An Interesting Week4Me

About twenty years ago, in a city far from where my agency is located, I learned a valuable life lesson.

Gathered with me in an old room with dated furniture on a cloudy fall day were 12 people who I’d never met prior to that week. A few days before, we went through a tryout of sorts, and that was also a strange experience. I always wanted to be picked, so I put my best foot forward, answered their questions, and before I knew it, I’d been selected for a trial. That was bittersweet.

I’d been selected, but now I was on a jury. And it wasn’t any old jury. We were seated in a manslaughter trial that involved some local gangs and a lot of bad things. The trial went over three days, and we were given our instructions and sent to this room to meet, discuss what we saw, and deliver a verdict.

One of the first things the judge had told us was that we were not allowed to take notes – he didn’t want people swayed by others who had written things down – or so he said. We were also instructed to stay away from the media and any news coverage through the course of the trial. As far as I know, no one else had been on a jury for a manslaughter trial.

The Thing2Take Away from That Experience

At this point, you’d probably like to hear about the case, or maybe the verdict.

What I want to share was my shock that each person in that chilly, gray room saw something different and had a unique perspective. After a few days of testimony, rhetoric, and pictures, I remembered thinking everyone else saw what I saw and, in turn, would have the same opinion of what happened.

Instead, I pretty quickly realized that all 13 of us saw and experienced different things and had our own thoughts and opinions. To solve the mystery, it ended up as a hung jury, and I believe the whole thing started again. The reason I bring this experience up now all these years later is to encourage business leaders to check-in, ask, find out how your fellow leaders, employees, clients, and even prospects are doing. You may think things are going great, but those in our care often have a different opinion or a different outlook.

The only way to get to the bottom of where people are is to ask. Then listen. You may not like what you hear, but at least you’ll know. Different people see the same things differently.

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Gotten Used2Zoom Meetings?

From all accounts, Zoom calls are going to remain a part of the business day.

For years companies ran WebEx, Teams, and other video conference meetings, but it wasn’t until 2020 that we all started playing in that arena on a regular (read: daily, or even hourly) basis. That shift was startling to many and became routine to most in business over the past year or so. People dreaded Zoom calls, appreciated Zoom calls, and the phrase “Zoom Fatigue” even became a thing – like Athlete’s Foot, Tennis Elbow, or a crick in your neck.

As often as I was planted in front of my computer screen, it was natural my mind would start to wander. During the setup of my Zoom calls and in a few double-checking tests, I realized that what we see on our screen isn’t what others are witnessing on theirs. Your images are backwards to you but look right to the rest of the people on the call.

‍The Lessons4All of Us

It's odd to look at myself on a Zoom call from the viewers’ perspectives and not from my own. I noticed a few things:

• No one really likes how they look on Zoom.
• People can tell when you are paying attention or doing something else.
• Laptops give less flattering angles than desktops.
• We all look better than we think we do, so relax.
• How you help or support someone is way more important than how you look.

Beyond all of that, consider this shift in thinking.

Authentic and passionate care for others and what is happening with them in their situations is evident whether it is in real life, on the telephone, or on Zoom. No matter how the client looks on Zoom, trust me, there is more going on in their lives behind that camera. Keep that in mind as you work through your agenda and crowded day. It’s a good reminder that just like Zoom calls are now a part of the average office workday, paying attention to what others are seeing and going through is critical to business success.

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Check-ins4Growth

Business routines are backwards these days. It used to be I’d build a relationship with someone, then they would become a client. Now, clients decide to trust us to help them and then at some point afterward we begin to build a deeper connection.

The pandemic shrank the new business world.

We had always done commerce in a pretty wide geographical range, but in 2020 we saw an even more pronounced variety of zip codes in our business development efforts. In one week, we were talking to prospects in Florida, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Michigan, Kansas, California, and Salem, Virginia. (That last place is about eight miles from our office as the crow flies.)

As the winter weather broke in 2021, I started scheduling meetings with our newer clients on our front porch at the “new” office we moved into the day the Governor locked down Virginia. I’d sit on the porch with business owners whom I had been working with for months, but had never met and it was great.

We remarked how odd it was, got to know each other, and learned about our businesses. All of that was after we had been working together. These conversations always led to new opportunities, deeper connections, and affirmation. It was a reminder of the power of in-person meetings.

DecideYouWant2DoItYourself

I’m encouraging my clients to (safely) meet with their clients as soon as they are comfortable doing so.  Some never stopped in-person sales calls, and others are just now beginning to meet with clients, but for me there was no denying the power of the front porch.

Meanwhile, a smart person close to me remarked how this same approach could pack a lot of power with the team with whom I work.  After some discussion and conversation, I decided to start scheduling a weekly meeting with each 5Pointer – one at a time.  After all, the connection to your clients is certainly important, but the focused attention on each person you work with also packs a strong punch.  Not surprisingly, meeting with my own crew yielded the same type of results.  It’s pretty straightforward really – relationships will always matter.

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What Does it Take4a Client to Buy?

Late last year something happened in my business’ sales cycle and it got me thinking.

To support another organization, I placed a call to a friend of mine whom I had known for about a dozen years.  In the course of the conversation about this other topic, he asked me about marketing and advertising.  He wondered how we help clients and what we do.  Before long, we were into an actual sales process.

