Disregard the "Fiscal Cliff", It's Irrelevant... To You.

Focus on things you can control, change and improve within your sphere of influence. Each day I see people get caught up in problems, situations or issues that they work themselves into a worry about and yet can't really do anything about them or even if they could, they don't. My advice is to forget it. Focus on controlling your environment and that means putting your attention on things you can control.

All the recent news about the 'Fiscal Cliff" is irrelevant to you. You will pay more taxes, less taxes or about the same in the future. The problems or economic challenges will be harder, easier or about the same in the future. None of it really matters. What does matter is your personal work ethic and determination. You need to be planning to succeed well in excess of any economic barrier and that will take a heck of a lot of work so your focus needs to be on things that will help you to do that.

You need to be working your tail off to drive your revenue or personal income right now. Your level of hustle, determination and focus needs to be toward "out-creating" any future issue that may arise. So ensure your sights are not set too low and then ensure the level of work or action or doingness that you are taking is way way above what seems logical or needed to attain your goals. It's really the only safe zone to play in.

Everything about your future should be elements you can control. Don't plan based on factors that you're effect of. Plan based on what can be controlled, improved and augmented for yourself. Then take action based on that plan. If you focus on elements you cannot control, it will paralyze you and most definitely hurt your ability to succeed. So ignore it and move on to what can be controlled.

List out the things that will help move you closer to your goal. Then work out what actions need to be taken. Then work out the approximately work needed to get those and be sure to heavily over-estimate the effort and then simply execute, execute, execute and don't lift your head up until you're there. It's as simple as that.

I realize that it sounds sophisticated to talk about economic problems or somehow you feel involved with what’s going on with this country but all it really amounts to is you getting worked up about something you cannot control, unless of course you planned to enter politics, which I doubt. So focus on controlling your environment and then do so and all will stay on the rails.

- Robert Cornish
CEO, Richter10.2 Media Group

Happy Holidays from Richter10.2

To all of our clients, friends and contacts, we wish you all the best this holiday season and an exceptionally prosperous 2013!

Happy Holidays from Richter10.2 from Richter10.2 Media Group on Vimeo.

Happy Holidays from Richter10.2

To all of our clients, friends and contacts, we wish you all the best this holiday season and an exceptionally prosperous 2013!

Happy Holidays from Richter10.2 from Richter10.2 Media Group on Vimeo.

Be a Lifeaholic

In order to win at the game of life you need to be completely immersed in it. Not half in - all in. The term workaholic is considered derogatory these days probably because it's lacking as a full concept. You need to be a lifeaholic which is all encompassing.

What is a lifeaholic? It's someone who takes on every single facet of life to the fullest and pushes their personal potential - pushes what they're personally capable of - to the fullest. It's someone who dives into every crevice of life to make it better and mold it to meet the outcomes they visualize. It's also someone who wakes up everyday treating each day as a new day and packing that day full of each ounce of life to challenge oneself with what one can accomplish in a given 12 or 24 hour period of life.

A lifeaholic takes all divisions of life to the fullest from physical fitness such as running, playing with their children or spending time and having adventures with their spouse to learn and engage together, building teams, companies or projects with groups of people that all contribute and collaborate with one another to push each other to make things better, finding ways to improve the conditions of people and the planet to make it a better or safer environment for future generations and treating others in such a way that helps to make their day a little better.

These are some of the qualities of a lifeaholic. I challenge you to wake up tomorrow or start this new minute of time to take on this new viewpoint to become a lifeaholic. What would your life look like if you did? What could you or would you accomplish? While many complain and criticize others on a daily basis, a lifeaholic seeks to make life for themselves and other better.

I tend to consider myself a lifeaholic and feel the world could use a few more of us.

- Robert Cornish
CEO, Richter10.2 Media Group

Self Motivate and Manage

One of the worst positions you can be in is one that requires someone else to motivate you, push you and supervise you to do your work and attain goals for the company. The position and mode of operation you want to adopt is for you to motivate yourself. You to push yourself. You to manage yourself. You to set your own targets and you to demand production and hustle from yourself to attain your goals.

Do not allow yourself to slack off. You can be and should be your own best motivator and manager. If you catch yourself getting distracted, re-focus your thoughts on your goals, motivation, wants and why you're doing what you're doing. Anything in life is attainable but it comes down to how bad you want it and what you're willing to do to get it.
Assess your day to see if you are effectively self managing and self motivating to hustle and nail specific targets and ensure they're attained for your own internal reasons or if you have to be managed and motivated by someone else and when you aren't, you aren't fully focused and applying yourself?

The path to real success comes when you have adopted a discipline to push yourself without being pushed by anyone else. Look at anyone that has attained huge success in life and you will see that something was driving them. Something kept them focused and clearly no one was cracking any whip to make them work and push them - they did all the pushing themselves. So push yourself, keep yourself motivated and demand production and high level of action from yourself and you'll see that you are actually the best manager and motivator you could have.

- Robert Cornish
CEO, Richter10.2 Media Group

While the world sleeps, watches TV and Movies....

