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VANCOUVER -- The Canadian founders of mobile gaming company A Thinking Ape embarked on a make-it-or-break-it quest to source first-rate tech wizards when they left Silicon Valley in 2010 to put down roots in Vancouver.

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Education software firm FreshGrade just took $4.3 million in seed funding to help teachers manage student work from the cloud.

FreshGrade is the brain child of Lane Merrifield, Steve Wandler, and Mark Payne. Merrifield previously founded Club Penguin, a multiplayer gaming platform for kids that Disney bought in 2007 for $350 million. This venture is similarly geared towards kids.

The software is supposed to connect teachers, parents, and students to a network (à la Slack) where teachers can organize lesson planning and assessments and communicate with teachers and students.

FreshGrade allows teachers to keep digital records of homework, projects, tests, and reports in individual student portfolios, which helps with grading at the end of a term. Those same portfolios also serve as a tracking device for student progress, that both students and parents can review throughout the year.

“Ultimately, our vision is to be able to streamline lesson planning and assessment and allow administrators and teachers to spend more time working with students and communicating with parents” said FreshGrade co-founder Steve Wandler in a press release.

The company operates on a freemium model, so the basic app is free. However, school administrations will have to pay for an enterprise-level version, which has some big-data functions. Of course, pricing differs for each school.

This fresh round of seed funding will help British Columbia-based organization expand operations throughout North America. Investors include NewSchools Venture Fund, Emerson Collective, Accel Partners, and Social Capital.

Connecting with consumers on a basic level through newsletters, email campaigns, and social media is a standard business tactic that sits squarely in the box. It’s important, but a given, and primarily used for sharing content, promotions, and company updates. But, in addition to being a run-of-the-mill approach, it’s one-sided, frequently spammy and sales-centric, and is more informative that innovative. It leaves virtually no room for gathering customer feedback, and no way to start a valuable conversation.

However, opening up the gates and involving users in your internal innovation processes allows you to ideate, create, and innovate alongside them, and develop products and services that not only meet their needs, but fully exceed their expectations. Here are 3 great ways to turn your customers into innovation resources.

1. Go Beyond the Product

If company leaders ever get into the mindset that they only have one thing to offer their customers — i.e., their product or service — they’re sorely mistaken. If what you’re selling lives up to the hype, the clients who only care about getting it and getting out are going to do so with relatively little prompting. Save the heavy advertising for prospects, and focus on building a customer-based innovation culture. Inviting your customers to participate in events, content creation, webinars, blog posts, social media discussions, and product sneak previews can rapidly open up the innovation network way beyond your internal team, providing an expanse of new ideas and true, front-line suggestions from the people who know your product best.

Says the team over at the Stanford Graduate School of Business: “The processes organizations use to pursue innovation can actually erode their capability to innovate. Systems built on stages and reviews simply bureaucratize the process and deflect attention from the user experience. Then, by limiting responsibility for innovation to a specific department, these organizations actually under-utilize the creative capabilities of other employees. Companies must create a culture of innovation that harnesses the creativity of its customers, users, and employees.”

2. Make it Worth Their While

Incentives are an obvious go-to when trying to ramp up voluntary participation in activities and events, but beware: not all payment needs to be, or even should be, monetary.

While gift cards and the like are both convenient and well-received, valuable customer engagement is more often a result of something more — like asking your users for feedback that you actually intend to consider. This isn’t about traditional surveys, which are great for capturing numerical and demographic data, but pretty awful at deriving meaningful insight into what your customers want. Crowdsourcing ideas from your market, through existing users or targeted prospects, allows you to collect information about what’s really working and what isn’t, and what you need to do to fix it — rather than whether or not someone is simply satisfied, dissatisfied, or indifferent. That kind of feedback doesn’t provide any of the details necessary to drive change.

Entrepreneur’s Michael Morton offers this example: “The idea is that my company looks at a large number of user experiences and strategically decides which issues should be resolved first to benefit the greatest number of community members. This process of automatically and dynamically collecting information requires no effort from users but provides them with value. With this form of crowdsourcing, the greater the number of users and the longer they use the system, the greater the insight that can be gained.”

3. Be Truly Transparent

A lot of the time, company stakeholders cringe at the thought of sharing proprietary information with their customers, fearing that doing so will weaken their market position or result in data leaks. But it is possible to be transparent without over-sharing, and there are several benefits of cultivating an open, communicative relationship with your users. Namely, they’ll trust your organization a lot more, feel confident that their needs are being internalized, and believe in your product and its longevity. This type of loyalty is an excellent foundation for bringing customers into the fold of internal innovation programs, because dedicated advocates truly care about what’s going on with your company. They not only have great ideas and unique perspectives on products and services, but they want to see the organization do well.

“It seems simple, but it’s not,” says Inc.’s Dave Kerpens. “There is a difference between honesty (tell the truth) and transparency (tell everyone everything). Transparency is one of hardest values to approach in business, as many people are stuck on secrecy and fear. [But] customers want to give their business to transparent companies, and great talent wants to work at transparent companies. The moment you…embrace transparency is the moment you gain that advantage over companies that haven’t.”

“Many companies have the fear of being criticized publicly or getting bad reviews. Having customer feedback and third-party product reviews right on your site is a radical approach for many,” writes Teemu Arina of Megasignals. “[However] unpredictable and risky it might seem, the benefits of doing this are the tremendous cost savings in finding early about wrong pricing models, defective products, usability issues, and unnecessary features. If you are honest, transparent, and let people to see that you are serious about getting their feedback, they will increase their trust, engagement, and eventually you will gain greater reputation and profits.”

The bottom line? Understanding customer needs in detail dramatically improves your chances of innovating successfully, and there’s no better resource to turn to than the very people you’re trying to help. And, being able to collect and analyze large amounts of customer data straight from the source results in major strategic opportunities to turn individual ideas into breakthrough innovations.

Justin Trudeau’s hair is shorter than it was even at the beginning of the year, his suit less flashy. He was wearing a necktie in muted colours for a Tuesday-morning interview, but took it off as soon as he saw his interrogator wasn’t wearing one. The leader of the federal Liberal party has learned to be careful. But after leading the Conservatives in the polls for 16 consecutive months, he’s still confident that the Liberals are on a roll. Trudeau is wrapping up a busy summer: He wrote a new book, Common Ground, to be published in October. And he has been bouncing around the country like a pinball: Vancouver one weekend, Montreal the next, with Oshawa, Ottawa and Winnipeg in between. Then Trudeau is off to Edmonton to meet with his MPs to plan the parliamentary session ahead. That schedule won’t let up any time soon. “It’s pretty much non-stop between now and the election,” Trudeau said and, even though the election is currently scheduled for October 2015, it’s not too early to press him for details about how a prime minister Justin Trudeau would govern. In conversation with Maclean’s, he spoke about the economy, the middle class and the assorted controversies his own comments and actions continue to provoke.

Q: You’re going to Edmonton in a little while to meet with your caucus and prepare for the parliamentary session. The election is 13 months after that. How much does this have to do with that? How much is the session that’s about to begin a pre-electoral session?

A: We’ll be talking about the plan for the next year. Every step of the way, we’ve always been looking ahead. When we built the plan around the [Liberal party] leadership [campaign in 2013], it wasn’t so much about winning the leadership—that would be a by-product of getting things in place so we could win the election. Now we’re looking at the next step: What kind of government does Canada need? What kind of issues do we need to have on the table? That will deeply inform how we position ourselves over the next months to do well in the election and form government.

Q: What do you have to get done when Parliament comes back?

A: Continue to do what we’re doing, which is build the team, build the plan. Draw in great, credible candidates from across the country and put together a set of solutions and policies that are going to give this country a better government.

Q: So the campaign’s already begun?

A: I think the way politics is done these days—certainly, if you look at the attack ads that started the day after I won the leadership—yeah, the campaign started a long time ago. And what a campaign is, is connecting with Canadians to convince them that you have the team and solutions that are going to bring us in the right direction. In that sense, politics is always about campaigning in a positive way. These guys make it negative.

Q: Until the day the writ drops, and Elections Canada rules start to govern campaign spending, the Conservatives have a 50-per-cent dollar advantage over you in fundraising and, therefore, in spending. How do you compete?

A: You know what? I don’t spend too much time worrying about what the Conservative strategy is going to be, or how much money they’re going to spend. I focus on the conversations we’re having with Canadians, the connections we’re building, the trust that the Liberal party has to rebuild, and the hard work we have to do. I joke that we’ll let my opponents focus on me and I’ll focus on Canadians, but that’s really what’s working. I’ll let the Conservatives go with all the attack ads they like. I sense and I hear from people across the country that people are genuinely tired of that.

Related posts:

• Deciphering Justin Trudeau 
• A year-end interview with Justin Trudeau 
• Justin Trudeau and the politics of pot 

Q: In your speech to the Liberal convention in February, you began to flesh out your middle-class appeal. You talked about a composite character, “Nathalie,” whose income has been stagnating in recent years. But there’s a whack of data that suggests the middle class has actually seen its income grow in the last decade. And there’s the Luxembourg study the New York Times wrote about, which suggests Canada actually has the most affluent middle class in the world. Does that make it harder for you to sell the idea that the middle class is in trouble and needs help?

A: Not if you’re talking to Canadians. Not if you’re listening to what’s actually going on across the country. The fact is, over the past 30 years—that’s a generation—even though the economy has grown by 100 per cent [and]we’ve doubled the size of our GDP, median family income has increased in size by only 15 per cent. That’s not a real raise over 30 years, so people are facing record levels of personal and household debt. People are very much worried that our kids are not going to inherit the same opportunities that we inherited from our parents. There is an anxiety out there, and it’s encapsulated by something you hear an awful lot from people, which is that Canada’s doing well—the Canadian economy seems to be doing reasonably well—but Canadians are struggling. And that disconnect is something which . . . You can have all the stats wars you like, talk about this study or that study—the fact is, people are stretched thin. What we need is to build an economy that works for the middle class, that gives the best jobs to the largest number of people, and that’s not what we’re doing right now. If the Conservatives want to say, hey, people should be grateful for all they’ve done—if they want to really campaign on that, when what I meet across the country is people worrying—then they’re welcome to try.

Q: The other day, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said the federal government should increase infrastructure spending from half a point of GDP to two points, effectively quadrupling it. Liberal MP Chrystia Freeland said on Twitter, “She’s right.” That’s about $20 billion a year in new infrastructure spending. Would that be reasonable?

A: Well, we had a resolution at our Montreal convention that talked about increasing it by one per cent of GDP. So, yeah, there’s certainly a huge need for infrastructure investment across the country. What kind of fiscal framework we’re going to have to do that, what the priorities need to be, that’s what the more specific debates in the election are going to be about. But yeah, there’s a need to invest now—in transit, housing, education—in some things that are going to allow us to grow our economy. And that’s not what’s happening right now.

Q: Every time I’ve heard someone ask you about taxes, you’ve said Canadians are taxed enough. Is there no broad class of taxation you think needs increasing?

A: No, I don’t think so. I think we’re taking in enough money as a government, and taking in more revenue as the economy grows. One point of GDP growth is about $4.5 billion directly to government coffers, so that’s the way you grow an economy and grow a capacity to invest in the kinds of things you need.

Q: That’s the kind of thing that gets you into Conservative attack ads, because they quote you as saying a deficit can take care of itself. Do you believe a deficit can take care of itself?

A: I think growing an economy is a good way to help with a deficit, but, ultimately, it’s about fiscal discipline and responsible spending—and smart decisions. That’s no different than what the Conservatives have said many times. Jim Flaherty talked about it a few times, as well. I don’t worry about what the Conservatives choose to put into attack ads.

Q: Another thing you mentioned in the Montreal speech that I haven’t heard people ask you about much since then is post-secondary education attainment. You said we should set a target of 70 per cent. First, how does the federal government increase post-secondary education attainment? Second, where are we now? Among Canadians younger than 44, attainment is already very close to 70 per cent. Is this the sort of thing where you set a target that will reach itself?

A: We’re at about 52, 53 per cent. I think people understand that if you’re going to have a successful economy, you need people’s potential to be realized. That means education. It means university education, sure, but it also means training, apprenticeships and various kinds of skills diplomas that we know are necessary. How does the federal government do it? Two big ways. First, student loans. Repayment schedules: how we’re reassuring people that when they borrow, it’s an easy risk. They’re not going to have a debt they’ll be dragging around for the rest of their career. Second, there’s more we can do with RESPs. If we’re expecting someone to have to retrain after they get downsized at 40, 45 years old, maybe the RESP should be able to apply to them, then. And we need a federal government that engages with the provinces—sits down and talks about this incredibly important element of future prosperity, which is education. It’s too important for the federal government to simply flat-out ignore. The provincial leaders I’ve spoken to are desperate for the federal government to actually sit down with them and talk about it.

Q: I want to talk about a few things that came up in your interview with the Vancouver Sun. One is pipelines. You’re not a fan of Gateway; you’re willing to consider Kinder Morgan. But you talked about a “social licence” test that would precede or succeed National Energy Board hearings. What’s social licence? How would it be measured and judged?

A: The federal government’s role is to establish a process whereby industry can pitch a project, and Canadians can be reassured that this project is worth the risk. That’s at the heart of governments granting permits and communities granting permission. People understand we do need economic growth. We do need natural resource projects. One of the primary responsibilities of Canadian prime ministers since time immemorial has been getting our resources to market in safe, sustainable, responsible ways, whether it’s railroads and grain, or now, pipelines. This government hasn’t done a very good job of that. That responsibility of the government is to reassure people that the process is being followed, rather than be a cheerleader for the project and have it bog down in the courts anyway, because the government hasn’t done its job of making sure that the approvals are there and the social licence is there. People know we shouldn’t have to choose between economy and the environment. We can do both together and that’s what this government has fallen down on.

