by Kirby Hasseman
So far this spring and summer, Coshocton County has been completely overwhelmed by rain. What seemed like a wet spring, led to a night where the local town of West Lafayette reportedly got nearly 7 inches of rain in a few short hours. The already wet ground gave the water no place to go and the devastation was difficult to see. Areas that had never seen standing water in generations, were flooded. Basements were full of water and foundation walls collapsed.
In addition to the devastation in homes around the area, acres of farmland spent time underwater as well. As a matter of fact, some weeks later, some areas are still seeing the affects of this rain. It leaves many people in our area talking about the long term effects of the season to farmers. Many have not had the chance to plant their seeds.
There will be nothing to harvest this year.
I am reminded of this as I look at our summer sales season. For many organizations, July is a tough month for sales. The sales team will talk about the fact that July is the month of vacations. They will say that “no one wants to talk about xyz in July!” And let’s face it, often the sales team wants to take time off then as well! This combination of reasons leads to a continually disappointing summer selling season.
And though those factors certainly play a role, I don’t think they are the real reason that sales lag in the summer. It all comes back to a lack of seeds to harvest. My hypothesis is, for the last few months (for lots of reasons) fewer and fewer seeds were planted. It was probably a little at a time. There was not a giant flood in the sales team. That’s why it was hard to notice. But little by little, fewer calls here made.
That is why there is less to harvest today.
As much as we would love to imagine it, business rarely just falls from the sky. These opportunities are harvested after months and months of work. They come from the seeds that were planted.
The bad news is, you can’t just go in and harvest today if you have not planted the seeds. The good news is, you can get out in the fields and start planting.
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by Kirby Hasseman
It’s time for the 16th episode of the He Said/She Said Podcast with Hasseman Marketing! This podcast is designed to give an inside look at being married and being entrepreneurs and the projects we are working on and the challenges we are facing! We talk about business, family, community and more. So listen in and let us know what you think!
On this episode we talk about…
Trending Topic
This week Kirby and Amy talk about Nike’s decision to pull a new shoe from the market after criticism from Colin Kapernick. Kapernick reportedly felt the shoe, which had the Betsy Ross flag on it, was tied to slavery. Get Amy and Kirby’s take on this here.
Weekly Whirlwind
This week in the Weekly Whirlwind, Amy talks about getting Jade moved in, and some updates on the building. Kirby discusses what to do on a short week. Do you cram more in…or coast?
Lesson In Life
This week Kirby and Amy talk about what you do when you are “in a funk.” Everyone gets down sometimes. So what are some things to do when you find yourself in a rut. Kirby and Amy talk about what they do!
Shout Outs
Each week we want to give a shout out to an organization or an individual doing good work. This week Kirby talks about Volunteer Fire Fighters (and all first responders really). With the recent fire and flooding, so many people have been asked to step up. This was a big shout out to them. Amy talks about the upcoming Community Impact Day! Learn more about that here.
So that’s a wrap! We will be back…and we will continue to improve. Any feedback will be welcome as we try to provide you value! If you want to subscribe you can do that where you normally get podcasts…or you can head here to follow on Soundcloud.
Thanks so much for listening! If you have any topics you want Kirby and Amy to cover, please comment and let us know! Oh…and if you like this content, check out this page where you can find all of the content we create!
by Kirby Hasseman
One of the dangers of writing blogs, creating videos and recording podcasts about self-improvement is that you (and I) might come off as if I have it all figured out. When you spend time telling people how to improve their productivity, the voice in your head will be screaming at you “You think you know it all! You are a fake!” It’s possible that other people are thinking the same thing. So let me share a secret with you.
I am a work in progress.
I don’t have it all figured out. There are still many days that I struggle to be positive. There are lots of times I put off what I know I need to do. I certainly have days (or even weeks) when I feel lost. But having it all figured out is not really the point. For me, at least, it’s about constantly working to get better than I was yesterday.
I share many of these truths on this blog because I have read them in books or listened to them in podcasts and they have resonated with me. Sometimes my best source of content is simply a lesson I am personally currently struggling with. Sure, there are times when I share things from personal experience. But often, these come from mistakes I have made and want to improve from.
Like I said, I don’t have it all figured out.
