I Need This Job

During the years of a typical career, the true self comes out. Strengths and weaknesses are on display for everyone nearby to witness. At times, we are hailed as heroes when we make that extra sale, solve that annoying IT issue, or have the correct answer when a question is asked in a large meeting of colleagues. However, many times, it can be quite ugly and for those who cannot handle the stress of everyday work situations, it makes for a really bad day.

I have been working full time since the early ’80s. I even finished my undergraduate degree while working nights. It was a lot of work and not much sleep but definitely worth it. I remember learning a lot during those days and had great respect for my professors and instructors. Listening to what they could teach me about their careers in the field of Public Relations and Journalism was very interesting and I wanted to learn all I could.

When I started my “after college” career, I was doing marketing and technical writing for a manufacturing company that builds textile machinery. The listening took on a new meaning because I was suddenly working with engineers and technicians and I knew nothing about this world. My position in marketing was to produce collateral material for trade shows and for sales personnel to leave with their customers during sales calls. In my technical writing role, I was involved with writing technical manuals for the machines that my company built and sold.

I had no experience writing manuals nor did I possess the skills to do so. I could write a script for a radio or TV spot, a press release, even a newspaper article but if you are talking about a weakness, mine was writing material that people had to read in order to learn how to operate or repair a multi-million dollar machine.

In addition, it did cross my mind that these same machine operators could potentially stick a finger somewhere they shouldn’t and have it cut off. Moreover, it would probably be my fault. I needed the job but found myself wondering how I got to that point in my career. I was very nervous. Of course, I had a department head that was in charge of the finished product but I was one of the writers that had to produce.

My task for contributing to the manual writing process was to interview the engineers that developed and built these machines and learn as much as possible so I could write an operator's manual. I assumed and was right that these people knew everything about electrical and mechanical engineering. I certainly did not. I was a liberal art major in college and could barely operate a word processor (that’s what we used back in the day).

This is when I knew that I had to use all of the techniques available to survive and keep my job. I quickly learned that practicing active listening was my key to success. According to the grammarly.com blog, How to Talk to Engineers, Kimberly Joki writes that one must build sincere trust and get to know engineers and how they talk. Engineers use a lot of jargon. In addition, it was important to respect their time. In my position, I wanted to be around these people as little as possible because they were intimidating. However, I knew that I had to do my due diligence if I was going to get the information that I needed.

After a while, I was able to listen actively and understand enough to ask good questions. I would request to sit in on engineering meetings so I could further understand the process of manufacturing, costs, and customer deadlines they were dealing with. I never asked questions in these meetings but listened intently. It was like learning a foreign language but soon I could write in a manner that made some technical sense. At that point, I knew that when I would ask a question it would be considered a somewhat intelligent one and I wouldn’t get an impatient look and a quick answer. 

I had learned to think like an engineer and this was going to get me where I needed to be. In his article in Engineering Management Institute, Anthony Fasano writes about the importance of listening to communications for an engineer. He states that “a key to verbal communication is listening.” He writes that one method for this is, when listening, make mental notes of the key points that the speaker is stating, and then when you speak you can discuss the key points and confirm their importance.

This was all part of the process of what Dr. John Kline calls Informative Listening. This is when you are listening to learn a procedure or process. Kline wrote a book called Listening Effectively while serving as provost for the U.S. Air Force Air University. In many parts of the book, Kline writes about how listening and communications were vital to keeping aircraft airborne. My situation as a technical writer could only cost a finger while Kline’s readers could cost a life if precise communication was not practiced.  Kline is in agreement with Fasano when he writes the importance of focus and understanding the key points of the speaker.

I must say as a technical writer during those years I learned a lot about listening and it was not easy. It was hard work. I had to be focused, and in a frame of mind, that would allow active listening without distractions and purpose in mind of what I was to accomplish.

On a lighter note. I always thought that the humorous part of the process was when I was taking manual drafts to the engineers to have them proof them for accuracy. They would agree to this, then after a few days, I would go back to them to collect the proofed draft. Invariably they would hand it to me and state that it was approved. I would then hand them a form for them to sign stating that the proof they read was correct. They would then take the proof back from me and state that they wanted to read it “one more time.”

