January 2010

Good Tuesdays

January 29, 2010

Starting Tuesday, D. Rowe’s Restaurant (our client, in the interest of delighted disclosure) is going to start doing something cool. Well, it all started last summer. David and Meghan Rowe donated 5% of their gross revenues on Tuesdays last summer to help Sarah Hill and KOMU-TV send WWII veterans to D.C. to view the war [...]

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A Revised Sales Rep Email to a Customer

January 29, 2010

A couple days back, I expressed my frustration with an email I got from a sales rep.
A colleague, journalist, and now ivory-towered academic asked in the comments how I might have written that email. He’s the instructor-type, you know.
And, as usual, Joey was right. I sat down and - in about six minutes - wrote [...]

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It Sounds Easy: A Million-Dollar Radio Presentation

January 27, 2010

If you work for a radio station, I’m about to offer you a million-dollar idea for free. Please take it and run with my blessings and love for your medium:
Before I was a Partner in Wizard of Ads, I invented a business model that helped my small-market radio company add an additional $1,000,000 in local-direct, [...]

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Just Got This Email From A Sales Rep

January 27, 2010

Hi Tim,
Remember me? I bonused [your client] some ads for Christmas? :)
There schedule ends January 31st. So, I thought you would want to renew especially since the location in [city] is somewhat new. What are your plans for [client] for 2010.
Maybe we could get together with a phone call?
Hi Daily Blur Reader,
Would [...]

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Interview: Sales Rep Frustrations Explained, Part 2

January 27, 2010

This is another excerpt (read Part 1 here) from an interview I did last week with someone who could really help the advertising sales industry (or anyone in it who was willing to listen.) I’ve changed her name to prevent petty problems for her in the future. I’ve also redacted names of companies, media, and [...]

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A Listening Exercise

January 26, 2010

The most common sales rep frustrations I hear from clients and all small business owners across North America:
Sales reps don’t listen. Sometimes they act like they listen, but I’m pretty sure they’re just nodding and waiting for me to finish so they can start talking again.
Want to learn to actively listen?
It requires practice. In your next [...]

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Interview: Sales Rep Frustrations Explained, Part 1

January 26, 2010

This is an excerpt from an interview I did last week with someone who could really help the advertising sales industry (or anyone in it who was willing to listen.) I’ve changed her name to prevent petty problems for her in the future. I’ve also redacted names of companies, media, and people. They’re not crucial [...]

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Zappos CEO on Company Culture

January 25, 2010

Adam Bryant of the New York Times interviewed Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com. It’s a quick, great little read about company culture.
A few of my my favorite things from Hsieh:

“So for us, at Zappos, we really view culture as our No. 1 priority. We decided that if we get the culture right, most of the [...]

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Scheduling, Previewing, and Practice

January 24, 2010

Exciting things have been happening in our advising and writing and designing and delivering and problem-solving practice.
So, in previewing my weeks ahead, I made an unusual step. I hope you don’t think less of me.
I scheduled family time. Does that make me one of those over-committed type-A you-know-whats that’s so busy he doesn’t have time [...]

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