Building a company or gaining success is a very committed discipline. Don’t kid yourself when you see articles about rich and famous entrepreneurs to think for one second that they got lucky or it was easy in any way. I assure you that it takes enormous hustle and action to attain anything. Most people don’t have what it takes. They lack discipline and focus to push when others relax. The temptation to watch a movie or sleep or get distracted is too great so they never make it. Every successful person I know and I know plenty, have worked their tail off. They forge ahead with unbelievable commitment. While you go to bed or go out for drinks or watch a movie, they write and execute a strategic plan, make another 30 calls, fire off emails that will take them further, board a plane that takes them to a meeting that will open a new opportunity, stay awake for one more hour to get something important done, go for a run to stay sharp or execute a project target that will take them to the next level. 

 

I’m telling you it takes focus and discipline. Look at what you’re doing now and then figure out how to ramp it up 3 or 4 times. If that thought scares you or makes you feel like it sounds a little crazy then you’re thinking is more in line with what is needed. We live in a pretty cush society. It’s deceptive and distracting and it holds you back. You need to barrel through obstacles and push yourself beyond what you actually thought you were capable of. If you wrote down what you felt your potential was and then looked at where you currently are - how much of a gap would be exposed between the two? It’s an eye opener, I know. 

 

So I simply would challenge you to step up your game. Don’t get distracted. You can succeed - that much I can promise but the question is, how bad do you want it and what are you willing to do to attain it? In other words, is your drive or desire greater than the work required to accomplish it? If not, you may be screwed but on the other hand, if you can muster up a fire in your belly that will carry you to wake up at 5AM, go for a run, work while others sleep, read a book while others watch TV, execute targets while others relax, push on while many clock out.... well, you have a very good shot at accomplishing anything you can possibly dream of. 

 

Don’t think it over too much. Challenge yourself to DO and continue to DO until you’re there. I believe this country needs more people that are willing to hustle to attain their dreams - now more than ever. 

 - Robert Cornish

CEO, Richter10.2 Media Group

 

Work Within the Constraints of Today

The words "tomorrow" or "next week" come up a lot in business but they aren't relevant to today. My dad used to always say, "Make a good deal today or implement a good idea today, don't wait for the perfect deal tomorrow because tomorrow never comes." So for me, I don't care about tomorrow. I focus on today. I operate within the constraints of today in terms of what I can get done today. Tomorrow is a new today which I will handle when it's today. 

Define your targets for the day and don't be reasonable about doing something tomorrow or even deferring things off to tomorrow. Only work within the constraints of today. You'll find that you can get a lot of things done by operating this way. 

- Robert Cornish

CEO, Richter10.2 Media Group

Work Within the Constraints of Today

The words "tomorrow" or "next week" come up a lot in business but they aren't relevant to today. My dad used to always say, "Make a good deal today or implement a good idea today, don't wait for the perfect deal tomorrow because tomorrow never comes." So for me, I don't care about tomorrow. I focus on today. I operate within the constraints of today in terms of what I can get done today. Tomorrow is a new today which I will handle when it's today. 

Define your targets for the day and don't be reasonable about doing something tomorrow or even deferring things off to tomorrow. Only work within the constraints of today. You'll find that you can get a lot of things done by operating this way. 

Top 10 Forms of Content Marketing

Content Marketing has rapidly become our go-to method for branding media in an environment where people want their information free and easy to access. If your company isn't using at least half of these resources or more to brand themselves, consider yourself either in the danger zone or close to it.

10. Microsites

Websites in general are the most common form of content marketing and are a given at this point. At the same time, microsites are just as important to your branding strategy. Mobile marketing thrives on microsites and gives QR codes a reason to exist. Just make sure the microsite differentiates itself from the home site and gives consumers a reason (incentive) to visit it. 

9. White Papers

The beauty of white papers is that they are known to be one of the most informative ways for an interested prospect to learn more about you. When I see a white paper with a clear focus in something I'm interested in, I am almost guaranteed to read the entire thing. The simplicity, credibility, and accessibility of white papers make them essential for any business.

8. Webinars

Although they are not for everyone, webinars are fantastic tools for reaching a wide audience very quickly and keeping those prospects. They allow real-time feedback that can still be monitored and controlled, and webinars are ultimately far less costly than conferences while delivering even more effective results and engagement.

7. Podcasts

People love podcasts and RSS feeds for the same reason they love television. Keeping up with an episodic series of interesting content is addicting and satisfying. Creating a quality podcast with a loyal following is one of the best ways to network with people who are the most likely to do business with you.

6. Email

When handled incorrectly, email and newsletters become spam and do a lot of damage (spamage?). The key is to remember that the purpose of email is to share and promote, not enforce. When handled correctly, email newsletters become your trump card for generating reaches and leads for your company. 

5. E-books

Basically, an E-book is just a longer version of a white paper. They both set out to do the same thing (inform under the pretense of providing a solution to your problem), but your decision between the two comes down to how much information you are looking to disseminate.

4. Infographics

Most people are visual, which means that your marketing strategy hinges on being just as aesthetic as it is informative. The truth is that infographics end up being one of the most persuasive forms of content marketing just because people are more likely to read through the whole thing and retain more of the information.

3. Video

People don't want to read paragraphs of text when they can just watch a video that is short, punchy, and to the point. Like infographics, people are more likely to remember more information from video, and high-quality videos lend an enormous amount of credibility to your brand, ensuring trust in what your company can deliver. 

2. Q&A Sites

The reason these sites are becoming more popular is because they are essentially a forum for problem solving. Marketers are realizing that they can find interested prospects very easily just by networking on popular sites such as Quora and LinkedIn. Before you begin answering those industry questions, however, make sure you have the sales pitch needed to handle the likely competition.

