Membership marketing for associations requires an integrated, multi-media approach. We sit down with Richard Thomas to learn about how “The Kayrell Solution” has worked for the American Anthropological Association.
The football team of my alma mater, Virginia Tech, had a big win over the weekend. It was significant not only because they beat their top rival, Virginia, for the ninth consecutive time, but the Hokies also captured a sixth win for the season which qualifies them for a bowl game and keeps a twenty-year streak alive. Still, it has been a challenging season for a team that has grown accustomed to a much greater level of success. I’m almost certain that the Tech coaches used fear in an effort to motivate the players heading into this final game on the schedule. Fear of losing in-state bragging rights, fear of letting down the “Hokie Nation”, and fear of allowing the bowl streak to come to an end. Quarterback Logan Thomas was quoted after the game: “We don’t want to be ‘those guys’…we don’t want to be that team that doesn’t make a bowl and we don’t want to be that team that breaks the streak against U-Va.” The fear of failure can be a great motivator.
Former Dallas Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson drove this point home during a recent interview on The Dan Patrick Radio Show when he spoke of the problems with the current team in Dallas. He said, “The No. 1 motivator (in the NFL) is fear. Fear of maybe letting down your teammates or being embarrassed or chastised or fear of losing your job. Where is the fear in Dallas? There is no fear in Dallas. It’s a country club where everybody is buddies.” That hurts.
I’ve always been fascinated by the similarities between the worlds of business and sports. Many of the techniques and strategies used by coaches of sports teams are also utilized by our leaders in the workplace – especially in the areas of sales and marketing. The marketplace is seen as the venue where competitors slug it out for victory in terms of revenue and market share. We often see the office as an arena where our co-workers are “teammates” in the battle for business and the boss is a “coach” who might employ a management style where fear is used to motivate the “players”.
But fear can also paralyze. While some may be moved to action, others are frozen and unable to take the risks necessary to reach the level of success that is expected. How does fear influence your job? Are you motivated to explore the latest marketing strategies in order to grow your business or find new members for your association? Or does the fear of a program’s possible failure prevent you from thinking outside the box or switching vendors to reach your goals? We strive to make decisions that will allow us to tell a story of success, and we must depend on our “teammates” (both co-workers and outside business partners) to “win the game”.
In today’s economy, we certainly cannot allow a “country club” mentality to set into our businesses. Now is the time to take an honest look at our marketing “playbook” from 2012 and see what improvements can be made so we can be in the best position to reach our team’s goals in the coming year.
Mike Petrusky is an Account Executive for Kayrell Solutions. He has been offering marketing products, services and solutions to clients for over twenty years. His favorite TV show used to be “Fear Factor”, but that really has nothing to do with this blog post. You can also follow him @MikePetrusky on Twitter.
Mike Petrusky talks about “The Kayrell Solution” for marketing your business or association. An integrated marketing program that utilizes multiple channels gives your organization the best opportunity to generate leads and identify prospects.
This thought has simmered in the back of my mind for a long time, so I’m writing this to remind myself, because the next time it happens…I want to be ready…and you should be also! I’m talking about the sudden appearance of “found time” in our schedules. A meeting gets cancelled at the last minute or your child’s ballgame is rained out. Any number of things may open up a block of time in your day that you did not expect to have free.
When this unforeseen “gift of extra time” is handed to you, what will you do with it? I must admit, I’ve never really done much with these opportunities, because I don’t plan for them. If we are not purposeful about being prepared for it, the time gets swallowed up as we can easily just go with the flow of what’s happening that day.
I was just reminded that the extra hour we gain when “falling back” at the end of Daylight Savings Time (DST) can be considered “found time”. And this is something we know is coming each year! Do you plan for what to do with it? To be honest, I’ve always considered the end of DST a chance to catch up with an extra hour of sleep, but when I read this article, it made me reconsider. For me, some of the best ideas the author mentions here are the ones we so easily neglect – writing “thank you” notes, or doing some research that might help our businesses.
I’ve decided to make my own list of goals that I can refer to whenever I get some unexpected time available in my day. How about you? Are there any new marketing ideas or initiatives that you’ve wanted to explore, but just haven’t had the time to work on them? If so, why not write them down, and the next time a slot in your schedule unexpectedly opens up, give us a call. We’ll be ready to help you make the most of your “found time”!
Mike Petrusky is an Account Executive for Kayrell Solutions. He has been offering marketing products, services and solutions to clients for over twenty years. He is going to try not to sleep through the extra hour that comes at the end of DST…next year. You can also follow him @MikePetrusky on Twitter.
I know it’s happened to you, too. You call and leave a message for someone, maybe a friend, a colleague, or a customer. A couple of hours go by and you realize they have not returned the call. “Hmm, that’s odd,” you say to yourself. Then, a day…or two…or even a week. What happened? You think to yourself: “Did I offend them?” or “Don’t they like me?” or “They must not want to talk with me!” Why do we always assume the worst and fill in the blank with a negative?
Remember that episode of Seinfeld where George Costanza goes out with a woman, then calls her the next day, but she doesn’t call back? It’s a classic! As the days go on, he leaves several messages, each one sounding more desperate and frustrated than the last. He gets really panicked by the fact that she won’t call back and by the end of the week, he leaves a final message really telling her off! But then, his date calls to say she’s been out of town and forgot her passcode to retrieve voicemail. She did not get ANY of his messages and all is just fine from her perspective. The episode continues with a ridiculous plot where George and Jerry scheme to prevent her from hearing the rants by replacing the tape in her answering machine (this was the 1990’s, ya know). Very funny…
But, what a great lesson! The next time you don’t hear back right away from someone, why not assume there is a reasonable explanation and give them the benefit of the doubt? They’re likely out of the office or they just have not yet had a chance to get back to you. Don’t let your imagination run wild with all sorts of negativity. Focus on the other person’s perspective and try to be empathetic. Follow up and check to be certain the person is doing okay and make sure that they actually got your message in the first place. Chances are, there’s a reason for the silence, and it’s probably not about YOU!
One exception to this thought: If you are reaching out to a vendor or a service provider of any kind, and you don’t hear back within a day, a big red flag should go up! In this scenario, it SHOULD be about you. In fact, I tell my clients that if you don’t hear back from me within two hours, something must be wrong. Please assume I did NOT get your message, because that’s my job – to be responsive to you! In today’s fast-paced business world, every customer deserves this level of attention…and no one should have to feel like George Costanza.
Mike Petrusky is an Account Executive for Kayrell Solutions. He has been offering marketing products, services and solutions to clients for over twenty years. If he calls you, please call him back as soon as possible – he’d really appreciate it. You can also follow him @MikePetrusky on Twitter.
