This rings true even in recessions.  That’s where the old adage ‘cash is king’ in a recessionary market comes from.  Many companies saw the recession coming and moved into cash.  They were waiting for deals. They’ve been waiting for the market to turn. They’re also waiting to buy from you. Sell to them. They’ve got money – some of it could be yours.

So, how do you get some of that money? A story first…

Years ago, one of my sales teams was working with a large client called Public Storage.  We were doing about $180,000 a year in business with them.  When we asked them how much total spending they did with us and competitors of ours, they said they’d have to check.  The following week they came back and said overall, company wide, they spent about two million dollars.  Wow–and we were only getting nine percent of that! Imagine how the conversation changed at that point to, “How can we get more of your business? What do you need to see from us to spend fifty percent of that figure with us?” We knew they had the money because they told us they were spending it! Now we just needed to work closely with them to have them spend it with us instead of our competitors.

Figure out which of your clients or prospects are doing well. Do your research and really focus on them, and you’ll land them without any problem.  Ask your clients how much of their current business you are currently getting.  Spending time with your top clients to increase revenues is easier than finding new ones.  They’ve got money – some of it could be yours.

Any stories to share ?

WHY, WHY, WHY would you waste money on Yellow Pages advertising when virtually no one keeps their books, and those who keep them virtually never use them, they use Google search instead.

Fridge Magnets used to be popular handouts for service companies like house painters, but now fridges are stainless steel – and magnets don’t stick.

TV Ads were popular ad spends in the 80s and 90s but now people fast forward though them on their DVRs.

What other marketing tactics are going the way of the rotary phone???

This is Marketing 101, but something we often need a reminder of:

When I was 21, I had one of 800 franchises with the world’s largest house painting company, College Pro Painters.  My territory was 90,000 people and I was enthusiastic about marketing my services to all of them!  But in order to hit my target profit, I only needed to paint 150 out of the 35,000 houses in Sudbury.

I learned my first lesson in marketing: it’s less about marketing to everyone and more about marketing to those who will most likely buy from me.

I was taught to describe my clients first so I could figure out how to spot them and know where they lived. I figured out the type of clients I wanted lived on curvy streets, with brass kick plates on their doors.  They had manicured lawns, and drove BMWs and Volvos and their houses needed painting.

I became so focused on marketing to this group that if prospects called from areas outside of my target market, I didn’t take the work. Some might balk at turning away a customer, but I was focused on building my name and brand in my target market, (not to mention keeping my down time costs lower). Rather than be just another painter, I was molding College Pro Painters into the painting company of choice for a very specific market, and counting on the profitability from being so hyper-focused.  I have helped several different companies focus their marketing efforts like this, and it always pays off.

Your target demographics should be so crystal clear that it defines everything you do as an organization.

Be careful. Full stop.

I’m kinda tired of hearing so many twenty somethings running around calling themselves ‘Social Media Experts’ and giving one of the reasons that they are as they are ‘Digital Natives’ having grown up with computers and social media.

That’s crap.

I was at a conference recently and heard Gary Vaynerchuk say that would be practically the same as saying, to hire me as an electrician because I’ve used light switches and plug in appliances for 40+ years. I’d screw up your electrical work in no time flat – but I’m an electrical native.

Get proof of their expertise. Check references. And ensure you are very clear of the outcomes you are hiring them to achieve.

Or take your chances and hire them…

Taking a client or prospect out to dinner is pretty standard business.  If you want to grow business, you need to wine and dine clients, right?  Nothing radical about that concept.

How could anyone poke holes in this centuries old business practice?  Well, a friend of mine recently challenged me on this and asked me a question that I hadn’t really considered and based upon my experience, most in business haven’t considered either.

His question was simple: Why do most companies take their clients out to expensive dinners or rounds of golf that cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars and then when it comes time to send them a gift, those same executives get wigged out over a gift that costs a couple hundred dollars?

He went on to explain that the meal is consumable and gone the same day, and although there is a memory created, most clients have that same experience with dozens of vendors each year and the memory fades quickly. Why is your dining or social experience any better than the next guy? Doesn’t it make sense to instead surprise your best clients with a gift that is best in class, practical, unique and that every time they use it they think of you for decades after?

