Some of Dayna’s “rock star principles” are below, although not offered in as enthusiastic and compelling a manner as she presents it:

1) Passion: It’s not about you. It’s about the fans (or your colleagues, family and friends). Remember what’s in it for them, not what’s in it for us. Example: Do you think Steven Tyler wants to sing “Walk This Way” at every concert? He’s passionate about pleasing his fans!

2) Knowledge: Sammy Hagar was the best guest Dayna had on the radio, because he always did his homework on current affairs and topics of interest. Similarly, we should go into interviews or meetings fully prepared.

3) Networking: Relationships are EVERYTHING. The most important thing about networking is doing things for other people. She gives a great example about David Crosby–probably in her book “Finding Your Inner Rock Star.” Talk to everyone, and respect them. No one is below you.

4) Appreciation: Never stop saying thank you. Great Billy Idol story…can’t write it fast enough. Thank you notes are so important. The most powerful tool around is a hand-written thank you note. Send notes to clients, friends and colleagues. It makes a very strong impression. Appreciation is also about doing the right thing. When on tour in Houston, for example, Van Halen visited a young man, Kevin, who was sick with cystic fibrosis. They absolutely made his day. Kevin died two weeks later.

Leadership thoughts Dayna received this morning from her Twitter followers:

-Enlighten your people; let them know what your vision is so they can do their work
-Hire smart people and then get out of the way
-Engage: Great Lady GaGa example, about always, always trying to engage and please her “little monsters.”

Dayna is a compelling, gifted speaker and we’ll all be applying her principles in our daily work and lives!

Well, I’m not touching that one with a 100 foot pole, at least not in this post. I was personally annoyed by the ubiquitous coverage of the trial itself, all but boycotting CNN for its made-for-TV-movie segments that will surely garner them an Emmy. And quite frankly, Nancy Grace scares me. The bottom line is that I watched very little coverage and read even less about courtroom tactics and spectator shuffles–that is, until the verdict came in.

Then something caught my eye. Not long after the verdict was read and just moments after the formal press statement was delivered by Ms. Anthony’s lawyers, her defense team departed to a bar down the street and partied their hearts out. In one exceptionally fascinating moment, a key attorney literally jumped up and down five times while watching the playback of the sweet, sweet victory on an overhead monitor. There were hugs, kisses and champagne all around. You’d think they won the lottery…and I guess in some way, they had.

After training more than 1,000 people in what to say and do when communicating with the media, this image stopped me cold. If they truly believed her to be innocent, the defense team was relieved their client was found not guilty. This alone might warrant celebration, BUT at that time? That place? On the first floor near the windows, right where any reporter could record their jubilation?

One would think that nearly 30 years after the disastrous interview of Exxon’s Lawrence Raul by Kathleen Sullivan regarding the Valdez, savvy business people would know how to behave during unique and possibly damaging situations. Crisis situations. Media opportunities. Any time or place where you may be asked to defend your position or promote your company. Apparently, Casey Anthony’s lawyers were so lost in their unadulterated joy they did not stop to consider their client is one foot away from being pitchforked the minute she leaves the courthouse.

Their disregard for good taste may not hurt them personally now that their careers are skyrocketing to the top (must make a note of this in case I ever need a really good defense attorney) but the rest of us must play by the rules. If we don’t? Reputations are ruined. Customers don’t buy our products. License to operate is foiled. And if you’re an attorney, you hurt your client. Period.

Let’s brush up, then, on these media basics:

• The camera is always on. Don’t let your guard down when you believe an interview is over. You can be videotaped walking to your car, in and out of the restroom…just about anywhere, any time.
• The microphone is always on. Many people remember Ronald Reagan’s “nuke” joke in the early 80s, but he was just the first in a line celebrities, politicians and business people who failed to remember the microphone was on. Unless you are alone in a padded room, assume there are ears everywhere, let alone microphones.
• The media have a job to do. Be professional but not too comfortable. Nothing is ever off the record.
• Don’t be a Twitter twit. I made that up, but the point is clear. Anything you write via any type of digital media–e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, etc.–will stay with you for the rest of your life.
• Do the right thing. If you don’t want your actions or words taken out of context, then watch your actions and your words. Be a person of integrity.

Too often, people think strategic marketing and implementation require big dollars. Think again, and consider this 3 Step Tactical Guerrilla Marketing Plan:

Step 1 | Gather Intel Through Surveillance

In order to properly execute any tactical marketing operation, one must survey the environment.