1. Blogs

Blogs lend a personal touch to an otherwise impersonal slew of communications your company has with its prospects. Unlike Q&A sites, your company's blog is indirect, in that it is attracting people to your site for content rather than a sales pitch. This makes your company stand out when it comes time for that person to look for the service you're providing, and bolsters one of the largest audiences you can accumulate online. 

Jon Negroni is the Director of Public Relations, Promotion, and Marketing at Richter10.2 Media Group. For more information regarding Richter10.2, check out our introduction video here.

Image courtesy of contentmarketingtoday.com

How Your Manager Views Social Media in the Workplace

This morning, I had a lengthy conversation with a good friend of mine who is a higher up in the banking industry. We discussed the topic that seems to be ubiquitous these days: social media. 

Specifically, we spoke on how social media has affected his workplace...negatively and positively.

On the positive side, he pointed out how channels such as LinkedIn and Twitter have allowed him to create extremely productive relationships with clients and new accounts.

"LinkedIn provides different channels for networking and ultimately allows me to connect with people I otherwise could not have." (He chose not to disclose his name)

On the flipside, he pointed out how the potential for causing distractions at work has made him and other executives wary about social media usage. Their immediate response has been to block and filter websites, but more and more companies are beginning to realize that this causes a separation in networking opportunity.

"At the end of the day, I feel that if a company has enough trust to hire an employee, they should have enough trust in the employee to do the right thing. In other words, giving them the benefit of the doubt."

While I agree to an extent, I also find it interesting to note that evaluating your employees based on production is really the measurement of whether or not they can handle the freedom to be able to check their Twitter, and as social media is becoming more integrated with our overall internet usage, is their any real way for us to monitor these distractions? 

Jon Negroni is the Director of Public Relations, Promotion, and Marketing at Richter10.2 Media Group. For more information regarding Richter10.2, check out our introduction video here.

Image Courtesty of techinasia.com 

Social Scoring is Not Obsolete

It’s just getting better.

People don’t like Klout. That’s fair. Klout contains an unknown algorithm that no one outside of the company has truly figured out, making Klout’s credibility that much more uncertain.

People don’t like uncertainty.

That said, measuring influence online has to contain some uncertainty, lest we are left with scammers who manipulate the system. I like the fact that my social score can’t be measured against someone who achieved theirs unfairly.

In the meantime, competition is rising with Klout, forcing the brand to innovate and make our social scoring something we love not just because we’re addicted to it (and we definitely are), but because sites like Klout constantly make us better at being influential. Who doesn’t love that?

If you want to beef up your Klout score the fair way, use timely.is. This nifty site schedules post by when your audience is at peak interest and gives pretty awesome statistics on the performance of your tweets or posts.

Jon Negroni is the Director of Public Relations, Promotion, and Marketing at Richter10.2 Media Group. For more information regarding Richter10.2, check out our introduction video here.

Tweeting Influence: Should You Share More Than You Consume?

What does every truly influential person have in common when it comes to, say, Twitter? If you just look at celebrities, one very obvious trait their profiles all share is that they have vastly more followers than people they follow.

What does that mean?

Well, they share more than they consume.

Sure, it’s their celebrity status that has elevated them to the point where people want to follow them because of their name, not their content, but that does not change the fact that the influential Tweeter in question is sharing content much more than they are consuming it.

In no way am I downplaying the importance of consuming content. That is how we gain the knowledge and insight that foster our creative, industrious minds. There is no reason why my retweeting an insightful article makes me any less influential, but the dirty secret is that retweets and reblogs alone do nothing to make you influential. They just make you a reference.

How else do bloggers, vloggers, and Tweeters rack up followers without being a household name? They’ve figured out how to create content that people like-that people have a demand for.

The next time you are looking for a way to bolster your own influence, whether it be online or even in the workplace, take a good look at how much you share and create, not just how much you consume.

Jon Negroni is the Director of Public Relations, Promotion, and Marketing at Richter10.2 Media Group. For more information regarding Richter10.2, check out our introduction video here.

A Different Way to Approach Feedback and Criticism

Too often we fall into the trap of measuring the value of what we create based on others' perceptions. I do this when I write a blog post and eagerly wait to read the feedback and see what people think. I consider it success when something I create is popular and accepted.

That's doing it backwards.

If I am creating content that is inherently mine, then I shouldn't be terribly disappointed if someone else doesn't value something that isn't inherently theirs. That means I can celebrate doubly when something I write or create has been accepted and shared by someone else. It means that I'm becoming more insightful, gaining more empathy, and learning from what I've done correctly.

Once you've made something to the best of your ability, you've created good content. Use feedback  to measure how influential and insightful you are, not how good you are at what you love to do. That's what criticism is for.

Of course, your content connecting with someone else is a huge indicator of how valuable it is, but at the same time, something superficial and soulless can do the exact same thing.  

Jon Negroni is the Director of Public Relations, Promotion, and Marketing at Richter10.2 Media Group. For more information regarding Richter10.2, check out our introduction video here.

Why People Trust TV over Online

eMarketer recently came out with new data that has cast new light into the great media battle. The findings point out just where traditional and online media stand when it comes to the attention of us consumers, and possibly more importantly, where marketers need to be devoting their time and resources.