Q: So if the government were more inclusive, reached out to more people, it would be able to build more pipelines?

A: Yes.

Q: So vote Liberal for Keystone and Kinder Morgan.

A: Keystone, yes; Kinder Morgan, we’re watching the process go through.

Q: Responsible environmental stewardship almost always gets heard by the Conservative government as “carbon taxes.” What’s your position on a carbon price?

A: Everyone around the world is recognizing the need to price carbon pollution. Climate change is real. The fact that the oil sands have become the poster child for climate change is a direct consequence of the fact that we haven’t done a good job of demonstrating that we’re serious about putting limits on carbon pollution. Now, the Conservative government has talked about carbon pricing through regulation. Mr. Harper, at one point, mentioned that the regulations they bring in would be the equivalent of about $60 a ton. The NDP are talking about cap and trade. Nobody’s talking about a carbon tax anymore, because it’s politically toxic. What I’d really like, and I think what Canadians want, is to have a mature conversation about what’s the best way to do it.

Q: You also told the Vancouver Sun that you would scrap the First Nations Fiscal Transparency Act.

A: We voted against it. I think the time for top-down imposition of laws on First Nations is a bad idea and that’s done. I’m a huge believer in transparency and accountability. When I ran for the leadership, I actually brought in the proactive disclosure that the House of Commons is busy adopting. Those are things I’ve always stood for. I also stand for fairness . . . Yes, we need to have transparency and accountability in First Nations government, but the transparency and accountability, primarily, has to be toward the band.

Q: But the stance of the folks around Chief Ron Giesbrecht in B.C., who made $800,000 in salary last year, was that the folks in his band already knew that. How could that be good enough?

A: Obviously, that’s not good enough. We need to bring in a robust plan around transparency and accountability. To bring it to a simplified version, there’s no point forcing people to disclose their salaries online if they don’t even have a website to do it. You have to support them in their capacity to do it. That’s the kind of thing this government hasn’t done. It’s used it as a political tool to go after First Nations and to stir up their base . . . while refusing to talk about transparency when it comes to what Nigel Wright’s severance is, for example, or what we’re giving out to senior people around the Prime Minister’s Office.

Q: But when I hear you say you want to replace the Conservatives’ transparency act with something that is nicer to everyone but also transparent, I’m reminded of the Liberals in 1993 saying they were going to replace the GST with a magic tax that everyone likes, but which raises as much revenue. That turned out to be really hard. At some point, you have to put some people’s noses out of joint to accomplish results.

A: Oh, absolutely. But there are an awful lot of First Nations individuals and activists who very much want the kind of transparency and accountability that we need to move toward. But this is a single, small bill that is, so far, one of the only things this government has done around First Nations. Their big flagship move around First Nations education has been a complete disaster so far. What I want to do is bring forward a new framework for dealing with the relationship between First Nations and Canada. Transparency and accountability will be a part of that, but it’ll only be a part.

Q: Your remarks on First Nations accountability were about the third issue in the last week about which the Conservatives have released literature. The first one was, to quote their ad, “Searching for support in a mosque where known al-Qaeda members were recruited, facilitated and trained.” Should you have gone to that mosque?

A: My job as MP for Papineau, Que., is to represent citizens of my riding, and I really feel that that happens when you meet people, when you go to where they are. Everyone in that mosque was a Canadian. You can disagree with them and you can be worried about what some people might be preaching, but, for me, it’s more important that my message of respect and inclusion . . . is an approach that I will consistently take. Two Christmases ago, I was attacked for attending the Islamic Spirit conference here in Toronto. That’s a way I will continue to behave.

Q: The Prime Minister, in his annual Stampede speech in Calgary, did not mention you by name in 2012 or 2013. This year, he mentioned you 11 times. What do you make of that?

A: I don’t spend too much time trying to think about what the Prime Minister is thinking or doing. He’ll say what he feels he needs to say. Unlike him, I try to focus on substantive issues, on bringing people together, rather than play up fear and divisions and personal attacks.

Q: They spent about $1 million talking about your policy on marijuana. Jodie Emery is talking about running for the Liberals. Word on the street is, you have some influence over who gets to run as a Liberal candidate. Should Jodie Emery be a Liberal candidate?

A: She’s got a process to go through. There’ll be a green-light process to look into her and, ultimately, it will be Liberals in the riding who will decide whether they want her as a candidate. That’s the way things are set up. There are a lot of people who are passionate about one issue or another who feel they want to move forward by stepping toward politics. In general, that’s a good thing.

Q: Do you regret making your remarks about marijuana so long before the election?

A: When you ask that question, it’s like, “Well, do you feel like you should have lied when they asked you the questions? Should you have dissembled or avoided the question?” No. I’m someone who answers questions as they’re asked of me, in a truthful and honest way. Is the timing sometimes less effective than it might be? Sure. But if you want to be authentic and truthful, you don’t get to pick timing on things. But my focus and my hopes are very much that the next election will be fought on the economy. That’s what we’re focused on as a party . . . Our current approach on marijuana is not working. We’re No. 1 out of 29 different countries in teen marijuana use. That’s not good enough, and we’re giving millions upon millions of dollars every year to criminal organizations and street gangs. That’s nonsensical, as well . . . This is an issue of evidence-based policy—what actually works. Let’s get away from fears and attacks and the kind of emotional game-playing and propaganda that this government tends to run on, and let’s talk about ways of actually making sure that our society works better.

Q: If you had to sum up—as you will 100 times in an election—what’s wrong with this Conservative government, what would you say?

A: The tone and the lack of ambition for the country. They see Canada as on the receiving end of global forces that are beyond our control and, therefore, we shouldn’t bother; we should hunker down and just try to slide by on what we’re lucky enough to have as our natural bounty and smarts. On the contrary, I think we need to step up. I think we need to understand that being one of those places in the world that has figured out how to be strong, not in spite of our differences but because of them, comes with a responsibility to help share with the world how to build strong, inclusive, diverse societies.

Q: They’ve got 13 months to switch out their leader and send someone else against you in the next election. Do you think that’s going to happen?

A: I’ve given up on trying to second-guess what Mr. Harper is going to do or not do. I know that the record of the past eight years, of how they’ve been, of how they’ve behaved, is going to be what we’re running against in the next election, regardless of who the leader is.

A digital edition of this week’s issue is available free if you follow this link.

The post The Interview: Justin Trudeau’s game plan appeared first on Macleans.ca.

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Good design is present even when you might not be aware of it. This may be counterintuitive to what most people think, because design is not about decoration and just making things look pretty. There is that too, but design runs through our lives in everything we see and do. When you go for a drive, do your shopping, watch TV, grab a magazine, visit a website, use a bottle opener… you get the picture — design is there.

The best design supports whatever it is we are trying to do, creating seamless, annoyance-free experiences. Good design aids and enhances experiences, never detracts from them. Good design is about function in all of its forms.

Indeed, the most noticeable design is usually bad design — those all-too-common occurrences when you made a wrong turn because of bad signage, pinched your finger using a cumbersome tool, or searched in vain for something on a website when time was short. You certainly noticed the design then! And it sucked.

Here are twelve things good design does by staying out of the way.

1. Aids comprehension
Text in the right typeface and formatted the right way evokes just the right feeling while delivering the information you need — quickly and effectively. The same is true for how a communications piece is designed, how an exhibit is set up, or how the dashboard on your new car is organized. Good design makes things easily understandable.

2. Leads you on a journey
An effective design guides your eye around a page so you see things in the correct sequence, from most important to least important. Any good website, brochure, sales kit, or any other well-designed work creates a hierarchy of information and content that we absorb intuitively in the order it was intended.

3. Tells a story
Good design has a beginning, a middle and an end — first introducing you to an idea, then fleshing it out, and finally resolving itself at the end. Websites tell a story, brochures tell a story, and even a logo tells a story: first capturing your attention, then identifying what it is and leaving you with an indelible, lasting impression.

4. Directs an action
Oftentimes, design is meant to influence you to do something — fill out a form, click a button, buy something… you get the idea. Done well, this process is natural and seamless.

5. Elicits an emotion
A design in the magazine with the photograph or illustration that strikes just the right chord steers your mind and sets you up emotionally for the rest of the messages on the page. The same is true for a company’s brand identity — the feeling we have for Disney is much different than what we may have for a company such as GE, for example. Good design makes us feel what we are intended to feel.

6. Points the way forward
Design leads you to things — signs tell us where to go, symbols point out the nearest restroom, and all kinds of graphic devices are used to highlight what cannot be missed.

7. Makes an immediate impression
Good design exudes a feeling of quality and professionalism. The materials used are just as important — they are tactile and an influential part of any design — use the wrong ones and your credibility is shot at the very first interaction. Handing out a flimsy business card printed on thin paper stock is no different than a limp handshake. Keep that in mind at your next business event.

8. Frames the really good stuff
White space puts your focus where it’s supposed to be, guiding the eye along the way. It’s not often that so little can do so much. Likewise, the empty negative space within a logo is just as important as the solid elements around it. In good design, nothing really is something.

9. Casual perfection
The seductive nature of a loose, informal design or illustration style can lull you into thinking it was done easily or haphazardly. It wasn’t. But carefree design is extremely inviting and makes us more receptive to the messages it contains.

10. Facilitates a function
A beautifully elegant product design is seamless — it makes you not even notice it’s there, yet you know life would be more difficult without it. When’s the last time you thought about a paper clip? That humble design has certainly stood the test of time.

11. Leaves things alone
The beautifully designed coffee table book with luscious aerial photographs of Europe draw you in — because the design got out of the way. Too much design would have been a distraction.

12. Seduces you
You know that retail showroom with beautiful lighting and soft music that showcases the product, elevating it to hero status? Unbeknownst to you, you are being romanced — perhaps even aggressively seduced.

So the next time things are humming along, you may not even be aware that design is there. Good design gets out of the way — even as it provides the key ingredient that makes whatever you’re doing seem so right. Indeed, that is the very reason you missed it in the first place.

Are there any other things you can think of as evidence of good design? Any bad examples that drive you absolutely crazy? Let me know in the comments.

Featured image courtesy of Pixabay.

Photo illustration work: Paul Biedermann, re:DESIGN

A few years back, Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo wrote a book called “He’s Just Not That Into You: The No-Excuses Truth to Understanding Guys.” According to Behrendt and Tuccillo, “He’s just not that into you if he’s not asking you out.”

I like to use the dating analogy when talking about building a relationship with leads. If your leads are not opening your emails, “They are just not that into what you have to say.”

Here are some common excuses we hear over and over again, along with best practice tips for turning these excuses into buyers.

The “Maybe they’re just not ready to buy” excuse:

Dear #RevMarketer,

I have these leads that just don’t seem to respond to any of my emails. We have a long sales cycle and I’m reluctant to stop communicating with these leads because I don’t want them to forget about us when they are finally ready to buy. I want to make sure they remember we’re here. We strive to stay “top of mind.”

Dear Forgettable,

If your leads are not opening your emails, they are just not that into your message. If your content was compelling, reaching the right audience and addressing a specific need, believe me, your leads would respond. Relentlessly sending the same blanket message over and over again, “hoping” that eventually someone will open it is costly. You might be “top of mind”, but you don’t want to be remembered for being annoying.

One way to engage your audience and learn more about their preferences and interests is to launch a ‘stay in touch’ campaign that actually asks those exact questions. In reality, you’ll always have some leads that don’t engage or unsubscribe, and that’s ok. What you will gain in return is far more valuable and that’s a greater understanding of those who really are interested and how best to communicate with them.

The “But, they gave me their email address” excuse:

Dear #RevMarketer,

We recently returned from a trade show where we gathered several hundred business cards with email addresses as part of an iPad giveaway. We loaded all of these leads into our MA system and have launched an email campaign with a call to action that asks to set an appointment with one of our salespeople. Only 3 people have completed the form. Two of them were looking for a job and the 3rd was already a client. On top of that, about 3% of them unsubscribed. I don’t understand why we haven’t converted more of these leads. It’s my job to show ROI for this event. What can I do?

Dear Coming on too Strong,

Who among us doesn’t have iPad envy these days? I would gladly give up my email address for a chance to win an iPad. But that is not an indicator of my willingness to buy a company’s product or service. While these tactics have their place on the trade show floor, it’s important to remember that, at this point, they are nothing more than a prospect.

Timely trade show follow up is crucial. I applaud your efforts on this point. But what is even more important to quick follow up is the message. The truth is, these prospects don’t know you that well. Now that the show is over, they’ve moved on to trying to catch up after being out of the office for several days. And, they are used to being bombarded with post-show emails.

The natural tendency is to hit delete or unsubscribe. If you really want to engage your trade show audience, provide them with a piece of content that helps them get to know you better before you ask them to “go steady”.

Here’s a Bonus Tip: Divide your trade show attendee list into two categories. Those you actually spoke to about your product or service and those who just dropped their card in a fish bowl. Different messages will resonate with each group.

The ”They may not be opening my emails, but they didn’t opt out” excuse:

Dear #RevMarketer,

I have roughly 200,000 contacts in my database. About half of them have not responded to an email in over a year. If they weren’t at least somewhat interested in my content, wouldn’t they just opt out?

Dear Head in the Sand,

There is a phenomenon out there called the “passive unsubscribe” and it’s real. Think about the first thing you do when you log into your email account. You clean out the junk. It takes far less effort to delete than it does to unsubscribe. By hitting the delete button, you are passively communicating your lack of interest.

If the target you are emailing doesn’t know you, or your subject line doesn’t resonate, he will hit delete. The same holds true even if the target does know you, but she just doesn’t find your message compelling. What if the person you’re emailing isn’t the right point of contact? You guessed it… delete.

