I was reading Seth Godin’s e-book What Matters Now (see below) and extrapolating some of his contributors’ thoughts towards our industry with the hopes of encapsulating the opportunities to explore as the recession begins to lift.

The first things we lose during a recession is confidence and trust. Much that we have been relying on seems untrustworthy. It is no longer effective to send a bunch of email postcards to prospects and expect them to stop what they are doing to cal youl. It is still possible to make email useful, but most need to learn how. There is an opportunity to make e-mail an effective part of your marketing program. Be inventive creating all parts of your markeitng mix.

We are losing confidence in our abilities to get people on the telephone, to leave voice mail messages, and get a response. Prospects and even past clients rarely return telephone calls.

When we lose confidence, we often lose our vision. We begin to compromise and second guess what we think the market needs and desires. We are often wrong because we are basing our guesses on old information. The opportunity is to change the ways you do business. As Godin says, become a Linchpin. Give up being a cog. The opportunity is to be an artist.

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Dare to be Indispensable!

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This creates opportunities to be strong about the ways you see and to find those collaborators who are willing to take risks — even in these hard time. The tendency is to find a need and fill it. That is the old model. In a recessive environment, creativity flattens. It is time to expand your vision.

It is important today to build relationships with other creative risk takers. Agencies and their clients are evolving towards new media as you must do without losing what you stand for as a creator. There is an opportunity to restate who you are and what you create and how you do it… What are the creative benefits of working with you.

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This edited email was sent to one of my clients by someone he has been doing business with for years. It demonstrates compassion.

I always enjoyed hanging with you. …We’ve begun to bring a lot of work in-house,

and that’s why you don’t hear from us very much anymore. I miss having collaborations

with people like you, but business forces are at work and technology has made it too

easy to do a lot of the work ourselves. I know that is not good news.

ourselves. I know that’s not good news.

…I sometimes wish for the old days, when everyone just did one thing

and farmed out the rest.

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Put yourself in your prospects’ shoes. How would you like to receive dozens of calls each day from people who were business friends asking if you have anything for them? Think of the person on the other end of the telephone. Many of your prospects are no longer where they were when you last worked or spoke with them. This leads to another opportunity:

Compassion. In what ways may you show that you really care. Do you? The frustration in the overall industry is contagious as so many have lost their jobs. If you were to write a letter to your past clients showing compassion, what would it say? This exercise might yield a greater understand of your prospects and past clients.

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Author Ernie Schenck wrote in the CA Advertising Annual:
As I write this there are about 70,000 advertising people out of work. Some of those 70,000 will not be coming back.

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Show that you have something to give. There is an opportunity to be generous. This does not mean giving photographs away. It means being generous. How can you show a readiness to give more of your time than is necessary or expected. Compassion and generosity go together. Both are opportunities.

There is an opportunity for adventure. It is good for you soul. New creations are born from adventure and passion.

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I’ve been thinking about how big our world is and how small-minded we’ve become; how quick we are to judge and how slow to understand. Technology places the resources of the world at our fingertips, yet we have trouble seeing past the tips of our noses.

For every trend there’s a countertrend worth considering. Resolve to leave the screens of your virtual world momentarily behind. and indulge your senses with real world adventure.

St. Augustine said: “The world is a book, and those who don’t travel read only one page.” My advice?

Adventure calls. Blaze a new trail. Cross a continent. Dare to discover. Escape the routine. Find a fresh perspective. Go slow; gaze absentmindedly and savor every moment. Have some fun! Invest now in future memories. Journeys are the midwives of thought; keep a journal. Leave prejudice and narrow mindedness behind. Make for the horizon and meet new people. Navigate the unknown. Observe, and open your mind. Pursue a road less traveled. Quest for truth, rely on yourself. Sail away from the safe harbor; Take a risk. Unleash your curiosity. Venture further. Why wait? Expect the unexpected. Say yes to adventure… journey with zeal.

Robyn Waters’ contribution to What Matters Now.

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Seth Godin’s latest complementary e-book

What Matters Now

Now, more than ever, we need to shake things up.

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The old systems for getting business are vanishing. It is time to invent new models and to try them out on your prospects. It is time to explore and invent new markets. Discover counter trends. Find alternatives to the archaic ways that simply no longer work. There is an opportunity to find alternative markets and approach them in innovative ways.

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Adventure Ho!

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Some Advice Based Upon the Teachings of Dale Carnegie

If a photographer is to survive, he or she must cultivate the science of human relationships — the ability of all kinds of people involved in the creative collaboration, photographers, art directors, art buyers, accounts payable people, even account executives, and others, to live together fairly and respectfully, in this industry at peace.
(extrapolated for commercial photographers)

And Carnegie Taught:

People buy from people they like.

Here are some tips that will help you be liked in the process of building relationships with the people who can give you what you want.

Show Up
Make the Meeting About the Other Person
Ask Questions
Be Caring
Be Fully Present
Listen
Get Information
Give Information
Laugh a Little
Dare to be Different
Develop Loyalty
Be a Little Mischievous
Remember Details

Ask creative questions that are challenging, caring, interesting, informative, open-ended. Creative questions often begin with What if…? How may we…? In what ways…? Who are…? Why…? These kinds of questions are filled with a variety of answers that will help you get to know the other person. Each question leads to dialog. Do not ask questions that may be answered yes or no. Practice keeping control of the interview. Do not give your power away. Hold back from handing your portfolio to your prospect for as long as possible. Get them talking about themselves. Repeat what you heard your prospect say to confirm that you understand and to let them know you are listening. What I heard you say is… It is okay to take notes.

Make a list of ten creative questions that you may ask to learn more about your prospect and to get them sharing about themselves. Here is a starter list:

Some advertising related questions (make up your own):

What if we were to collaborate on an assignment? What would you want me to know about you? What would you want to know about me?

What if you could change one thing about the agency business, what would it be?

What if you knew who the right photographer was to do a job even before you created the final concept? In what ways would you want to work with that photographer?

Pretend that advertising has been banned by congress. What kind of work would you do? How would you go about doing it?

What if the next print ad you did demanded the highest level of innovation? In what ways would you want to collaborate with a photographer?

What if we were living in a utopian world where each person could choose the kind of work they want to do? What kind of work would you do if money was not an object?

If you could make one improvement about how photographers try to get your attention, what would it be?

Let your prospects know that you know something about them and that you have chosen them as prospects. Let them know you are interested in them.

I want to work with art directors who are not only interested in great ideas but who can sell them through to their clients. I want to work with risk takers. Etc… (personalize this) I saw what you did when you were still at Dewey, Cheetham, and Howe. How in the world did get the agency and the client to buy off on the idea in the first place?

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I have a silly networking idea. And the sillier ideas often lead to better ones, so I thought I would share it.

I was thinking about networking while eating my Pennsylvania corned beef on rye which in no way resembles any real corned beef. It is served on some kind of soft packaged rye bread smeared with butter and mayonnaise. I was in a diner. I watched this busy place turn over several times during lunch. I asked the waitress if it was like this everyday. And she said that business seemed lighter today. She said people usually don’t stop coming from 6 AM to about 2 PM. I asked her how many people she thought she served each day. She answered about a hundred fifty or so. Hmmmm! Thought I. If she averaged a $1.50 tip per person and she worked five seven hour days, she would be earning something like $50-55K a year mostly cash. I also estimated that she might see 500 different customers a week. Now this is in Easton PA. What if she was a waitress in NY or Dallas or Boston or SF or KC? Some of them would be repeat customers or regulars. Never the less, waitresses in diners have incredible potential networks. Okay. What’s the concept?

What if you were able to take over a luncheonette in your town perhaps in exchange for a portrait of the owner, the chef, the busboys and the waiters. They could display their pictures in the joint and maybe even get a digital print to take home. Each worker in the diner or luncheonette would wear a button which said:

I was shot by
Jack Jones.
April 11, 2003
Careful or he may
Shoot you too!

They would have cards with your telephone number and sales info on one side and a portrait of the waitress or waiter on the other. You would be exposed to hundreds of people in a week. What would happen if you did this at the deli or coffee house across from one of the biggest agencies in your town?

Expand on this idea.In what ways could you generate a marketing virus?

Here are the principles of viral marketing developed by Ralph Wilson. How many ways can you see viral marketing working in your business? It is okay to be silly. Do not judge your ideas. Get a lot of them. Write them all down. Have fun.

1. Gives away products or services
In this case the give away was to the luncheonette owner and staff.

2. Provides for effortless transfer to others
All the Waitress needs to do is hand their customers a card

3. Scales easily from small to very large
Imagine working the luncheonette concept in othe venue such as a trade show.

4. Exploits common motivations and behaviors
The waitress is making small talk with people all the time. People will be curious about the button. People   are vain. Etc.

5. Utilizes existing communication networks
The card leads people to your website and/or invites them to make a telephone call.

6. Takes advantage of others’ resources
The luncheonette already has a network of customers.

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