Shoestring Branding

This is a powerful tip from a book I just read called The Art of the Pitch by Peter Coughter: sell the idea before the execution.

I'll give you an example: suppose you're a graphics designer trying to sell a new business card design to a real estate agent. You want to do something different, so your design doesn't include the customary agent's picture.

If you show the agent your new designs up front, the first question she's probably going to ask is: where's my picture? You can try and explain why you didn't include it, but at that point it will sound more like damage control than a genuinely good idea.

If instead you first sell her on your theory that agents' pictures in business cards are ineffective, unoriginal and overdone, then it's just a matter of showing her your designs so she can pick one.

Our best ideas are usually the most controversial ones, so they need to be sold first. If we do that, selling the execution becomes easy.

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One of my pet peeves is hearing this conversation:

Waiter: what would you like to order?

Diner: uhhh, I don't know, what do you recommend?

People usually do this not because they're feeling adventurous, but because it's easier to burden someone else with the decision.

It wouldn't be a big deal if this happened only in a restaurant setting, in the context of ordering a meal. The problem is that small habits like this are often indicative of how we make more important decisions.

Making decisions (and acting on them) is hard work, that's why so many people just go through the motions, letting others decide for them.

If our default reaction when facing a decision is to ask others "what do you recommend?", then let's not complain if what we get is not what we were expecting.

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I am not a gregarious person, but at the same time I recognize the importance of networking. That’s why I’ve developed a few habits and tactics to make my networking efforts easier.

One of them is arriving early. Whenever I go to a meetup, I make it a point to be one of the first ones to arrive, usually when there's only a couple of people there. It's easier to strike a conversation with them and take it from there, than coming in late and trying to break into large groups where conversations have already started.

There is also an added benefit: if there is a presenter, he'll probably also arrive early (to set up the projector, size up the room, or meet the audience). You have a better chance of introducing yourself and have a quality conversation before the presentation than at the end, when everybody is trying to approach the presenter at the same time.

Image credits: Romina Santos

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Proclaiming yourself a guru can get you followers.

Trashing your competitors can get you votes.

Stirring controversy can get you traffic.

Management by fear can get you results.

Yes, behaving like an a**hole can be effective. That doesn't mean that you need to become one, or that there aren't other, better ways to be successful.

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I regularly visit Ramit Sethi's site. Ramit is a personal finance guru for the twentysomething set, and also a powerful personal brand who has mastered the art of defining, finding and serving only his ideal customers.

Ramit's ideal customers are those who take action as opposed to those who just talk or "think about it". To make sure he attracts the right people he has implemented a few hard rules and procedures, to which he adheres religiously.

For example, he doesn't record his teleclasses, even when they take place at odd hours. He firmly states that if you're really interested you'll find a way to make it. His most expensive courses feature a rigorous application process, through which he rejects most applicants for not having the right mindset.

Does this super selective strategy hurt him in the short term? Yes. I'm sure he's leaving some money on the table. Does it make his brand stronger, which brings him more money in the long run? Absolutely.

Most brands fail because they try to be all things to all people, instead of narrowly defining the kind of customer they're uniquely qualified to serve.

Think of it this way: our real job is not just to sell goods or provide services; it is to build an army of fans.

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Back in the day, when I was in college studying Industrial Engineering in Peru, my classmates and I would regularly wrestle with tough math and calculus problems.

Once in a while a sadistic professor would give us a problem that was impossible to solve. Of course, we didn't know...

Only after a long struggle the brightest guys in the class would suspect something was wrong, until finally one of them would muster enough courage to raise his hand and utter the words everybody was waiting for: we're missing data!

Ah, the beauty of exact sciences... For every problem there is only one solution, and all the other variables have to be given to you.

Only after I graduated and ventured into the real world did I learn (sometimes the hard way) that life's problems have more than one answer, and that you never have enough information. However, raising our hand and shouting: we're missing data! is not an option.

Life is about taking action in the face of uncertainty. If we wait until all the lights are green we'll end up with a nice repertoire of excuses, but we'll never accomplish anything.

Image credits: whateyesee13

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We've all been told at some point to write our resume in one page, cut our PPT presentation to less than 10 slides, or limit our pitch to five minutes.

Taken literally, we need to keep it short. Reading between the lines, however, what does it really mean? Perhaps, that the expectations are so low when it comes to resumes, presentations and meetings that we want to limit the pain by going through them as fast as possible.

Yes, they're telling us to keep it short. But what they're really, really telling us is: don't be boring.

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Having an option feels safe. If plan A doesn't work, we can always count on plan B.

There is a problem, though: many times, plan B is the reason why plan A doesn't work. Plan B is a self-fulfilling prophecy. It is the reason why we don't give plan A all our effort, attention and resources. Plan B is a temptation to settle.

I used to think that having a plan B was the sensible thing to do. I'm not so sure any more. A powerful force unleashes when we burn our boats behind us. We may succeed or not, but at least we can rest assured that we gave it our all. With a plan B, we will never know.

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The repair shop I take my car to had a great slogan: Home of the Honest Mechanic.  In an industry not known for its integrity it was a powerful and differentiating claim.  They lived up to it, too. I can recall at least three occasions when they refused to charge me because the repair was just a minor tweak.

Today I took my car for maintenance and noticed that the building had been painted over with a new slogan: General Repair Specialists.

Why would they do that?  I asked the lady in the front desk, but she said she didn't know, that the owner just decided to change it.

This small business had a great slogan that concisely and effectively communicated its brand essence (something companies pay branding agencies fortunes to unveil) and changed it for a lame, generic description: General Repair Specialists.  What a wasted opportunity.

Your slogan is not just empty words.  It's a brand asset that adds value to your business.  If you find one that works don't just change it for the sake of change.

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If you watch soccer regularly you've probably witnessed this situation many times: the referee calls a penalty kick against one of the teams. Immediately, the players of the affected team surround the referee, yelling and gesturing in protest, keeping at it for enough time to make the referee uncomfortable.

Now, if you watch soccer you also probably know that a referee never takes back a penalty call. So, why do players bother to protest if the outcome is not going to change? Because they're trying to condition the referee to be more lenient on future calls. They're not thinking about now. They're thinking about the next time.

If somebody you do business with on a regular basis screws up and there's nothing they can do to fix it, you still need to complain. Not to vent or try to change what can't be changed, but because you're already negotiating for a better deal next time.

Image credits: Tony Austin

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