  Establish yourself as the ex... 12/23/2014

If you're like me...you're sick and tired of being duped by mobile ads. You know what I'm talking about - the ads that fool you into accidentally clicking them. The companies placing the ads are clever.  More and more of them are being designed in a way that increases the chances that users will click them.  Makes sense from a reporting perspective if the goal is to show a large number of clicks.  But are they converting? Here's one example for you - it's a screenshot of my phone.   Smack dab in the middle of the slideshow I was looking at - JUST above the actual "next" arrow - was this arrow.  Sure, as we closely inspect it we can see "advertisement".  And I know it's a little difficult to see from this quick screenshot, but it's easily confused with an arrow on the slideshow that look... 12/23/2014

You've been going about it all wrong.   You thought you were making more money by spending less money.  You thought you were growing the business by tightening your belt. You were wrong. This is the quick lesson in how to give yourself an immediate raise by spending more money. What's Your Worth? Let's use the marketing business model as an example.  If I charge $250 an hour consulting or I charge $150 an hour editing video, what's my hourly worth?  Is the answer $250?  $150?  $175 as an average of the two? If I can pay someone $25 an hour to edit more efficiently than I can...than by spending my time editing, my hourly worth would be less than $25 an hour. How do you figure? It's simple.  If I have to spend time editing in a less efficient manner than someone I can pay to do a better j... 12/20/2014

Young.  Is it about age...or is it about a state of mind? I'd argue that it may be neither. Since I was a kid, I've been told that I am an "old soul".  Yet now that I'm older, I like to think that I have a youthful perspective on business.   Let's face it.  As we get older, many people become jaded.  Their past failures begin to take over their lives and they are afraid to step outside the box.  They stick with what they know, even if what they know doesn't work.  It's time we all embrace that fresh-eyed college graduate mentality and understand the world truly is our oyster in this digital age.   We've spoken at a large number of real estate seminars this year.  It's been an honor and a pleasure to help so many people in the real estate industry bring their business models into 2015 an... 12/18/2014

I need you to watch this 10 second clip.  It's the entire basis of today's blog.  And do me a favor.  Try and pick out just one conversation.   I shot this quick clip on my cell phone last night from behind the bar at a Christmas party we hosted for one of our referral groups, The Breakfast Club.   You get a very quick taste of the interactions going on all around.  There were 80 or so business owners all having conversations about their businesses.  And as you can see, there's not a single voice that stood out in a powerful way. It's not that anyone was doing anything wrong.  Just the opposite, actually.  I know for a fact that there were a large number of deals conducted last night.  But here's the takeaway.  Just like in marketing, there's a massive amount of noise out there.  So how... 12/18/2014

Texting isn't his thing - but he has a smart phone. Communication is his strength - but he can't figure out how to put the phone on vibrate. He'll always take your phone call - but you're better off having lunch with the guy. Yesterday, I spent three hours in the car with the old bull.  The age difference between us is close to three decades.  When it comes to social media, I can run circles around him.  But when it comes to the real world, the guy stuck out his foot yesterday while I was running those circles and caused me to take a giant face-plant. His name is Joe Petrowsky - perhaps you've met him.  He's one of the most frequent bloggers I've ever met.  He's forcing several generations to transition into the digital age and yesterday he gave me some of the most valuable business les... 12/15/2014

When I worked for NBC, I put together a series called "The Faith Project".  The idea was to look at the role of faith in our lives. Not organized religion, but FAITH. Let's face it.  We live in a world where it feels as if we have to be ultra politically correct.  If you ask me, it's pretty sad.  We live in a country where men and women have fought for centuries so that we could have the freedom to express our beliefs.  In the past century, we've seen movements such as that of the great Martin Luther King Jr. to ensure that people of all colors and faiths have equal rights.  We've seen political fights so that people can express their love for whoever they want - whether they be opposite sex or same sex.  In Germany, we fought against the oppression of all of these people under Hitler. ... 12/14/2014

For years, LinkedIn was one of the most underutilized forms of social media.  And that simply means that when it comes to growing your business or even your personal brand, you’ve been blowing it.  So that's why today I'm going to teach you how to market on LinkedIn with a little 101 lesson. First - some important stats about LinkedIn.  -332 million people are on it. -107 million of those users are in the US. -Every month, there are 187 million unique users on LinkedIn. -40% of users check LinkedIn daily and spend an average of 17 minutes on the site. Now...to some quick tips to master LinkedIn and use it to grow your brand and your business. Customize your personal brand on LinkedIn. Did you know that you can customize your public profile URL, change the anchor text to be more attentio... 12/13/2014

