Frontline Perspectives

The Rolling Stones sang this well.  Life is full of unfulfilled dreams, wants and needs. And many of us get pretty darn crabby about it. For the sales and marketing teams:  “If we only had the resources to develop the website more, or the money to develop an SEM campaign, or hire five new sales people to develop the new verticals we’ve danced around.  And then there’s the video and green room that could take our video platform to a whole new planet.  We could be so much better, only if we hand X, Y, Z…” Read more »

Most of us wouldn’t be working here, at a business-to-business creative agency, if it weren’t for school art programs, extra-curricular art programs, art festivals, art movements and, last but not least, the money to fund those programs. In recent years, the arts have had some series cuts in funding, especially where it is needed most: in schools. Read more »

First, a disclaimer: I realize that the quickest way to ruin something funny is to overanalyze it. So before I ruin this, I just want to say:

Here’s a link. Enjoy these posts … some of them are pretty damn funny. Things Real People Don’t Say About Advertising. Read more »

We’re in the process of hiring right now, which means I’m spending a fair amount of time reviewing resumes. I’m continually amazed that the majority of people don’t include a cover letter with their resume. And those who do include one have serious grammar, spelling and clarity issues. What this means is that the majority (and I mean more than 75%) of these people have either made very little, or a terrible, first impression. And because of that, they’re not going to get to the interview stage. Read more »

This is a little tale about the influences in my life and my choice to become a designer.

First off, neither of my parents are designers, but they both work with their hands, and have an acquired skill set and have taught me a lot about being creative. My mom was a hairdresser whose salon was a little place my dad built for her — yes, with his own hands. When I’d come home from school or on the weekends I would pop into the shop, say hello to the ladies and start sweeping up, washing hair and making tea. My parents taught me about humility, creativity, business and people skills. Read more »

A few days ago I posted our recipe for persuasion, along with an announcement about our HOLEY KNIT! knitting group’s upcoming bake sale to benefit Heifer International. Now I’m back to tell you that the sale was a HOLEY SUCCESS! We raised $300 in the first hour, thanks to our co-workers’ generosity! We were quite excited. The donation wouldn’t be enough to buy a $480 Knitter’s Gift Basket, but it would buy several shares of a basket, which is pretty darn good. Read more »

’Tis the season for gingerbread and marzipan, but here at MarketSense we bake up new creations all year ’round. As our holiday gift to you, we’d like to share our recipe for persuasion, complete with secret ingredients.

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The B2B marketplace tends to slow down during the holiday season, but that doesn’t mean you have to postpone your marketing efforts till 2011. Just be sure your communications are purposeful. Here are a few ways to get in front of your prospect or customer one last time this calendar year: Read more »

What Leonardo DiCaprio reminded me about my brain.

First, a clarification on the definition of “creativity” as intended in this post. I do not use the term narrowly, to only describe the work of designers and copywriters. I use the term “creativity” broadly here — it’s what every person (or at least every businessperson) must use every day to overcome the most unique challenges. Read more »

Recently I shared the good news with a client that some of their work won an industry award.   “Great!” he said to all of us assembled.  Then without missing a beat he asked, “Did it get us any leads?”   Now this client was making a tongue-in-cheek comment that was all in good fun, but it has stuck with me for a few days because I think it’s a great reminder how important it is to focus on the things that really matter. 

There are no shortage of distractions–especially in sales and marketing–but nothing should get in the way of delivering a steady stream of prospects to the pipeline.   With few exceptions, any marketing effort that does not in some way contribute to that goal is quite simply missing the mark.   (And yes, this award winner had strong lead generation ROI).  

So I have to thank my client for giving me the perfect quotable litmus test I’m sure I will ask myself and others for years to come… “Great, but does it get us any leads?”