by Kirby Hasseman
It’s Monday (as I am writing this) and that means it’s time for the WIG meeting at Hasseman Marketing. You might be asking, “What’s a WIG meeting?” It stands for the “Wildly Important Goal” and the concept comes from the book 4 Disciplines of Execution. We have a weekly WIG meeting each Monday to keep each other accountable and to try and push the company forward.
Quickly, here are the 4 Disciplines…
1. Set a Wildly Important Goal: In each organization, there are constantly things that have to get done. These are the every day tasks that tend to take up your day. When you try to role out a new strategy or initiative, these every day tasks (the whirlwind) get in the way. By setting just one wildly important goal, it helps to focus the team.
2. Create Lead Measures: I love this part. I am a huge believer in goals, but by the time you can measure if you accomplished them, they are in the past. So 4 Disciplines tells you to set “lead measures” for your goals. These are the things that you have control over (no one can stop you) and will lead toward your goal (if done consistently). For example, if the WIG is to lose weight, the lead measures might be eating a healthy diet and exercising. These lead to where you want to go!
3. Keep a Scoreboard: If you come across a group of kids playing basketball, can you tell if they are keeping score. Yes…you can. The intensity picks up. They start playing defense. They start high-fiving after baskets. The same is true for your team. We have created a Google Doc that allows us to keep an eye on how we are doing…all of the time.
4. Accountability Meeting: Which leads nicely to our Monday WIG meeting. We get together on Monday (online) for a 10 minute check in meeting. We discuss what 1 thing we wanted to do last week (that moves us toward our goal), how we did on that goal, and what we are going to do this week.
I really like this system. If you have spent the time to set a Wildly Important Goal, focusing on Lead Measures is a more productive way to schedule my week. These are things I can accomplish…no one gets in my way. And if I don’t do it, it’s on me. From a leadership perspective, I like it because…
It’s helps me keep in touch with my team: At a glance I can look at the scoreboard and see how they are doing. Yes, the activity is tracked by the honor system. They could be padding their numbers, but most of the time I think the numbers are accurate. Either way, it gives me a sense.
Creates Competition: With the right team, your team starts to compete on their own.
Helps You Notice Patterns: When your team is busy, the pro-active measures take a back seat. You notice that with this system. And if you are paying attention, you can point it out. Better yet, your team will notice it on their own. Also, we all have patterns in activity…I noticed that my activity starts to trail off toward the end of the week. I had no idea…until I saw it on the scoreboard!
Re-Focus on the Goal: Each week we get together and re-focus on the goal. This reminder and accountability can have powerful benefits. If you want to dig in further, check out the book! But if you want to chat about how to implement this into your team, let me know. I will gladly do my best to help.
Want to learn more about Hasseman Marketing, check out our About us page here. As always, you can shop online here.
Finally, feel free to sign up for our VIP list if you want to get updates and special each week.
by Kirby Hasseman
When it comes to most advertising campaigns, you just want your message to be noticed. You want it to stand out and be remembered in a cacophonous advertising world. But we like to measure success differently. We want to help create campaigns that will not only be remembered…we want them to be revered! You do that by creating Promotional Premiums that are “addicting.” Don’t worry, we are not talking about illicit drugs here! These are all on the up and up. But these products will get your messaging in front of clients, prospects and employees every day…because they will not want to put them down! SOFT T-shirt: Yes, we have all gotten that “promo” t-shirt of year’s past. They are valued…but they are not comfortable. They are good for the event…but not great for after. If you want to have a branding message that will last and last, you need to upgrade your t-shirt. These SOFT t-shirts will never make it out of the laundry basket…because your clients will want to put them back on! Click here to check out just one option. Lip Balm: Did you know that 40% of the population is actually addicted to Lip Balm? What a great low cost way to get in front of them in a very personal way. In addition, they have a great perceived value because they are much higher priced at retail. Check out this one option here. Viking Tumbler: I have heard people say “I don’t want to do a coffee mug because everyone already has one.” That might be true, but if you give them a better one, they will use yours! The Viking Tumbler is an awesome piece, (VERY similar to the Yeti) that will have your brand traveling everywhere with your best clients. It keeps hot drinks hot for hours and keeps cool drinks cool for days. Seriously…you want these. Phone Charging Power Bank: The most powerful tool in most people’s arsenal today is their phone…until the battery dies. Then your brand can save the day by giving a nice Power Bank. There are lots of cool options out there on these (including this one) depending on budget. But if your phone is dying, these are definitely a great lifeline! Clip it Vent Mount: As speaking of phones, anything you use with your phone (on a regular basis) is powerful. The Clip It Vent Mount holds your phone while you drive! No more digging around for your phone. You can use the phone as you GPS…it’s all good. The Clip it Vent Mount is one of our favorites! There are lots of “addicting” products out there, so let us know if you need help finding more!
Want to learn more about Hasseman Marketing, check out our About us page here. As always, you can shop online here. And if you are a Promo Pro, you can get our Sales Playbook here.