Like any relevant study, however, there is more than one implication from the findings. One of the key findings is that people still trust TV for news more than any other news source (much more than social media updates, which were dead last) followed by newspapers and radio. 

Online media, even internet-only newsources, were next to last as far as trust, time and attention goes, but the study also points out that online media is where people prefer to research and search for recommendations for a certain product. 

My understanding so far is that we have a cycle where TV, where we put most of our time, reveals to us the brands that we could possibly by. Mainstream brands if you will. Deep down, most people judge a brand on how accepted it is, and we know that a brand that makes enough money to advertise on TV (the most expensive media buy) must be loved by a lot of people. So we put our trust in that brand.

Then we take it one step further. We now know that we like a certain brand but have not decided that we will purchase. Using the internet, either on our phones or at home, we end up searching for the best deals and find out what our friends may think (social search anyone?). From there, the odds of us purchasing said item (after putting all of that work in) are pretty high granted that the brand has made effective online channels and is being spread by positive-word-of-mouth.

The key lesson to take away from eMarketer's findings? It takes more than TV commercials to sell a brand to someone, which is great news for small businesses. Find your niche and master it. Don't waste limited resources you don't have on expensive media buys until it is financially sound to do so. Online media can, will, and constantly does get the job done as long as you, the marketer, are willing to put the work in.

Click here to take a closer look at eMarketer's study.

Jon Negroni is the Director of Public Relations, Promotion, and Marketing at Richter10.2 Media Group. For more information regarding Richter10.2, check out our introduction video here.

 

Do You Know What Works? [Infographic]

wwinfographic.pdf Download this file

The Future of Technology Will Begin in the Workplace

A recent survey done by Pew Research indicated that people are pretty much split even in opinion when it comes to how quickly the "home of the future" will be in place. One of the main rationales for the future taking a while, as Pew puts it, is that the infrastructure required to accommodate the next big steps in technology will take quite some time to implement, and the realistic costs of incorporating advanced technology into our established "dumb" technology will be quite high.

That is why I firmly believe that the workplace will be the true testing ground for newer, smarter technologies. Take Square for instance. Paying with a mobile phone everywhere you go will be difficult to catch on at first because it needs to gain mainstream popularity in order for more businesses to catch on to the system, but businesses won't want to implement mobile payment until it's mainstream enough to be a safe investment. 

B2B, on the other hand, eliminates these fears because the function of their models is to increase efficiency, not please consumers and accommodate their expected needs. They will be the early adopters of smart systems and will have the resources to develop workspaces with these new systems in place, surely turning heads. 

Hopefully, that means the public can experience the next technology revolution by 2020 instead of 2050.

Jon Negroni is the Director of Public Relations, Promotion, and Marketing at Richter10.2 Media Group. For more information regarding Richter10.2, check out our introduction video here.

What is Prime Strategy?

Below is Richter10.2's brand new video featuring Prime Strategy, and how it can develop new business for your company and generate the reaches (leads) that turn into real growth. Also, check out the subsequent links below the video that provide even more info on how Prime Strategy works. Enjoy!

 

Click here for more info about Prime Strategy

Prime Strategy Elevator Pitch

Prime Strategy Pitch Page

Prime Strategy Press Release (Yahoo)

Or, you can give us a call at 727-447-3600

You Can't Force Care

Too often we fall into the trap of forgetting to care about our clients. None of us would probably admit it, but the cynicism that comes along with working day in and day out can get us to a point where we stop valuing the people on which our business depends.

The remedy is to remember that the people you talk to every day are human beings with their own lives, busy schedule, goals, and ambitions. Simply having a conversation with someone you want to do business with can go a long way. It has to be more than small talk, however, because a good conversation flows organically and can't be forced.

This is because you can't force care. You either desire the best for people or you don't. The middle ground is that we sometimes get so hung up on our own problems, wants, and desires that we forget to invest in other people to remind us that there is more to our lives than producing and increasing our personal wealth. 

The next time you are having a conversation with a client, customer, prospect, or whatever applies to your situation, attempt to connect to that person in some way that makes it clear to them that you are in the business of people, not just yourself.

By the way, the inspiration for this thought comes from What Works, the new book coming soon from Robert Cornish and Wil Seabrook (Co-founders of Richter10.2 Media Group). The book is full of great content like this and will be available soon. For more info, quotes, excerpts, and a list of endorsements, check out the book's Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.

Jon Negroni is the Director of Public Relations, Promotion, and Marketing at Richter10.2 Media Group. For more information regarding Richter10.2, check out our introduction video here.

Research is Meaningless Without...

I can't tell you how many times I've seen a good marketing or public relations plan be put into place and fail miserably despite countless hours of research put into it. 

I've been part of teams that have spent days studying, planning, listening and digesting pages and pages of information regarding a target public, only to develop a strategy or campaign that fell short of expectations or paled in comparison to the competition.

We researched. We listened. We learned. We knew our audience, but we still didn't identify the ingredient that would capture our audience's attention. Why is that? Think on this.

If research was enough, every competing strategy would reach a stalemate. After all, if doing the work and knowing the audience was enough, how would your conclusions based on that research differ from someone else's? It seems obvious, but we often fall into the trap of believing that information begets a good strategy.

