by Kirby Hasseman
I have a place here in town where I love the Pizza. It’s old school and it’s great. You even have to go and pick it up yourself, if you can believe that. And when you call it can often take between 30-45 minutes (because they are always busy). It’s really good pizza. But every once in a while, I am in a hurry. I want that particular pizza, but I show up early. I go in and look at my watch. I pay early in order to let them know I am there…and I am waiting. So they rush to try and get me taken care of faster. And when they do…it’s never quite as good. It’s still really good, mind you. But it’s not quite the same. It’s not cut quite as perfectly. The cheese is not quite as melty. The crust is not exactly as perfect. It’s good…but not quite as good. And it’s totally my fault. The Pizza Maker is an artist. Yes they are in business. But they have perfected making a pizza that is exactly the way I like it. They have a process. They have a time that this process takes. Quality takes time. The only variable changing this transaction, taking it from “perfect” to “very good”…is me. I changed the transaction. And I end up disappointed. We do that sometimes, don’t we? We have our “go to” pizza place, hair salon, realtor, or whatever. They take care of us just they way we like it. We like their process. We like their style. Then we ask THEM to change for us…and we are disappointed. It’s our fault. When I got in business in the Promo industry a wise teacher told me once that “there are three ways you can get it. Cheap. Fast. Correct. You get to pick two out of three!” There is certainly wisdom in those words in our industry…but in most others as well. For me I am going to take this to heart. When I find someone doing things the way I love it…I will try and play by their rules. I am going to make a pact to not rush the Pizza Maker. Let me know what you think! Agree or disagree? Either way, make sure you sign up for our VIP newsletter here. We keep you up with all of our content and we have special offers as well.
by Kirby Hasseman
I get way too much credit. Really. For nearly everything. This is not a statement of modesty. It’s just a fact. But I have only come to realize it recently. What brought this to my attention was a project that my wife and I have recently tackled. It’s a property on Main Street in Coshocton that we purchased at the end of last year. Since then, work has been being done to improve the property and (we hope) the downtown as well. But here’s the thing…I haven’t been doing any of it. My wife has. She (with the help of my daughters) has been tearing up carpet, taking out cabinets, cleaning, painting, working with contractors and more. They have been working their tails off and making great progress…and I am very proud of them. So it always catches me off guard when someone comes up to Amy and I and asks ME about the project. “How is that coming?” Or “Really appreciate you taking that project on.” That’s great…and I appreciate the sentiment. But I am not doing it. I am just getting the credit for it. Is it because I am the guy?Is it because I am the mouthpiece?Is it because I am the constant, narcissistic self-promoter? Wait. That last one hurt. Amy deserves all of the credit for the project. She is doing a great job. And it made me think of the other things in my life where I get all of the credit…unfairly. Do you enjoy videos we do like Delivering Marketing Joy? If so, Dustin Haywood deserves credit. He is our video guru and makes me look good. Do you like the graphics and look of our marketing? Then you need to give Josh Williams a pat on the back. That’s all him. Happy about the fact that we pay the bills and invoices get moving in a timely fashion? Libbie Granger-Prince handles all of that. And if you have ever had me actually make it to an appointment, or an order made it through the process, then Emily Bradford deserves credit for that. Oh…and one more…if you like the beer at Hasseman Brewing, Robbie Kehl does the work behind the scenes there. It’s humbling to have such a great team of people making me look better than I deserve. So thanks to them…and to our awesome sales team too. That’s where the credit is due. Make sure you never miss an update. Sign up for our VIP newsletter here for all of the content!
by Kirby Hasseman
The Delivering Marketing Joy Podcast is back! Our goal here is to attack 2018 with a vengeance! The Delivering Marketing Joy Podcast will provide some inspiration, motivation and education to make it happen! Consider this your 10 minute “kick in the pants” to get your week started off right!
Today on the podcast we take a look at the recent Online 18 from Dale Denham. Dale recognizes his list of 18 Online Influencers (you can find the list here). This time on the Podcast I take a look at some lessons you can learn from the folks on this list…and how you can apply them.
Once again, special thanks to Dale Denham for putting together this list. It’s great for discussion…and pushes me to do more (and better) work. And congrats to my buddy Bill Petrie for being Numero Uno on the list this year! Awesome stuff. As always, make sure you never miss an update. We are posting new content every day. So sign up here for our VIP newsletter to make sure you get the best of the best!
by Kirby Hasseman
Everyone wants to create (or be) the “next big thing.” We want to start off with a #1 hit. Or at the very least, we want to have some level of success right away. But when it comes to sales, building a business or creating content, most of the time, it doesn’t work that way. It’s done by making small, almost unnoticed steps, each day. Seth Godin talks about this in this blog post “Two Simple Secrets to Good ideas.” Secret #1 is the biggest one: More bad ideas. The more bad ideas the better. If you work really hard on coming up with bad ideas, sooner or later, some good ideas are going to slip through. That’s how I feel about creating content and building an audience. You need to be willing to live through the times when it feels like nobody cares. You have to keep showing up. You have to keep providing value without getting anything in return. Oh, and as a side, note, I “keep” saying “keep.” Before you can keep doing anything, you have to start. So if you want to build a business or a personal brand, you have to actually start. Seth Godin would say you have to “Choose Yourself.” The bad news is, it will take time. Most of the time it takes a long time to create a real audience. But the good news is, that lack of audience gives you time to hone your craft and get better. It gives you time to make mistakes and not be perfect. You won’t be. But start. As Seth says, start creating a bunch of bad ideas. Sooner or later a great idea, video, podcast, blog, or business will come. Speaking of people who “chose themselves,” congratulations to the people recognized on the most recent Online 18. Dale Denham has created this list for the last several years. It recognizes people that put themselves out there online, hopefully, to the betterment of the marketing community. Keep it up! We will keep putting this “out there!” Make sure you never miss a podcast, video, blog or special. Sign up for our VIP Newsletter here.
by Kirby Hasseman
The older I get, the less I value ideas.
Don’t get me wrong. Ideas are fun! There is something truly fun and magical about that time when you (or your team) has an idea that is exciting. You get to take the idea out and consider the possibilities. It can be exhilarating. But most of the time, that exhilaration goes away as soon as someone needs to actually “do” something.
The fact is, everyone in sales knows that if you want to sell more, you need to make more sales calls. You need to reach out to new prospects. But most sales pros don’t “do” it. They don’t lack ideas or knowledge. They lack the execution.
Everyone knows (me included) that if we want to get in amazing shape, we need to eat better (and often less) and work out more. You know it. I know it. We don’t need a fancy new ab machine. We need to put down the creamsticks! We know it. We just don’t do it.
So as you are planning your goals and vision for the coming year, remember this. Planning and “visioneering” what your life will be life is fun. It’s also important! You can’t create a life on purpose unless you are intentional. But build in specific action steps of what are you going to “do” each day to reach them.
In other words…
Don’t tell me what you are going to do with your words. Show me what you are going to do with your actions.
I still enjoy brainstorming ideas with my team and my business friends. As a matter of fact, I love it! We still get the same rush from dreaming that everyone else does. But what makes a session like that really exciting is opening your eyes and doing something about it.
Here’s to “doing.”
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