But here’s the thing, most of us don’t. Most of us, at least the ones that are aspirational, are just trying to do the best we can to be the best we can. We want to do just a little better than we did the day before. As Dave Ramsey would say “We are trying to live like no one else, so that some day we can live like no one else!” And when we do that, I think most of us have “that voice” in our head nagging at us to tell us we are not good enough.
Stop listening to it. Give yourself some grace. You are not perfect.
We are all a work in progress. And that’s okay.
Make sure you never miss any of our content. We have it all here on our blog in one place. And of course you can always sign up to be a VIP here.
by Kirby Hasseman
It’s time for the 15th episode of the He Said/She Said Podcast with Hasseman Marketing! This podcast is designed to give an inside look at being married and being entrepreneurs and the projects we are working on and the challenges we are facing! We talk about business, family, community and more. So listen in and let us know what you think!
On this episode we talk about…
Weekly Whirlwind
This week we combine the Trending Topic and the Weekly Whirlwind. We recorded the podcast later this week because Amy was at an event in Columbus about the Historic Tax Credit. We are excited to announce that the project was selected! Amy talks about the project, the timeline and what happens next! Listen in!
Lesson In Life
This week Kirby and Amy talk about providing value first in each interaction. So often we look at interactions as transactional. In other words, what can I get. Kirby and Amy talk about the idea of approaching each interaction by asking “how can I provide value,” and what affect that can have.
Shout Outs
Each week we want to give a shout out to an organization or an individual doing good work. This week Kirby gives a shout out to the Our Town Coshocton group. This is the group that helped Main Street in Coshocton to become a National Historic District. This is the reason our project was up for the tax credit to begin with! Amy shouts out the good people that have volunteered to help those affected by the flooding around the state. Kudos to those that gave of their time, talent and treasure.
So that’s a wrap! We will be back…and we will continue to improve. Any feedback will be welcome as we try to provide you value! If you want to subscribe you can do that where you normally get podcasts…or you can head here to follow on Soundcloud.
Thanks so much for listening! If you have any topics you want Kirby and Amy to cover, please comment and let us know! Oh…and if you like this content, check out this page where you can find all of the content we create!
by Kirby Hasseman
There are plenty of great ways to determine the value of a promotional item. You might want an item that is flashy and gets someone’s attention. Your organization might want something with lasting value, like a calendar that hangs on the wall. Some companies want to focus their promotional efforts on tech items, that tie their brand to your phone. These all make sense in executed properly.
I like to keep it simple. I want Promotional items to be:
Useful: In my opinion, the best promotional items are ones you (or your customers) use on a regular basis. They are useful. That’s why the top categories of promo center around apparel, drinkware and writing instruments. They are used every day.
Have Lasting Impact: I also think great promo lasts. It’s the reason that calendars are still a valuable marketing tool. I love it when I give my customers and prospects items that they keep for years. That makes the “cost per impression” very low…and the value very high.
High Perceived Value: Finally, I love it when I am able to spend $5 on an item that my customers and prospects think costs more! One of the reasons t-shirts continue to be a great promo items is because they have high value. Your customers think they cost more than they do. You can create a huge impact when you get this value proposition right.
This why you should NEVER buy YETI (in promo).
YETI is a fine brand of products. They have created a brand that people are loyal to and appreciate. I love the idea that they create drinkware that can keep hot drinks hot and cold drinks cold for hours. But they were really late to the Promotional Products game. They decided they did not want to play in the promo industry. That’s cool. But they challenged an industry known for “knocking stuff off” to knock them off. And guess what…the promo industry did not disappoint. Not only did suppliers create Vacuum Sealed Drinkware, but they created a product that was really good!
Multiple studies have been done. In some studies, the YETI did a little better. In some studies, the YETI did a little worse. But most of them will tell you that the product is VERY comparable. In addition, the companies that live in the Promotional Products world are way better at creative decoration and branding. So if the products is (essentially) the same (and it is), and the branding is better, I want to ask you a simple question.
Why would you pay 3 to 4 times more for the YETI?
The simple answer is, you should not.
If you want a really cool Vacuum Sealed Tumbler (and you should, they are awesome), we have many options to choose from. Please let us know how we can help.
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