by Kirby Hasseman
It’s hard to believe it’s nearly here! For over a decade, all of us at Hasseman Marketing have put on a show designed to entertain and amaze our customers and prospects. The idea is to create a place where some of our best suppliers can meet with our customers so they can get great ideas for their year end gifts…and plan for next year! As a matter of fact, here are is a blog we wrote with 4 reasons you should attend this year! And guess what? The event is this week! After months of talking about it and planning for it…it’s hard to believe! The theme this year is The Great Outdoors and the event is this Thursday October 11th from Noon to 5pm at the Lake Park Pavilion. Need directions? You can find info here. But what do you bring? We have a post about that too. Here are a few things to bring to the show to make sure it’s a success. Whether you are a customer or you are “just interested” in checking us out, this is a great event for you to attend. As we always say, we are throwing a party, so we want everyone to come! See you this Thursday! Make sure you never miss an update! You can follow us on Facebook. But one of the best ways is to sign up for our VIP newsletter. You can do that below!
by Kirby Hasseman
Everyone wants results. We want to see our dreams come true. We want to have 6 pack abs. We want fortune and fame. We want. But for the most part, we don’t “do.” We dream. We don’t execute. We are all guilty of it. We really want to have amazing results. But it’s so easy to look for the shortcut. It’s one of the ways content marketing, or sales, or building a business, etc. are like fitness (I talk about that here). We all want the quick fix. I was reminded of that as I looked at my sales activity over the last few weeks. I have actually gotten into the habit of looking at my recorded sales activity BEFORE I look at my results. Why? Because I know it’s predictive. If I do the work (and here’s they word) consistently, I will have better and more consistent results. We all can have one flash week where we make a big splash. Those weeks are awesome and they feel good. But they are hard to replicate and even harder to predict. If you want to create consistent results–in sales or in anything–you have to put in the consistent work. Results follow effort. So take some time as you read this to decide the pro-active actions you can take each day to lead to sales (or whatever result you want). This list will be made up of things that you can do, that YOU have control over. You don’t need someone else. You can do them…and they (eventually) lead to sales. These are called Lead Measures (this is from 4 Disciplines of Execution). Then create a place where you can track these activities. It’s a place where you can create some accountability for yourself. If you don’t do the work, you will know. Now take the few extra moments to track the activity. Don’t make excuses here. As Nike says, “Just do it.” After you do this, start to look at how your “lead measures” correlate with your goals. If you have chosen your lead measures correctly, they will. Then you can have more control and accountability over the process. It’s up to you. Make sure you never miss an update! It’s time to sign up for our VIP newsletter below. We send out one email a week to recap all of the content we create each week.
by Kirby Hasseman
Though I love to travel and I love educational events (read more about that Skucamp love-fest here), I love coming home too. My buddy Sam Kabert and I talked about this topic this week. When I am on the road, I get out of my norms and my routines. While you may laugh at that, I have created them on purpose. They help keep me on track, both mentally and physically. So while an event or a road trip helps to shake me up and gets me out of my comfort zone, I am often excited to get back…and get back to my routine. I talk about the power of routines (both good and bad) here on the DMJ Podcast. Get into a routine with us! We have a new post every day here at Hasseman Marketing.
by Kirby Hasseman
My oldest daughter Skylar just got a puppy. Since she lives with me, I just got a puppy. It’s great. (I talk about it here a bit). Anyone that has ever gotten a puppy knows I am lying. It’s not great. The Lord made puppies cute for a reason. They need to be cute to survive. But here’s the thing…getting a puppy is a long term play. Dogs are amazing. They can fill your heart with love and your life with memories. You just have to be willing to live through the tough start. It reminds me of starting a sales career (or a business for that matter). So here are the ways getting a puppy is like starting a new career in sales. It Starts Fun But: The first day you get a puppy it’s all excitement. As we discussed above, it’s so cute. Everything seems so fun…but trouble is just around the corner. Every thing about owning a puppy is harder than it seems on Day 1. The same is true for sales. It starts off exciting and fast but it gets a lot harder (and less cute) quickly. Getting Up Early: Part of the reason it gets less cute quickly is because of a lack of sleep. Just like a baby, the puppy has no sleeping routine yet. When you start in sales (or in business), you start getting up early quickly. The early bird gets the worm, remember? Patience Is a Virtue: You know what’s hard when things are not going as planned? Patience. But that is exactly what you need in both situations. You need patience because puppies take a while to train. And…you need patience to train new customers too! These new customers will become the lifeblood of your new business. But it takes time. Completely New Habits: If you have old routines, a puppy does not care. (Again…I talk about that here). And you can’t create new success in sales with your same old habits. You have to create new routines. You have to break out of your comfort zone. It’s not up for negotiation. Cleaning Up Messes: It goes without saying that when you have a new puppy, there will be some cleaning up messes. The same is true in sales. You have no relationship. You really have no trust with your prospects (or more to the point, they have no trust in you). So every problem is a big problem. You have to clean up the mess before it stains the relationship forever. There Are No Shortcuts: We all want to get the natural training process to speed up. Whether you want to train a puppy or build a business, we want to skip that part. But it doesn’t work that way. You have to pay the price. You have to spend the time. The bad news with starting a business or a sales career and training a puppy is, it’s tough. There are early mornings and late nights. There are times of frustration. The good news is, you know that if you put in the time and work, it will work. And both puppies and a sales career can help create a fulfilling life! Here’s to success in both!
by Kirby Hasseman
I love to go to educational events. Whether in or out of my own industry, I enjoy digging in and getting new ideas…and getting inspired. So this week, when the Commonsku gang put on their 2nd Annual SkuCamp event, I was in my element!
Skucamp was a 2 day intensive event designed to entertain and inspire entrepreneurs in the Promotional Products business. I know the goal was to provide great education and networking opportunities. I know their goal was to have a packed house, with a cool vibe and an awesome environment. That’s every event’s goal, right? But the culture of people around this event might be it’s real special sauce.
The Commonsku team has created a sandbox where some amazing industry pros want to come and play. But what did I learn? The answer is…a lot.
Here are just a few key takeaways from #Skucamp2018.
There is no “one way” to do it
There are many people doing really cool things in our industry that gathered at Skucamp. But it was amazing how different each business and business approach is. Some people were super focused on e-commerce. Some business owners had no interest in that. Some businesses were diverse and some were niche. There is not one formula that leads you to success.
Vulnerability is cool
You never learn anything (or at least anything good) when you think you know everything. Skucamp was a place where a lot of really smart people admitted that they didn’t know everything. It wasn’t a weakness. It was a strength.
You Grow By Saying No
You don’t have to be for everyone. I talked about that here. Opening speaker Mike Michaelwicz talked about this in his opening talk. He discussed the idea that you don’t need to be for everyone…in fact that might be a bad thing!
Bring A Big Idea
I love this concept from speaker Caryn Kopp. She had a great session about getting the door open to companies and opportunities you wanted. But this simple idea really resonated with me. If you are meeting with a client, bring one BIG idea that could be huge for them and you. Are you doing that consistently? When I asked myself that honest question, the answer was “no.”
Nice People Finish First
In a world where we are under a constant barrage of negative, it was a wonderful reminder that good people are out there doing amazing things. One of my biggest takeaways was just that…good people are doing great. You don’t have to be a jerk. You might not be perfect (I know I am not). But you can be a good person and grow an amazing business.
Finally, it was a true privilege to get the opportunity to speak with my buddy Bill Petrie about the power and importance of Content Marketing. Thanks to the gang at Commonsku for having us…and thanks to Bill for making me look better than I deserve.
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