“When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.”

— Alexander Graham Bell

This is for those of you out there that dwell just a little too long on the word “No.” (And this includes yours truly) Yeah, it sucks, BAD, but after the initial sting of the response, there are two simple decisions you can make:

1) Stand there with your heart in your hand and stare longingly, wishing you could bury your head in a bucket of cement, OR

2) Brush the dirt from the poor scuffed up little blob and put it back from whence it came, vowing to learn from the experience.

I’m not the Motivational Marketing Tooth-fairy or some kind of Communications Cheerleader that’s here to give you a shot to the arm when you’re feeling down. On the contrary, I’ve been there more times than I can count. I’ve been slapped down my defeat. I’ve wallowed with the best of the “wallowers,” and I’ll tell you one thing…

IT’S VERY UNPRODUCTIVE.

While unproductive as “Feeling Defeated” is, it does more than just give you the blues. “Defeatism” is a psychological sand trap that not even Arnold Palmer has the right club to get out of. Swing as you may, without taking the experience objectively and learning from it, you’d simply dig and dig deeper into the hell that is the blues bogey monster.

Defeatism, depression, insecurity, fear… whatever you want to call it, it’s a powerful foe. You can’t fight it alone. You can’t focus on “it” solely. It’s the bully of the psychological playground and will kick your ass as soon as look at you.

I write this today, because I had someone say “no” to me – a proposal for work. I was pissed. I was despondent, but, instead of bowing my head and accepting defeat, I decided to fight back.  I asked the prospect this simple question:

“What was it that made your decision NOT to use our services?”

His answer?

“Well, while your proposal was very thorough and addressed our questions, we’ve just decided to go another direction.”

Loosely interpreted, “It’s not you, it’s me.” 

I was never going to win that fight, so I thanked him for his time, reminded him of the services we offer and graciously hung up the phone.

Was I still pissed? Yes, but I had another meeting to go to and didn’t have time to focus on the “no-ish” explanation.

I packed up my bag and went on to my meeting where I was GIVEN the entire marketing and communications strategy for 2012 (easily 3x the previous proposal) of a client that I didn’t expect to get more than some simple WordPress updates and FaceBook monitoring.

KER-SMACK…  Another door opened.

Had I been focused on the previous door, would I have seen the cues in the meeting that lead to this new business? Probably not. I would have been sullen and retracted my marketing and sales arms. But without hesitation, I noticed the opportunity and walked through the door, SLAMMING IT RIGHT IN THE FACE OF DEFEAT!

BOOO-YAH …  I JUST GAVE THE SMACK DOWN TO DEFEAT.

So, next time you get “No” for an answer, and we ALL will, take a step back, try to derive a lesson from it, and move on. If you have an opportunity to learn from your mistakes, then you can never consider them actual mistakes.

Rah-Rah-SIS-BOOM-BAH…  That’s as much cheer leading I do. I’d rather keep cooking… 

How do you handle rejection and the feelings that accompany it? Is there a process? Is there a plan to learn from it?  I’d LOVE to hear your stories about kicking “Defeat” in its ARSE!

Until next time…

Keep Cooking (positive mental momentum)
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef

As CreateWOW embarked on decorating our new office space, I sent out a tweet asking if someone new of a product or a solution to make an entire wall an erasable white board.  I did get some answers, but none that I would have been comfortable with.  Some required a VERY EXPENSIVE paint. Others suggested large sheets of melonite that I’d have to secure to the walls (landlord frowned on that idea).  So, eventually, I gave up on the idea.

It was hard at first, because I am such a visual person, I use an easel and HUGE note pads just to flesh out illustration ideas.  Imagine the space it takes to really flesh out a social media marketing campaign!

Well, yesterday, during a client planning session, I realized what my brain had been telling me for a few months now.  The dry erase wall is a good idea.