Our conclusions make all the difference. So, we've learned that baby boomers are the most prosperous generation yet but are the most prone to depression. What does that mean? Often, we skip a step when determining what our insight into a group of people means. As jaded strategists who make quick decisions every day, we often lose our acute sense of empathy that made us want to be in the business we're in, whether you're a PR rep, creative director, or even an entrepreneur.

You can know everything about your target. What they eat. Where they eat. How they eat. Where they shop at. How much money they have to spend there. That's just information that leads to guesswork. While there will never be a concrete science to perfect branding, we have something infinitely better: empathy. 

Why do they eat there? How is it different from anywhere else? Why do they shop there? The other brand has lower prices, but our brand has this and this. 

Instead, we focus on gimmicks and toys we find on social media channels that we just "know" will make our target listen...but they don't. They ignore us because they don't feel known. They feel like someone is talking at them, or worse, stalking them for a sale. 

The next time your team comes up with a strategy based on a ton of research and development, ask yourselves: why will this make them listen? If it is something as simple as: because our research shows that they like--Stop there. 

Jon Negroni is the Director of Public Relations, Promotion, and Marketing at Richter10.2 Media Group. For more information regarding Richter10.2, check out our introduction video here.

 

 

New Infographic Highlights The Strengths of Hiring Millennials

A new infographic courtesy of UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School has given employers another reason to take a close look at what millennials can contribute to the workforce. As Forbes puts it, this new research data gives us a reason to shed previous stereotypes of millennials that focus on them being apathetic. 

The research gives us new light into just how large the millennial demographic is, how many will be in the workforce and just how ambitious and diverse these young professionals are. 

Jon Negroni is the Director of Public Relations, Promotion, and Marketing at Richter10.2 Media Group. For more information regarding Richter10.2, check out our introduction video here.

What Would a "Want" Button Mean for Facebook?

Not since the release of the "like" button have people been so energized about a new Facebook plug-in. This is probably because the "want" button could truly turn things around for the social media giant. 

After all, the major problem Facebook has come across with breaking into the stock market is the trust investors have in the company's ability to generate money, and a "want" button could finally change that. Companies have already seen the value in knowing how many people "like" their products, but actually knowing who "wants" their products could be a gamechanger.

Instead of ads just featuring a guide to "liking" the company, they could bring about the logical next step of showing interest in the product, thus cutting out the middle step and making it more appealing to the consumer, who is far too distracted to give one page his/her full attention.

This would solve a major problem with the "like" button, which doesn't distinguish between people who already own a product and those who want it in the future. This would do wonders for Facebook Insights being able to accurately track prospects and customers, and an accurate ROI system is just what Facebook needs to build a reputation as a social media marketing hub to be reckoned with.

We'll just have to see. So far, the reaction to the possibility of a "want" button is positive, but we are sure to see haters pop up in protest of the new feature (as always). I for one can only see good coming from it, granted it is executed correctly. Basically, Jon Negroni wants this.

Jon Negroni is the Director of Public Relations, Promotion, and Marketing at Richter10.2 Media Group. For more information regarding Richter10.2, check out our introduction video here.

Image credit: http://c7.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/facebook-want-button.jpg

Trouble at Work? Write this Down.

Maybe you had a bad week or a bad month. It probably hung over your head this past weekend and got you down. Well, as we start this new week and new month, commit to making a real change in your productivity.

Get out a piece of paper, preferably something large like a steno pad, and write down exactly what you need to do on a daily basis to increase your productivity this week. I strongly recommend using paper rather than an online document. 

Example: Monday - I need to make 10 calls, get to stage 2 of 3 projects, you get the idea.

These are lineups of everything you need to accomplish on a daily basis in order to boost your production, which in turn boosts your results. This works because it forces you to identify exactly what it takes for you to reach that level at work that you and your senior are expecting.

If you don't start generating results and high numbers from this methodology, then the problem is then that you are not trained in your post well enough to work unsupervised. 

Jon Negroni is the Director of Public Relations, Promotion, and Marketing at Richter10.2 Media Group. For more information regarding Richter10.2, check out our introduction video here.

In Everything You Do, Be Image-Driven

I don't mean literal pictures or photos. Images are ideals held by more than one mind. It is a shared perspective that translates to every member of your immediate circle. In business, we worry a lot about what our image is, because:

Images beget relationships.

Relationships beget progress.

Progress begets fortune.

Fortune begets satisfaction.

Satisfaction begets an image. 

Every business that I can think of desires to have a positive image that exceeds the expectations of their publics, as well as the comparisons made with their competition. 

So in every decision you make as an employee, employer, manager, executive, or what have you, always be image-driven. 

Executives, make sure your employees know what your ideal image is, and if they don't, plaster it on your wall. 

Jon Negroni is the Director of Public Relations, Promotion, and Marketing at Richter10.2 Media Group. For more information regarding Richter10.2, check out our introduction video here.

Do You Know Your Sales Process Cold?

Jake Sanders - How many prospects do you have right now that you have had your initial discovery call with but haven’t closed? My guess is 98%! Well, it’s not really a guess because according to FollowUpSuccess, only 2% of sales are made on the first contact.

So 2% of the time, a prospect is going to lay a deal right on your lap. Fantastic. Congrats. Btw...that is NOT sales my friend. That’s order taking.

Ok, well then how do you close the other 98%?

Following up is a great start, but the previous article also points out that 80% of all sales are made between the fifth and twelfth contact, meaning the first, second or even third follow-up just isn’t enough.