Finally, feel free to sign up for our VIP list if you want to get updates and special each week.
by Kirby Hasseman
When you were growing up, you might have heard about the 3 R’s of Education. You know what they were, right? It consisted of the basics; reading, writing and arithmetic. Read more details from this blog post (including case studies) here. Today on the Delivering Marketing Joy podcast, we dig into this topic and which one of the R’s is most important! Listen in here! As you can hear in the podcast in details, the Three R’s are Reach, Recall and Reaction. Reach: I think we spend too much time, money and attention on the first R, reach. It’s an important component…but it’s not the end game. Salespeople focus on that number because it’s sexy. But it doesn’t tell you how many people you reach that actually want your product! Recall: This is more important because you need people (and hopefully your target) to remember your message and your organization. Reaction: This is the holy grail! We need to reach people. We need them to recall us. But most importantly we want them to React. We need them to pick up the phone, click on the link, come to the store. The best advertising and marketing causes our target market to react! Thanks for listening to the Delivering Marketing Joy podcast! Let us know if you have any topics you want us to dig into! We want to provide as much value as possible!
Want to learn more about us? There are lots of ways. First, you can shop online here. You can also check out our About Us page or you can simply email us here.
If you are a Promo Pro, head here and download our Sales Playbook.
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by Kirby Hasseman
Social media can really be a wonderful thing. We get the opportunity to connect with people from around the globe and reconnect with people from our past. We get to share and communicate, and it gives each and every one of us a voice. But we all know that there are some things about social media that are not as good. People have a tendency to get themselves in trouble by making some pretty simple mistakes. So here are 7 things that you (or the people your organization) should STOP doing right away.
Stop Complaining About Work or Co-Workers: If you are complaining about your co-workers or your job, and you think they can’t see it, you are wrong. They will find out. It’s unprofessional. And if you don’t care that you lose your job, just keep in mind that your next employer will be checking social media on you too.
Stop Passive Aggressive Complaints: This is when someone is obviously complaining about something that happened but does not want to address it in person. “Some people should just stop…” or posts of the like. If you have a problem with someone, be a grown up and talk to them about it.
Stop Claiming Free Speech: The First Amendment was created so that we could speak out without fear of being imprisoned by the government…not for being a jerk on Facebook. You do have freedom of speech, but you don’t have freedom of consequences. Stop acting like you do.
Stop Looking for a Reason to be Mad: It seems like some people wake up each day searching for a reason to be outraged. If you look for reasons to be angry all the time, you will find them (this post for example). Stop seeking out reasons to be mad and you might actually get happier.
Stop Comparing Your Life to Others: The fact is, most people (myself included) sometimes put up our “highlight reel” on social media. We post the pictures that look great. We show our vacations, not the times we are crying in the corner. Just be better than you were yesterday…stop worrying if Frank is on vacation again.
Stop Saying “Woe is me:” We all have challenges, and social media can be a place to vent…sometimes. But if you are constantly complaining about your life, then stop it. Take that time and energy and go out and change it.
Stop Forgetting Social is Public: I am always a little amused when people are surprised that what they put on social gets seen by people. It’s a public forum. So when you post things, just understand that your co-workers, your boss, your customers and even your future employer can and will see it.
These are just seven things to stop, but it’s a good start. Let me know if we have forgotten any that we need to add to the list. Again, social media can be great. But be smart…and it can be even better.
Want to learn more about Hasseman Marketing, check out our About us page here. As always, you can shop online here. And if you want to become a VIP (and get one email per week with all of our content) you can sign up here.
by Kirby Hasseman
Today is my dad, Rod Hasseman’s, birthday. So it seems appropriate to flashback to a piece of content I created about a year ago! Take a look. Take a listen. Enjoy!
In the past, I have taken a look at 5 Lessons we can learn from someone in the sports, business, or entertainment world. This week we stick with the “5 Lessons” theme but I get a little more personal. Today we look at 5 Lessons that I learned (and you can too) from my Dad. Listen in here.
Be a Reader: Many of you know that last year I read 50 books for business and personal development. My love and interest in reading was modeled by my dad. He was always reading and I learned early that if I wanted to be smart, I needed to read. Thank goodness for that!
Have An Open Mind: My dad was (and is) a very intelligent guy. But that does not mean he always feels like he knows all the answers. He is a questioner. He is a bit of a contrarian. I get that from him. In order to question opinions, including your own, you need to have an open mind. You need to be willing to admit when you are wrong. It’s not easy for anyone. But Dad was willing to sit back and say “okay…that makes sense.”
Have a Sense of Humor: One of the things I love about my dad is his laugh. Because he has a great sense of humor, I got to hear it a lot growing up. People love other people that make them feel good. One of the best ways to make other feel good is to make them laugh.
Be a Good Storyteller: Oh what a yarn he can weave! I grew up listening to Dad tell stories. It turns out that this is not just good for around campfires. The best marketers and salespeople are those that tell good stories. Remember…people buy stories, not just stats.
Be Willing To Re-Create Yourself: After a career in business and sales, my dad hit a bit of a wall when he moved back to Ohio. In order to make a living, he started a second career. He went back to college to get his Master’s in teaching and started over teaching High School. He has made the most of this 2nd career, but it’s tough to start over. Sometimes you have to be willing to re-create yourself for a better tomorrow!
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