A Plan Is Worth 1,000 Words:

a plan is worth 1,000 words

In a matter of minutes, the clients and I flew through sheet after sheet of pad paper and pasted them to the wall.  The conversation was flowing so quickly that just keeping up with the ideas was a challenge. After we’d “Dumped” our wish list on the papers, we then, rearranged the pages and put the plan in systematic, chronological order.

PERFECT.

The clients left assured that the directives they assigned us were understood and the plan to achieve their goals was in place.  Smiles. Handshakes. Pats on the back. It all seemed so simple, but without the plan up on the wall, it was just words.

Try this approach next time you’re in a planning or strategy session with your clients or coworkers. It’s a little overwhelming for the “Non-visual” people in the room, but I guarantee when they see the path ahead of them, they’ll take the next step with you without asking another question.

My friends Mike Wagner and Jocelyn Wallace may have a thing-or-two to add to this post, yes?

Do you have other tips or techniques to help clients or coworkers visualize a plan?  Is it a whiteboard? Is it PowerPoint (God I hope not…

Let us know.  Or better yet…  show us…

Keep Cooking!
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef

Some of the best ideas come quickly and simply.

In a conversation with a good friend, we were mulling over the unique challenges we both have with clients, agencies and production houses when it comes to being effective marketers.  He made a very valid point that

“…if everyone worked as quickly as his brain, the work would be TEN TIMES as valuable.”

As the conversation went on, I started assimilating marketing to a constantly moving force in search of it’s next meal… 

“If a marketing department or even a basic marketing campaign is to have value or any spec of success, it needs to be constantly moving. Like a shark, if it stops, it suffocates under its own pressure and drowns – suddenly, another corpse for other sharks in the ocean to feed on…”

One thing lead to another and the phrase “Sharketing” was coined.

The conversation came to an abrupt stop. Our eyes grew to the size of the plates that sat below us, and we both started laughing.

“Sharketing…  Are YOU Sharketing?” I yelled. (to some pretty strange looks at Palmer’s Deli, mind you)

“Ha…  what a cool idea.” He added.

So I immediately went back to the CreateWOW office and registered the domain, AreYouSharketing.com and the seed was planted.

Jump ahead a few months and we come to Sunday, February 20, 2011. A day that Sharketing was given breath and the ability to swim in the ocean of marketing phraseology for ever.

Sharketing defines the action that ALL MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS professionals should be taking. Ever moving, ever searching, hunting, tracking and focused on the next meal. Sharketing allows the campaign to run, unfettered by politics, red tape and the lack of return.

AreYouSharketing.com is a portal for all marketing communications professionals to gain the speed they need to become TRUE marketers.  It’s a resource for learning.  It’s a resource to extend your brand equity. It’s a resource for additional outposts for your marketing messages.

Some of the best ideas come quickly and simply. And it should always work that way.

I invite you to go on over the AreYouSharketing.com to see what’s in store.  So far we have a handful of collaborators, but we’re always looking for more. If interested, please contact me!

Thank you!

And, remember… Sharks Swim in Schools…

Keep Cooking!
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef

What do YOU do on a Snow Day in central Iowa? Well, if you’re at all involved in social media, you get online and jump into the conversation (ANY conversation). There’s always a chat, a dialogue, a debate or simply silly talk going on within Twitter.

As an experiment, I decided to create a screencast of the conversations that took place with and around me (@TheBrandChef) this morning.

Featured in this little conversation are friends and associates (and some people I’ve NEVER met, but I consider friends anyway):

• @JoshFleming (Josh Fleming)
• @abrudtkuhl (Andy Brudtkuhl)
• @ketelsen (Katie Ketelsen)
• @JuliaThompson (Julia Thompson)
• @JustBrady (Justin Brady)
• @theChesterfield (Strategic America)
• @Kworalsoa (Simeone S. Spagnoli)

Enjoy!

Music credit goes out to Ben Folds for including these audio loops on the last CD I bought!