The surveillance should include:

• Assessing the target audience by conducting surveys to determine their interests and purchasing habits. For example, Survey Monkey is a free online resource to gather feedback.
• Monitoring your online presence and benchmarking competitors through free tools like Google Alerts and Social Mention that notify you when specified search queries (i.e., your company’s name, industry and competitors) appear online in articles, social media posts, blogs and videos

Step 2 | Assembling the Troops

Look at our Military. They are a keen example of how assembling a properly trained team will yield significant results.  To have successful marketing campaigns, business owners have to budget for the right team of employees, consultants and contractors.

Everyone on the team must play his/her role to ensure that the mission is completed. The representatives who answer your phone and interact with your customers are on the frontline and can kill opportunities.  Case in point, I recently read a testimonial titled “Who Is Answering Your Phone.” It briefly highlighted how an unpleasant store clerk abrasively asked a journalist to call back.  Needless to say, the journalist never did and the store owner missed out on a free publicity opportunity.

Step 3 | Operation Gain Visibility

Assess the audience, gather intel and assemble the troops–it’s time to execute.

Below are some guerrilla marketing, public relations and advertising tactics that are often overlooked.

Guerrilla Marketing Tips

• Power Behind A Signature—An email signature that includes your name, title, company’s name, contact information, website, social media links, line about most notable award/recognition and a link to a recent promotional piece/media feature reminds others about your company’s current endeavors.
• Business Card Links—Build an online community by including links to your social media profiles on your business cards.

Guerrilla Advertising Tips

• Medium—After defining the target audience, select a print, television, online or radio medium that will have the greatest impact.
• Messaging—Never underestimate the intel gained from your surveillance. Develop your messaging by considering what motivates your customers.
• Timing—Effective advertising is all about timing. If your goal is to connect with a specified demographic, you should target that audience with ads around cultural holidays (ie: Black History Month, Women’s History Month, National Hispanic Heritage Month, Asian Pacific Heritage Month, etc).
• Incentives—Deals/coupons have an average redemption rate of 30-50 percent and are appealing during a recession.  Always consider your bottom line–Can you afford the deal?
• Walking Advertisements—Branded t-shirts, hats, pens and other paraphernalia should be worn or used as much as possible.

Guerrilla Public Relations Tips

• Social Responsibility—Most media outlets are seeking the next great human interest story and companies that give back to the community are featured in the media more than their competitors.
• Building Your Contacts—Use the results from Google Alerts to reach out to journalists and bloggers who are featuring stories in the company’s industry.
• Timing—The bulk of media features come from having events and product releases when the concepts are media worthy.
• Gratitude— goes a long way! Say thank you and follow up with free give-a-ways to journalists/bloggers who feature your company.

Remember, the simplest solutions are always in plain sight.  Have you overlooked any of these marketing opportunities?

Shar-day Campbell is a marketing communications professional who has honed valuable skills that are proven to establish/maintain rapports, increase lead generation and build brand awareness.  Her work has been featured in national news outlets and recognized by the State of Texas and City of Houston. She is a proud member of the Houston American Marketing Association and is currently freelancing while seeking new career opportunities.  For timely marketing communications tips and more information about Shar-day Campbell, connect with her on Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter. 

This post was written by Toby Brown, nationally prominent legal services marketing and social media speaker, and a contributor to the award-winning “Three Geeks and a Law Blog.”

I know … everyone loves to hate PowerPoint and much has been written about why it’s such a bad thing. Yet everyone still seems to use it. My use of PowerPoint has evolved over the years and I generally follow the Best Practices out there, avoiding too much text, keeping slides simple, using compelling graphics and basically using PowerPoint to emphasize my point – not to make it for me. So recently as a challenge to myself, I made two presentations without using PowerPoint. Both of these presentations were on cutting-edge topics, brand-new presentations for me. This meant they would be challenging to present in any event.

First off – instead of submitting a slide deck for the handouts, I actually produced two case studies / articles. This did require more effort on my part, but instead of telegraphing everything I was going to say in advance to my audience, I actually provided them with a valuable take-away.

When I gave the presentations, I used flip-charts and white-boards to illustrate any points I wanted to emphasize – mostly drawing graphs (one of my economist failings I suppose). I enjoyed this aspect of the challenge, as I was able to bring the ideas to life as I described them. I was also able to move more fluidly to different aspects of the presentation in response to questions, instead of saying “I have a slide later on that shows that.”

The Results:

On both occasions I received very positive feedback. Attendees made a point of coming up to me to thank me for not using PowerPoint. One person said it made them focus on what I was saying, instead of the screen. And instead of having a crutch to lean on, I became even more involved in my presentation. So the quality of my presentation went up for the audience and I had fun getting out of a rut.

