Social Media Rules (of engagement) To Live By

Over in the linkedin group I manage, (Direct Marketing Questions & Answers), we’ve been having a discussion on the zig vs. zag nature of direct marketing and social media.

In essence, the theory is this: with everybody zigging towards social media these days, does that leave a giant hole (translation: opportunity) for traditional direct marketing to be used to engage customers and prospects? It’s been a spirited discussion so far. And I firmly believe that traditional direct marketing (integrated with the web) presents such an opportunity in a zigzag market.

Helping you stay motivated, watch this…

Helping you stay motivated, watch this… Everybody needs a little inspiration and motivation once in a while….

Guest Article: What Has the Most Impact on CSRs’ Performance?

Most organizations confuse coaching with performance evaluations. I’m a big believer in developing a scorecard to ensure that each CSR knows where he or she stands. I’ve found, however, that CSRs knowing “their scores” has minimal impact on affecting change. The sports world understands this, but the typical call-center world is bogged down in metrics. How do you free up the time to coach? The first step is to learn to think more strategically about ranking your CSRs.

Hurricane season in FL – Time For My 5th Annual Preparedness Guide to Surviving a Business Disaster (no matter where you are located)

I live in Florida, home of hurricanes, crazy drivers and the occasional tornado. Right now in the tropics Ana and Bill are threatening the leeward islands and threaten to hit the Dominican Republic (where I am currently on vacation) on Tuesday, before moving towards Florida and the Gulf.

Thus every year at about this time, I serve up my annual disaster planning guide.

Disasters happen in all forms just about anywhere — without warning, at any time. So prepare your company and yourself. Here’s a disaster-readiness checklist I suggest you look over carefully. If you think you’re on top of this, I recommend you compare your list to this one to ensure you have all bases covered.

Have sales/marketing fundamentals changed? Watch this video, decide and let me know

This is a brilliant video example of how B2B (and consumer) marketing fundamentals and selling has NOT changed over time. Kudos! Enjoy “the man in the chair”, and let me your thoughts?

You lost me there part 2 (your website doesn’t do enough to capture leads)

This week, let’s look at the many ways you can lose prospects who visit your Web site without even knowing who they are. This “phantom demand” can be captured and added to your contact strategy, and these leads can be nurtured until they’re ready to buy. To capture them and begin a sales dialogue, however, you must get them to identify themselves, right? So without further preamble, here are some more tips for you:

I’m mad as hell and I’m not gonna take it anymore!

OK, that’s it. I’m done! I’m mad enough again to take a stand! (you can too, see how below)

I’ve officially had enough, and I’m done sitting around letting it happen. This morning I paid $2.79/gallon for regular unleaded gas. That’s $1.10 more that I was paying for gas in December 08. It’s happening again. Why? Is there some shortage on oil? So here’s my stand. I’m calling on you and myself to act now, before someone on TV starts priming us for $6 gas prices for next summer’s driving season. Here’s a list of things you can do to help take a stand.

1. Make…

When Disaster Strikes: Jim’s 5th Annual Preparedness Guide to Surviving a Disaster

Much like a four-letter word, disasters happen in all forms just about anywhere — without warning, at any time. So prepare your company and yourself. Here’s a disaster-readiness checklist I suggest you look over carefully. If you think you’re on top of this, I recommend you compare your list to this one to ensure you have all bases covered. 1. Have a business…

A client vendor negotiations video that’s LOL funny (see if you’re guilty of any of these)

This is a good one. A hysterical video on client vendor relationships and payments. I don’t know about you but I may be guilty of some of these tactics. Thanks to the videographers for calling us out.

4 Tips Any CEO or C-Level Exec Can Take to the Bank

Being a C-level executive these days has to be the ultimate challenge. These execs face a ton of pressure to keep their companies above water during these turbulent times. Truly, I feel for them.

But, in many cases, my empathy for them goes only so far. Especially when C-levels exemplify what I call “ivory tower thinking.” With this in mind, I’d like to offer four pointers for any and every CEO and C-level exec:

Want to know what’s