Many marketers are reluctant to ask the question: “Do you still want to hear from me?” because they are afraid of the answer. However, there is power in knowing your audience and weeding out those who “just aren’t that into you”. It’s far more costly to keep them in your database as inactive than it is to opt them out. By giving people the opportunity to opt in or out, you are learning valuable information about your database that will enable you to market to them more effectively.

The “More Is Better” excuse:

Dear #RevMarketer,

People keep talking about the importance of segmentation and sending the right message, at the right time, to the right people. I just don’t buy it. We have a large database of leads and I really feel that the more people I try to reach, the greater chance for conversion. After all, it is a numbers game, right?

Dear More Is Not Always Better,

Why is sending an email to your entire database not a great idea? For one, it is skewing your results. Let’s say that you are holding a live regional event in Georgia. Consider the vastly different results based on the following three scenarios.

Scenario 1: Send invite to entire database of 200,000 leads, which consists of people located all over the world. 100 people submit the registration form. This results in a 0.0005% conversion rate. This would be considered a failure.

Scenario 2: Employing a bit of segmentation, to cull the list to include leads located in Southern and Mid-Atlantic States, results in 10,000 leads. This yields the same 100 form submissions, but results in a 1% conversion rate. Not stellar. But, improved.

Scenario 3: Take those 10,000 leads in the southern and mid-Atlantic states and narrow them further, filtering on job titles. Let’s assume this results in a list of 1,000 leads. Sending that same email invite to the highly targeted list of 1000 also yields 100 form submissions, which results in a 10% conversion rate. That’s a huge difference.

The bottom line here is that the best results come from knowing your audience. A one-message-fits-all approach rarely works. If you are relentlessly emailing your database without regard to their preferences and interests, or if you’re coming on too strong, too soon, your results will suffer.

Don’t fall prey to the “he’s just not that into you” rut. If a target isn’t interested, find out what does interest him and provide content that appeals to that interest. If she still isn’t interested, move on to someone who is and spend your efforts cultivating that relationship throughout all stages of the buy cycle. You’ll be glad you did.

Does your business effectively manage customer lists and business opportunities?

While most businesses today use CRM software to manage customer lists and pipelines, there are a number of companies that instead use a combination of:

• Spreadsheets: Excel or Google Drive
• Contact Programs: Google or Outlook contacts
• Email marketing services: MailChimp or Constant Contact

While these tools are comfortable and easy to use, there are some basic challenges businesses without a CRM face, including:

• Scalability: As you begin to manage more than a few hundred contacts or 20+ deals, you’ll find yourself scrolling through seemingly endless reams of data.
• Collaboration: Because contact programs such as Google or Outlook don’t connect multiple users, those without a CRM system often find themselves selling the same clients as other members of their team.
• Reporting: It’s nearly impossible to prioritize your top contacts, clients and opportunities using a spreadsheet.

Here are some basic reasons to consider a CRM solution:

• Bring all your sales and relationship data into one place: CRMs can manage contacts, deals, email history and more in a single database.
• Organize your data: With a CRM you can create custom fields and views.
• Create reports: With CRM you can quickly use reports and dashboards to have visibility into your team’s progress towards goals.
• Keep your data up to date: With CRM reporting tools, you can quickly spot holes in your data and make sure you don’t have any duplicates.
• Collaborate: With all your data in an online tool, you can collaborate with your team, assistant, and more.
• Manage your day: You can use CRM to schedule follow-up activities and prioritize your schedule.
• Gather leads and customer feedback: You can easily integrate your CRM into a website or online survey to capture leads as well as reviews and testimonials from your customers.

The best part about CRM is that many of the reporting and processes you do today can be automated. With properly organized data, you can easily transform sales leads into paying customers, giving the sales team the boost it needs to close more deals.

If you want another blunt summary of sales and marketing’s never-ending lover’s spat, you can say sales is like the rigid higher-up that’s often sucking the joy out of hip and trend-savvy marketing.

That’s right. Because even in B2B marketing, the need to be a little hip is increasingly relevant. That’s a hard sell, not really so much for B2B prospects but for sales reps that might still be stuck in the land of suits, ties, and corporate politics. (They’re like the pixies from Fairly Odd Parents.)

So while your sales lead generation campaign can be hitting it off, the same prospects you attract might be in an awkward situation with a sales rep that seem to take a very opposite approach. It’s like the webinar they signed up for didn’t happen and they’re still being served the same old recipe of boardroom boredom.

Is there any hope of them finally ‘getting it?’

Well, you’d be happy to know there still is. You’re not going to realize it though if you keep on touting the fact that your sales reps aren’t as hot about trends as your marketers are. Convincing them might mean taking a route that it’s a little counterintuitive but it hits their right strings.

• Present it as the new standard – Even the most professional of professional standards don’t stay the same forever. Writing, for instance, has changed within the context of marketing content. Your sales reps want facts? Show them the really hard ones. New standards are reflection of how prospects want to communicate with business these days. And if sales reps really want to connect, they’re going to have to catch up.

• Show results – Typically, sales reps are results oriented so you need to show how playing along with weird trends actually helped you get a foot in the door. (Sharknado? Really?) If your sales reps have completely no clue on what kind of conversation took place prior to an appointment, it’s a wonder how they manage to close anything.

• Emphasize connection – It’s not just about winning prospects over with fat stats and case studies. It’s about making that human, emotional connection. Content marketers do this not just by giving helpful content but that content is helpful exactly because it uses terms that are relevant to them. Say you’re targeting local aquariums and it’s currently Shark Week on Discovery Channel. Whatever your content, it’s obviously going to be much more interesting to read when you use a popularly relevant concept to demonstrate your point.

• Improve performance – Remember, the purpose of your campaigns is to support sales reps, not alienate them. Make them understand how all the trends, the materials, and flair add up to actually help reps do what they do best. They’re still the ones who get to have longer conversations with prospects so you want them to be an extension of your efforts to connect your business with potential clients. They can close all the leads they get on their own but it always be preferable to add the numbers being generated by your campaign.

Perhaps the best part is there’s really no hard formula for using pop culture in B2B marketing. That only makes it easier for sales reps to catch up and finally get it. If they don’t, they may not be able to get the kind of prospects you attract.

As I talk to marketing and sales leaders, I hear this reoccurring theme: “I want to do something that really matters; I want to feel what I’m doing is really making a real difference.”

I feel the same way, but I’ve painfully learned that it’s futile to make changes outside before we make changes inside. This requires a different kind of thinking to drive a different way of marketing.

In our rush to obtain leads, drive opportunities and close sales to move the sales needle, it’s too easy to forget that we need to address the needs, wants, hopes and aspirations of our customers.

The problem with today’s customers

Today’s customers are weary of pitches, hype, buzzwords, corporate speak and manipulative messages, and as a result, they ignore them.

This is especially true for companies that have a complex sale where B2B buyers face daunting decisions that involve huge risks, and sellers struggle to articulate their value propositions and differentiate themselves from competitors.

Customers aren’t saying, “We need solutions.” Instead, they’re saying, “We need to solve a problem.”

So what would happen if we focused on helping them do just that?

Serve first and market second

With this in mind, I’ve been reflecting on servant leadership for the past year. Robert Greenleaf’s work on servant leadership states this: “Serve first and lead second.”

I believe this idea can also be applied to sales and marketing. Let’s call it servant marketing, which can be defined as “serve first and market second.”

Servant marketing works like this: How we sell and market informs customers of how we’re going to serve them. It’s not what we say; it’s what we actually do that matters.

I’d like your input to help me define this better. I think servant marketing is built on the following ideas:

• Empathize with your customers and walk in their shoes to understand their problems
  

• Think like your customers when they set out to solve a problem and understand each step they take to solve that problem

• Learn how you can help make your customers lives better

• Provide your customers what they want

• Help customers identify and solve problems

• Give customers content and expertise that helps them gain clarity

• Empower employees who touch your customers with the resources, training and tools to really help them

Our customers are more sophisticated than ever and have access to more information and more options. There’s no room for game-playing or guessing. We have to know what they want and give that to them. If we can give them what they want, we can create a competitive advantage that will reap higher margins and profits.

I realize this may seem altruistic, but it’s not. It has an economic benefit. One company that I’m hoping to interview for a future blog post practices servant marketing and generates 200% more revenue per customer than their competitors.

I’m looking for more companies that practice servant marketing.

Do you know of any? Let me know in the comments section below. Please feel free share your thoughts on servant marketing.

Image Attribution: Adam Verspaget

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It’s become commonplace for observers to tout the transformative potential of digital technologies and bemoan the allegedly slow pace at which companies support these initiatives. Two recent blogs published by HBR.org are representative and, I believe, wrong.

Walter Frick, an HBR editor, contrasts the enthusiasm of executives for spending money on digital initiatives versus their relatively unsupportive boards. “Digital growth is appropriately a priority for a diverse swath of organizations, and boards need to get with the program,” he writes. Didier Bonnet of Capgemini agrees, and is refreshingly direct in suggesting the cause: the average age of independent directors in S&P 500 companies is almost 63, they did not grow up with online technology, and many should be replaced for their lack of “digital awareness.”

Both cite a McKinsey survey which, ironically, found that “Organizations’ efforts to go digital . . . are picking up steam.” But look at what that survey also found: “Less than 40% of executives say their companies have accountability measures in place, either through targets, incentives, or ‘owners’ of digital programs, while only 7% say their organizations understand the exact value at stake from digital.” In other words, the current de facto digital business case in most companies goes something like this: “We’re not sure what the objectives are or how to calculate the ROI or who has responsibility here for clarifying those things and driving accountable execution. But invest in this digital project and ignore the opportunity costs—i.e., what else we could be doing with that money, time and people to drive customer acquisition and profitable growth.”

This is a caricature, but not by much. If you read the business press, you could easily assume that proficiency in social media or online data analytics now determine business success. But consider:

• According to a Gallup survey, about 62% of U.S. adults who do use social media say these sites have absolutely no influence on their purchasing decisions; 30% say the sites have “some” influence, and only 5% say they have a great deal of influence. Is it any wonder that it’s tough to calculate the ROI? And is the key to success here the technology, or fundamental segmentation and buying-process criteria?
• Even within the active-user segments, there is evidence that comprehension and retention decline significantly when information comes online. (See, for example, “Is Google Making Us Stupid? The Impact of the Internet on Reading Behaviour,” a paper reporting the results of research at the 27^th Bled e-Conference). There is other evidence that the reported clicks and other alleged user-data on many social media sites are simply unreliable. Wouldn’t you want to know more about this before approving your firm’s investments?
• Another McKinsey survey, conducted in 2011, found then that the average company with more than 1,000 employees already had more data in its CRM system than in the entire Library of Congress. Those firms undoubtedly have even bigger data now. But is that how growth occurs or, in the absence of measures and objectives, how yet another garbage-in-garbage-out cycle gets going in many firms?
• If you peek behind the server farms of online firms themselves, you will find face-to-face and inside sales groups as the engine of profitable growth, and you might be surprised to know the bigger percentage of total employees at firms like Facebook, Google, and Groupon that work in sales, not technology or data mining.

Good boards ask these questions before getting with the program and, as always, bad boards follow fads. Good boards also pay attention to where and how money is spent and resources allocated.

The amount spent, annually, by U.S. companies on field sales efforts is 3X their spending on all consumer advertising, more than 20X the spend on all online media, and more than 100X what they currently spend on social media. Selling is, by far, the most expensive part of strategy implementation for most firms. Sales forces have NOT been replaced by social media or other internet tools. According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of people in sales occupations in 2012 was virtually the same as in 1992—before the rise of the internet. And this almost certainly understates the real numbers because, in an increasingly service economy, business developers in many firms are called Associates or Vice Presidents or Managing Directors, not placed in a “Sales” category for reporting purposes.

When I cite these numbers, many business people and most twenty-something MBA students are surprised. That’s understandable because, in comparison to the hype about digital initiatives, you hear very little about sales in the contemporary business media.

Why? One reason may be that journalists have seen their industry rapidly transformed by digital technology. The peak year for newspaper profitability in the U.S. was as recently as the turn of this century.  As the old saying goes, “When my neighbor is out of work, it’s a recession; but when I’m out of work, it’s a depression.” That’s also understandable, but it’s still a cognitive bias. Another reason is perhaps the natural interest that technology vendors and consultants have in promoting the next big thing, especially as hardware and software products become commoditized. That, too, is understandable, but caveat emptor.

The big story is that the internet is realigning, not eliminating, sales tasks, and that deserves more attention in business media.

My point here is certainly not to defend boards. I’ve sat there, and I agree there is lots of room for improvement. But focusing on digital initiatives may be perfectly backwards when it comes to improving governance. When boards ask relevant questions about digital investments and focus attention on the much bigger chunk spent on still-crucial sales resources, they are not being reactionary or senile. They may be following Mark Twain’s sage advice: “If you put a lot of eggs in one basket, then keep your eye on that basket!”

In May 1984, Warren Buffett laid out everything you need to know about his investing philosophy.

In a speech at Columbia Business School, later adapted into an essay, Buffett introduced what he called, "The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville."

Buffett writes:

"The common intellectual theme of the investors from Graham-and-Doddsville is this: they search for discrepancies between the value of a business and the price of small pieces of that business in that market."

And that's pretty much it. Buffett doesn't think about buying a stock; he thinks about buying a business. 

The name "Graham-and-Doddsville" comes from Benjamin Graham — whom Buffett studied under at Columbia — and Dave Dodd, with whom Graham literally wrote the book on security analysis.

In Buffett's essay, he asks readers to consider a group of investors who outperformed the S&P 500 year in and year out.

"In this group of successful investors that I want to consider," Buffett writes, "there has been a common intellectual patriarch, Ben Graham ... They have gone to different places and bought and sold different stocks and companies, yet they have a combined record that simply can't be explained by random chance."