I was stunned by the simplicity of the concept and it dawned on me that he may be on to something. We as business owners have been programmed to do the same things our competition is doing and think we are making an impact or truly deepening a relationship for the long term. We take people out to a nice three hour dinner with great food and drink or spend hundreds of dollars on a five hour round of golf, only to leave the client without a tangible and physical memory point to be reminded of our relationship.

At best we leave them with some promotional trinket from China. I decided to test his line of thinking and ordered 15 of his best-selling gifts which was from his exclusive Cutco cutlery line. Many of you are likely familiar with the brand as it’s the Rolex and Tiffany of cutlery but what most don’t know is that this friend of mine, John Ruhlin, invented their corporate engraving business and has built a much of his strategic gifting company around this one product. He is also the guy that gave me the unbelievable Brooks Brothers experience that I wrote about last year. Very inspiring and worth a read as well.

John’s team had each of the two piece cutlery gift sets custom engraved into the steel blade my logo and each client’s name (gotta love personalization!) along with a handwritten note to each person. The cost was a couple hundred dollars a gift all in. They were sent in February so the client was not expecting anything and the basic premise was to thank them for “carving out room” for us to work together. The gifts were mailed off and I waited anxiously to see if I would get a response or if people would be too busy to even mention the gesture. It did not take long and the response was beyond my already high expectations!!

My clients loved not just the product (the brand of Cutco carried some nice weight) but went on and on about the handwritten note and the fact that a high end product like Cutco was custom engraved with their name on it. They felt special and their spouses also loved being included for once in an business appreciation experience. Big brownie points for me with the spouse…huge! The cool thing I realized is that unlike the dining experience that wears off in the weeks following, with a special gift like this, for the next 10-20 years my most cherished business relationships will be reminded of me a couple times a week and the fact that I took the time to say thank you in a special way. It will be with them when they host clients and friends at their home for business functions and for holidays for decades to come. While there is nothing wrong with social experiences, that cannot be said for the dinners I have had or the golf rounds I have played. Like most of the powerful concepts in business, giving a special gift like this is not rocket science but most of us are too caught up in email or the next deal to take a few minutes to think strategically about how we are going to leverage and impact our most important relationships.

Laptop Advertising 2011

Here are the awesome new companies now advertising on my laptop for 2011…

OutsourcingThingsDone.com is a leased labor business based in Manila, Phillipines.  They provide high-level virtual assistants, customer service teams, plus much more.  With clients in the US, Canada and Australia they can work to find you a solution for your virtual labor needs.  Plus, it’s who I’ve been using for the last 6 months for my virtual assistant.

Nita Lake Lodge is Whistler’s Most Exclusive Luxury Boutique Hotel.  It’s position overlooking Nita Lake was chosen long before the boutique hotel was built in 2008. Nita Lake Lodge is a truly luxurious accommodation that provides both the private beauty that comes only with waterside property and the convenience of being steps from the base of Whistler Mountain.  Inside you can indulge every sense. Settle in to sumptuous comfort as you take in lake, mountain or valley views from your suite. Discover a new world of tastes in one of three gourmet restaurants that celebrate organic, locally sourced foods.  Or enjoy the including spa treatments.  I know it well – my chalet is a one minute drive away.

Appletree Answers is committed to providing an integrated communications center for inbound and outbound calls, emails, faxes and chats. Delivered through a state-of-the-art infrastructure, the company’s service gives business owners and employees a 24/7 messaging center. With dedicated teams and 21 offices around the United States and Puerto Rico, Appletree delivers a powerful customer service experience that positively reflects on every one of their customers. Based in Wilmington, Delaware, Appletree Answers is a consistent winner of business awards and recognition including four years in a row on the INC 500.

I Love Rewards is an employee recognition solution that helps companies recognize brilliant performance and empowers employees to choose their own rewards.  Unlike traditional service award programs, I Love Rewards creates authentic moments of recognition that resonate with workers of every generation.  I know this company in depth.  I mentored them back in 2007/08.  They’re really well run.  Consistently rated a top company to work for nationally.

