Another b2b telemarket scam

In the old days, Hanson Publications would call and ask to update our 800 directory listings or confirm our shipping address. Of course, if you confirmed the shipping address, you are also accepting the directory, which you will be billed for. They got shut down a year ago.

Today I got a new variation. A accented man called from "Comutel" confirming cancellation of our order of the B2B directories from our President. "Because I don't have a PO, let me get your okay to send you confirmation of cancellation along with your copy." When I protested, he said that the cancellation was received after their printing date. I stonewalled, and he will try to call the president, I guess. Beware!

How do you post a press release?

I've done my part rewriting our latest press release, and after it is finished it needs to be sent to editors of appropriate trade journals. How should this be done to please the recipient? After all, if your release format doesn't fit how they work, they aren't going to use it.

This blog post helps answer this question concisely. The agency is getting a copy along with my revision. Posting PR information online...

How to make less of a mess in product management

Our company has engineering and it has marketing, and sales. So, who has responsibility for the product? The engineers don't know the marketplace and the salespeople have no control or knowledge of engineering, so neither is qualified to take care of our products to ensure they have the right features at the right price.

As a marketer, I can help fill the gap, but only indirectly. I'm proud of what I've got them to do for us but sometimes I yearn for total control and power over the product. What we really need is a 'product manager'! This article helps define the role and pitfalls in such an assignment.

How to make less of a mess in software product management: 'Product management means building the right product for the market at the right time, and helping sales sell it,' Corrigan says. 'It means understanding your customer inside and out, so that you can deliver the right product to the right audience. Product management puts the product on the shelf; product marketing is getting people to take it off the shelf.'

The making of a press release

As a small-time industrial marketer, PR consists mostly of 'new product' releases. While I prefer my own writing, I've let my ad agency write and release such documents, with significant editing from me, assuming they know better what needs to be done.

I've got a new product release on my desk to review. It is factually accurate, and generally usable. But it doesn't seem especially 'benefit' oriented. Yes, I remember that engineers want technical data, but in this case they also need to know why they should consider this type of equipment.

The release does open with the product's main benefit (cost savings), but not in terms of the user's needs or experience. The benefit, in terms of the user, makes this type of equipment a viable choice, and could radically change their testing methodology. How much of this 'sizzle' can I get them to squeeze into this dry document so that it is newsworthy to editors and their readers? (Dave wanders off to get a red pen and see...)

Making the most of email

Part of what my presentation at our sales meeting regarded being more professional with email communications. It really covered the style of emailing, rather than the mechanics.

The problem is that 'style' is something ingrained, so that established habits may be hard to break. So I at least tried to get them to add one new habit to their style, which is to be sure to say 'thank you' where appropriate.

Read (and share) my notes in a PDF of Making the most of email

Sales meetings...love 'em

I've been slow to blog the last week because I have been gearing up for our company's annual sales meeting. I always enjoy these. I get to see everybody, stand up in front of an audience, look smart, and eat well!

Tomorrow, I get almost two hours of our sales team's time. I am going to spend the majority of my time helping them with computer/software issues, email, and 'where can I get a PDF of that?' I'll share some of my content later this week. I'm opening with this one:

Great job-hunt advice...and marketing advice, too!

I'm tempted to leave this post up on top for a week, I think it so compelling. This recent newsletter from the SitePoint Tribune: tells you how to sell yourself when looking for a job, from someone trying to hire marketing types. Here is the jist of the article:

I couldn't care less about the applicant's qualifications (unless they can show me how those qualifications will make me money).
...
Out of the 140 applicants, only two addressed the application to "Brendon Sinclair, Executive Director." The rest were to "Whom it may concern", or "Dear Sir/Madam."

Naturally, those two applicants who addressed the letter personally got an interview. And it was simply because they showed initiative enough to figure out who the Executive Director was. It was right there on the Website -- that's pretty basic stuff.

In an interview, everyone says almost exactly the same thing. It's almost impossible, in my experience, to get a straight answer to any question in an interview.

The applicant is not going to say, "Actually, I don't think I'm the best person for this job. I'm quite lazy, frequently dishonest, and usually insolent."
...
But of our 140 applicants, only two actually demonstrated any initiative. And the best indicator of future performance is past performance.

Is your message getting thru?

I liked the latest post by Justin Hitt about using language that is about the customer and the benefits they are looking for. Used correctly, and in the right situations, it is powerful. You need to avoid creating these responses in the form of questions that have mechanical answers. The idea is to engage your reader.

Makes a good headline-writing tool, too, engaging your audience to read the content.

This selling doesn't mean a hard pitch, often just confirm a prospects interest with a few targeted questions and they become ready to buy. Remember, you want customers who will be around for the long-term, so you're not selling them on a product as much as interviewing them to receive the benefits you provide.

Marketing lesson in positioning

Marketing is not a Post-Processing Step by Eric Sink: "Marketing is not just telling the world about your product. Marketing is also deciding what product to build. You have to design and build your product to fit the market position you want it to have."

Thanks to Dana's blog for first linking this great article.

The bull-fighter

I just saw this 'tag line' in an email from a potential CRM supplier: "providing customer centric solutions to today's business challenges". Whoa--sounds like a bunch of BS, doesn't it?

Then I remembered that I had heard about a tool to help the BS-challenged. A free program, Bullfighter from Deloitte, can help find BS in your Word and Powerpoint documents.

If you are need of BS, or a chuckle, check out the classic Dilbert Mission Statement Generator.