Buffett explains that the investors of Graham-and-Doddsville don't care when they buy stocks, or worry about a stock's beta or the "covariance in returns among securities." He says these investors are businessmen buying pieces of businesses, not traders buying stocks. 

And the strategy seems to be working out OK: On Thursday, Class A shares of Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway eclipsed $200,000 per share for the first time, and $1,000 invested with Buffett in 1984 would've been worth $155,301. 

And since 1969, the book value of Berkshire Hathaway — which Buffett acquired in 1964 — has beaten the S&P 500 43 out of 44 years on a five-year rolling basis. Said more simply, the relative value of Berkshire Hathaway shares have been worth more than the S&P 500 collectively every year but one. 

Not to mention that Buffett's personal wealth is estimated by Forbes to be more than $66 billion.

In July, we featured a chapter from Cullen Roche's new book, "Pragmatic Capitalism," which debunked the myth that "you too" can be like Buffett.

You can't, of course. But Roche's point isn't that Buffett's ideas about investing aren't sound, just misunderstood.

Many think Buffett was a simple "buy and hold" stock investor, but his investing is about way more than that — or way less, depending on how you look at it. 

Buffett concludes his essay by writing that some may wonder why he is giving away this basic investment philosophy of a number of investors who have outperformed the market.

Isn't he just giving away the secret?

"I can only tell you that the secret has been out for 50 years," Buffett writes, "...yet I have seen no trend toward value investing in the 35 years I've practiced it. There seems to be some perverse human characteristic that likes to make easy things difficult. The academic world, if anything, has actually backed away from the teaching of value investing over the last 30 years. It's likely to stay that way. Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace, and those who read their Graham & Dodd will continue to prosper."

Indeed, all of the research continues to show that the vast majority of professional and retail investors are underperforming.

The whole essay is embedded below.

 

 

SEE ALSO: 17 Facts About Warren Buffett And His Wealth That Will Blow Your Mind

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NOW WATCH: Nationwide's Super Bowl commercial about dead children is about corporate profits ... in a way that we can all appreciate

A short quiz for sales leaders – How much has the buying process changed in your market in the last five years? Question two – Have you taken a serious look at updating your new hire sales training to keep up with the changes? Here we are talking about sales skills training not product or welcome-to-the-company training.

If you are like the sales leaders in most companies, the answer to the first question sounds something like: “It has been breathtaking.”

However, there is usually more variability in the responses to the second question. They range from “We have taken a pretty serious look at new hire sales training because it’s a big deal” to “We have been busy with other priorities plus the budgets have been cut so we have postponed the new hire training initiative.”

If your response to the change question is like most, but your answer to the second question is essentially “not much,” then it is worthwhile to pause. Great new hire sales training can make a difference on some of those bottom-line issues like retention, early wins, and motivation. The larger the number of new hires on boarded, the greater the impact.

The good news – in the last several years there have been a number of good things happening in new hire sales training. In the past new hire sales training has often just been a shorter or simplified version of the sales skill training for the existing sales force.

Emerging work suggests sales training for new hires should be specifically designed for new hires. Although the same sales process should be introduced, “what is taught” and “how it is taught” needs to be designed for the unique challenges facing new hires.

Five designs have proven to be particularly effective for new hire sales training

Expert Video Messaging. Top performers in the existing sales force possess a wealth of experience and insight of value to new hires. Therefore, for various topics throughout the program, pre-recorded video snippets of different members of the sales force can be used to deliver suggestions and best practices to the class.

These videos can be used to address standard topics like: How to open a call, closing, objection handling, and asking questions. They can also be used to focus on topics uniquely important for new hires: How do you get started in your territory, how do you establish credibility, or if I was starting again, what is one thing I would do differently?

Excellence Modeling. When it comes to new hires, it is important to demonstrate excellence, rather than just talk about it. Therefore for new hire training, “scripts” can be developed for selected skill sets that illustrate what excellence looks and sounds like.

For example, scripts can be effective for getting across the trap of jumping in too soon and doing a “Product Dump” vs. employing active listening and questioning skills to uncover and explore the customer problem and then presenting your solution. “Ineffective” and “Effective” scripts can be reviewed and discussed to enable the participants to view the interaction from the customer’s perspective and to clearly see the difference between effective and ineffective behavior.

Scenario Analysis. In new hire programs, pervasive use should be made of real-world scenario exercises. Take the topic Establishing Credibility: real-world scenarios related to challenges for establishing credibility can be presented and the participants asked to develop approaches for addressing the challenges.

The idea is to be more prescriptive – so, one series of exercises might be: play a pre-recorded video snippet providing some best practices about establishing credibility, discuss the best practices, and then immediately get the participants to apply those ideas to customized real-world scenarios about establishing credibility.

Leverage the Power of Online Sales Training. There is a knowledge component to every sales skill set. The knowledge piece can be learned via self-instructed online training. There are several advantages to using online training:

• Ease of use. The training can take place anytime – anyplace.
• Self paced. In most new hire cohorts there are some people that are new to selling and some that are experienced but new to the company. With online training each person can navigate the course at his or her own speed.
• Consistency of message. With online training you are guaranteeing that the same message can be delivered in the same way to all the new hires.

Use of Sales Simulations. Sales simulations are often used as a component in programs for the existing sales team for advanced training. Sales simulation can also be an effective component to incorporate into a new sales hire program. The caveat is the template to design the simulation needs to be different. It needs to be simpler: less detailed product knowledge, different customer contacts, and easier sales challenges. Plus, more time needs to be allotted for planning and feedback. One template that works well is a “week-in-the-life” construct. A series of typical situations are presented that a new hire is likely to encounter during a week in their new life; they are then asked to plan and execute sales calls that handle these situations.

Providing new hire salespeople a great kick-start can go a long way in providing initial confidence and even some early wins. All too often new hire sales training is an area that receives less than the appropriate priority. But the results of great new hire sales training can show up in revenue figures, in turnover numbers, and in some cases – in ways not imagined.

“My CRM Does That.” No, It Doesn’t!

CRM systems are great at what they were designed to do for sales teams – managing data and activities, reporting and metrics, just to name a few. But there seems to be a misconception about how far core CRM systems go in their abilities. We see it all the time in the statement, “My CRM does that.” But does it really? In some cases, yes…it sort of can, just not in the way you’re expecting it to. In other cases, no…it doesn’t. Just no. Let’s look at some examples of both cases:

My CRM improves the efficiency of my reps.

Sort of. The idea that CRM systems save reps a boatload of time just seems like wishful thinking. The ability to access account information quickly and easily is very convenient. But unless all of your contact information, leads, etc. are automatically importing to your CRM through form submissions or some other automated system (Again, wishful thinking. Sorry, Marketing!), there is still the need for reps to manually input field after field of information on a daily basis. This can take a boatload of time! I’m not sure how they did it pre-CRM, a.k.a. “the stone ages,” but sometimes a Rolodex doesn’t sound so bad!

My CRM provides forecast accuracy.

It doesn’t. At best, core CRM systems will provide you with a comprehensive view of your pipeline based on the data that your reps enter – often a sales stage and a close probability percentage. But what are your reps using to determine which value to select? This is where CRMs fall short – don’t mistake visibility for accuracy. For true forecast accuracy, you need to remove the “gut feel” from your staging criteria and look at hard data like political, economic and cultural events happening in the deal.

My CRM manages the sales process.

It doesn’t. The common misconception is that core CRM systems will translate into an actual sales process all by themselves. Yes, they can keep track of your sales process stages, but they can’t reinforce the behavioral components that make a formal sales process beneficial for success. CRM systems can work in tandem with your sales process to achieve great results, especially when aligned with your customers’ buying processes. There are additional platforms out there designed to work with your CRM that can bring your sales process to life. By itself, your CRM solution should only be considered a tool to reinforce your sales process – one of MANY.

My CRM takes care of account planning.

Sort of. CRM systems can provide a lot of visibility into accounts, but there is so much more to be desired. Core CRM systems lack the visualization needed to snap things into focus, doing little to help reps figure out how to more strategically engage with key customers to achieve deeper penetration at the level of detail needed for true strategic account planning. Yes, they keep historical data, but you want revenue in the future – not the past. In order for this to happen, it will take collaboration with your customers, which is definitely not something a CRM can do.

CRM systems are a great tools. There is no question about the benefits they can provide your sales team, as well as many other areas of your organization. Do your best to understand their limitations before automatically assuming, “My CRM can do that.” Know that if there is something it lacks on its own, there is probably a platform out there that will pick up where it left off. You simply can’t expect too much from your CRM – you need to let it do what it does best and look for other tools to augment the areas where it was never designed to perform.

Fifty years ago the first United Nations Conference on Trade and Development launched a debate about how much money rich countries should give to poor ones to reduce poverty and bolster growth.

In the end, the UN settled on a figure of 0.7% of national income--a target subsequently reaffirmed by endless international powwows. Although few countries have met it, aid spending in real terms has nonetheless increased steadily ever since, to $134.8 billion in 2013 (see chart 1). Yet economists are still arguing about how much the aid helps--if it helps at all.

Aid comes in many forms, from food and tents handed out to refugees to cash that plugs holes in poor countries' budgets. Donors tend to stretch the definition, to make themselves look more generous. But the goal, in most cases, is to lift a poor country's productive capacity through investment in things like roads, schools and maternal health.

What the UN sees as a potent weapon against poverty, others consider money down a rat hole. Critics reckon aid hurts its recipients by fostering dependency, propping up oppressive or incompetent regimes and pushing up the value of poor countries' currencies, thereby undermining the competitiveness of their exports. If aid helped, they say, the poorest countries would have been getting steadily richer for decades, which they have not (see chart 2). Those who favour giving aid argue that it could indeed lift people out of poverty, but rich countries simply do not give enough. It is like sending fire engines to combat a wildfire: it only works if you send a lot of them.

Assessing the impact of aid on economic growth is complicated by the fact that the causality is not always clear. A positive relationship between the two could simply mean that rich countries reward poor ones for implementing policies that would have helped their economies whether or not they had brought in money. Conversely, a negative relationship may just mean that more aid flows to the countries with the most sluggish growth. In neither instance would aid actually be driving growth.

To get around this problem, economists have long hunted for a factor that affects the amount of aid disbursed but is not otherwise correlated with growth--an "instrumental variable", in the jargon. Finding one is harder than it seems. Many proposed candidates--such as the size of a poor country's population or even the colonial empire to which it used to belong--have been found by subsequent studies to have an independent connection to economic performance after all.

A recent paper* by Sebastian Galiani and Ben Zou of the University of Maryland and Stephen Knack and Colin Xu of the World Bank proposes a new instrumental variable. After developing countries escape abject poverty, as defined by the International Development Association, an arm of the World Bank, donors usually cut their handouts to focus on poorer places instead. The IDA's threshold is a certain level of average income per person--$1,205 this year--a definition that takes no account of how fast income is rising. So if reaching the cut-off takes a toll on growth, the drop in aid is the likely culprit.

That is indeed what the authors find. By looking at the sums received by 35 countries before and after passing the threshold, they estimate that for every 1% of national income a country receives in aid, annual growth in real income per person rises by about a third of a percentage point in the short term.

Aiding And Vetting

To be sure, most of the countries in question were at a similar level of development; the sample did not include the very poorest, because their incomes are still below the threshold. Moreover, there are drawbacks to studies involving lots of countries, since they combine so many kinds of aid delivered in wildly varying conditions. But other studies have yielded similar findings.

In a paper published in 2011 Markus Brückner, then of the University of Adelaide, estimates the impact of aid on 47 countries between 1960 and 2000. Donors tend to give less to faster-growing countries, he says, which can produce a negative correlation between growth and aid. By looking at periods when severe weather and dramatic shifts in commodity prices had big impacts on growth, Mr Brückner identified variations in foreign aid that were not driven by changes in income per person. He found that a 1% rise in foreign aid lifted growth in income per person by about 0.1 percentage points.

Osborne Jackson of Northeastern University in Massachusetts looked at instances of donors boosting aid across the board when one of the countries they are assisting suffers a natural disaster (thus, the windfall in countries spared the disaster is not linked to economic growth). He concluded that aid increases household consumption, which spurs growth in the short term, but not in the long run. A study by the World Institute for Development Economics Research has reviewed all peer-reviewed papers on aid and growth published since 2008. It concludes that the evidence that aid boosts growth is itself growing rapidly.

Whether that extra growth constitutes good value for money is another question. Unfortunately, there have been few studies of the cost-effectiveness of aid. A forthcoming analysis by Chris Doucouliagos of Deakin University and Martin Paldam of Aarhus University of 141 studies published between 1970 and 2011 finds that the average estimated effect of aid on growth is positive and statistically significant, but so small that it may not be terribly meaningful. Advocates of freer trade or more liberal immigration regimes contend that the economic benefits of such measures for poor countries far outweigh those of aid. Supporters of the 0.7% target can take comfort in the growing evidence that aid boosts growth; but they have more work to do to demonstrate that it boosts it by more, and at lower cost, than the alternatives.

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Emmy-nominated “Shark Tank” on ABC is one of my guilty pleasures. If you haven’t seen the show, you’re missing out on a reality TV phenomenon that gives viewers a glimpse into the inner workings of venture capital. Entrepreneurs appeal for funding from a panel of “sharks” who either make an offer of cash in exchange for equity, or deliciously tear apart the business model or concept. Often times, the latter is more fun to watch, but there are lessons to be learned from these sharks and the brave entrepreneurs who put themselves out there on national TV to sink or swim.

In honor of Shark Week this year, here are five fin-tastic lessons that relate to B2B marketers:

1. Keep asking yourself: is it scalable?

One characteristic of a failed Shark Tank pitch is often the hard truth that it simply does not scale. If a process proves to be repeatable and allows for the expansion of revenue and market share without adding unwieldy headcount, Sharks are much more interested in the concept. This is an applicable lesson for marketers who, with tools as powerful as marketing automation at their disposal, often need to ask themselves, “is this scalable?”