If you don’t know your sales process like the back of your hand, then today is the day to learn! Stop whatever you are doing right now, get out a piece of paper, and write down your company’s successful sales process. Keep in mind that your company may have multiple sales processes based on the different products/services it sells.

Once you have it written down in front of you, take a look at your pipeline and figure out where each deal is in the process and exactly what your next step needs to be. Call and follow-up to make sure the prospect received additional info, examples, proposals or proposal reviews. Finally, ask for the close and collect the money. There you have it.

Now that you know the true next step, you can handle it with confidence and get each deal moving in a positive direction. The key here is knowing exactly why you are following up and having that plan ready before you pick up the phone or draft the email. It sounds really simple and obvious, but the reality is that almost 75% of all salespeople will never make more than two attempts to follow-up with a prospect.

This means that simply knowing your sales process and executing the right steps at the right time already puts you ahead of the average joe salesman. That little bit of extra effort is what will propel you to close more deals!

Jake Sanders is the Vice President of Sales at Richter10.2 Media Group. For more information about Richter10.2, check out our introduction video here.

The Internet: More Mobile Than Ever

A new study by Pew just confirmed that 88% of US adults own a cell phone and 55% of US adults browse the internet on their phone. Keep in mind that this doesn't include teens. Even more interesting is that of those 55%, 31% report to using their phone to access the internet more than any other device.

These numbers would be wise to note seeing as they are indicating explosive growth in mobile web. After all, smartphones weren't even a common name back in 2009, and the iPad has only been around since 2010, just two years ago.

In just a few years, we have seen the rise of mobile internet on par with the rise of everyone's favorite topic these days, social media. Social media, however, is really just a facet of the importance of digital technology and how those advances are shaping the way we connect to each other online.

Marketers aren't the only force in the world that need to take note of where their audience is accessing their content. Businesses looking to keep their products relevant need to make sure that their services reflect these shifts in technology.

Making your product or brand "mobile-friendly" is much more important than some may think.Not caring about how your site appears on a mobile phone, for example, can be a disastrous PR move, seeing as your site is a reflection of your credibility.

There are definitely great abiders by this, as we see many more businesses utilizing cloud software more efficiently than ever, but that is not enough. As I said before, digital technology and how it is constantly changing shapes exactly how we use these new advances such as the cloud, mobile apps, telecommunications, what have you.

More and more people are converting to the notion that tablets and smartphones are the true tools of the future. Will your company heed that?

Jon Negroni is the Director of Public Relations, Promotion, and Marketing at Richter10.2 Media Group. For more information regarding Richter10.2, check out our introduction video here.

 

 

We Don't Want Your Money

Wil Seabrook: As a small business owner, part of my responsibility is monitoring our bottom line and always focusing on expansion. But I’ve found that things get really serious when I focus all my attention on money. Money is not why I get out of bed and come to work every morning. I get out of bed because I love working with our creative team to produce products and services that actually help our clients.
 
When we wrap up one of our videos or deliver a new sales relationship for a client, it’s like Christmas morning seeing the fantastic response. The client is excited and reinvigorated on the reasons they get out of bed. Our job, simply put, is to help our clients explain to their audience exactly what they bring to the table and why it has value.

When it comes to our own bottom line, I’ve found that the more I focus on simply making sales or bringing more income in the door, the less fun the whole process becomes. What is fun is helping every client expand their business. That’s what we do all day every day, and there’s always a fresh creative challenge, as well as something new to learn about the amazing and creative ways that people solve problems I never even knew existed!

I’ve become more of a renaissance man in the last few years as I’ve learned about hundreds of business models in dozens of industries. I can actually predict trends in tech and business, not because I have my ear to the ground of the latest industry reports or Wall Street predictions, but because I’m actually talking to the hard working people who are out there every day making our economy grow under the most challenging conditions we’ve faced in a generation.

That’s why I get out of bed in the morning and why I love my job and our creative team as much as I do. We don’t focus on making money from our clients. We focus on giving them the best possible return on their investment with us. We’re in this for the long haul, and we’re here to help. There’s no better game out there than the one we’re playing.

When a client says things like “This is literally the best money I’ve ever spent on our PR and marketing,” then I know we’re doing our job and loving it in the process.

Here's a few recent video examples to give you an idea of our work:

Wil Seabrook is the COO and Co-founder of Richter10.2 Media Group. For more information about Richter10.2, check out our introduction video here.

 

10 Qualities of a Good Writer

Keep in mind that there's always exceptions to the rule, but these are qualities found in most good writers.

10. Punctuality: the writer is timely and fulfills commitments.

9. Magnamity: the writer gives credit where it's due.

8. Credibility: the writer is persuasive.

7. Industry: the writer never stops writing.

6. Opportunistic: the writer sees value in almost everything.

5. Passion: the writer is a master of emotion.

4. Discernment: the writer understands his/her audience.

3. Receptive: the writer reads.

2. Perception: the writer is always forward-thinking.

1. Obsession: the writer is annoying, even to himself/herself.

Want Dictates Commitment

I came across this awesome video the other day that I wanted to share. After watching it, think about how bad you want whatever it is you want and the write down what you need to do to get it and then go and execute what you wrote with complete focus. Enjoy!

 

 

Are You Recruiting Your Prospects to Close?

