Marketing is just like playing baseball or football and trying to make it to the big leagues. You compete to be the best at your field position (SEO, Copywriting, Research, Guerilla, Viral, etc…) and each of us accumulates trophies along the way. The more you have the more recruiters and executives you have looking at you. Moreover, the less work you have to do to get those opportunities because in the field of marketing the big dogs want the best and only the best. I know this because I have been through the gauntlet trying to get an opportunity to play with the big dogs.
My first 5 major trophies meant nothing because I didn’t understand this concept. I didn’t take the time needed to market my accomplishments so people would know who I was and why they needed ME! We could sit here and analyze my past trophies and exactly what I missed, but I’d rather focus on my most recent trophy, and how learning to market it as well as myself, has opened countless doors. It all started in December of 2006 when I was offered a position as the Director of Marketing for Platinum Mortgage, Inc., a name that I’m sure if you have heard, was just recently. Platinum Mortgage, although certainly not a “nobody,” was only strong in Alabama. When I started we were one of the top FHA and Bond money lenders in our state. I then started marketing our new wholesale lending division and got in launched just in time to see our entire industry crumble around us, but as opposed to running scared like many in our industry, we pushed forward and launched very aggressive marketing campaigns dealing with the issues around us. To date we are one of the fastest growing lenders in the country with gains of over 400% in just a matter of months. This is my newest trophy, but if the only marketing I do is put it on my resume it won’t give me the results it could. This is huge; record gains during an industry implosion. So, how do I get the word out and start getting these jobs to come in the door. We’ll I’ve already done it and continue to even in this post. In fact, I’ve had more opportunities thrown in my lap over the past 3 months that I have in the last 2 years combined. I tell you all of this not to brag, but hopefully to save you some of the blood, sweat and tears. When we’re the antiques in our industry how many of us will be in the hall of fame? I certainly plan to be. So here are a few reminders when marketing your accomplishments as well as yourself.
Step one: Do you pass the Google Litmus test? Have you Googled yourself to see what potential employers/contractors/partners will see? Do you have a strong presence when they do Google you? We live in a world where you can custom tailor the message these people are seeing. Have you made search engines your trophy case? Do it you’ll be amazed by the results!
Step two: Have you made yourself an expert? How do we define an expert? We define someone based on the exposure they have and the context of that exposure. How do you become an expert? You become an expert by being an expert. Get on marketing forums and start answering questions. You may want to first make sure the site is regularly indexed. This is just one example; you could also start a blog, create an RSS feed as well as countless other techniques. The point is that you make yourself an expert in the industry. When you do the business and or job offers will start rolling in. Step three: Have you marketed your accomplishments as well as yourself? There are many other things you can do, but I recommend you start by asking yourself this question: “If I was hired to market a professional in their industry, where would I start?”

]]> http://20somethingmarketing.com/2008/marketing-yourself/it%e2%80%99s-all-about-the-trophies/feed/ 0 http://20somethingmarketing.com/2007/marketing-yourself/the-first-two-rules-of-blogging-your-way-through-business-school/ http://20somethingmarketing.com/2007/marketing-yourself/the-first-two-rules-of-blogging-your-way-through-business-school/#comments Tue, 10 Apr 2007 15:53:55 +0000 Jared http://20somethingmarketing.com/2007/marketing-yourself/the-first-two-rules-of-blogging-your-way-through-business-school/ As a relative blog veteran, it’s interesting to read the latest Wall Street Journal article on how blogging can help your career.

Among the topics discussed was how to use your blog to control your online footprint and demonstrate to recruiters that you indeed, can back up what’s on your resume. Although the article was very well done, it did present an interesting question; “do those same points continue carry over to the MBA experience as to enhance your personal brand for both the business school and MBA recruiters?”

I was able to pose just such a question to one of the career management staff members at a recent incoming MBA student reception. He answered that like all answers he gives; “it depends.”

Apparently, some companies may actively look for bloggers as a way to identify articulate, genuine candidates. To others, blogs might be a way to weed out someone with, for lack of a better term, a big mouth (my words – not his).

Mostly satisfied with his answer, the proposition became a bit more complex when I presented the idea of blogging as a formal part of your business school experience. This is to say that you are an active, publicly-recognized blogger within the business school community – a graduate version of the school newspaper reporter.

The proposition of being the guy roving the hallways with a pen – or microphone in this case – is not completely out of the question. Then again – you have to balance your ambition to promote and create the blog or podcast with the fact you have to live and study with these people.

In the business community, you can conduct your blog as a professional on the other side of a digital desk. Your relationships are purely professional. In business school, there is no such divide.

Knowing this, I decided to begin to create my own set of rules in the hope that it will help myself, and others, instill a balance between blogging and being an active, engaged business student. As I more clearly define my blogging strategy I will add more on and, as always, welcome input if others have rules they think are important as well but here are the first two:

Rule #1 – In first conversations, talk about your blog/podcast only when someone else brings it up, first.

Some people are very self-conscious about being around bloggers or podcasters. This comes from they stereotype of bloggers as voyeuristic publishers of other people’s information. In order to maintain that trust, if they are interested in your blog, let them bring it up first. Even then, be sensible about asking them for help – never assume they automatically want “in” just because they are interested in it.

Rule #2 – Make sure that the topics of your blog/podcast are clearly defined and articulated.

It’s ok to want to blog about classes or events but do so in a specific and professional manner. Just don’t force any one blog idea just for the glory of blogging about it. Ask yourself; “How this topic will bolster the point of my blog or podcast?” If it doesn’t, it’s ok to skip the topic. After all, you want people to trust you and know that there is a line between what you will write about and when they can joke around with you.

