Sales and Marketing Mashup » Seth Godin

A Call For Expertise in Preparation

Tim Kocher — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 18:52:39 +0000

If you’ve read this blog you know I’m a huge fan of Seth Godin. His posts really make marketers think about the job we’re doing. It’s probably the best blog out there for marketing professionals, and Seth is very economical with his words.

Yesterday he posed a particularly provocative thought on preparation. The challenge is to think about the level of effort and expertise you are applying to your preparation. Basically, are you a pusher or a leaner?

He argues there are three levels of preparation: “Beginner,” “Novice,” and “Expert.” Basic premise: Most of us languish in the novice stage and never push hard enough to reach expertise.

As sales and marketing professionals, we can take this to heart in many areas: Go-To-Market Planning, Pre-Meeting Planning, Product Development, Websites and other marketing efforts. Do you ever find yourself phoning it in? Why start if you’re not going for something brilliant?

Ah, The Dog Days of Summer!

Tim Kocher — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 20:47:52 +0000

Been a while between posts – I just returned from some vacation. The prep time before and digging out after have been significant, as always. But, should be back on track for posting now…

It’s great to unplug and step away from the daily grind and see the forest for the trees though. When you realize what you’re working for – it makes it so much easier get back and hit it. It was a great time off with my wife and kids: hiking, swimming, fishing. My son caught his first Musky…thought he won the Superbowl!

One of my take-aways this time was that I really love what I do. Not everyone can say that. There is a real vocational dimension to helping people with their most important projects that motivates me to do the best for my clients.

Also, although some people automatically think technology is extremely cool and fun (guilty) it is also continuing to change the game for everyone, so you need to pay attention.

On that note, I was reviewing some of my favorite blog reads while away and I think this one from Seth Godin wins. It’s a concise summary about the transition from the production > information > “information about information” economy and gets you thinking about all the opportunities yet to be seized…

Better get back to work!

…No More Strangers

Tim Kocher — Mon, 17 May 2010 23:11:59 +0000

Seth Godin’s blog post today is worth echoing…in it he proposes a hierarchy of relationships and reminds us that it takes an exorbitant amount of energy to acquire and transform a “stranger” into a customer who is a “true fan,” - as in, it’s not worth it.

We all know the route of penetrating and extending from existing clients is much more efficient and successful, but sometimes we just can’t resist the temptation to burn energy and resources trying for that elusive stranger.

Instead, Seth says, consider the option to “…absolutely delight and overwhelm” [you true fans].

Great perspective!

Shiny Objects: Seth Godin…

Tim Kocher — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:08:09 +0000

Good stuff (as always) from Seth Godin’s blog. Check out this post from him: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/02/shiny-objects.html I’ve been chasing my share of shiny objects lately. It’s an interesting principle – reset your activities to your priority objectives vs. chasing the noise.

Sales Procrastination

Tim Kocher — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:28:05 +0000

Interesting thoughts from Seth Godin on how busy does NOT equal important in life: http://bit.ly/a1BuOY . Applied to sales and marketing, this even more poignant. Doing lots of (the wrong) activities will not build your funnel. What are you “busy” with today?