I've finally found a conspiracy I can sink my teeth into. The Apple Conspiracy. Everyone loves a good conspiracy.  It's like a ghost story around a campfire.  Is it true?  Who knows? From JFK to Area 51 and everything in between, conspiracies are a dime a dozen.  But this one...oh, I think there's something there. I thought it was just me.  It seemed as if every time a new iPhone or Apple product was announced, mine would start having issues.  Not enough issues to cause a red flag to go up...but enough to get me just irritated enough to get excited about a new product that I'd otherwise probably wait longer for. Turns out it's not just me.  I mentioned it in passing to my wife, who quickly responded, "YES!  I thought it was just me!" And so my unscientific experiment began.  It started ... 12/13/2014

Cuddled up in my warm blankets, I heard a buzz on the phone next to me. "Are you coming this morning?" "I'll be there shortly," I replied. I slipped out of bed so I wouldn't wake my wife.  I threw some clothes and a towel in a bag so I could shower after.   I gently kissed our newborn on the head and blew a kiss to my sleeping wife.  Then I snuck out. 45 minutes later, I arrived to see my "Mister-ess".  Trainer Dee from Iron Will Fitness.   "You ready to do this thing?"  I was. And the workout began.  An intense hour of power lifting, conditioning and high intensity intervals. Three quarters of the way through the workout, Trainer Dee walked away to get some more weights.  And I did it.  I cheated.  Just once.   "How many reps is that?" he asked. "15" I said. He looked at me in a way t... 12/10/2014

The concepts of The Chamber of Commerce and networking groups have served business owners well for many, many years. They've long been fueled by membership dues, fundraising events, golf tournaments and advertising revenue through joint ventures such as town business maps. They always have opportunities for your business to "sponsor" a wide variety of events. Nationally, Chambers and networking groups are BIG MONEY.  And so it wouldn't surprise me if I get all sorts of hell for writing this piece.  But, for those of you who know me or the team or follow ANY of our blogs, you'll know that we don't pull punches.  So let's have some real talk. Is your Chamber of Commerce or your networking group doing business like it's 2014/2015?  Or are they marketing and advertising like it's 1998? I t... 12/09/2014

We're always preaching the concept of outrageous marketing. In an extraordinarily noisy digital world, you need to make your brand stand out.  Some businesses have more of an opportunity than others to do some outrageous marketing.  Sony is a prime example this week as it deals with a hacking scandal. Let me give you the brief background, in case you missed it.  Sony is preparing to launch a movie with Seth Rogan called "The Interview".  In the movie, two journalists are recruited by the CIA to assassinate North Korean's leader Kim Jung Un. But Sony has since been hacked - including Social Security numbers from tens of thousands of employees along with the salaries of the stars of the show.  A group is demanding the immediate cancellation of the planned launch of the movie.  The North K... 12/08/2014

When I was a teenager, my family moved from New Jersey to Massachusetts. If you've never been to Massachusetts, it's a state where everyone talks funny.  They say "wicked" a lot - and they aren't talking about witches.  I mean, come on - they can't even pronounce the name of their star city.  "Baaaa-stin"?  Where the hell is that? So imagine my surprise when everyone started making fun of ME and asking me to repeat words like "water", "chocolate" and "coffee". It's something that stuck with me for years.   I recently was chatting through LinkedIn with a colleague in Canada.  She told me I spell words in a funny way.  And here I was thinking that SHE was the one who can't spell. Sort of makes you stop and think about the whole concept of customization, doesn't it? Did you know that there... 12/07/2014

I love my dentist - I really do. But aside from hearing what we're saying about our TEETH, I think many dentists make the same mistake as business owners when it comes to interactions with customers. They don't actually LISTEN.  Think I'm way off base here?  Then think about the last time you were having your teeth worked on.  Now think about the questions the dentist asked you.  "How's the family?  How's work?  What do you think of the Yankees this season?" They seem like wonderful get-to-know-you questions.  But you're not at the barber shop.  You're in their chair...and their hands are in your mouth.  They are asking you questions that they can't REALLY get the answers to...because they've created a situation where you can't give them. The Best Intentions Why is it that so many busin... 12/06/2014

It seems that every single day I read one or two articles about the struggles of salespeople trying to get meetings with the presidents or decision makers of companies. Yesterday, I read a piece by a colleague talking about how the president of one company actually has a "Wall of Shame" for salespeople. I read.  I sip my coffee.  I think about how difficult it must be. Then I proceed to delete the 9 messages left on my phones from salespeople.  Yes - usually without listening to them. GASP.  What a jerk.  Don't worry - I'm ready for it.  I'm sure you're going to give me grief in the comments below.  But here's what you need to know.  I'm not here to mock you.  I'm here to help you.  So with that being said, I want to give you a few tips and tricks for how to fail at selling.  Follow the... 12/02/2014