Jake Sanders- If you follow the world of college athletics (specifically NCAA Division 1 Basketball, give me a break I'm from Kentucky!), there was an interesting article published on ESPN today.

The article pertains to a rule change allowing coaches to contact recruits via phone calls, text messages, Facebook, Twitter messages, etc. There will be many schools, families and recruits that will embrace this opportunity to use today’s more contemporary (and preferred) communication methods to connect with recruiters and college programs.

After all, coaches are trying to do the exact same thing you are as a salesperson: CLOSE the deal. After reading the article, I asked myself, “Do I know how my prospects and clients prefer to be communicated with? Could this be the reason I am having a hard time reaching certain prospects?” Ask yourself the same question.

Your prospects are always giving you signs and signals on how to find and communicate effectively with them. They’re practically giving you an electronic roadmap. If a prospect puts their cell-phone and LinkedIn profile on their email signature, they are telling you it is okay to connect with them using these methods.

Listen to them and take advantage of this opportunity. Don’t ignore these tips from them and continue to pound their desk phone line and leave the same follow up message. Call their cell or send them an invitation to connect on LinkedIn (once they have accepted, don’t forget to send them a direct message asking for what it is you need!). You may find that a prospect who seems impossible to catch at their office is quick to respond to a call on their cell or a text.

Now with all this being said, remember to be professional and not a stalker. If a prospect doesn’t give you their cell-phone, don’t try to get it from someone else at their office. Odds are it won’t sit well with them. Be smart and use today’s available technology to communicate more effectively with your target.

It will help you close more deals.

Jake Sanders is the Vice President of Sales at Richter10.2 Media Group. For more information about Richter10.2, check out our introduction video here. You can find more content from Jake on his website, Sales Snacks, here. 

3 Ways We're Attracted to Brands Like We're Attracted to People

What makes a product brandable, or rather, have the ability to be promoted effectively?

I liken the dynamic to relationships. Specifically, how people are attracted to other people. It takes three ingredients:

1. Appearance

Aesthetically, how does a brand and its product appear to the consumer? For most of us, the first thing we notice about a person we inevitably become attracted to is their looks and how beautiful we think they are. This is a basic human process that translates into how we superficially judge a product we see in the store or on a billboard. If the product doesn't have that attractive look to it, it will be much harder to make the product attractive to its target audience.

2. Personality

How we interact with a person is a major factor in developing a liking for them. We need to be able to have a chemistry with the person, approve of what they represent and enjoy being associated with them. Much is the same with how we utilize a product or service. If I have a bad time with a certain brand and hate how the company interacts with me via media, advertising and my actually using the product, I will not start a relationship with that brand. 

3. The X Factor

We've all had those relationships where we loved the appearance and personality of a person, but we just couldn't see ourselves spending all of our time with them. The X factor is an unseen, unexplainable aspect of our attraction to people, as well as brands. This is what truly separates the brandable products from the rest. Unfortunately, it eventually comes down to luck. 

We like to think of marketing as a science, and it is to a point. Tragically, the X factor is a product of many variables surrounding a brand that can prevent a company from reaching the global audience they strive for. 

Jon Negroni is the Director of Public Relations, Promotion, and Marketing at Richter10.2 Media Group. For more information regarding Richter10.2, check out our introduction video here.

Effort to Effortless

Robert Cornish: I'm sure it's real to you that sometimes things take a little more effort than planned for. If you were to push a car that was out of gas, it would take some effort to get the thing rolling, but once you gained some momentum, it would practically roll itself.
 
In any situation in business, you can handle or overcome obstacles with sheer effort. In other words, if you were trying to make one sale, had three prospects and all three cycles were not closing - you could go get 30 prospects and take a huge amount of effort to work all 30 and some would close - agreed?

And so it goes with your prospecting activities, sales and revenue. While you can read business book after book on the topic, the funny thing is, some problems are so simple that we overlook them. Just sheer effort can change your entire company.

You've seen the person on the basketball court who just works harder. Just hustles more and takes more effort than the others. That person seems to eventually get all the balls and score the points.

Well, this applies to business as well. If you're not completely satisfied with your current growth rate, sales results or revenue numbers - I'd suggest taking a lot more effort. Perhaps you're not doing enough now?

If you were pummeling your sales team with new reaches (sales leads) each week one after the next so much so that they needed to get an assistant to help organize them - or if you created an assault of new videos for every product, service and value proposition for your company and then posted them on every square inch of the web as well as emailed every prospect about it - you would impact your numbers positively.

At first, this would seem like a lot of effort because it's well above what you're doing now, but after doing it consistently, you would start to see new business calling and emailing you almost effortlessly.

So think in terms of effort. Push yourself to take far too much effort and the result will be in line with what you're looking for.

With all that said, our team can help carry the burden for some of the effort. In fact, we love it! So bring it on. Let us help drive your sales with our strategic relations program and videos. We'll make effort look good.

Robert Cornish is the CEO and Cofounder of Richter10.2 Media Group. For more information about Richter10.2, or if you want use our agency's services, check out our introduction video here.

 

Can Kickstarter Transform the Publishing Industry?

Yesterday morning, we tweeted a blog post from Seth Godin highlighting his recent endeavor to use Kickstarter to fund his next book, The Icarus Deception.

Like most Seth Godin fans, we were interested to see how the funding would develop. This would truly measure the online influence of one the world's best bloggers, Seth Godin. Our expectations were shattered 3 hours later when the book reached its goal in record time. 