Rather than think campaign-by-campaign, ask what you can automate. This is often easier said than done, as revealed in Maribeth Ross’s recent lead management report. 77% of respondents rated visibility into lead performance across marketing stages (a critical component of automation and scalability) as very valuable, yet only 43% indicated they could do this effectively. That report also offers a very simple method for managing leads between marketing and sales to help with this dilemma, so check it out if you haven’t already. It’s free with an Aberdeen membership.

2. Tell them a story they can’t forget.

When nervous entrepreneurs are in front of the Sharks, they have a limited amount of time to make a case for their business. They’ve got to be compelling, and fast. Of course, the Sharks want to know the technical product details, how it’s differentiated from anything else on the market, or what makes the business model unique. But watching the show has taught me that securing investment requires the Shark to really buy into the emotion behind the entrepreneur’s larger vision. What’s their story? What’s their motivation?

In that way, the Sharks are like any audience interacting with your brand’s content for the first time— stumbling across it on LinkedIn, catching a blog post as they browse Twitter, or seeing a contributed byline in their favorite industry publication. This is the Hidden Sales Cycle that Aberdeen’s Trip Kucera has been writing about for years now.

Content that wins in the Hidden Sales Cycle tells a story. It’s helpful, entertaining, and compelling. This goes beyond the fact that your solution is cloud based, has customizable widgets, or any other specific capabilities. Your content must sell the dream. This is what people ultimately hitch their wagons to, metaphorically speaking. (Unless of course you’re pitching wagon hitches on Shark Tank. Not something I’d recommend.)

3. Save the BS.

Ever heard of “Deja Moo?” It’s the feeling that you’ve heard this bull before. (Ha!)

Like blood in the water, the Sharks can smell bullsh*t from a mile away. That’s why they ask tough questions: do you know what the size of your potential market is? Did you bring the patent paperwork? What do you have that I can’t just do myself? The entrepreneurs that succeed know their stuff, are prepared, and most of all, are honest. Even as viewers, we know a fraud when we see it – laughably bad businesses that don’t have a hope in the world.

Unfortunately, we’ve all seen that same cringe-inducing sales pitch thinly veiled as a piece of B2B content marketing. Give your audience more respect. Show your true expertise and be helpful. For B2B content marketers, using third party research in your content marketing helps to ground your claims. For example, Best-in-Class companies are using services like yours to achieve 500x ROI or maximize efficiency across their workforce. CMO Council found that B2B buyers trust independent third party content more than vendor-branded content. No sh*t.

4. Remember, it’s business.

At times, I think we take ourselves too seriously as marketers. I mean, no offense by this, only that marketers are some of the hardest working people I know. The most successful marketers (and this holds true across every job function) are willing to put in the long hours and unfortunately often take the most abuse. Consequently, marketing is such a multi-tiered, multi-channel, multi-media, multi-long hours and multi-stress-inducing role that sometimes, it’s hard to keep perspective. This is a job.

Like many of the entrepreneurs on Shark Tank, I see marketers pour their heart, soul and character into what they do. Often times, a brand is a reflection of the individual writing the copy or designing the brand guide.

But those entrepreneurs on the show that make us cringe as viewers are those who receive criticism, and proceed to take it personally. They become defensive, sometimes fighting with the Sharks about why they deserve a chance. I’m more impressed by the entrepreneur who fails, but who can keep smiling, shake the hands of the Sharks, maintain composure, ask for feedback, and walk away proud that they gave it a shot.

This kind of personality bodes well in marketing. Take a shot, give it your best, if it doesn’t work out just shake it off, get back up and try again.

5. Don’t be a nothing burger.

My favorite Shark might be the most-hated among viewers of the show. His name is Kevin O’Leary, but he’s known on the show as Mr. Wonderful. Check out some of his best quotes from on and off the show and you’ll see why I appreciate his pithy, no-nonsense business advice. Love him or hate him, he’s got a great final lesson for marketers:

You have to learn how to communicate your vision. You have to practice in a mirror every morning. It’s the most important thing you can do because you only get a chance to make a first impression once. And when you stand up in front of Sharks, or any other investors, you’ve got to be able to communicate why the idea works and why you’re the right person to do it.

I always tell young kids that I teach now in business school, look, all this stuff you’re learning about numbers is great, but if you can’t stand up in front of your classmates and explain why you’re a winner and how you can be a leader, and how you can inform that business plan, you’re nothing… You’re just a nothing burger ’til that happens.

GUEST POST

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F**k Vogue. That was the idea. It was 2009 and we were looking for the right messaging for Sense of Fashion. A messaging that would resonate with our potential users. And since it was a marketplace for independent fashion, with early fashion bloggers and avant-garde designers, we wanted to get the message across that here was a place where fashion was being built from the bottom up.

We wanted to say that there was now a new generation, one that didn’t need Vogue to tell it what to wear, because it was more cutting edge than Vogue could ever be. We thought up a hashtag: #TFVG  —  The F**k Vogue Generation. We came up with some slogans like Your Grandmother Took Styling Advice From Vogue and Don’t Clone Yourself. We didn’t think these up because we hated Vogue. We loved Vogue as much as the next person standing in line to enter NYFW Barneys Sale. We thought these up because we were looking for something that would grab the attention of our potential users. Something that would get them to listen. We needed to get our foot in the door, and name-dropping the ultimate fashion authority — Vogue — and in a provocative way, was a shortcut.

Aim first, shoot later

When creating a messaging aimed at getting your foot in the door — provocative messaging — you need to choose wisely. Sure, you want to grab the attention of potential users, but you need to do it in a way that tells them something real about yourself — the currently small and mostly unknown brand. So what you’re looking for is not just any big competitor, but the one competitor who will give you context. The context for Sense of Fashion was that Internet was disrupting fashion, via communities like LooBook.nu and Chictopia  —  both founded in 2008 —  and retailers that allowed shoppers to be the buyers such as ModCloth and child bloggers like Tavi Gevinson who started StyleRookie in 2008. That’s why the authority that calls the shots about fashion, as it was so well depicted in The Devil Wears Prada (The book from 2003 and the movie from 2006) was the right choice for us.

Unfortunately, we never got to find out whether this messaging would have worked for us. Despite the fact that our retail-industry investor  — a man who sat on the board of L. Brands Inc., owners of Victoria’s Secret — loved it, the idea fell through. Our new US Marketing adviser nipped it in the bud. “We are not an angry company”, he said in his most educational tone of voice, and the board got cold feet, mistaking a messaging tactic that smelled like teen spirit for anger.

Now, at daPulse, I got another go at this. We are not an angry company either, but we are still a mostly unknown company, with fewer than 500 customers. We need all the help we can get to attract the attention of potential users. So we came up with a campaign titled Better Than Trello.

We’re not the first company to come up with this: Both Desk and Freshdesk claim they are Zendesk alternatives. KissMetrics took on Google Analytics. Sendinblue – an email marketing tool popular in France — brands itself as a MailChimp alternative and Just Add Content says it’s a WordPress alternative for small businesses.

Choosing the right competitor to position yourself against is very important. We, for example, chose Trello for three reasons:

1) Because it’s a fantastic tool, and therefore has fantastic users.

2) Because it’s too big to give a damn about us.

3) Because Trello is our context. It is a fantastic tool for task management, and our tool starts exactly where Trello ends.

Getting your foot in the door

Your number one goal when launching a provocative messaging campaign is engagement. You want to get your foot in the door. As I mentioned earlier, you need to take on the competitor who will get you the precise context you need. But when choosing that competitor, there is another factor you need to take into account: emotions. For the provocative messaging to work, it needs to be, well, provocative. And that means it needs to stir up emotions.

So you need to choose a competitor with loyal users who feel strongly about it. Every time we run our Better Than Trello campaign on Twitter, we get responses ranging from amused to dismissive to downright outraged: “I wish that @twitter would do some quality control on their Promoted Tweets” and “Sorry, but I don’t buy it. Trello forever” are just two responses out of many many others.

True, reading such comments gets us cringing for a second. But then we straighten back up. Because those comments are our foot in the door. That outraged Tweet — that, my friends, is a well disguised open invitation for dialogue. You must remember that even if the initial response is not favorable, it’s an opportunity to talk and change things around, to convey your value to someone. And not just anyone, but someone who is emotionally invested in something you do and therefore is a potential user of yours. See this Twitter conversation for example.

The first thing you see is that our provocative claims are generating engagement. But also, that the first response was not a favorable one. Still  —  foot in the door, check! Now, it’s up to us to bring it back home. And we do. So much so, that this user signed up for our free trial, and even faved our response. Why? Because we managed to get her attention, and once a dialogue was established, our self confidence along with some real value managed to persuade her to sign up. So while it remains to be seen whether this signup will convert into a paying customer, we did make it to first base.

Taking on your biggest competitor in 5 easy steps

1. Choose 3 competitors that can give you the right context. Then narrow it down to the one competitor with the most loyal and invested users. To do this, run a Twitter search on the competitors’ names to see what their users are saying about them. Indicators for engaged loyal users are users spreading the love and interacting with Support. You can run an additional check on Quora to see if users (and not just the brand’s employees) are recommending it on Quora.
2. Create the comparative messaging. Remember, clear messaging can only focus on one aspect of what you do. Don’t attempt to grasp everything you do, it will blur your message.
3. Create a landing page explaining why you are a better alternative. Make sure the page conveys that you know the competitors’ tool inside out. Keep it to the point, and treat the competitor with respect. Focus on the real value you deliver that your competitor doesn’t.
4. When a dialogue with a potential user is achieved, be confident but kind and helpful. These are your potential users you’re talking to.
5. 5. Measure measure measure: Views, clicks, signups, and conversion to paying, to find out whether this is indeed the right messaging for you.

Would love to hear about your experiences —  good and bad  — with this course of action.

Daria Shualy is Don Draper at daPulse, a collaboration and knowledge sharing tool that turns founders into managers. She’s also former founder and CEO of two e-commerce startups. Reach her @darshu.

This post is the second in a multi-part series about the future of marketing and the role that semantic, context and intent will have on how we experience the internet.

Uncovering The Meaning Of Your Search

So the search of yesteryear is gone. No more keyword only focused searches, well at least not if you want the very best results.

For a minute let’s forget the big words here. Contextual, semantic…After awhile they all start to sound a bit like an MBA dissertation and less like a critical marketing topic. However, do not, for a minute, kid yourself or allow the buzzwords to distract you from the seismic shift that is taking place. Let’s choose a new word: Conversation.

Let’s Have a Conversation, With a Search Engine

In the future, and really even today, the most qualified and successful searches are going to be driven by conversations.

When Google Hummingbird was launched, Google used the idea of conversation rather than keyword as one of the biggest evolutions taking place with the new algorithm. So rather than thinking of search in terms of just the keywords given, Google can now look for meaning behind the words that you enter in your search query.

In my last post on the subject I talked about a couple searching out a dining experience and how rather than plugging in just words like “Steakhouse” or “Chicago,” they would today look to plug in “Where can we get a great steak in Chicago?”

Before search had the capability of better understanding the meaning behind search, if you were to enter that entire phrase, the search engine wouldn’t know whether you meant a restaurant or a grocery store. Further it would have very little data to qualify what makes a steak great. It would have likely used spiders and other white hat SEO practices to find sites that have the words Chicago, and Steak in them.

With Hummingbird, and more importantly the advances in semantic search, the search engine is now able to understand more of the nuance of what you are searching for. For instance, it could likely make out that you are looking to go out for a steak rather than find a store that sells them. Furthermore, it can work to find results that take into consideration your exact location to better filter results than just all of the steakhouses in Chicago.

In addition, the semantic web has the potential to integrate your query with your referent network. Since we are widely influenced by others’ opinions online, why not incorporate social into the search results to further “conversationalize” the web?

Marrying Social Search and Semantic Search

Now that search has evolved and we can more or less ask questions to our search engine much like we would to another person, doesn’t it just make sense that the evolution of the web is to incorporate social results into semantic search?

Let’s revisit the Steakhouse example one more time. When I ask conversationally for the best places to get a great steak in Chicago, the way semantic search works is it looks for meaning beyond just the keywords. So as mentioned above it will strive to better understand what I’m really asking and not just analyze the words.

By overlaying Social Search into the equation, now the web can work to extract meaning from my query but also look for people within my social networks from Google, Facebook and others to help provide me with experiential data. Ideally from those I am closest to as well as those who are most influential on certain topics or within certain communities. Furthermore, social search can poll sites such as Yelp, Trip Advisor and other review sites where user generated content is providing supporting data for my query.

Say my first result following my query is Gibson’s Steakhouse in Chicago. Chances are if the establishment has a great product there will be people on the web talking about it. So rather than just seeing the results that my query created, now I can quickly and easily see what others are saying about it both on the review sites and perhaps more importantly people who I am connected to socially.

While some may say that local search has been doing this for some time, there is a certain amount of truth to that, but the biggest difference is that local search is generally a process done as more of a “drill down” where you start with an overarching subject matter and then you pick a location and then local data comes up to tell you the locations, hours, and reviews.

Furthermore, local never really tied influence marketing or social input into the equation. A review on Yelp may be helpful and specific, but if a close friend or relative had an opinion about the restaurant it would likely be more influential on the potential consumer.

The Future of Marketing Is Semantic, Conversational and Social

As we can see, the web is changing directionally, from keyword to conversation the evolution is being used to better understand what the buyer wants.

As marketers, this will continue to impact our content marketing, social media and our traditional print and communication channels. As we seek to create and keep customers in a world where the buyer has the Internet at their disposal, we will need to consider not just what information we have out there, but how we are making it accessible through the marriage of paid, owned and earned channels in a digital world gone semantic.