I didn’t call to talk with him about my company, but for his company the time was right and the need was evident. His company was situated for a fast decision and a fresh start in the new calendar year.  While I cannot recall the exact number of meetings we had, or the length of time it took this prospective client to decide to work with us, I know it went fast.

Sometimes situations like that happen, but that doesn’t present the whole picture.

Decide Not2Rush It

In consulting with companies one of the things we evaluate is how clients buy and when they buy.  It’s a popular topic about which many papers and books have been written.  The interesting thing about this particular new client was the peculiar circumstances.  On one hand you could make the case it was a two week sales cycle and that closed deal was brilliantly accomplished.  You could also argue it took over a dozen years and that more direct and clear communication at various points over the past decade could have led to a much quicker close.

In some ways both perspectives are right.

It probably took years for this friend to realize my firm was substantial, able to help his company, and when he needed us, we were right there and prepared to help.  Conversely, my December call unrelated to his marketing needs jolted a conversation he may well have recently been thinking about having.

The lesson is related to the value of mixing the long-term regimented and ongoing marketing approach with the keen eye for current and open opportunities.  It fits into one of the primary pieces of advice for others in business.  Keep your head down grinding while lifting your eyes looking for opportunities.

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Not2Terribly Far Back

The year was 2003 and sequels were all the rage – The Lord of the Rings, Matrix, and Terminator movie series were topping the box office.  Speaking of Terminators, it was that year that Arnold Schwarzenegger became California’s Governor too.  The government was expanding too (isn’t that what governments do regardless?) with the creation of the Department of Homeland Security.  The world was dealing with a scary escalating pandemic called SARS, and Steve Jobs rolled out iTunes with a booming amount of success.

It was also the year WordPress was launched.

WordPress was a radical departure from the way people built websites over the past decade or so.  A few members of a community of interested bloggers picked up some source code and decided to start something.  It became a bit of a movement and then it was a force.  Now WordPress is the dominate Content Management Software platform in the world.  Even casually interested marketers and C-suite executives have heard of it.

Let’s remember though it was started as a way to post and share blogs.  Everything after that came as an addition to that initial use.

Yet Somehow4ever Ago

Though I own a company that designs and builds award-winning websites and have guided the creative process with nearly a hundred companies large and small, I would be the last person you’d want actually doing the creation part of the project.  That is the work for the real pros.

Despite my lack of knowledge of specifically how to build a website, I can absolutely communicate the sites we build are on the Webflow platform.  The team at 5Points Creative prefers Webflow because it is built for designers to use with a blank canvas.  That means our team can produce sites we believe are even more visually appealing.  According to the Founder and CEO who was quoted in an article earlier this year, “We’re in an entirely different professional league,” Vlad Magdalin told VentureBeat. “Webflow doesn’t rely on templates, but rather allows any kind of professional website to be designed from the ground up.”

So many people have been asking me lately why we build our sites in Webflow I thought it would be a good time to address this in an issue of the B2Seed.  My goal isn’t to put WordPress down – just to say that was the way things were done – for quite some time.  Now, there are better ways to design and build websites.  Being unfamiliar with this particular platform shouldn’t be the reason your company doesn’t adapt it.  Like I’ve written so many times through the years, we must embrace new ways of doing old things.

Webflow’s platform is one such opportunity.

Beyond the design flexibility, Webflow’s site touts its reliable and scalable hosting network, integrated and easy to use marketing tools, and all of it is done without any need for coding.  The $2.1 billion dollar company is likely a small competitor in the CMS platform website world, but they are steady, growing, and a modern way to approach website design and build work.  They are also the company we’ve aligned with at 5Points Creative and rarely does a week go by when I don’t hear someone on our digital team tell me how much they like working in it.

It hasn’t been around since 2003, but in the nine years Webflow has been building and in the 3 1/2 years since we discovered it, I can say I’m as happy with it as I was with the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

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Asked4Specific Help

It’s fascinating when a client says something to me that I’ve already thought or said myself many times. As if hearing the idea for the first time, their comment hits my head (or my heart) and drives home a concept chock full of value. That’s exactly what happened to me during a recent Zoom call with a client.

We were talking about their media plans and how they suggested we approach their strategy for the coming season. We were working through their goals, their budget, previous success, and some new ideas to consider. We were looking at some expansion to new markets for them when they said to us, “just treat it exactly as you would if it were your company to market or advertise.”

Interestingly, that is exactly what my media buyer and I already do at our agency.

Translating it2Your Situation

Early in the development of our marketing firm, I used to say to clients – “if this were my company, here is exactly what I would do.” With that caveat, I felt even better about sharing my recommendations.

A few years back, my son (and our media buyer at 5Points) considered purchasing a franchise in his hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Ultimately, he decided it wasn’t the right time.  However, through an odd turn of events, the gentleman who did purchase the franchise became a client of ours. What did we do?

Right away, we shared with our new client the plans my son had put together as the new owner prepared to open the business.

When the pandemic first became real to many Americans, our agency did the very thing we encouraged our clients to do. We invested in additional advertising and shored up our marketing and outreach approach. It is far easier to make strong recommendations when the advice you give is the advice you follow. That seamless approach over time is simply the way you do business. You practice what you preach. Then, you treat your clients’ business just like you would if it were your own.

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