Strategic Guy

I knew it was going to be an awkward sales call the moment the sheepish voice on the line said “hello.”

He caught me at my desk just after 9 AM this morning and seemed surprised to actually be speaking with a live human being.  Here’s a recap of the 45 second chat:

Him:  My name is SALES PERSON and I noticed you were on the list to attend InTTensity’s social media summit, yet did not make it.

Me:  Yes, I wasn’t there.

Him:  What is your interest in social media?

Me:  I run a social media marketing consultancy.

Him: Oh…OK…can I send you videos from the event?

Me:  Sure.

Him:  Um…my phone number is 1-888-66-CARAH if you have any questions.

Me:  OK

Him:  Um…goodbye.

Companies invest significant time and money to create demand and identify leads.  They game up sleek and sophisticated lead generation events, Webinars and online promotions, …

Although I never shy from picking up the phone to connect with a client, partner or prospect, I tend to engage more frequently through digital communications.

Email is a must.  I text from time-to-time.  And I even have a client that prefers to communicate through Twitter’s direct messaging functionality.  It works for me.

Admittedly, my appreciation for the power and persuasion of the concise handwritten note has waned during the past few years.  Well…no more.

That’s because I received this gem in the mail in response to a column I wrote for the Washington Business Journal about the intimacy you can establish with a prospect at an industry conferences.

Personal.Note.Kendall.Nelson.CityStaff

I have never done business with Kendall or her employer CityStaff, and Strategic Communications Group (Strategic) does not currently have any staffing requirements.

However, if Kendall approaches client service with the same level of intimacy and attention to …

This past Monday I joined Government 2.0 wunderkind Chris Dorobek as a guest on his online radio program published by Govloop.

Entitled How to Get Intimate at an Industry Conference and running just over 9 minutes in length, I explore sales and marketing best practices at trade shows and events, and how to effectively integrate this traditional communications activity with social media.

I have since received a handful of complimentary “attaboy” Emails.  It typically happens when I score a nice bit of coverage.  However, my Outlook inbox this morning included a message from a fellow Govloop member who was critical of a comment I made during the interview.

In a business-to-business and business-to-government sales environment, it’s always important to remember that not everyone is equal.  You have to pay more attention to people who have decision-making and budget authority.

This person explained everyone needs to be viewed on a common …

When my wife worked in corporate marketing at telecom provider MCI a colleague of hers received a voice message from the actor Andrew Shue who was seeking a partnership for his company.

The message started, “Hi, this is Andrew Shue.  You may remember me as Billy from the TV show Melrose Place…”

Celebrity is newsworthy.  It helps open doors and gets discussions started.

Here’s an Email pitch and press release I received this afternoon that hypes a new wellness book.

I share this with you simply because I dig Vince Vaughn and consider Swingers, Old School and Wedding Crashers three of the finest movies of the past two decades.  (Yes, I have a sense of humor of an eight-year-old.)

So…in no way view this post as an endorsement of Shea Vaughn, her approach to wellness or her book.

Dear Marc Hausman :

Do you feel frazzled, disconnected, unhappy? Chances …

It was an important day for the Washington, DC region’s communications community.

More than 300 corporate marketers, social media practitioners, public relations reps and digital experts gathered at the USA Today/Gannett headquarters building for a one-day conference entitled the Mid-Atlantic Marketing Summit.

Key note speakers and panelists covered a broad spectrum of timely topics, such as marketing automation technologies, brand building and credibility, social media, content marketing, and sales/lead generation management.

I participated as a speaker on a panel discussion about trends in business-to-government marketing.  It was a lively and engaged audience.  Allan Rubin, Gal Borenstein and I explored a number of critical issues that have influenced how companies are growing their business in the public sector:

–The impact of the current budgetary environment, as well as related ethical issues faced by government decision-makers.

–Market saturation and how it has recast where companies are investing their promotional …

I play pick-up basketball a few evenings each week for the exercise and as a more productive outlet for my competitive issues.

Last night’s run was particularly intense and I arrived at home in need of some downtime before calling it a night.  I fired up the laptop and read through a few articles and blog posts I had tagged earlier in the day as being of interest.

Perhaps most relevant was a BtoB Magazine article entitled “Marketers ‘Get’ Social.” 

Writer Paul Gillin cites a survey conducted by MarketingProfs and the Content Marketing Institute that found social media to be an integral part of the content marketing programs of 75 percent of respondents.  Good!

He then references a MarketingSherpa study that reported a mere six percent of business-to-business marketers rate social media as effective when it comes to lead generation.  Bad!

In fact, Gillin contends in his article that the …

Earlier this year I penned an article for the Washington Business Journal entitled “You Don’t Have to be a Market Leader to Win an Audience.”  In the piece, I contended that field marketing executives who work for global leaders have an easier go of it because of the inherent credibility associated with their brand.

That article led Keith Hodson, a good friend and long-standing professional contact in Microsoft’s D.C. office, to drop me a line to challenge my assertion. While he acknowledged that Microsoft’s brand is an asset, he was also quick to outline a number of challenges that are unique to organizations like his.

This piece is a follow-up to my “Three Questions for Meredith Lawrence, Director of North America Federal Field Marketing, Polycom” blog post.

It must be a challenge to oversee communications in the public sector for an organization as diverse as Microsoft.  Does …

Healthy and thriving communities require more than a collection of individuals who have shared interests.

Networking, collaboration and an exchange of best practices are a must.  Teaming relationships are paramount.  Executive level mentoring and professional nurturing are a necessity.

That’s why events like the upcoming Mid-Atlantic Marketing Summit are so important.  The conference organizers – Potomac Techwire and the Capitol Communicator – will bring together a pristine group of sponsors, speakers and attendees to discuss the future of communications.

Topics include trends in social media, mobile and digital marketing, public relations, media publishing, marketing and sales automation, and multi-cultural marketing.  Applications and best practices that are relevant to companies in the consumer, business-to-business and government sectors are on the agenda.

I’m participating as a speaker on a panel about emerging issues in business-to-government marketing and promotion.  I plan to share real-world examples from Strategic Communications Group’s (Strategic) campaigns for …

The US federal government is rarely recognized for its innovation.

This perception of technical and operational ineptitude is sorely unearned.  Consider the transition the military has made during the past decade to address the dramatic shift in threat from conventional foes to more nimble rogue organizations.

I suspect many a terrorist has cast an uneasy eye towards the clouds in a fruitless search to spot unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) spotting for a kill.

Public sector innovation is also prevalent in the rapid adoption of social networking and online community participation at all levels of government.

Why?

Here’s my theory.  Unlike the commercial world in which competition is very much a zero-sum game, success in government is defined by mission fulfillment and constituent service.

As such, govies are more inclined to share best practices, dialogue about challenges and engage with their counterparts at other agencies.  It’s the perfect cauldron for …

I am a big-time proponent of creativity in communications.  It’s a defining attribute of exceptional practitioners of advertising, public relations, direct marketing and social media.

True creativity though takes work and, as a result, it’s common for a communicator to slip to tired approaches and clichés.

Here’s an example of how not to pitch a product that inherently lacks news value.  I have shared it below in its entirety, minus the name of the PR rep who blindly sent me this pitch by Email.

1.  The “look how popular my spokesperson is with major news media outlets” message fails to resonate as I am a columnist and blogger with a more modest following.  For me, it’s all about the “get.”  My goal is to profile newsmakers  who are interesting and engaging, and have yet to be hyped up by others.

2.  Trying to piggyback on the murder of University …