In the final part of this series (First found on Forbes) I will dig into how search and social will marry to better understand not only meaning, but to gain

Social selling is crucial for impelling purchasing decisions – so where do you begin to create a social selling routine? And why do you need one to begin with?

In this infographic from The Social Wrap by Ben Martin, we are presented with a “cheat sheet” that can aid us in building a daily social selling procedure.

As a result, this routine can provide B2B professionals with much help in lead generation, while enhancing their engagement with customers.

Below are the 12 steps to consider, which Ben Martin also accentuates in his infographic, “How To Build A Social Selling Routine – 30 to 60 Minutes Per Day.”

Step 1

Pinpoint the content you would like to distribute to customers.

Step 2

Turn to your social networks to distribute content.

Step 3

Check your LinkedIn account to see who has viewed your profile.

Step 4

Create 1st degree connections with those who have visited your profile.

Step 5

Follow up on how your content has engaged with customers.

Step 6

Make connections with LinkedIn users who have viewed your content (these are users who are not already in your 1st degree network).

Step 7

Take note of your LinkedIn alerts (i.e. new job alerts).

Step 8

Take note of the “hot buyers” through tag folders via LinkedIn.

Step 9

Distribute this week’s content to your “hot buyers.”

Step 10

Have you checked your other alerts (i.e. Google+, Hootsuite)?

Step 11

Make sure you don’t have unresolved messages on LinkedIn.

Step 12

Begin at least five fresh conversations for the day.

When you view the full infographic below, take note of the advice Ben Martin provides in certain steps.

What are your thoughts on building a social selling procedure? Is this infographic missing any important information? Please leave your comments.

Selling has changed. Buyers have changed. Isn’t it time that you changed, too? Easier said than done! Sales professionals who are looking for the definitive blueprint on what to change and how to change (along with why to change) won’t want to miss this live broadcast with Keith Eades and Timothy Sullivan, authors of the “The […]

Experienced marketers will always tell you that branding matters a lot. But for some customers in the B2B space, there’s still a strong inclination to dismiss brands as mere labels.

Now there’s a bit of wisdom to that. It means your lead generation campaign should still concern itself with the quality of your actual software products. Relying on a label can rile up the resident hippies in your prospect organization. Regardless, there’s also a bit of wisdom in fostering brand awareness among potential clients.

Keyword: Distinction

I’m not saying that that all it takes is a symbol and a Divergent-style name to win the hearts of CIOs all over. What it does though is start the process. They see your logo or hear about you for the first time and they might ask along the lines of, “So what?”

Asking ‘what’ is your chance to jump on to the next step. A prospect’s lacking emphasis on branding doesn’t mean they’re entirely objective. Subtler reasons include:

• Lack of product knowledge - It could be that it’s the prospect’s first time selecting a vendor and doesn’t even have a clear idea on what they’re looking for. Even when the internet provides a lot information to help them research, it’s not always a guarantee they’ll know enough to know what they’re buying.

• New to the industry – A lack of product knowledge goes hand-in-hand with being new to the entire industry. It’s like when you’re choosing a pet for the first time. You don’t know much about animals or any new veterinary factoids. Likewise, prospects who aren’t sure about putting faith in just the brand are just as unsure about where the industry currently stands.

• Preference for current provider – Let’s not also forget that a prospect could also just be sticking to the brand of the first provider they did business with. Along with lacking product knowledge and experience with the industry, such attachment is natural. They could be content and aren’t looking to bother with another brand.

So in short, it could be a sign that a prospect is lacking buyer expertise. This isn’t good, whether or not they’ll go further into your lead generation pipeline. Famous hotels like Marriott are very picky with the kind of brands they use for their own amenities. It’s not going to be different when it comes to enterprise systems. Having enough buyer expertise requires the participation of both eager vendors and eager buyers.

That’s why brands matter because behind each brand is the knowledge they can use to finally figure out what they’re looking for. Don’t hesitate to play your part!

Our industry is a great one. It’s filled with a lot of awesome people building a lot of inspiring things and constantly seeking out ways to express just how much they love doing so. We’ve had blogs and podcasts, and right now hosting conferences is the big thing. Ever more people are organizing conferences, arranging meetups and creating memorable experiences. It’s fantastic to see.

Nothing compares to a good conference: the atmosphere of being immersed in a crowd of people who share the same passion as you, the lessons you learn and advice you take in, and the friends you get to meet and the new ones you make. You leave a good conference re-energized — full of zeal for your job and bursting with fresh ideas.

That’s exactly what I wanted to create with HybridConf¹, and I am proud that we achieved it in our first outing last year. Our guests learned, shared stories, made lasting friendships — even a relationship or two — and undoubtedly had a good time. I felt like I had succeeded in giving back to the community some of the same experiences that I so value from conferences of the past. This year, we’ve switched cities, but our goal is the same: to bring people together in one place where they can discover and share and then leave full of positivity towards the great community we have the privilege to be a part of.

Since starting HybridConf, I’ve been fortunate enough to receive countless pieces of advice from other conference organizers. The advice has been invaluable to me, so I wanted to pay it forward with this article and help more of you succeed, too.

Make Sure That Organizing A Conference Is Right For You

Before delving into a list of tips, I should say that running a conference is incredibly hard, much more than you can possibly imagine, so make sure that it’s really right for you before you start.

If you are going to run a conference, then you will need to be prepared for many late nights, big money worries, a roller coaster of emotions and a prolonged period when your loved ones, social life and free time take a back seat. There’s no escaping that. It’s a huge responsibility and one that will take up a lot of your time, both in physical labor and in constant worrying. It really is a massive amount of work, especially for those of us (like me) who do this on top of a day job. Sometimes it feels insurmountable.

Then, there is the stress from money, because — let’s not beat around the bush here — putting on a conference of a certain size can be very expensive. Add to that the worry of not really being able to control exactly how well the big day goes. You just have to plan and organize and sell as well as you can and keep your fingers crossed. Considering all of this thoroughly, therefore, and whether you really want to commit this much time and brainpower is really important.

One of the best ways to counteract the stress is to have a really clear understanding of why you’re doing this in the first place. You need to have a solid reason that you can believe in and that will drive you forward and help you to make a lot of the decisions along the way. My reason was that I was tired of so many UK conferences featuring the same speakers with the non-divergent opinions. After complaining about it on Twitter for so long, I decided that I had to just stop complaining and try to fix it. So, I took the opportunity to make the type of conference that I would want to attend myself.

So, with all of that being said, if you’ve read this far and still want to put on a conference, high five to you! I’m very glad I haven’t scared you away, because later I’ll talk about all of the wonderful rewards that this stress and hard work bring you.

Learn How To Run A Great Conference

This section shares my top tips for getting started with your conference and staying organized along the way.

1. Figure Out The Theme

Having some kind of unifying idea is important. It could be relatively broad and high level — like ours, which was to bring designers and developers together — or much narrower, such as Break’s theme of removing the barriers between different specializations of design, or perhaps a conference focused on a particular technology. JavaScript conferences do incredibly well, in part due to the language being the hottest topic in the industry and because such conferences have such a sharp focus.

The question isn’t whether a theme is right for a potential attendee, but rather whether there is one at all. Having a theme helps to unify your ideas, to get appropriate speakers, and to sell and market to the right people. It will also help you to come up with a name. Pick something simple, punchy and on topic. A mission statement will also help you to stay on track and attract your target audience. Here was ours:

“We care a lot about this industry and we couldn’t find a conference that matched our wants or needs. We wanted something that was both welcoming and awe-inspiring. We wanted a conference where the talks were fresh, and you’d not seen most of the speakers before. We wanted a place where we talked about all aspects of the web, in an easy-to-understand way for even the most novice attendee, yet where seasoned attendees still had lots to learn. Thus, HybridConf was born. We spent almost a year of intense hard work, tears and sleepless nights to help empower people in their goals. We hope you join us and celebrate that the people (including you!) make this industry great.”

2. Get A Business Partner, Or Three

Running a conference is a lot of work and emotionally very tiring. Some days you wake up literally paralyzed by fear; other days, you feel invincible. You need to find someone who you can rely on to understand when you get stressed, who can pick up work when you are feeling overwhelmed, who gets excited by your great ideas and who curbs your enthusiasm a bit when you go overboard. Of course, you should provide the same values to your partners. Finding someone you trust to share this experience will be the biggest help you can get.

3. Think About Speakers Very Early On

We chose to hand-pick our speakers. I already had in mind a lot of people who I thought were doing cool stuff and would have something interesting and original to say, so I approached them personally and asked. Speaking experience wasn’t a consideration; I didn’t care whether they were a seasoned pro or a first-timer — and people were incredibly shocked when we revealed who our first-timers were. An open call for proposals might make more sense for you and is a great option. Just make sure that whichever way you choose, you do it early. Good speakers get snapped up really far in advance, so if you want your top choices, secure them as soon as possible.

Try to see whether a desired speaker has any mutual friends. If so, ask the friend to introduce you. Explain your mission to the prospective speaker and see whether it’s a match for them. Our mission, to better the industry, was something many people could get behind. Be honest here. For the people with whom we didn’t have mutual connections, we asked them on Twitter whether emailing them was OK — being respectful goes a long way, and most people are OK with email. Try to capture everything in one email, so that they have enough information to make an informed decision. Make sure to explain the mission, the date, the theme, any compensation you can offer and anything else you feel relevant.

4. Determine Whether You Can Pay Speakers

Although for most conferences it is good practice and a very worthy aim³ to pay the speakers for their time and efforts, we knew from the beginning that, for the first year at least, paying fees to the speakers would not be possible – we simply couldn’t afford to while keeping our ticket costs low enough to be accessible. However, we pledged to cover all of their expenses, including flight, hotel, other travel and a speakers’ dinner. While we couldn’t pay them for their time, we felt that they should not have to incur any costs for coming.

This year, we decided to share revenue with speakers. If we make a profit, they will receive a percentage of it; if we don’t, then we will pay all of their expenses as before but they won’t get anything on top. This protects us, and it gives them a nice bonus if we do well.

Figure out what you can afford from the beginning. If you can afford to pay the speakers (or if that is a higher priority for you than other costs), then great; if you can’t, then be honest and say so when you invite people to speak. Many people are still very happy to come without expecting a fee. The important thing is to be open from the beginning and not to promise to pay for something that you won’t be able to afford in the end.

You’ll also have to consider a lot of things to take great care of your speakers leading up to and during the event. Dermot Daly has a lot of great advice⁴ on this.

5. Pick A Comfortable Venue

Last year, we had wanted to hold HybridConf in the Coal Exchange, an old historic building in Cardiff Bay; unfortunately, they had to close for some repairs, and we had to find a new venue. In the end, we chose Cineworld. It doesn’t have the cool history of the original venue, but you know what it does have? Comfortable seats. And guess what one of the main things everyone talked about was? How comfortable the seats were compared to other conferences.

Your guests are going to be sitting in one place for the better part of eight hours. Pick somewhere butt-friendly. The venue will also have a big effect on the overall feel. The theme you’ve chosen will inform a lot of your decisions. Do you want a spotlight on the speakers or warm lighting over everyone? We chose the former because we didn’t want people to have any problem understanding the speakers. Do you mind whether people use their laptops? Lower lighting deters that. Do you want to provide an area for people to work if needed? So many decisions will affect the overall feel. Use your best judgement — you should know what attendees want more than anyone.

6. Think About Feeding Guests

We choose to cater. We provide lunches, snacks, tea and coffee and this year breakfast as well. It’s a personal choice and obviously it affects the cost, but we like to do it because we think it makes it easier to mingle, and it takes the stress out of having to find a restaurant and people to eat with. If you do want to provide food, just find a good caterer and let them do what they do best. Many venues have a dedicated caterer or a shortlist that they work with. Figure out in advance the cost per person, the type of food you want to provide (hot or cold, buffet or sit-down) and any special requests (last year we wanted to include some Welsh food). Then, just meet the caterer and they’ll try to meet your requirements.

7. Live In Your Spreadsheet

Our spreadsheet had at least 20 tabs. We had tabs for income, expenses, the schedule, accommodation, contact details, the speakers’ food preferences at the speakers’ dinner, and many more things. We had tables for best- and worst-case scenarios, and we updated them constantly. With a spreadsheet, all of the vital information was in one place, and we always knew how we were doing. You can never write down too much or be too organized. Combining the spreadsheet with a great ticketing solution helps, too. Our ticketing solution, Tito⁵, breaks down sales and provides reports as much as we need — it was a godsend for us.

8. Nail Down A Cancellation Policy

When we got our first request for a refund, I must admit I was a bit taken aback. We’d tried to cover all of our bases and, naively, hadn’t considered that we might encounter this problem. I asked others what they do, and they all gave me the same answer: Allow guests to resell their tickets, but don’t offer refunds. The truth is that we spend the money from ticket sales quickly, and a ticket that someone wants refunded is often from an earlier batch, which means you’ve lost the chance to sell it again. We believe in fairness, so if you don’t refund one person, then refunding another person would not be right, even if you think the other person has a good reason. Splitting hairs about what counts as a good reason just leads to complication and misunderstanding. So, we keep a strict no-refund policy. You may choose to do things differently, and I commend you if you do — no way is easy.

9. Leverage Your Network

One of the biggest perks of being in this industry is that most of us have a lot of contacts. Use them. Ask them to promote you, whether on Twitter, on their blogs or at their own events. Ask whether they have contacts in the sponsorship department at their company. Ask them for an introduction to a speaker whom you would love to have. Ask them for advice if they’ve already run their own event. From our experience, most people are only too happy to help.

10. Hire A Technical Team

Last year, we decided quite late to hire a company to handle all of the lighting, audio and visuals. The extra cost was high, but having professionals organize all of the equipment, set it up and be on hand to make sure it works all day was totally worth it. Some of the most common things that go wrong are minor technical issues — microphones not working, laptops not connected to the projector — so having a skilled person there to fix issues as soon as they arose was invaluable. The time saved and peace of mind was far more valuable than the cost.