Special Co-host: Penelope Lee (Marketing Diner)

Show Notes:

• Why business podstar-dom kicks ass
• Podcasting and blogging tips to bolster your personal brand
• Debunking the most common misconceptions of running your own podcast and/or blog

Listen To Episode:

Download audio file (20SMF62.mp3)

Download Episode:

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Referenced Links:

• The Alayne White Spa
• Delta Sigma Pi – In Case You’re Interested In Learning More
• Danya Steele’s Blog

Podcast:

Download audio file (20SMF59.mp3)

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Synopsis:

We love stories about kicking some serious result-driven ass at work, especially if it required a 20-something using upward management to persuade their boss or co-workers.

In fact, we love those types of stories so much we created a contest in 2005 to see who had the best one.

Instructions/Rules:

1) Put together a short (less than 500 word) synopsis of your project, the process you used, and its results.

2) Please keep the stories fairly clean (i.e. no over-the-top raunchy intern stuff).

3) Entrants are highly encouraged to change the names of their bosses or co-workers unless you think they wouldn’t mind us reading them on-air.

4) Submit your entries by December 14th to jared@20somethingmarketing.com

The Awards:

The listener who submits the best story, as judged by the staff of 20-something marketing (meaning Jared), will receive the incredible 20-Something Marketing Mug and/or business card file.

Good Luck & We Look Foreword To Your Entries!

“Before we begin; let’s go over the rules, shall we?”

“The object is simple. Craft a response to your bosses’ e-mail asking you what you think your salary should be in the coming year. Guess too high and you can blow your chance at a raise and forget about that root-canal you’ve been waiting for. Guess too low and you’ll still be working for peanuts. Come up with a number that you and your boss will agree with and you might just get it!”

“Now its time to see what our contestants have come up with…”

….Ok, so maybe it’s not a real game show but that’s exactly what it feels like. I have to attempt the impossible spin-job by figuring out how to phrase a response to my boss. The way I see it, there are only a couple of truly valid and fool-proof arguments you can use:

Argument #1 – Market Value

Granted, every situation is different but you can always say that what you make is no where near what the average is for the value market puts on your skills and experience. You can go to such websites as salary.com and get an idea for what others are making compared to you. The two big things you need to watch out for are 1) the industry you’re in and 2) the job title/description you use. You need to be able to defend both of those selections because if you bring market value up, you can bet those are the first two your bosses will raise objections to.

My best advice in this area is to use a range based on your personal salary report. You can do this by not skimping and going for the full $30 report. That will give you a range of raise amounts and help you craft a 1% to 2% window you think you should recommend. That way, you’re not pinned down to one number and you give your boss some leeway in upping your raise from your minimum requirements on their own volition.

Argument #2 – Past Performance

This is always a fun one because every time you bring up something positive you did, you also open up the door to the things that maybe weren’t so positive. If you do have numerical results from any of your projects, here is the place to trot them out.

You want to pick projects that frame your best skills (i.e. skills that no one else can replicate and thus make you more valuable). Anything that can help you set the stage for your boss to take a step back to say, “Wow, that really did merit something extra.”

Major rule of thumb on this one – if it doesn’t make you look like a superstar, leave it out!

Argument #3 – The Future

Every time I think about the idea of “the future,” I think back to the last scenes of History Of The World – Part I where the Jewish space commanders are doing the Chorea because they just blew something up. My point, albeit obvious, is that no one really knows what the future will bring. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t use it to justify your raise.

Every executive has an agenda. My advice is to try to find out what it is by asking around (perhaps even with your boss, themselves) and incorporate that into why your skills will be ever-more valuable in the coming year. The important thing for this argument is to use your professional development plans as a guide to what they are steering you towards. Hell, you can even bring up some of those problem areas you have been working on and turn your liabilities into strengths. The idea is to have this argument make your bosses point for them. Raises are all a part of the budgeting process so as it relates to their future plans, your boss needs to look at this argument and say to themselves, “This is exactly what I was thinking about!”

Keep it short, keep it to the point, make it something that you would want to tack up on your wall as a masterpiece of spin. In the end, I really don’t think you can “win” the Name Your Raise game. I think you can only hope to make it to the next round.

One more thing; taking some time to ruminate on the philosophic side of your job can make all difference. Believe me – how the hell do you think this post was written?

If you’re like me, your buddy list probably has a mish-mosh of old friends, family, casual acquaintances and some folks you might not even keep in contact with anymore. Your professional contact network is the same way.

The only difference is that most of us don’t have the professional network in a handy, easy-to-use medium like AIM.

What happens is that unlike your AIM list where re-connection is only a click away; your professional contact network may languish unused most of the time in a card file or an electronic address book. In order to make it easier for you to tap your professional contact network like you AIM, you need to do a couple of things.

First of all, you need a network medium that makes your professional contacts as easy to connect with as your personal one. This means you not only need a system that organizes your contacts in an easy-to-view manner (like an AIM list), you need one that helps you associate those contact with particular causes.

Personally, I try to use a card file that lays out business cards I collect like CDs. On the back of each one I write a note to myself about what they do and how I can refresh that network contact. I then send an e-mail to them, saying it was nice to meet them and reminding them about who I am.

Later on, as I riffle through those contacts, I am always reminded of my network. Just like AIM, I am more prone to keeping those contacts top-of-mind and maintain regular contact with them.

Small things like forwarding on an article of interest or inviting them to a professional reception can help feed your network so they are warmed up when you eventually do need them.