Your Feedback – Thanks in Advance

June 8, 2010 at 6:30 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Thank you for taking the time to read Direct Contact. I really do appreciate it! Feel free to leave a comment as well if you like…

New Logo and New Page

May 30, 2010 at 3:15 am | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Some of you who are regular readers may have noticed my new logo and header redesign. It’s a cleaner look and a good fit… great work done by Nick Leisk.

I have also added a new page, the “How To…” tab. I have organized some of the most popular “How To” posts from the blog as a resource centre. I’ll be adding to this over time. If you have any questions, or would like some more info, please feel free to leave a message there.

Have a look at the “How To” tab for info on:

  • Building custom tabs on Facebook
  • Social media ROI
  • Twitter tips

And more…

Add to FacebookAdd to DiggAdd to Del.icio.usAdd to StumbleuponAdd to RedditAdd to BlinklistAdd to TwitterAdd to TechnoratiAdd to Yahoo BuzzAdd to Newsvine

6 Steps to Social Media Sponsorship Sales

February 9, 2010 at 7:51 pm | Posted in Sales Tips, Social Media, Sponsorship, Uncategorized | 2 Comments
Tags: , ,

2010 will be the year that social media earns its rightful place along side other traditional marketing media. Many teams have managed to grow a toe hold into a solid foot in the door and with that comes the inevitable ROI question.

If you are looking to layer social media as part of your sponsorship inventory, here are a few ideas/tips on how to get started:

1. Profile Your Base

If you have 100 or so brands that you work with, you should start by profiling your account base. By that, I mean to map out commonalities in the industries (retail, beverage, financial, etc…) and get a picture of what kinds of businesses you are working with. Finding similarities can provide the path of common strategies and approaches to speak the language of your customer. Profiling your base will give you a deeper understanding of what you have to work with.

2. Build a Social Media Matrix

Take those 100 brands and determine which ones are already active in social media. Do they have a Facebook Page or a Twitter feed? Are they active in this space? This is your “A” list.

The next group would be the “me too” brands that are emerging social media marketers. Small followers and small fans, less than consistent content and engagement. This is your “B” list.

The remaining group of brands are your “C” list – brands that are not yet active in social media or not interested.

3. Engage Your “A” List

Time to become a fan and follow your “A” list. You might consider building an alias profile to do this. The idea here is to understand how the brand operates within these platforms and get a real feeling for what the brand is about and how their social media strategy is playing out. Spend a bit of time on this as the information and insight you gain will be very valuable down the road when it is time to talk about alignment.

By alignment, I mean that you will be looking for brands that would be interested to partner with/leverage the online brand that your team represents in the same social media spaces.

4. Collaborate with Your “A” List

Request to meet with your partners to discuss their social media strategies. Find out what their goals are – what their challenges are – what their successes have been. Successful social media sponsorships are built collaboratively with the sponsor and are unique and custom in their approach. Creative teams, web teams and marketing teams need to be in communication to pull ideas together into promotions and campaigns. It’s all about working together, not about just another piece of inventory to sell.

5. Farm the “B” List

Meanwhile, your “B” list may see the opportunity to work with you as a chance to establish their social media presence. Keep going back to this group who may consider you a thought leader and look to find ways to leverage your presence and market. Your “B”s want to be here, and they see you as being in a position to help them. Stay close to them, but spend your time preaching to the converted with your “A” list.

6. Wait for the “C” List to Catch Up

Sponsorship sales can be difficult enough – you shouldn’t be spending your time and energy educating on social media benefits and strategies. These brands will catch up if they feel the need or simply continue on with current marketing efforts outside of the social media sphere. This isn’t a criticism, just the highest and best way to spend your time when social space sales are on the table.

I hope this gives you some ideas and plans on how to approach your base. Remember these are not off the shelf deals – this is not about dropping a link into your Twitter stream or posting a sponsored status update. There is a great deal more at stake in the social space for teams, brands and fans – engagement and collaboration is the key and there must be something in it for everyone.

Custom Tabs on Facebook: A Quick How To…

December 23, 2009 at 5:40 am | Posted in Facebook, How To..., Social Media, Sponsorship, Sports Marketing, Uncategorized | 1 Comment
Tags: , , ,

Got your Twitter account and several thousand followers? CHECK.

Got your Facebook Fan Page with several thousand Fans? CHECK.

Great – you’re taking advantage of social media platforms to engage your fans. And now you have a presence that is EXACTLY the same as every other team in your league or market. You need to do something different for two important reasons:

  • To monetize the space
  • To differentiate

After establishing and earning your fans and followers, its time to take the next step and make this place your own. Custom tabs allow you to do this. Here’s how:

  1. Use the search on Facebook to find “FBML”. This is an app that will allow you to add a custom tab and fill it with any HTML you like… FBML stands for Facebook Markup Language.  You will find the first result is “Static FBML” and has about 10M+ users.  Click on it.
  2. Click on “Add to my Page” under the FBML logo.
  3. It will ask what Page you want to add it to (as you may have more than 1 page), so simply choose the Page you want to add your custom tab to.
  4. Go to your Fan Page.
  5. Click on “Edit Page”.
  6. Find the FBML app on your list – Click on “Edit”.
  7. Give your new Tab a title – you can come back and change it any time/as often as you like.
  8. In the FBML field, you can enter any HTML you want to make your custom tab.
  9. Click on Save.
  10. Add your new Tab by clicking on the “+” at the end of your Tab row from the Wall.