This is definitely exciting for Godin, but it's also exciting for everyone involved in the prospect of crowdfunding. For months, critics have been panning Kickstarter as a fad that doesn't have the same clout of traditional investing. This is yet to be proven true or false, but we do know that the potential of Kickstarter and all crowdfunding startups is not to be ignored.

After all, the same was said with ebooks just a few years ago, which are transforming the publishing industry. How much more can be accomplished through crowdfunding in the way that we promote, publish and distribute books that are truly lauded for their content, not their name? 

Kudos to Seth Godin for taking such a big risk with his book. This is a well-deserved win for him that is sure to have a ripple effect on the publishing industry. 

Jon Negroni is the Director of Public Relations, Promotion, and Marketing at Richter10.2 Media Group. For more information regarding Richter10.2, check out our introduction video here.

Employee Training That Really Works

It is well known that any competent and expanding organization needs people who know what they're doing. The general way of any startup, whether the entire company is getting started or a new endeavor of an existing company is getting started, is to cope, cope, cope.

If cope is continued, the startup will not survive.

The key to moving up and out of the vicious cope condition is to organize. Among other things, a key component often left out of organizing is creating standard job manuals (hats) for each post. Much energy is required to make hats for every post in the organization. But once they are made, expansion can really occur, and the organization's existence is ensured.

We at Richter are well aware of what it takes. As a result, there are hats created for nearly every post with a "Richter College" to go with them, and training occurs almost every day. This has been very successful with Richter, as we are moving out of the condition of cope as a group into the condition of strong and stress-free production.

Scott Schaefer is the Training and Hat Writer for Richter10.2 Media Group. For more information on Richter10.2, please visit our introduction video here.

 

Brands That Are "Future-Ready"

I was awoken this morning by a flurry of interesting texts from one of my colleagues. She asked me a simple question:

"What brands are 'future-ready'?" 

Without even making sure I completely understood what she meant by "future-ready," I gave her these brands:

Heinz, TOMS, Old Spice, Doritos, Nissan and Ford. 

I don't think I was anticipating having to explain why I chose these and why they are, as I define it, brands that are actively anticipating and preparing for the ever-changing needs of their audience (and future audience). 

Her response to this list was expected. Obviously, TOMS is known as being a very "forward" brand, and Nissan and Ford both publicize their innovate technologies through the Leaf and Ford Sync. What surprised her was Heinz. I can imagine she was thinking, "How is ketchup a 'future-ready' brand?"

My reasoning for this was simple. Heinz was the first (and one of the only) brands I ever found to actually "get" Facebook pages. The way they brand themselves creatively and expertly on their Facebook page, integrating their promotions and CSR on top of that, caught my eye and reinforced my habits as a loyal Heinz customer. Also, just look at their new ketchup packets that make it so much easier to use their product. Plenty of people complain about ketchup packets, but who anticipated this product redesign?

On top of that, they have a great track record. Heinz's famous "thick and rich" campaign has resonated with a lot of advertising and public relations professionals. They took a huge weakness of their brand, thick ketchup being hard to be poured out of the bottle, and turned that into a strength by advertising that their ketchup is thicker and richer than the competition.

It was one of those campaigns that really highlighted a company taking traditional advertising concepts and adapting them to the changing wants of their audience, and they show no signs of losing sight of their aptitude for good advertising. Their bottle redesign, for example, was ingenious and is still in regular use. 

When it comes down to it, a "future-ready" brand doesn't have to be about inventing an entirely new wheel, or even reinventing the wheel for a new audience. It's about figuring out exactly who your audience is, what they're thinking, and tailoring your message, brand and product to them. 

It's a simple concept, though rarely executed. 

Jon Negroni is the Director of Public Relations, Promotion, and Marketing at Richter10.2 Media Group. For more information regarding Richter10.2, check out our introduction video here.

 

Treat Every Day Like It's Your First

Anyone who takes their sales career seriously knows it is very challenging. It takes a lot of desire, commitment, knowledge, training, etc. to be successful. Sales reps spend hours committed to learning about their company, it’s mission, the products and services they offer, how these products and services solve their client’s problems, and how to sell themselves, their company, and it’s solutions.

It only starts there. Once a sales rep feels comfortable with their own company, they must develop new business by prospecting, building rapport, and just asking questions. They must learn the problems the
prospect’s business is facing, present a solution, ask more questions, follow up, ask for the deal, follow up again, you get the idea. IT’S TOUGH!

So, why is it that new salespeople can come into an office and have what seems to be overnight success? They have less knowledge about the company, it’s products and services, customer base, and in some cases, experience.

Well, It is really quite simple. They don’t have any considerations!

They haven’t been beaten up by all of the objections, barriers, long sales cycles, and flat out NO answers. Furthermore, when they do come up against these issues, they simply handle them and move on. They are eager and hungry to be successful in their new role and don’t let the daily grind get to them.

Let’s face it: sales can take a toll. Even the most seasoned reps can get bogged down and have bad days, weeks, or even months. In my opinion, the most successful sales reps act just like the new kid on the block every day.

So, treat everyday just like it is your first day! I am sure you will see results.

Jake Sanders is the Vice President of Sales at Richter10.2 Media Group. For more information about Richter10.2, check out our introduction video here