Paul Campbell’s post on reducing conference awkwardness⁷ walks through a few potential audio-visual pitfalls, with some great tips on avoiding them.

11. Organize The Printing

Different items take different lengths of time to print. Badges might need only a week’s notice, while lanyards and banners might need a month’s. Start looking for printers, and talk to them well in advance. If your designs are done, let them know when the printing is needed, and give estimates on the quantities, following up closer to the conference with more accurate figures. Also, print a little more than you think you’ll need; ensuring that everyone has materials is worth overspending slightly.

Double-check everything. Murphy’s Law is in full effect when you’re running an event. Last year, knowing that our materials were a rush job, the printer took our address from our email footers. It was a billing address, and no one was at that address to pick up the printing packages. So, during the pre-conference drinks, we had to drive an hour away just before the sorting office closed to pick them up — or else no one would have gotten their name badges!

12. Appoint An Excellent Head Volunteer

Last year, our head volunteer was Andrew Nesbitt. He had experience with organizing meetups and is just generally awesome at sorting stuff out and getting stuff done (not to mention, giving excellent last-minute talks!). Having a great head volunteer means that you don’t have to worry about silly little things on the day of. You can concentrate on making sure everyone is having a good time. Hopefully, you’ll even have a chance to relax and enjoy yourself, which is important.

13. Expect To Lose Money

At least expect to lose money at first. Running a conference is by no means a get-rich-quick scheme. It’s a lot of work for a very small amount of money, if you’re lucky. If you’re not lucky and you don’t get it right, the worst-case scenario will bankrupt you. There are ways to minimize risks, though. Setting up a corporation in certain countries, such as the UK and US, is a great way to protect yourself from personal risk. If you think you might have some money left over at the end, chances are you won’t. However, operating at a loss is still very rewarding as long as you are prepared for it; there are many more rewards than just the money to be made. If you do make money, that’s a great bonus, something to be proud of, and a perfect foundation on which to build a sustainable business and to put on an even better event next year.

14. Prepare, Prepare, Prepare, Then Pray

No matter how much you prepare, you can only hope that everything goes right in the end. Something will go wrong at some point — I guarantee it. Plenty of things went wrong for us, although, fortunately, all of the big problems happened during preparation, and only a couple of minor, easily fixable hiccups occurred on the day. Minimize risks by planning as much as possible as early as possible; in the end, you can’t do much more than hope for the best. Keep in mind, too, that almost nothing is unsolvable. Most things can be fixed with a lot less hassle than you might think, and often guests will not notice, care or remember that something hasn’t gone precisely according to plan.

15. Get Feedback

When the event is finished, send out a survey with a prize for a random entry. Give people an incentive to tell you what they think. Find out what you can do better with the next one.

Discover The Rewards Of Putting On Your Conference

After all of this talk of stress and hard work, I would be remiss to skip the rewards at the end for a job well done. The amount of effort you put in will make you feel incredibly accomplished when it all comes together. While HybridConf has caused me the most anguish in my life, it is also the thing I am most proud of in my life. Sometimes I think I’m mad for wanting to run a conference a second time, but when I think back to the event last year and the amazing feedback we got from our guests, I remember why it is all so worth it.

Nothing really compares to what we felt at the end of the conference last year. After two days of wonderful, insightful talks, Cameron Moll gave the closing keynote⁸ and brought the whole audience to tears with his inspiring examples of how technology can do real good in the world. At the end of his talk, he thanked us for putting on the event, and the applause that followed was overwhelming. The culmination of eight months of hard work in something that so many people enjoyed brought up every emotion at once: intense happiness, amazement that we had actually pulled it off, pride, relief, disbelief, exhaustion.

We had to pause for a moment just to stand and take it all in. It was a moment we would never get to experience again, and it demanded to be savored. It was just a minute, but I will remember that minute for the rest of my life. Whenever I get overwhelmed from organizing HybridConf this year, I will step back and remember that moment. With all of the stress involved, it’s very easy to forget that you are creating something awesome, memorable and life-changing — both for you and your guests. Taking time to enjoy it is imperative because you’ll sure as hell miss it when it’s gone.

That’s it! I hope this has given you some ideas and has excited you to put on an event, rather than make you want to run away! If you want advice on specific aspects of organizing a conference, Jesper Wøldiche’s handbook⁹ goes through plenty of topics.

We spent eleven months of the year for just two days, and it was one of the hardest things we’ve ever had to do. But seeing people smile and inspired by what we created was an amazing experience, one that will last with us for the rest of our days and that, in the end, was worth it.

Other Resources

• “Look After Your Speakers¹⁰,” Dermot Daly, The Tito Blog
• “5 Tips to Reduce Conference Awkwardness¹¹,” Paul Campbell, The Tito Blog
• “Conference Organiser’s Handbook¹²,” Peter-Paul Koch

Front page image credit: Chung Ho Leung¹³.

(al, ml, il)

Footnotes

1. 1 http://hybridconf.net
2. 2 http://twitter.com/jamesslock
3. 3 http://www.andybudd.com/archives/2013/08/paying_speakers_is_better_for_everybody/
4. 4 http://blog.tito.io/posts/look-after-your-speakers/
5. 5 http://ti.to
6. 6 http://twitter.com/jamesslock
7. 7 http://blog.tito.io/posts/5-tips-to-reduce-conference-awkwardness/
8. 8 https://vimeo.com/76690973
9. 9 http://www.quirksmode.org/coh/
10. 10 http://blog.tito.io/posts/look-after-your-speakers/
11. 11 http://blog.tito.io/posts/5-tips-to-reduce-conference-awkwardness/
12. 12 http://www.quirksmode.org/coh/
13. 13 https://www.flickr.com/photos/52473099@N03/8576618657/

The post How To Plan And Run A Great Conference Experience appeared first on Smashing Magazine.

There are many reasons why salespeople are wasting so much time with the No-Po’s who keep them away from the power buyer. The biggest reason is the fear that they won’t be able to hold their weight talking at the higher level. A new study from Corporate Visions confirm this. They surveyed more than 700 B2B salespeople, to understand what salespeople avoid. It turns out that most salespeople are not prepared to have high-value conversations:

• 26% feel unprepared when demonstrating financial justification
• 25% feel unprepared during negotiations
• 24% feel unprepared during executive conversations

On the other hand, 63% of reps said they felt prepared for product presentations. This confirms another reason they hang in No-Po land: because NO-PO’S ARE ALL ABOUT TECHNICAL DISCUSSIONS THAT NEVER GO ANYWHERE. It’s a vicious circle. Salespeople might feel relatively good about the simpler sales tasks of presenting products and differentiating between brands, but BEWARE: No-Po’s love to chatter about every little feature of your product and boy do they adore endless competitive comparisons!  Are you addicted to No-Po’s? Visit the Rehab Center.

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For more on inside sales strategies and trends, subscribe to the RSS Feed for this blog and sign up for our Email Newsletter. You can follow me on Twitter, connect on LinkedIn, and join the conversation on Inside Sales 2.0 Trends Talk LinkedIn Group. If you want epic inside sales training for teams and managers, contact TeleSmart.

The post Study Proves Why Your Salespeople Love Living in No-Po Land appeared first on TeleSmart Communications.

In an earlier post, I quoted a Seinfeld episode where a car rental agency knew how to “take” the reservation, but just didn’t know how to “hold” the reservation. Many B2B companies do the same thing with their leads. They know how to get them, but just can’t seem to hold on to them, and thereby miss out on sales.

Just how many of them miss out on the sales? Well, according to Marketing Sherpa, 79% of marketing leads never convert into sales. Let that sink in for a moment. Seventy-nine percent of leads never convert into sales. That means you’re converting only 1 out of every 5 leads you generate. One out of five.

Those are some pretty dismal numbers, don’t you think?

This tends to happen with many companies because they’re lead gen-heavy. Their follow-up and conversion are underpowered, letting all those leads slip away into the night. For example, at trade shows and conventions, they’ll gather business cards and email addresses, but then do nothing with them. Their website collects names and email addresses in exchange for sending out a free report, but then that’s the last contact they do.

All of these leads are just waiting for you to do some follow up and start the relationship building and lead management. If you just let them sit there in a pile, they do you and your company no good. Let’s take a look at a few strategies that can get your B2B marketing program cranked up, and start converting those leads into sales.

1. Follow up with your B2B leads

This seems like a no-brainer, however many B2B companies let this slide. Leads have short memories, so you must keep the memory alive with quick follow-up. Whether that’s 24 or 48 hours, the point is, follow up with them quickly.

2. Use a system to capture information

A CRM system has the benefit of centralizing all of your relevant marketing and sales information about the lead. Everyone’s working off the same info and timeline, increasing the chances of conversion. Isolating your lead information in separate systems or departments will ensure that conversion never happens.

3. Have Marketing & Sales work together

Traditionally lead qualification is done by Sales, which isn’t playing to their strengths. Sales typically excels at taking leads from qualification to closure, however aren’t as strong when it comes to the qualification process. (Of course there are exceptions, however this tends to be the typical behavior.) By allowing Marketing to vet all the leads, they’ll be handing off the cream of the lead crop to Sales, who can then work their magic.

Getting the two departments to work together can be a challenge at any company, so consider formalizing the relationship between the two groups. A formal lead SLA sets expectations for both groups, and lets them work to their strengths. This is especially important in the B2B marketing world, where the sales cycle is very long and complex. Sales and Marketing must be in sync in order to move leads through their sales cycle.

Tell me your story

How is your B2B company nurturing leads? Are you using any of these strategies? Hit the comments and let me know.

In today’s high-velocity sales world, juggling a sea of tasks is about as easy and efficient as texting while running in a marathon. At some point in our careers, we have all been asked by our bosses to “just prioritize” when raising concern about having a heavy workload. But this is easier said than done.

When you have a lot of work to get done and more coming at you every day, determining the relative importance of every item becomes challenging. Salespeople are dealing with hundreds of tasks and interruptions each day – new leads, scheduled calls, call-backs, demos, prospecting emails and calls, proposals, administrative work, and much more. Relying on the power of the human mind to prioritize time and activity doesn’t logically sound so feasible, and is one of the many reasons why companies generally perform poorly when responding to new leads.

To uncover the impact of automating the prioritization of sales activities, Velocify studied the productivity and performance of more than 400 sales teams that use sales prioritization technology and compared their results to those that do not.

The findings revealed that sales reps utilizing sales prioritization technology averaged 88 percent more talk time and 37 percent more daily actions. Looking past the productivity improvements, the potential revenue gain from prioritizing rep activities was substantial. Many of the companies utilizing prioritization technology rose above an apparent “invisible ceiling” that seemed to cap the performance potential of teams not using the technology. In aggregate, companies that exhibited heavy usage of prioritization technology averaged lead conversion rates that were 178 percent greater than those not using prioritization.

If you want to dive deeper into the results of the study download the full report: “The Power of Prioritization: How Automating Relative Importance of Sales Activities Can Impact Sales Success.”

Organic reach on Facebook is declining.

It’s been the discussion point for marketers using social media since the beginning of the year and by now you’re probably familiar with the issue.

If you’re not, here’s a quick catch-up for you: organic reach on Facebook (the number of people who see your content with no advertising) has dropped to just 6%. That means of those 10,000 Facebook fans on your Page that you’ve spent all this time collecting, only 600 of them on average will see what you post.

To reach the rest of them, you’ll need to advertise and promote your content. Facebook organic reach is expected to fall further and many analysts are predicting it will be almost zero by the end of the year. This means no one will see your content unless you pay to promote it.

To me, this raises a big question…

What does this mean for Facebook Page Likes?

Brands have spent plenty of time (and in the majority of cases, money) trying to grow the number of Page Likes they have. That’s because more Likes = more people seeing your content. Right? The people that Like your Page are the ones that see your content and hopefully share it so others see it too. Even with organic reach where it is now, 6% of 100,000 fans will give you more views than 6% of 10,000 fans.

But if organic reach keeps on reducing, particularly if it does end up at zero, what is the point of having Facebook Likes on your Page at all? It seems as if they’ll become largely redundant. If the vast majority of people that have liked your Page won’t see your content organically, then why does it matter how many Page Likes you have? 0% of 100 Likes is the same as 0% of 1,000,000. If you have to promote your content for anyone to see it, then doesn’t it make more sense to put your entire Facebook budget into post promotion rather than increasing Likes?

If you’re advertising to increase Page Likes, you could spend £1,000 on the campaign and at around 30p per Like you’d gain 3,000-3,500 new fans. That only translates to an additional organic reach of about 200 people. Not a great return from £1,000.

So should we give up on trying to increase Page Likes at all and just focus solely on promoting content, even if it’s a brand new Page with zero likes? You’re going to have to advertise to get your content seen anyway, so why pay to increase Likes only to pay again to serve them the content? Isn’t it better just to cut out the middle part and just pay to promote your content directly from the off?

There’s definitely an argument to be had for this approach. You could in theory have a Page with no Likes but spend your entire budget on promoting your posts and you’d be getting your content out there directly in people’s News Feeds. You’d reach significantly more people within your budget through this approach. And really, that’s the main reason you’re on Facebook, to get your content seen.

So why do Facebook Likes still matter?

A key reason for still wanting to have Likes on your Page is for social validation. If we perceive something as liked by others, we are likely to have a better view of it. This particularly helps if the user isn’t familiar with your brand; they might check out your Page to find out more about you and, if they see a large number of Likes, perceive you as more established and trusted brand supported by a higher number of fans.

What’s more, social context helps to make ads more effective. Facebook admitted (if a leaked document counts as an admission) that brands should now think of fan acquisition as a way to make advertising more effective: social context helps increase engagement and reduce costs.

