GarthBox

A regular complaint I hear about organizations, brands and PR agencies is employees and members want more collaboration.

The digital team needs to work better with the PR team.

The customer service staff needs to work better with the sales team.

Things need to be more integrated.

Here’s your solution: investing 15 minutes in another team member changes the future of a project.

Connectivity promotes longevity. Consistency promotes efficiency.

Investing 15 minutes in a 1-1 conversation with someone from another department changes the dynamics. I’m more willing to put my heart into something you’ve asked for because we’ve connected. You know how to write an email that speaks to me better than before because you’ve got a read on me after 15 minutes of quality conversation together.

If everyone spent 15 minutes connecting with someone new each day, you would be impressed with how many issues are resolved, how many inconsistencies get dissolved, how smoother all the daily processes and work flows.

 

Stay Positive & 15 Minutes Changes Everything

Photo credit

1) real-time marketing is only permitted when a brand has a go big or go home culture and has a strong trusting relationship with the PR agency they’ve hired

2) the newest type of marketer is the magazine editor-type of marketer; content, business and storytelling is everything

3) you must think mobile first

4) real meaning can’t be found through search, you’ve gotta create it yourself; it’s what people talk about online, it’s not what you find online

5) there is always more money to fund a great idea

 

Stay Positive & Truth Be Told

Photo credit

Designing sharable content, content that can go close to viral, content that people care to tell their friends about is quite easy if you look to human truths.

What human truth do people want to share with other people?

More importantly, what human truth do people want to share with other people that says something about the sharer.

Is it the truth about weird things couples fight about (and more importantly how you still care about each other after it)?

Now it’s on you to design how your business or brand fits into those human truths.

 

Stay Positive & Don’t Just Be Human, Share Human Truths

Photo credit

There was a moment in my life that I wanted to be an event planner. Then there was a moment I was. Then there was a moment in life that I wanted to be the speaker at the events. Then there was a moment I was.

I’ve organized, spoken at, and attended hundreds of events (and continue to do so on a regular basis). I’ve noticed a trend that events with speakers are becoming less attended while events with panels and round tables are becoming more attended.

There’s a strong correlation between the opportunity of connection to the attendance and ultimate success of an event.

It’s merely one more indicator we’re in the middle of a connection economy. Those who work within it, who leverage the masses desire to connect will be best off.

 

Stay Positive & Talking With, Not To

Photo credit

You have a great pitch, an epic deck presentation, a flawless long-haul game plan for a client and then they turn you down.

You could begin to downplay your work. Maybe it did suck. Maybe you were wrong. Maybe you didn’t think it all the way through.

More often than not, the client is merely afraid. Afraid to try jump on a new social platform. Afraid to change their ways. Afraid to make too many moves too fast.

The thing about a fearful client is you can’t rationalize with them. No matter how strong of an argument you make for your plan, no matter how many statistics you throw at them, no matter how many safety nets you show there are, they still won’t buy in.

No.

The only way to market to the fearful is to present them with something they fear even more.

When you expand a clients spectrum of possibility, what they once feared begins to look and feel less scary and more doable.

When you’re pitching creative ideas, two might make perfect sense to do, but always throw in a third that is so far out there, so big of an idea, so drastic of a change so the client knows not only your full potential, but the full spectrum of possibility from what they’re doing now to what really can be done.

The further you push the spectrum, the easier the client will go all in.

 

Stay Positive & Remember That Everything Is Relative To Who You’re Convincing

Photo credit

Instead of jumping to the new platform, the new shiny object, the new service, consider putting an extra 10 percent into what you’re doing now.

While everyone else spreads themselves thin to explore all the “new” you get to excel at what already works.

Leap forward in your direction while everyone takes baby steps on a different path.

 

Stay Positive & It’s Easier To Catch Up Than Your Lizard Brain Is Telling You

Photo credit