I would always have a good laugh over this later when I was out of view.

Now that I have been in media sales for so many years I remember some of those lessons of listening with a purpose. Now it is with my customers, internal colleagues, and management. Listening is always a part of life, whether it be in our personal or professional lives. It is hard work but makes us better communicators and people.

Lighter note part two:

Last June I took my daughter and her boyfriend to see Blink182 in Jacksonville, FL. The "warm-up" band was rap artist, Lil Wayne. I have been to many types of concerts but this was a first for me. This picture shows my "dad perspective" of the performance.

https://www.grammarly.com/blog/how-to-talk-to-engineers/

https://engineeringmanagementinstitute.org/communication-engineers-important/

https://media.defense.gov/2017/Jun/12/2001761382/-1/-1/0/AU-4.PDF

Influencing is a Real Job

When talking to a prospective client, I most likely will broach the subject of how they advertise their business and what is their philosophy of effective marketing. Since I am in the advertising sales business and I sell video advertising, my ears would love to hear “TV advertising is the best tool ever for promoting my business.” Of course, this has never happened and probably won’t, no matter how much I dream. Even if this potential client is leaning toward utilizing TV, the most frequently heard answer to this question is “word of mouth.” It could be a garage selling tires to a vacuum cleaner company or a great new Italian restaurant.

I used to believe that this answer was just an excuse not to pursue a TV advertising discussion. Although I am sure, at times this has been part of it. However, the more I heard this, the more I started to believe it. Maybe word of mouth was truly the best marketing tool available to a business owner. However, I have never sold word of mouth advertising so I had to come up with something not only to agree with the business owner’s statement but also to add value to it. I had to ask myself what I thought was the best method for expanding the concept of word of mouth advertising and it all came down to something very closely related, testimonials.

A testimonial is the ultimate form of word of mouth advertising. When it is done in person, it mostly works because the message is usually VERY positive, the source is trusted, and emotion is a huge part of the interaction. This is also true of the TV advertisement testimonials. It is positive, it is emotional, and it is easy to find a trusted source. One could be a local or national celebrity that is well-liked or a person that has an emotional connection to the product and is good at showing that connection.

Being a student of advertising and getting my mind wrapped around this advanced platform of digital marketing, I have found that social media and blogs are a part of the new wave in word of mouth marketing. Actually, it is not so new. I learned about blogs many years ago from non-other then my wife.

For someone that says she can’t remember the last time, she’s paid attention to a TV or radio ad she definitely remembers social media influencers and bloggers. In fact, we owe much of our home remodels and upgrades to Instagram/Insta stories. We also eat the recipes, take the day trips, and take interest in these influencer’s lives on a weekly basis. At least she does. I have always played the game of a disinterested partner when she discusses where her favorite blogger goes on vacation and what restaurant is the best in Savannah, according to you-know-who.

She says that she mostly likes this particular blogger/influencer because she is southern, doesn’t have “click through to buy” options on her blogs so she must be trustworthy :/, and she has great taste in decorating. I have been briefed on this person’s life for the past twelve years and know about her husband’s career changes and her kid’s growth spurts.  At times, I have mentioned the possibility that this person’s life seems so perfect that surely she is some type of robot and can’t possibly be a real person. That was until a month ago when my wife was on a business trip to LaGrange, Ga and ran into her influencer/blogger (hero) in the Panera Bread in Macon. Her announcement of this grand event came over my phone in a text with whistles blowing and confetti falling. Then what followed was a selfie of my wife with her new, closest best friend. She was a real person.

How did we become so influenced by seemingly everyday people? These are regular people with kids, jobs, bills to pay, and even though they go to Disney World too often for a normal family (I’m sure this is where the pay portion of her blog comes in) have a normal existence.

It is that connection that people have with others in their culture that can be of influence.