Ruhlin Promotion Group is someone you should engage in 2011.  There are millions of companies that offer value added products & services, but executives are too busy to hear how great your product is…unless you shock them at their core. Ruhlin Promotion Group employs “strategic appreciation” and it involves giving gifts that are so cool and different that your potential clients and current clients have no other choice but to respond. Custom engraved Cutco, eclectic Robert Graham shirts, plasma sized woodcarvings…nothing is too high end or off limits. Bottom line they can help you open doors & thanks clients with gifts that rock and inspire people to pay attention.  I already have a FULL set of their chefs knives engraved with my name & company logo on them too.  His new sticker is en route…and will replace Kiva.org

Background Backup delivers a very personal level of service to business owners & entrepreneurs looking to ensure that critical business data is securely protected and accessible. Tailored for organizations sized 1 to 100, data is automatically encrypted and backed up as often as every 15 minutes, to local drives as well as secure cloud locations.  No-one really cares about backing up, but EVERYONE cares about being able to restore – wherever you are, and whenever you need it.  I used them all of 2010.  Love them.

Do you think cute girls randomly driving Red Bull Minis all over a city have anything to do with Red Bull having over 60% of the energy drink market?? That is ONE of many of Red Bull's marketing tactics.

You only truly see one out of three ads put in front of you. And you only take action after seeing a brand marketed to you one out of nine times.  So, it takes something like 27 hits from a brand for a prospect to even respond. Think about that for a second. Are your prospective customers getting all 27 hits?

Twenty years ago, I was recruiting franchisees at Queens University for College Pro Painters, and we decided to hammer the students on campus with 27 hits in 48 hours to really drive as much awareness and potential candidates in the door as possible.

So, five of us College Pro people hit campus like a tidal wave, parking our College Pro van on campus.  We placed 100 lawn signs around campus, handed out flyers at meal lines on campus, put the same flyers under doors in dorms. Sometimes we were asked to leave, which to us meant, “leave this floor and go to the next one.” While we did this, all of us walked around campus wearing huge College Pro logos on our winter coats.  We went into classrooms and put flyers on desks and chairs and ran tables in the main buildings where we’d hand out flyers to students.  We even called each student who lived on campus who had a home address in cities we needed franchisees.

At the end of two days, there wasn’t anyone we cared about who didn’t know we wanted franchisees.  We easily hit our marketing goals with these guerilla marketing efforts. What did our competitors do? They ran an ad in the paper.

The reason why College Pro was successful—whether it was recruiting for franchisees or marketing our services to customers—was because we were focused on our target market at all times. The reason our competitors failed was because they put an ad in the paper for new employees! Sure, there’s a chance they knew their prospective leads might come from the local paper, but it was a shot in the dark. Placing an ad in the paper meant fighting to get your message out there to every single type of reader and hoping the right set of eyes landed on your specific entry.

Why market to a wide group of people, with maybe only twenty percent who might be listening, when you can market to an audience that is completely tuned in to what you have to say?

In EVERY economy, including this one, some companies kick the ass of their competitors.  If you want to be the one kicking it, start pushing 27 hits.  If you used to do it and stopped.  Perhaps that’s why your revenues have dropped as well.

Laptop Bag Advertising 2011

OK – You asked for it.

The advertising spots on my laptop sold out in less than 12 hours for 2011.

A few savvy companies asked if they could advertise on my laptop bag instead, as the laptop was sold out.

I said I’d check. I did.

And I found a new laptop case for 2011 that will allow for 6 iPhone sized logo ads to be produced and sewn on.  These will be professionally produced badges and will be professionally sewn on the front of the laptop bag.

Remember – the advertising value here is huge – I spend a LOT of time in Airports, with groups of Entrepreneurs/CEOs.  And a ton of time in business lounges, etc.

Your logo will be seen by thousands of people throughout the year.

As well your logo & the advertising on my laptop bag (which is the first I’ve heard of) will be talked about a number of times on my Blog, on Twitter, FaceBook, LinkedIn etc.

ONLY 6 Spots available for 2011.  $2,500 per spot.  And I still have to approve advertisers, as I can only recommend brands I love.

