Podcasting at the Gym

Do you podcast? If not, I highly recommend it. It’s free. It’s easy. And it is a great way to make use of time that otherwise may be less than productive.

For example, at the gym I see people watching mindless TV shows while exercising. I see people reading mindless magazines. I have no ill will toward these folks. Perhaps they require something mindless to do while working out so they can focus on their fitness. But, if I had to bet on it, I would wager that this is not the case. I would, in fact, wager that these are the same folks who couldn’t tell you who the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court is or who the Chairman of the Federal Reserve is. You get my point.

Podcasting allows you to catch up on news, books, music, and all sorts of other interesting and engaging subjects in a personal and efficient manner.

Try it. You might like it!

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Still High

Last week’s trade show and conference in Louisville, KY still has me fired up. I met so many awesome people and had such a great time. It just doesn’t get any better than that.

This week, I’m diligently reaching out to many of these people. If you’re one of them, thank you for your patience. When it rains, it pours.

If you’re not one of them, drop me a line. There must be some reason why you’re reading this post. What is it? How can I help you? I can’t help you if you don’t reach out and ask for help. Now is the time. I’m looking forward to hearing from you.

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Marketing Budgets

I have a question for you: What is your marketing budget? More precisely, what % of your sales are being directly spent on marketing initiatives?

I know this question raises more questions. It’s not always clear what consistitutes marketing vs. something else. I know. But the question remains. And it’s an important question.

In general, businesses should be spending a minimum of 5% of sales on marketing initiatives. This not a hard rule but a guideline.

What about you? What does your marketing budget look like?

More importantly, how effective are your marketing expenditures? I’ll save this question for a future post.

If you need help in this area, call me. I can help.

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Taming the Email Beast

A friend of mine, Randy Dean, just announced the release of his latest book, Taming the Email Beast. Randy is a speaker and trainer focused on productivity issues. He is a top notch individual.

If you ever get buried in email, you need to read his new book. It is available on amazon. com or at www.TamingEmailBook.com. Check it out. You’re inbox will never be the same.

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Mental Toughness

Being mentally tough is an important ingredient to success in business and in life. So what are you doing to strengthen your mental toughness? I’d like to hear from some of you about this. What are your thoughts about this topic? Do you intentionally work on this? Or do you have no idea what I’m asking about? Talk to me.

One of the reasons why I’m training to run a marathon this fall is to develop mental toughness- the ability to remain strong and to be able to think clearly in the midst of adversity. Running insane distances requires mental strength. Physical ability is the easy part. The mental commitment to endure is the real challenge.

Why is this important to me? Good question. My world is becoming more complex all the time. My ability to remain focused and engaged is challenged at times. I realize that, despite my human limitations, there is room for improvement. I want to be better. Sharper. Faster. Hungrier.

Mental toughness is important to me. What about you?

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Thoughts on Marketing

Many marketing efforts fail because they don’t clearly identify the intended target market segments or link their marketing initiatives to a specific strategy focused on these segments. Instead, marketing efforts are directed generally at everyone with a broad message that doesn’t resonate with anyone in particular.

I like to approach marketing efforts from a broad perspective initially. It seems to me that businesses only have two paths for growth. One path is to sell more to existing customers. The other path is to sell to new customers. Each requires a unique marketing strategy and initiatives. The first path is measured by customer retention and add-on sales. The second path is measured by new sales. Both paths require a customer-focused organization, which is the topic for another time.

Prerequisites for selling more to existing customers are the existence of a compelling value proposition, flawless execution of product/services, and an organization that really cares about its customers. I refer to these as prerequisites because they lead to high customer retention rates. Without high levels of customer retention, it will be very difficult to sell more to existing customers.

Once a business has a solid customer base, they should focus on add-on sales to these customers. After all, they’ve already made significant investments in the customer relationship. They’ve built trust. Why not get in deeper with these customers? What else do they need that you can help them with?

Acquiring new customers, on the other hand, requires a different approach. Creating new sales demands investments in marketing initiatives designed to create awareness of the brand and interest in its offerings. It demands investments in salespeople and processes to develop these new customer relationships.

In all cases, marketing efforts must be planned to support the overall strategic direction of the company. They need to be funded and supported at all levels of the organization. They need to be measured and analyzed for their effectiveness.

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