Whether it is Instagram influencers or billion-dollar companies, influence, and engagement is the key. When Starbucks uses social media to promote their brand, it’s about coffee presented in a manner that induces engagement. However, it is also about reaching people that fit into that Starbucks culture. Using celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres and others trusted by Starbucks consumers to Tweet mentions about an event or connection is getting consumers immersed in the Starbucks culture. These are celebrities with millions of Twitter followers and have an enormous influence on any brand they are involved with. These are easily measurable engagements and that is the only way a company like Starbucks will do social media. It must be influential, engaging, and measurable.

Finally, it comes down to trust. Remembering the simple notion of word of mouth advertising, it all comes down to who is telling you the story about these wonderful products and why you should try them. It could be a good word about that locally owned Italian restaurant, Starbucks coffee, or my wife’s funny obsession with her blogger “closest friend.” It’s about the stories from the people you trust.

By the way, if my wife reads this she will remember and laugh at all of the things I have said about bloggers in the early years. She heard all of my rantings about bloggers and the type of people I said who would do this for a living (influencing is not a real job, is it?). My Son told her the same thing. I am a bad influence on him. However, I have learned that these people are smarter than I and I now see that they can build a house, tear it down and rebuild it with the latest home décor and make a good living at it. I am definitely late to the party.

Small and Large Business - It's the Details

Adding Value to the Relationship with my Clients

My name is Steve and I am a 24-year professional in media sales and the advertising agency business. My experience includes presenting creative ideas to local and regional businesses and having them move forward with a marketing plan that includes video content. Expectations and goals are the most important question I have always asked a client. Over the years, I have worked with very small family businesses to large multi-rooftop automotive groups.

I traveled to Atlanta this week for an Automotive Summit. This a meeting with known experts in the field that share information on how to help our automotive customers do things that will help them sell more cars. In addition, we were presented a global view on the automotive business for the next five years.

After listening for a few hours at our speaker, it was evident that we had a good amount of information we could share with our clients. Information we learned included easy corrections to client’s websites, Google search and Google business listing. These are items we don’t sell but is just simple information we can offer to get them more online visits and conversions. As I was driving home Wednesday afternoon I was thinking of the difference between my smaller and larger clients over the years and why the smaller ones usually do better with technology and innovations.

After many years of working with customers, the thing that surprises me continues to be that most small customers are better at utilizing the tools they have access to better than larger companies. These small businesses spend the time to learn how to use Google analytics and other tools to increase website views and conversions, and how to be effective with social media. Many of these tools are free and small businesses are great at using free tools to be most efficient. The owners of these businesses are very good at multitasking and knowing how various elements of running a business work together. In addition, these individuals are the ones doing the work.

In regards to the Diffusion of Innovations, in my experience I see those small business owners are more likely to be innovators and early adopters when an idea is simple and easy to use, and most important if they can see observable results. They are always looking for an economic edge. Small businesses have a minimal marketing budget and small dollars have to work and be observable because there is a lot at stake in a short amount of time.

Larger companies hire an individual or a team that either do the work or hires it out and observes the results over time. What is surprising is that when you look at the seemingly basic work done by these companies, for example keeping Google business settings updated, the information is incorrect much of the time. These are large companies that spend thousands of dollars per week on advertising and marketing, not to mention staff performing these functions.

It seems that many times the big picture of marketing is maintained. The dollars are being spent, the creative is interesting and the media plan is executed. Unfortunately, the effectiveness is compromised because leads and conversions are not gathered efficiently.

My group has actually set up client events for this. An auto dealer GM or internet manager will attend, bring their computers and go step-by-step through the process of utilizing all of the free tools available to them. Within the next month and Account Executive meets with the client and shows them the results. This will not only reinforce their belief in doing the simple things correctly, but it will also prove to them that they can trust our company to help them. As a result, a peer-to-peer conversation is created and should continue in the future.

The main thought that went through my head during the long drive on I-16 from Macon to Savannah coming home on Wednesday night was that I should continue to educate myself on the easy things a client can do to improve. Then present these ideas as an expert to help them. It is really the only way to offer value and set me apart from those that are transactional sellers and not true business partners.