The real epiphany came after the conference. Realizing I was the only one not to use PowerPoint made me truly stand-out. It was a definite differentiator, so much that one attendee offered me a job on the spot.

So if you are trying to make your presentations stand out in a crowd, you might try one or two sans the PowerPoint crutch. You will get noticed and you might actually enjoy it.

The LMA Houston luncheon planning team put together a group of stellar media people to share their insights on trends, topics and concerns: Greg Barr, Managing Editor, Houston Business Journal; Brenda Sapino Jeffreys, Senior Reporter, Texas Lawyer; L.M. “Wooty” Sixel, Workplace Columnist and Business Reporter, Houston Chronicle; and Gail Delaughter, Reporter, KUHF Houston Public Radio. The team was rounded out by the informative and interactive Laura Meherg from Wicker Park Group.

That having been said, much of what they covered, I heard from my supervisors during my very first media relations job in the early 80s:

• Read the publications you’re pitching
• Be responsive
• Do not send a press release out and allow your primary executives or media contacts to be MIA when the phone rings
• Understand media deadlines
• Don’t pitch re-hashed feature or news stories

Along with these basics came the team’s very useful insights on how to position attorneys as media sources, the fact that they respect attorney-client privilege (helpful to know, since getting press-shy law firm leaders in front of a reporter can be harder than asking them to drag their feet upon fiery chunks of coal). One significant nugget all in-house PR people can ponder is one panel member’s request that media relations people “act as expediters, not gatekeepers.”

Although the program was excellent, I wondered why the panel felt it was necessary to remind a group of media relations and PR people of the obvious. What was up with that?

Rewind now to a chief marketing officer dinner I attended a few months back. The table topic was “Can social media enhance a company’s name awareness,” the response to which kept the 20-plus CMOs busy for two hours…commenting, disagreeing, pontificating and professing what they do and do not know about social media. At some point I made a statement that was as clear as the 21 noses on our 21 respective faces: “One size doesn’t fit all. Don’t we need to assess each company’s specific marketing goals and create an integrated mix, which may or may not include social media?” They looked at me like I had stumbled upon the Holy Grail.

I’ve got more stories in my pocket, but my point is this: Why is the new black really the old black? What’s happened to all of us who communicate for a living? The LMA media panel and certainly that roomful of CMOs–the marketing creme de la creme in their industries–know their stuff. And yet, here we are, reminding each other to answer the phone while getting into rip-roaring disagreements over how often to tweet.

I suggest simplicity. It goes something like this:

• Remember that in all business communications activities, it’s about what you’re trying to achieve. Don’t forget the marketing and media relations 101 basics of determining your goal, strategies, tactics and metrics. The tactics may be different based on who you are trying to reach, but–and I hope my two cats will forgive me–we all know there’s more than one way to skin a cat.
• Don’t be dazzled into blindness. We’re smack in the middle of the Information Age. Some day we may gum our dentures and tell our great grandchildren about how we used to use this thing called an iPhone, long before the supersonic BeamMeUp was created to zap them to Europe and back in nanoseconds. Even so, we can’t jump on every bandwagon just because it’s the hottest thing around. Integrated business communications is always about the right tactical mix for the right purpose, complete with metrics for measurement.
• Remember the obvious. Yes, the original black before it became the new black. Answer phone calls on time. Pitch fresh news to reporters on a timely basis. Respect deadlines–your client’s, your company’s, the media’s and your own. Think about your goals and how to get there. Don’t follow the crowd because they have shiny toys. You are in your job for a reason, right? Remember that.

Although these pointers are indeed obvious, it’s amazing how often they’re forgotten. My focus is on providing outstanding business communications services to my clients–which means I need to cut through the clutter to achieve their goals.

I admit, though, that I can’t wait for the BeamMeUp phone to come out. That would be really cool.

Such an odd thing to say at the moment, but how true. It was indeed a dose of very bad news in 1993 when we learned that our seemingly healthy baby had a weird disorder called tuberous sclerosis complex, and she would be mentally challenged, autistic and epileptic, among other things. A friend of mine says “TS stands for This Sucks,” and I wholeheartedly concur. By the day of my downsizing, Mackenzie was 11 and her diagnosis was a decade old. Hence my first ah-hah moment of the combo businesswoman/special needs parent experience: Keep it all in perspective.

