October 2015

Plan4It

Plans don’t work out and things happen when you least expect them.

As many of you know, not only do I handle marketing and advertising at B2C Enterprises, I also work as a career firefighter/engineer in Chattanooga, Tennessee. One of the things we do is plan for emergency incidents before they happen, or, in firefighter shorthand, pre-plan.

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We visit all the commercial buildings in our district to see what unique issues the construction, layout, or materials stored might present. We study the houses as we drive down residential roads to see which are better accessed from the back alley. When we visit a home on a medical call, we even note where bedrooms are located in case we have to make a rescue in zero visibility.

Our job requires us to consider the unthinkable and plan for when the “normal” situations change. The same is true in every other job.

Need2Be Uncomfortable

As leaders of our respective businesses, projects, or departments, it doesn’t do us any good to hide our head in the sand and expect our current situations to last forever. Just ask the pay phone repair company.

The Uncomfortable Question must be asked: If this doesn’t work, if the market changes, or the current message isn’t attracting buyers, what do we do? What is our next step?

Don’t be scared off by the discomfort of knowing that your current efforts might be a waste. Take the time to consider possible issues, look at your options, and develop some alternative routes of action.

Embracing the Uncomfortable Question will not only prepare you for when your product stops selling or your database gets hacked, it might also lead to revelations on how to improve and grow your business to the next level right now.

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Dan Bryan is the B2C Enterprises representative covering the southeast Tennessee and northwest Georgia market. He can be reached at Dan@b2cEnterprises.com.

B2C Enterprises is an award-winning advertising, marketing, and business development firm. If you'd like to talk about how we can help you with a tough problem, schedule a meeting, call 540.904.1229.

September 2015

How2Answer

With about as much frequency as “How’s it going today?” I am asked “How’s business?”

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Immediately I have to decide….Is this a “not sure what to ask you so I’ll just ask the simple how is business question”, or are they genuinely interested in the affairs of the marketing and advertising agency I run? And if they are actually interested in the affairs of the company, how much do I really think they want to know or hear?

Most of the time people just want the basic information – they’re busy and on to the next thing.

The Quick Solution4You

I heard someone say once, “You asked me what time it was and I told you how to make a watch."

There is a time and a place for details, but I’m pretty sure when you’re faced with answering that ever-present question about business, it’s generally neither the time, nor the place. The “how’s business” question requires an answer that is authentic, true, and (maybe most of all) concise.

Here’s a secret – I’ve been working a lot this year on my own answer to that whole “how’s business” query. Thinking through it on my own and with a few trusted advisors led me to the place where I can help you come up with your own standard answer.

So how’s business?

“It’s so great to work for clients who appreciate what we do - with people I love in a comfortable environment. And I get to do it here in Roanoke, Virginia.”

Yep, business is good.

August 2015

Getting2Comfortable

A lot of people think those of us who are outgoing simply arrive that way.

Perhaps there are people in this world who just embrace a social setting, completely feel at ease, and can naturally even "take over" the room.

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Most of us are more likely to be uncomfortable. Yet, almost everyone still finds themselves in situations where they have to mingle, network, communicate, or break into a crowd of people. It's not easy, especially if you're not wired for that setting.

It's also a good example with which everyone can identify because we've all been there.

A Plan4Your Next Anxious Moment

So before I go into these types of situations, I generally try to come up with a little plan. It helps me get as comfortable as I can be in a variety of settings. I think about whom I may see and the questions I can ask them. I focus on the other people there - paying attention to their names, thinking about what they may like to talk about, and I remember just about everyone is experiencing things the same way. I may even joke about that.

Simply put I make myself comfortable until I actually get that way. Then before you know it, you've made a friend, found a common connection, heard something inspiring, or learned something new.

A lot of business is that way too. Take that thing you are dreading, the challenge you face, that social situation, that hard-to-conquer problem, and in the midst of your discomfort, make yourself comfortable - until you actually are.