A couple of tips and things you should know:

  • You’ve only got room for so many tabs, so Facebook will/may bump one to accommodate your new Tab. You can click on each Tab to delete (and bring it back later if you like with the “+”).
  • You can change the order of your Tabs by dragging and dropping them.
  • I suggest you build a dummy profile and a dummy Page to test things out before to start playing around with your real Fan Page. Get it right and then update/enhance your Page for real.

You can use your new Tab for sponsors, promotions, contests, you name it…

Want to see some examples? Click on the following…

Good luck! Got some other interesting or innovative custom Tabs? Please let me know…

Google Wave: 1 Invite To Give Away

November 24, 2009 at 12:34 pm | Posted in Google, Networking, Social Media, Uncategorized | Leave a comment
Tags:

Screen Shot

What is Google Wave? Click here to find out or here to watch a video.

What does Wave mean for social media, sponsorship and sports? I’m not sure yet – I need some more time to play with it. It is currently in a limited preview release, so I am looking forward to understanding it better and then posting an update.

To assist in that – I have sent invites out to some friends, family and contacts and have 1 invite remaining to give away.

If you want it – send me a message and let me know who you are and why Google Wave is important to you…

Do the Penguins Defy Ordinary?

October 2, 2009 at 11:43 am | Posted in Branding, Facebook, Marketing, NHL, Uncategorized | Leave a comment
Tags: , ,

Defy_OrdinaryA new video hit the Pittsburgh Penguins Facebook FanPage… click here to have a look (runs 2:22). It positions the marketing focus for the team’s 2009/2010 season.

This is not exactly what I expected to see, but it is always nice to be surprised. True to social media good form, the feedback from the fans has mixed reviews. Take a moment to review the comments and you’ll see some of the additional value that spaces like this provide organizations that are interested to gauage their market’s opinions and discussions.

What do you think of this alternative positioning – Does the organization or product defy the ordinary?

Still Here…

September 2, 2009 at 7:37 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Just a quick note as I have not posted in awhile – thank you for checking in…

It’s been a busy summer relocating from Toronto to Vancouver. Lot’s of exciting things on the horizon and more information to share.

Stick with me and stay tuned!

Moving Back to Vancouver

May 28, 2009 at 6:36 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment
Vancouver

Vancouver, BC

I rarely post about personal events here, but this one is different.

After 10 years years in Toronto I am relocating back to Vancouver, my home town. It is a welcome change and I am really looking forward to being with both my immediate and extended family in BC. In addition to fantastic natural beauty, Vancouver is now Canada’s 2nd largest city and has a great deal to offer.

One of the great things about social media and technology is how is can help people stay connected – somthing that is important to me through this blog and the other sites that I participate on.

So here’s to keeping in touch – I may be posting a bit more infrequently in the coming days, but stick with me…

Thank you.

The Dangers of Sales Success

February 26, 2009 at 2:56 pm | Posted in Leadership, Sales Tips, Uncategorized | Leave a comment
Tags:

One of the dangers that many sellers come across is that when they get to a place of success, they start to slow down. They don’t have the drive to meet their quota, beat their competition or strive  among their peers to be the best.

And if you get to the top, someone is constantly trying to knock you off the pedestal – it’s tough being #1…

So how can you avoid this? Here’s a few ideas:

  1. Don’t let off the gas – the second you think you are safe is the second you are in trouble.
  2. When you close a sale, make a cold call (or 10) – Ride the wave of excitement/confidence and allow those feelings to resonate with some new business development.
  3. Ask your customers for referrals – keep the momentum moving by networking with your new customers – and be sure to give some referrals to these new contacts as well.
  4. Never look back - find some time to enjoy your success, but remember how you got there, I bet it wasn’t easy…

Just remember what’s like at the top of the pile, it can be a great place to be. But, now your colleagues and peers are looking to beat you – just as you were recently with the former top performer.

Keep at it and good luck.

Q&A: Upfront Contracts

January 21, 2009 at 12:32 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

A contact of mine – Marco San Pedro recently asked a question about Upfront Contracts.

“What is your take on up-front contracts when engaging a client? Can you share some of your thoughts when making an up-front contract with a client?

Thanks,

Marco”

What’s an Upfront Contract? It’s a very simply request that a seller asks a buyer when attempting to start a conversation. Something like…

“If you have a minute to speak with me, I’d like to understand a bit about your company and I’ll be happy to tell you about mine. From there we can determine if there is anything for us to discuss… “

An Upfront Contract is basically asking permission to hold a sales discussion – but it is important to position this as a contract. In this way, both parties (buyer and seller) may decide that it is not in their best interest in continuing a discussion based on what they have heard so far. This is an important dynamic, as it lays the opportunity to say “no” on the table – for either party to decide.

It’s an early stage request that attempts to position the sale as a collaborative effort. There are few other reasons why an Upfront Contract is a good idea:

  • Respect – The seller is being clear that they are not audacious enough to assume that the buyer cares about or is willing to endure a pitch.
  • Trust – The seller is the first one to offer the possibility of saying “no”, and may even be the one to say it.
  • Truth – This is a sales discussion, and if the prospect is not interested in doing that, they need not offer a traditional block of “send me some information” or “we’re happy with our current vendor”.

Incorporating an Upfront Contract into your first 30 seconds of discussion is a good idea. Using my language or words may seem bulky or inauthentic, so use your own words based on the idea of being straightforward and asking for permission to talk. Put the opportunity to say “no” on the table first.

If the prospect agrees to the contract – you are on your way. If they do not agree:

  1. Ask if there is a better time to talk and determine mutual interest, and if not…
  2. Thank them and move on

Your job is not to convince them, but find someone who is interested to talk.

« Previous Page — Next Page »

Blog at WordPress.com. | Theme: Pool by Borja Fernandez.
Entries and comments feeds.

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.