In the eight years since those weepy escalator good-byes, I have read articles, posts and books written about how parenting experiences can be applied in the business world. Words like multi-tasking, productivity and improved people management are repeated ad nauseum, so there’s no point in noting them here. Still, I can’t help but step back and consider how the marathon of special needs parenting has made my career journey more enjoyable. Again, odd but true. Does this equate to making me a better business leader or team contributor? I’m not certain, but I’d like to share a few key learnings with the hope that you may be able to compare them to your own challenges and glean a pearl or two for yourself. After all, it’s all about how we look at it.

Part I: EDUCATE THYSELF

Parents of special kids have learned to navigate the world of the ARD. Like a parent/teacher conference on steroids, these annual meetings (or more, if parents or educators request them) can either be a pleasure or a rip-roaring exercise in futility. The latter of the two makes some parents permanently angry, so much so that educators wince when they see them coming. Such was our experience during the “Great Rocky Balboa Period of 2000″ when Mackenzie took to whacking at all of us when she didn’t receive essential things like, in one case, a “yellow dog” just because she saw one on TV. We tried for months to get approval for in-home behavior therapy because the school had the ability to provide it and a private shrink was too expensive. Back and forth we went, like square-dancing at the local dance hall: step right step, do-si-do, hand to your ‘pardner and promenade right out the door because you aren’t getting in-home behavior therapy!

I went from being a funny, friendly supportive parent to an I’ll-kick-your-a#!-just-because-you’re-standing-there parent, neither of which did me any good. Then a road-weary special needs mom told me to stop complaining and read the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). So I read up and became enlightened–what a novel idea!

At the next ARD, I came armed not only with good intentions but the knowledge of IDEA. By then I understood the school’s side of things–tight budgets, great demands–but also how I could respectfully yet assertively plead my case to get what I wanted.

Two days later, the paperwork went through and a lady named Miss Gladys started coming to our home to help us better understand Mackenzie’s behaviors and manage her outbursts. Things still get crazy at our house, but that’s usually by choice.

3 WORTHY LESSONS

I’m not so presumptuous as to think I’m the only person on the planet who’s BEEN. THROUGH. STUFF. I hope you can go away from this post thinking about how life’s unusual experiences have helped you approach work situations a bit differently. In the meantime, I’ll be back with Part II soon.

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is doing awesome!.

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 1,900 times in 2010. That’s about 5 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 8 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 12 posts. There were 11 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 17mb. That’s about a picture per month.

The busiest day of the year was September 9th with 63 views. The most popular post that day was You’re Hired! Winning New Work From Established Clients.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were facebook.com, fulltiltcommunications.com, linkedin.com, lmodules.com, and twitter.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for bueller, sad dog, bueller bueller, bueller bueller bueller, and very sad dog.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

You’re Hired! Winning New Work From Established Clients September 2010
1 comment

You’re Fired! 4 Important Consultant Reminders July 2010
3 comments

Four Audience-Centric Reminders to Improve Your Public Speaking October 2009

Media Lessons From Tiger Woods February 2010
4 comments

Feed Thy Blog! Four Pointers for Blogger’s Block June 2010
3 comments

It could have been the hundreds of hours of consensus building with opinionated litigators regarding which of their cases would make it into the document, or perhaps the challenges seeking client approval for said cases, or simply the runaround on design and primary messages—but either way, I was spent. “Why bother?” I asked myself. Is the work worth the return?

Recently, AMA Houston announced the following:

The American Marketing Association Houston Chapter is now accepting nominations for AMA Houston’s Marketer of the Year (MOTY). With this year’s event scheduled for March 7, 2011 at the Alley Theatre, AMA Houston’s Marketer of the Year program recognizes exceptional marketing by Houston area companies, organizations and institutions…The deadline for nominations is November 19, 2010.

This was on the heels of AMA Houston’s  “Chapter of the Year” win for the third consecutive year in a row. Commenting on the 100-plus hours devoted to crafting the entry, immediate past president Maggie Seeliger said, “This was more painful than even my undergrad term papers comparing multiple works of Shakespeare.” Even so, she beamed over the outcome and thanked our membership for making AMA Houston what it is.

Still, I wondered: Is the work worth the return? I decided to put my question out to friends and colleagues via Twitter, Facebook and e-mail. Overwhelmingly, people responded in favor of competitions. Some of their comments:

“Awards offer me the chance to receive recognition from my peers.”

“Once I won for my campaign, my management treated me differently.”

“Awards and recognition on a resume can go a long way.”

“Rankings help me get more business.”