Keep Cooking (creative things to do when the world seems to shut down…)
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef

This morning, one of my Des Moines social media cohorts wrote a post about the recent onslaught of social media companies, consultants and “Superstars” that have recently dotted our fine city. Troy Rutter hasn’t hidden his distaste for the trend of social media consultants popping up out of nowhere (here, here, and here). But in this morning’s post, he created a correlation to other markets and specifically to the hotbed of social media action that is Boston – calling names like Chris Brogan, CC Chapman and Chris Penn as the benchmark to which all social media “Superstars” would be measured.

While Troy opens his post with a slight “hat tip” to the growth of Des Moines’ social media industry, he quickly jumps into a bit of a “back-handed” compliment:

“What is it about Des Moines that is a breeding ground for so-called Social Media Experts? Is it the corn? Can the city support three social media firms, and countless wannabes who think they have all the answers?

“The Des Moines social media scene is concerned more with being local leaders than global. They fight with/over each other to be the definitive “expert” while simultaneously patting each other on the back to make themselves feel good.”

And in comparison to the Bostonians:

“Maybe that’s the biggest difference. The Bostonians give back to the social media community, not really looking for their own accolades. While Des Moines experts seem bent on making a name for themselves any way they can.”

Okay, Troy, let’s talk this out objectively…

While I can’t comment on the national scene, personally,  I’ve felt nothing but camaraderie and compassion from the other local social media citizens. As a matter of fact, in March of 2006, I wrote my first blog post and was immediately welcomed by Drew McLellan – a national Superstar in his own right. I’d say that was pretty encouraging.

I’m also thrilled with the growth of social media in the Des Moines area. And while I agree that Des Moines is “Saturated” with “Social Media Stars,” to compare Des Moines’ social media community to Boston’s is a bit shortsighted.

The “Stars” in Boston certainly have “street cred.” They’ve built the foundation that others all over the country (and the world) are hoping to stand on. And while people like Penn and Brogan can pull crowds and garner attention better than E.F. Hutton, setting the “Social Media Star” standard by their reputations alone is unfair to the efforts being made here in Des Moines.

A simple marketing lesson I learned years ago states (and I’m paraphrasing):

“The first to the market will define and own that market until,
1) They are knocked out of the top position by a competitor
or (and this is the bigger point),
2) Another “segment” of the market is designed for the competitors to shine.”

Brogan and the rest of the Bostonians established the “Social Media Superstar” market. So, for now, it’s theirs as defined to own and defend. And it’s entirely what they’ve built their personal and business brands on.

I say, “Genius!”

What I see Des Moines social media practitioners doing is taking a loose model of what our East Coast brethren designed and creating a niche segment within the social media marketplace that better fits our community and the Midwestern economy. We (the Midwest) don’t need superstars to swoop in and save the day. On certain levels, I think the conservative nature of our neighbors would reject that model, anyway. The business model Des Moines companies gravitate to do not tolerate “Ego,” whether it’s intentionally inflated self-worth or not. Companies like LavaRow, Catchfire and One Social Media are capitalizing on that fact and creating a new “Relational Social Media” niche to fill that need.

So, to your point, Des Moines DOES deserve recognition for the social media acumen it possesses and encourages. Definitely! Should the social media practitioners strive to be some kind of hero or super star to warrant that credibility? Hell no.

To appease your hunger for national recognition, we could cite the recent feature CNN did on regional social media and the noise being made here. Many of the people you point at in your post were linchpins in many aspects to those events.

It’s just a matter of time before this model of “Relational Social Media” to break through to a bigger, more national level. But for now these companies are providing astounding insight, customer service, education and pride for Des Moines, central Iowa and the Midwest as a whole!

With that, I ask plead with my readers. Let’s keep the conversation going.

Does Des Moines (and the Midwest in general) have the social media chutzpa that will bring us to a national and / or international light? Or do you think that we have too many “wanna-be” practitioners muddying the waters?

Back to you…

Until next time,

Keep Cooking! (’cause social media is yummy for EVERYONE!)
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef