Posts

The Great Marketing Circus – PR’s magic, revealed!

/in /by

The marketing arena can easily be compared to a three-ring circus. A few clowns, a few death-defying leaps and the ring leader is expected to single-handedly bring it all together. Of course, we can’t forget the one person everyone expects to see – the great magician: shrouded in mystery, quite dramatic and never without ability to manifest greatness from thin air at the drop of a hat.

So, in a recent RFP, when the company asked what PR ‘tricks’ our agency had up our sleeves, I came to the stunning realization that there really are people out there who believe that the practice of public relations is truly magical.

Believe me, if this were possible, all PR practitioners would operate from the beach. You know – a check in at the smoothie stand every so often and a wave of their wands a couple times a day for good measure.

Hi there! This article is available for free. Login or register as a StrategyDriven Personal Business Advisor Self-Guided Client by:

Subscribing to the Self Guided Program - It's Free!


 

About the Author

Allison Brinkman
PR Manager, Eisen Marketing Group
[email protected]
 
 
Alli found herself saying the same thing Greeks have been saying for centuries when she provided an opportunity to work with EMG clientele: Opa! (Hooray!) An adventurer at heart, she constantly seeks new challenges and celebrates unconventional solutions. No need to cross the Mediterannean and absolutely no Trojan Horse – she is what she is, and that fresh, candid honesty makes for one serious professional.

A diehard Ohio State Buckeye football fan, she knows the value of a little friendly competition – and even has a trivia-loving alter ego ‘BMoney’ to honor that streak. When it comes to clients, however, she isn’t afraid to roll up her sleeves, put her game face on and ensure nothing less than the best. Scarlet. Grey. All colors. All colours – she integrates impossible to absolutely.

Having lived abroad twice in both France and Luxembourg, Allison takes advantage of her global perspective in everyday life, and applies that knowledge when discussing global and cultural differences. Her ‘let’s go!’ attitude will gladly take her to the ends of the earth in search of answers, inspiration or just out of curiosity. Give her a minute (or 10), and she’ll gladly tell you all about winter in Stockholm or the music scene in Prague. Go Ask Alli…

Is it the or is it THEE.

Allison is a graduate from The Ohio State University, and has worked in marketing, public relations and event planning for Paramount’s Kings Island, The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium and UWeekly Newspaper.

StrategyDriven Podcast Special Edition 21e – An Interview with Duane Sparks, author of Sales Strategy from the Inside Out

/in , /by

StrategyDriven Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques executives and managers can use to improve their organization’s alignment and accountability to ultimately achieve superior results. These podcasts elaborate on the best practice and warning flag articles on the StrategyDriven website.

Special Edition 21e – An Interview with Duane Sparks, author of Sales Strategy from the Inside Out explores how businesses employing a consultative sales method realize dramatically increased revenues. During our discussion, Duane Sparks, author of Sales Strategy From The Inside Out: How Complex Selling Really Works and Chairman and Founder of The Sales Board, shares with us his insights and illustrative examples regarding:

  • the five decisions individuals go through before making the final buying decision
  • how to bring other team members into the sales process and the benefits of this practice
  • determining the right number of client needs identification interactions before presenting a solution balanced with the client’s desire to hear the solution given their time investment
  • role of the sales professional in orchestrating solution presentations made by client personnel

Additional Information

In addition to the invaluable selling skills insight Duane shares in Sales Strategy From The Inside Out and this special edition podcast, please visit his company’s Sales Training or Sales Management site. To discover why this selling skill is so effective at maximizing sales productivity, purchase Duane’s book: Sales Strategy From The Inside Out.

Complimenting Sales Strategy From The Inside Out, are Duane’s four other books on the consultative sales process including:


Read a Summary of the above Sales Books.

Final Request…

The strength of our community grows with the additional insights brought by our expanding member base. Please consider rating us on iTunes by clicking here. Rating the StrategyDriven Podcast and providing your comments online improves our ranking and helps us attract new listeners which, in turn, helps us grow our community.

Thank you again for listening to the StrategyDriven Podcast!

About the Author

Duane Sparks, author of Sales Strategy From The Inside Out, is Chairman and Founder of The Sales Board, a Minneapolis-based strategic sales training company that has trained and certified more than 350,000 salespeople in more than 3,000 groups in the system and skills of Action Selling. He has written five sales books, personally facilitated more than 300 Action Selling training sessions and continues to engage in the business and art of the strategic sales process. Read Duane’s full biography and the history of Action Selling Sales Management Training.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 32:35 — 44.8MB)

Subscribe: RSS

StrategyDriven Podcast Special Edition 21d – An Interview with Duane Sparks, author of Masters of Loyalty

/in , /by

StrategyDriven Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques executives and managers can use to improve their organization’s alignment and accountability to ultimately achieve superior results. These podcasts elaborate on the best practice and warning flag articles on the StrategyDriven website.

Special Edition 21d – An Interview with Duane Sparks, author of Masters of Loyalty explores how professional salespeople can move customers beyond being merely satisfied to true loyalty such that they have stopped shopping and are highly resistant to competitors’ appeals. During our discussion, Duane Sparks, author of Masters of Loyalty: How to turn your sales force into a loyalty force. and Chairman and Founder of The Sales Board, shares with us his insights and illustrative examples regarding:

  • what true customer loyalty is
  • why customer loyalty programs do not make customers loyal
  • the benefits of attaining real customer loyalty
  • how to earn customer loyalty using the Action Selling process

Additional Information

In addition to the invaluable selling skills insight Duane shares in Masters of Loyalty and this special edition podcast, please visit his company’s Sales Training or Sales Management site. To discover why this selling skill is so effective at maximizing sales productivity, purchase Duane’s book: Masters of Loyalty.

Complimenting Masters of Loyalty, are Duane’s four other books on the consultative sales process including:


Read a Summary of the above Sales Books.

Final Request…

The strength of our community grows with the additional insights brought by our expanding member base. Please consider rating us on iTunes by clicking here. Rating the StrategyDriven Podcast and providing your comments online improves our ranking and helps us attract new listeners which, in turn, helps us grow our community.

Thank you again for listening to the StrategyDriven Podcast!

About the Author

Duane Sparks, author of Masters of Loyalty, is Chairman and Founder of The Sales Board, a Minneapolis-based strategic sales training company that has trained and certified more than 350,000 salespeople in more than 3,000 groups in the system and skills of Action Selling. He has written five sales books, personally facilitated more than 300 Action Selling training sessions and continues to engage in the business and art of the strategic sales process. Read Duane’s full biography and the history of Action Selling Sales Management Training.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:19 — 36.2MB)

Subscribe: RSS

StrategyDriven Podcast Special Edition 21b – An Interview with Duane Sparks, author of Selling Your Price

/in , /by

StrategyDriven Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques executives and managers can use to improve their organization’s alignment and accountability to ultimately achieve superior results. These podcasts elaborate on the best practice and warning flag articles on the StrategyDriven website.

Special Edition 21b – An Interview with Duane Sparks, author of Selling Your Price further explores how the Action Selling process is used to help clients understand they are not purchasing a commodity product but rather one that is highly differentiated by the value you and your company offer. During our discussion, Duane Sparks, author of Selling Your Price: How to Escape the Race to the Bargain Basement and Chairman and Founder of The Sales Board, shares with us his insights and illustrative examples regarding:

  • why buyers come to perceive products and services as commodities
  • why salespeople fall into the trap of accepting their client’s assertions that their products and services are commodities
  • what salespeople can to do differentiate their products and services
  • how salespeople can deal with buyers who are highly trained and skilled in negotiating on price in order to avoid the race to the bargain basement

Additional Information

In addition to the invaluable selling skills insight Duane shares in Selling Your Price and this special edition podcast, please visit his company’s Sales Training or Sales Management site. To discover why this selling skill is so effective at maximizing sales productivity, purchase Duane’s book: Selling Your Price.

Complimenting Selling Your Price, are Duane’s four other books on the consultative sales process including:


Read a Summary of the above Sales Books.

Final Request…

The strength of our community grows with the additional insights brought by our expanding member base. Please consider rating us on iTunes by clicking here. Rating the StrategyDriven Podcast and providing your comments online improves our ranking and helps us attract new listeners which, in turn, helps us grow our community.

Thank you again for listening to the StrategyDriven Podcast!

About the Author

Duane Sparks, author of Selling Your Price, is Chairman and Founder of The Sales Board, a Minneapolis-based strategic sales training company that has trained and certified more than 350,000 salespeople in more than 3,000 groups in the system and skills of Action Selling. He has written five sales books, personally facilitated more than 300 Action Selling training sessions and continues to engage in the business and art of the strategic sales process. Read Duane’s full biography and the history of Action Selling Sales Management Training.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:54 — 42.5MB)

Subscribe: RSS

StrategyDriven Podcast Special Edition 16b – An Interview with Scott Davis, author of The Shift, part 2 of 2

/in , /by

StrategyDriven Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques executives and managers can use to improve their organization’s alignment and accountability to ultimately achieve superior results. These podcasts elaborate on the best practice and warning flag articles on the StrategyDriven website.

Special Edition 16b – An Interview with Scott Davis, author of The Shift, part 2 of 2 examines the bottom line benefits of the Chief Marketing Officer serving as an organization’s corporate growth leader. During part one of our discussion, Scott Davis, author of The Shift: The Transformation of Today’s Marketers into Tomorrow’s Growth Leaders shares his insights with us regarding:

  • five shifts CMOs need to make in order to transform themselves from
    tactical marketer to corporate growth leader
  • the most important customer data sets in making the shift
  • how CMOs can demonstrate bottom line results
  • benefits for the CMO and organization for making the shift

Additional Information

In addition to the incredible insights Scott shares in The Shift and this special edition podcast are the additional resources accessible from his book’s website and his organization’s website, www.Prophet.com. Scott’s book, The Shift, can be purchased by clicking here.

Complimenting The Shift, are Scott’s books on the brand asset management including:


Final Request…

The strength of our community grows with the additional insights brought by our expanding member base. Please consider rating us on iTunes by clicking here. Rating the StrategyDriven Podcast and providing your comments online improves our ranking and helps us attract new listeners which, in turn, helps us grow our community.

Thank you again for listening to the StrategyDriven Podcast!

About the Author

Scott Davis, author of The Shift, is a senior partner at Prophet, a global marketing consultancy. Scott was an adjunct professor at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and has guest lectured at many top MBA programs including Harvard, New York University, Columbia, and the University of Chicago. He has worked with top executives at GE, Johnson & Johnson, IBM, Best Buy, Sara Lee, and Boeing. Scott is frequently quoted by leading business publications including The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, USA Today, and Business Week. To read Scott’s full biography, click here.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 31:24 — 43.2MB)

Subscribe: RSS