The latter comment is especially true of business services organizations, where a long list of rankings may make the difference between getting the work or standing on the sidewalk with your nose pressed against the window. Hence the aforementioned law firm staff burning midnight oil on a litigation ranking. As with all integrated marketing, awards can be one tactic in a strategic mix on the road to increased awareness.

I recently came across an article by McKinsey & Company, suggesting that competition drives innovation. In the post titled Prizes: A Winning Strategy for Innovation, authors Jonathan Bays and Paul Jansen state that “Philanthropists, corporations, and public agencies are using innovative prize designs to address an extraordinary array of challenges, from cleaning arsenic-laced water wells in India to reducing America’s reliance on imported oil to improving the governance of African countries.” They support their claim by citing various inventions throughout the course of history that were the result of competitions.

Although AMA Houston’s MOTY competition isn’t about an invention leading to a cure for the common cold, the McKinsey article made me think of a significant purpose for pursuing marketing prizes in the first place: The very process of applying for an award forces us to look at something we’ve done well, and determine how we can do it better. It makes us raise the bar within our respective crafts to help drive business growth and create success. The pursuit of excellence in marketing is the means, and a prize like Marketer of the Year is the sweet end.

Looking at it that way, applying for awards makes obvious sense.

Still, is the work worth the return? I can remember knocking on that lawyer’s door and handing her the heavy submission, driving home glassy-eyed and weary. A month later, we learned we made an “honorable mention” in the publication. Not first prize, but an honor given the hundreds of entries. We also came out of the application exercise with an excellent database of well-written case stories, recognition worthy of posting on our web site, and a positive relationship with the editor of the publication. All in all, yes, it was worth the effort.

If you read this post prior to November 19, I encourage you to enter your organization or others for our MOTY Awards. If you read this post after late November, consider applying for our prestigious 2011 Crystal Awards competition, or other significant awards programs that showcase your achievements.

I promise you—it’s worth it.

It happened to me, too. I’m a Trixie!

Thanks for posting this, from one consultant to another.

The name “Trixie” makes me think of a pole dancer–I can read no further.

This is just a small sampling of the reaction to my July blog post titled “You’re Fired! Four Important Consultant Reminders.” I am pleased to say that Trixie has taken her own advice and now steers clear of low paying, low value work. And, although pole dancing has never been part of my repertoire, I am indeed the real Trixie.

As I wait to participate in a conference call with a long-term international customer, I am reminded of ways to both stay hired and develop new work opportunities.

How do we keep clients coming back for more? Consider the following:

1. Start by establishing a professional relationship based on reasonable fees and deadlines. Ensure that your cost and time estimates are realistic at the outset of your relationship. This establishes credibility and reasonable expectations.
2. Delight the client with outstanding work. Meeting or exceeding customer expectations by providing high quality work, on time and within budget, is key to establishing trust and credibility. For example, a simple request to edit a CEO document morphed into a multi-brochure writing assignment because the customer liked my original work. This in turn developed into the content creation for a large, global web site for the same customer. Lucky me!
3. Treat good customers like they are your only customers. Respond as quickly as possible to e-mails, phone calls and requests for information. And remember: The last thing a client wants to hear is “I’ll call you right after this client call,” or “I’ve been so busy with a global project for XYZ company.” Instead, say “I’ll get back to you by 2 p.m. today,” or “I know you have an urgent need, and it’s my priority.” They don’t want to know your problems, and to share  them in any way suggests you do not have the capacity to do their work.
4. Develop personal relationships. I know that my international asset integrity management client is writing a novel, and a law firm client goes kayaking with his family. In turn, most of my clients know I’m married, with three children and a hectic but enriching personal life. This kind of interpersonal give-and-take comes with time, but do make the time, when appropriate, to get to know your customers. It is not only rewarding, but it allows you to follow up on personal items to keep you on their minds for additional work. (If you know of any good articles on kayaking, please send them my way!)
5. Mine for opportunities. In day to day discussions, ask your clients how they are doing and what work pressures they are experiencing…or, about new corporate strategies and how they impact the bottom line. Your goal is to discreetly mine for ways to offer value to the client while developing new business opportunities.

These are just a few ways to win new work from existing customers. Don’t hesitate to ask for referrals, either! Customers are happy to help service providers whom they know and value. Ask your customers for two to three referrals they would be willing to introduce you to, either electronically or in person, and then follow up with those prospective clients. Referrals are key to finding new work, and a customer’s vote of confidence gives you an advantage over your competitors.

Here’s to being hired, as opposed to fired. If it doesn’t work out, there’s always pole dancing to fall back on.

Good luck!