July 2015

Disney Themes Make4A Fun Attention Getter

The back and forth of converting new business is part "The Circle of Life" and a hint of a "Tale as Old as Time".

The interrupting first line of this month's B2Seed is also a great description of what happens in most companies...

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Sales blames Marketing and Marketing blames Sales. Either the leads or prospects the sales people are getting from marketing aren't any good, or the leads are great, but those danged sellers can't seem to close any business.

One of my former bosses used to say, "never accept in good times what you wouldn't put up with in bad ones." That means when things are humming along, it's perhaps the best time to evaluate your processes, work flow, leads, and conversions. When times are tough, it's easier to get frustrated or lose your focus due to the pressures of needing to generate sales.

Cultured2Be 

Yes, I just used culture as a verb. It's okay - word creation is allowed in marketing and advertising.

Before you decide where the break down is between sales and marketing - recognize the leader sets the tone and actually determines the way an organization approaches those departments. If you've got departments fighting like that - you should start with a focus there. Fix that. 

Then begin that evaluation process. There are all kinds of modern tools - things like dedicated phone lines, customized URLs for your web traffic, UTM tags to track users and prospects. You can use codes, tracking software, client resource management software, and a bunch of other really cool things to help you find your organization's stress points.

Then you can reduce that stress and sing a new song - like "Hakuna Matata"...

June 2015

Time2Get That Idea

Sometimes I wonder when the idea will hit me.

In late 2009, I wrote my first B2Seed. Since then I've written over 60 columns and even in the months (like last month) when I wonder if I'll have anything to share, something strikes me. It's usually simple, occasionally profound, but whatever it is becomes practical, helpful, and thought provoking.

The goal is to help and to motivate.

The source is unpredictable and without boundaries or times. It could be an observation or a memory. It's been as simple as watching someone parallel park outside my office, or recalling a pearl of wisdom from a friend, business associate, or family member.

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Consistently though, the ideas come and each month I (attempt to) convert them into a short message.

Look 4The Big (and Little) Ideas

Paying attention is the first big step. Good ideas are all around you. You just have to see them and notice them. Noticing things is one of the best pieces of practical advice I can give leaders. Too often I am rushing to the next appointment, or the next task, without catching the body language of that co-worker or the glance of my client.

The cues and the details surround us. Many of the concepts that we need to use to simplify our lives and achieve the goals are in front of us. We just have to see them (and write them down) so that we can apply them at a later time.

Look for your next breakthrough. It almost always comes - just not in expected ways or at the usual times.

May 2015

Take Time2Enjoy the Days

"Don't wish away your summer."

That's what my Mom would tell me as a middle schooler when in early June I'd start talking about our annual family beach trip that wasn't until late August.

We'd pack the little wagon and head to North Carolina's Outer Banks for a two week (remember when two week vacations still existed?) family trip and it was generally the highlight of the summer.

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Although there was that one year...

They were great trips, but as Mom so rightly pointed out, they came at the very end of the summer. Before the trip there was wiffle ball to play, swimming to dive into, friends to ride bikes with, girls to meet, smaller family trips to take, and movies to watch. All enjoyable activities and the kind of things kids jam into their summers.

But if you weren't careful, you'd spend so much time looking forward to the beach trip, that you miss those good times and find yourself back in the classroom in September.

Look Up4The Motivation

I've found life to be like that. Often time business imitates life.

You pound the pavement looking for that next client. You relentlessly pursue the completion of the next project. You proudly cross the next item off of your to do list. You build that next building or hire that next employee.

All good things as a general rule.

Just be mindful that in the pursuit of that next big thing there is a pursuit. There is a need deep in us to pause and reflect and enjoy the process. It becomes part of the paycheck in life you can't cash. Building things, creating, leading, helping, producing - those are the big things of life. And they are the things of business. You're accomplishing so much - enjoy it.

Then hit the beach.