If we’re looking at fan acquisition as a way of increasing advertising effectiveness, then a major strength of having plenty of fans on your Page is Facebook’s soon-to-be-released Audience Insights feature, as well as the existing ability to create a Custom Audience based on people who Like your Page.

These tools will help you advertise to the right kind of people through highly targeted campaigns. By creating tailored campaigns, whether the objective is to increase Likes or promote content, hopefully you’ll be able to attract a more engaged audience. And this is the key.

It is far better to have a smaller, more engaged audience than a huge Page that no one is interested in. While this has always been the case it is now even more important, as Pages with highly engaged users and good quality content are still seeing higher reach than the average. Many newspapers for example, which are creating a constant stream of high quality content, have actually seen organic reach increase this year. Meanwhile, for Pages with over 500,000 Likes the average organic reach has fallen to just 2% compared with the 6% Facebook average.

What should you do?

So, I will try and sum this up with a tidy answer…

Do Facebook Likes still matter? Yes. For now. But less than they did before.
Should you still advertise to get Facebook Likes? Yes. For now. But less than you did before.

If you have a Facebook Page, you’ve got to have an advertising strategy to go with your content strategy. You’re wasting your time if you’re not promoting your content. But, Facebook Likes are still useful; you just have to get the balance right. If I was given a budget of £1,000 to spend on promoting a new Facebook Page, I’d assign 25% of that to gaining page Likes and 75% to promoting content. The more you can grow your Likes organically, for example by promoting your Facebook Page on your website and traditional advertising, the better.

Keep an eye on how the level of organic reach changes though, because in a few months it could be an entirely different story.

If you found this interesting, we’d love to hear from you. Tweet us @TheHPSGroup with your thoughts on the recent Facebook changes.

The idea of speed reading has been around for decades, but there’s been an explosion of speed-reading apps lately that promise to get you reading up to 400, 600, even 1,000 words per minute. But is it worth it? Are you really doing yourself a favor by blasting through e-mails at top speed? Or blazing through a blog post in a few seconds? How Speed Reading Works While there are a few different speed-reading systems, most of them are built on the same principles. For example, one of the primary points that you’ll learn when speed reading is to not...

Read the full article: Put A Brake On Speed Reading: 5 Tips To Be A More Engaged Online Reader

One of the most challenging things about getting started on Google+ is deciding which type of account is right for your business.

You might be wondering what the differences are between a Google+ profile, a Google+ Local business page, and a brand page. You might also need help deciding which one makes the most sense for your business.

My mother-in-law, who is a mortgage loan officer, had the same questions. She wanted to use Google+ to get a leg up on her competition in the area, but she wasn’t sure where to begin.

Once I explained all of the options to her, she became incredibly excited at the opportunity Google+ offered her business, and I hope you feel the same by the time you’re finished reading.

When getting started on Google Plus, you first need to create a Google Plus profile.

If you have an existing Gmail account, you already have a Google+ page! By signing in to plus.google.com with your Gmail address and password, you will find a blank profile page that you can begin adding your information to.

When populating your new Google+ page, make sure you focus on the following aspects of your profile:

• Profile Picture: You want it to be recognizable to your audience and match your other online presences.
• Tagline: Let people know who you are with your short elevator pitch.
• About: Filling out the about section will ensure that your profile can easily get found in a Google search
• Contact information: Don’t forget to include your contact information so your potential customers can easily reach out to you for more information

Similar to Facebook, you must create a Google+ profile to create a business page of any kind. Once you create a business page, it will be linked to your Google+ profile page for ease of operation.

How do I know if I should create a Google Plus local business page?

If your business has a physical location or you service your customers in a specific location area and you would like your business to be found through Google Maps, Google Search, Google Earth and other Google properties, then a local business page is the right page for your business.

Even your hours of operation will appear in a Google search for your business once you’ve set up a Google+ local business page.

When creating a Google+ local business page you have two options to choose from:

• Storefront business: Choose this option if you have a business that your customers can visit.
• Service area business: Choose this option if you serve customers at their location within a specific service area (this is the option that worked best for my mother-in-law and would work for anyone who offers services to a specific area).

This is a page specifically for your customers or potential customers to find your business. It does not require ongoing community management, but you will want to update your page if you have any changes at your business (new business hours, relocation, new services, etc.)

Get started on your Google+ local business page!

What about a Google Plus brand page, is that right for my business?

A Google Plus brand page is similar to a Facebook business page, in that your page allows you to reach out to your followers (both customers and prospects).

The difference between a Google+ brand page and a Facebook business page is, Google LOVES Google.

Why is this important?

Google (the search engine) indexes both your Google+ profile information (meaning people can easily find you) and the content in your post (meaning people can find the information in your social post through Google Search). In comparison, Google (the search engine) only indexes Facebook’s profile information, not the content of individual posts.

To sum it up, if your social content directs people back to your business properties (i.e. website, blog, email newsletters) you want to create a Google+ brand page. Even without engagement on your posts, your content will have the potential to be found through the Google search engine, which can help you get found by your next great customer.

A Google+ brand page does require community management, so it will take up more of your time than a Google+ local business page, but the SEO benefits alone will make it worth your while.

Get started on your Google+ brand page!

Do I need to choose between a Google Plus local page and a Google Plus brand page?

No. In fact, if you own a local business or offer local services and you want to drive people back to your business’s online properties, then setting up both a Google+ local business page and a Google+ brand page is your best option.

Setting up both a local business page and a brand page for your business will allow your business to not only get found though Google Maps and Google Search, but you will also improve your search rankings and get more eyes on the content you share on your new Google+ brand page.

Hopefully this has provided some of the answers you were looking for.

As for my mother-in-law, she’s now set up a Google+ page, her Google+ local business page, and is working on a brand page. The local business page alone has already brought her 3 new clients — who can argue with that?

So what are my next steps?

If you haven’t already, make sure to sign up for a Google+ profile. If you need additional help, we have a step-by-step resource to help you get started.

Once you’ve filled out all your information, choose at least one of the two options for business pages.

Don’t walk away from your desk until you’ve completely fill out the information necessary. You don’t want to miss out on this opportunity for your business any longer.

Do you already have a Google+ local business page or brand page? Has it helped your business get found on Google? Let us know in the comments below.

What appeared to be just a platform to share photos also plays a decent role in ranking sites. You guessed it right. We are talking about Instagram and the way it has come up as the next big thing for SEO. To provide its users with more relevant links and contents, Google does includes Instagram shares and likes in its algorithms to judge the popularity of resources. So, if you are serious about SEO, you better spice up your Instagram account.

1- Share Tasteful Photos and Say Thank You

Since Instagram can help you in garnering attention and increasing your page rank, you need to use your account more professionally. Over 55 millions of photos are shared in Instagram in a day and you need to take it seriously too.

Use photos that are tasteful and do not hurt anyone’s sentiments. Refrain from making any negative comments or getting into arguments. Moreover, saying a thank you when someone likes your photo says a lot about your professional attitude. So, be prompt with your response. Remember, business is all about building trust.

2- Highlight The Best Features of Your Products

Like other social media sites, you need to use the Instagram account judiciously to remain in touch with your customers through regular photos. However, do not bombard them with uploads. Create a plan and post photos that highlight the best features of your products. You may have to spend a lot of time on editing them but the response you get is worth the effort.

3- Have Your Brand Profile Optimized

It is not enough to have an account in Instagram. You need to provide all the details about your brand to help people to find you out. The brand profile section should have your company’s logo or image. Like FB or Twitter, post photos and engage your viewers in conversations so that more and more people come to know about your brand.

Apart from maximizing the number of instagram followers using services like Hypez, you should aim to reach your target base so as to increase conversion rate for your brand.

4- Use Tools To Analyze What’s Working For Your Brand

Instagram provides several tools that can boost your SEO efforts. Gramfeed is one such tool. Iconosquare is another one that most users find useful. Along with creating groups and sharing photos, you can lay your hands upon a lot of statistics regarding the photos you are sharing or your friends are uploading. A nice way to find out what is working for your brand and what is not!

This is a screen shot of the stats that Iconosquare offers and that will help you to optimize your images.

5- Optimize the images with hashtags

Posting images is not enough when millions of users across the globe are doing so in this social media platform. What you need is to stand apart from the crowd and attract the attention of your target audience.

Instagram offers ways to promote pictures with hashtags of companies. This exposes your brand to larger audience and also increases the number of followers. You should also use keywords to describe your photos so that your brand appears in the popular feeds. Hashtags, coupled with keywords increase the searchability of photos.

When it comes to popularity, Instagram is far behind Facebook or Twitter but people are warming up to it and appreciating its potential. Many companies have started including it in their search engine marketing efforts. Are you ready to take advantage of the photo sharing social media?

Gus, the dad of one of us (Rob), found his dream job. After being head of sales in a large sporting goods company for over a decade, he was ready to move up to a CEO role. A good friend ran a sizeable sports cap company, a family business, and he was looking to step aside. Gus took the job and relocated his family. Eighteen months later he was out and looking for new employment.

What happened?

A son may not always be unbiased about a parent, but Gus was a smart businessman. (In fact, he quickly found a top job in another business.) He had stepped unknowingly into a family business system in which the patriarch was unready, ultimately, to step aside.

Should he have turned down the job? Not necessarily. In our experience, the majority of family owners sincerely supports an outside, competent leader. But every such leader should expect – indeed embrace – intricate family dynamics if he or she hopes to be successful. Often, these dynamics are evident in predictable patterns and sets of behaviors, which we describe below using five archetypes. These are stereotypes, admittedly, but nonetheless real enough that you should prepare yourself to work well with each of them in order to succeed:

General MacArthur. Often the founder who built the company up from nothing, General MacArthur retires with the idea, usually unconscious, that “I shall return.” He or she has no real responsibility for the business anymore, and often has no title or formal position, but his or her passion is still the business. Given that General MacArthur is usually the controlling owner in a family business – legally and/or psychologically – you can’t actually stop him or her from returning, and so you must turn the situation to your advantage. The retiring founder has invaluable experience and expertise, so ask yourself whether there is someplace else in the business where he or she adds real value – e.g., board chair or head of the family foundation. At the same time, you should move to establish a board with strong independent members if one does not already exist. This will help moderate the effect of the General’s reengagement in the business.

The Historian. Just as the boy in the fairy tale who was always crying “wolf,” the historians of the family business world are always crying “family values.” Don’t get us wrong:  values are critical and often give family businesses a competitive edge over publicly traded companies. But sometimes all the talk about the past is a cover for something else, typically deep-seated resistance to change. When you encounter this person in your work, try to separate the talk of values from the family legacy, e.g., the story of the founder building the business from scratch, or the history of the first retail story. Values may be immutable, but the legacy can be redefined to allow for necessary changes in strategies and policies. Try to help the family keep alive a sense of history without becoming enslaved to the past.

The Squeaky Wheel. Not uncommonly, there is second or third generation family member who has inherited some shares but who has no direct experience in the business. Typically these people have a core of advisors, mostly lawyers or tax people, who advise them to maximize the value of his holdings, not the company’s overall value. If you encounter a squeaky wheel in your position, then work with the board or shareholder council to provide basic financial education for all the owners. You also need to read the shareholder agreement and to familiarize yourself with the capitalization table, which shows how much the equity owners of a company have, and often how much money they have invested in the company. A dissenting minority shareholder is an annoyance, but if he or she is a majority shareholder, then you could be in trouble. Even if the person is a minority shareholder, you should try to get a sense of whether the majority shareholders are willing to move ahead if someone pulls them in a different direction. Legally, owners may have many options that they’re psychologically unwilling to exercise – e.g., calling a shareholder vote when there is a shareholder disagreement. Forewarned is forearmed.

Hamlet. Sometimes the patriarch or matriarch brings in a non-family CEO (including an in-law) to serve as regent until the adult child is experienced enough to take over the business. Although this is far from universal, we have seen heirs apparent who try to undermine their parents’ choices; this typically happens when there is tension between the parent and the next generation. You must always take young Hamlets seriously because they are the future of the company, and because they are not always quite so indecisive as the Prince of Denmark. They know precisely where the weak links are in the family business system and they can pull at them until the whole chain breaks apart. When you spot an heir apparent, recognize and accept that you are but the bridge to the future. Try your best to educate Hamlet – and make sure going in that you have a good exit package. Your runway is short — three to five years, not ten.

The Wild Child. Tragically, it’s all too common for families – business and otherwise – to have their addicts and alcoholics, and the human toll is inestimable. The price exacted of the business may also be huge. We once had a client where the cousin owned 40% of the company and he had a heroin addiction that commanded the family’s time and attention for more than two decades. The cousin could not stay sober long enough to let the family get down to the work of running the business. If you have a significant owner who is an active alcoholic or drug addict, look to see if the family knows how to manage conflict. Is there someone around to help family members detach with love so that they can keep the family business system operational? If both these things are missing, you should recognize that through no fault of their own the family may be unable to make the necessary decisions to run a business without very great difficulty.

These characters are likely to reveal themselves during your interviews if you are paying attention to the signals. In our experience, the hiring process closely mirrors how the family business systems make (or can’t make) decisions. If you are interviewed only by the founder – or, conversely, if all 300 owners need to sign off before you can be hired – you can probably expect to encounter similar dynamics once you start the job.

One last thing: Try to talk to your predecessor before making your final decision; she can help you figure out the game. Have others left satisfied or frustrated? Are there enough buffers in the system to protect you? If the system is moving forward and making decisions in a positive way, then that’s a good sign that these characters are making positive contributions. If not, be prepared to engage in family dynamics that will challenge and maybe even stall the best laid plans. If a good, even world-class leader doesn’t know what he is up against when he enters an enmeshed family business system, he is unlikely to win. And then everybody loses.