This is the exact bag your ads will be one.  You can even pic the placement (priority order of when you book with me).

While everyone else is recession minded and shutting down production, you’re going to be planting the seeds for growth.

I was working with a client in Berlin who mentioned that they just landed a TV advertising deal where they don’t pay any fixed advertising fees. Instead, they negotiated a revenue-share deal with the TV station where they make a bit of money off of each new client their TV ads generate.

Remember, advertising outlets like TV, radio, magazines, newspapers and websites have no hard costs to run your ad.  For TV and radio, it’s airtime.  For magazines and newspapers, it’s a piece of paper they have to print anyway (one piece of paper in a magazine ends up being four full page ads and a staple in the middle).  Often, and especially now, magazines will run ads for free or very cheap if they are going to print the next day. Any unsold ad space in newspapers can never be re-sold.  Once Tuesday’s issue goes to print, it’s over for that specific window of sales potential.  It’s not as if it were a bottle of wine they are selling, which if not sold today, they can always sell tomorrow.

All media outlets have expiring inventory and they will sell their space for whatever they can negotiate as a price for at that time.

Years ago, I ran a very large barter company and we had tons of clients in advertising.  They would all trade advertising space for products from other companies.  All those ads you see in magazines for golf courses and hotels were not paid for with cash.  They were all paid for by the golf course trading twenty, fifty, or one hundred green fees in exchange for the ad. What about the hotel advertised on page 2? About ten to twenty nights in a hotel room for the ad.  It doesn’t cost a golf course anything to trade green fees except the cost of a scorecard and pencil–the golf course and hotel room will still be there the next day to re-sell to someone paying cash.  If you can trade your products or services with the media, they’ll turn around and re-sell it for cash to their clients later, too.

Don’t be afraid to negotiate the price, too; all advertising gets cheaper the closer it is to the date or time the ad will run, as I mentioned earlier.  I’ve negotiated millions of dollars of radio and TV ads, which were “pre-emptable.” We got them for fifty percent off, but if someone else came along willing to pay full price they’d cancel our ads. “Great,” I’d say. “I’m building a brand for years to come – I’ll take as many 50% off ads as I can get.” Someone else can pay full price.

I live by an old adage that always helps me through downturns:
“Early to bed, early to rise. Work like hell and advertise…”

pic Por Homme

Laptop at TEDx

Last year, I sold 5 spots for great B2B companies to advertise on my laptop.  We had a waiting list within days.

Now, for 2011, there are three spaces available (2 have already sold for 2011, 1 spot is already taken for 2012).  The 6th space is donated to Kiva.org as I did last year.

Only 3 spots left.

If you want your company name & logo in front of thousands of entrepreneurs and business people throughout North America and occasionally globally this year. Try it.

I’ll be speaking at more EO & YPO chapters than ever before.  I’ll be speaking at dozens of conferences, flying business class, and as usual spending time in airport business lounges.

My MacBook Pro is with me and pretty much always out and being used.  I take it out in all my meetings regardless of who I’m working with.

I will also post about the advertising companies on my Blog and regularly all year on Twitter, FaceBook & LinkedIn.

Why sponsor my Laptop for all of 2011? This will get your logo seen by tens of thousands of influential business people this year.

It’s pretty widely known that my nickname is ‘Connector’ so you know I’ll be telling everyone that your company is sponsoring my laptop too.

Ya – and it’s capped at 5 (2 Sold – Now 3 left) placements…

First come first serve (but I have to like the brands)… i.e. the only chair company I could rave about is Herman Miller with their Aeron, and my favorite headsets are from Headsets.com etc.  I have to be able to say no if the brand doesn’t fit.

I’m auctioning off five (2 Sold – Now 3 left) sticker spaces on my MacBook Pro cover for $2,500 a piece. That comes out to about $200 a month, or $50 a week.

They will stay on my laptop all year, and you’ll “own” that piece of real estate on my laptop case. If anyone asks about your sticker, I’ll send him or her to whatever website/email address you want.

Want in? Email me – Cameron@BackPocketCOO.com