April 2012 - CHASEMRADIO

There's is a famous quip: "A lot of people in business say they have twenty years' experience, when in fact all they really have is one year's experience, repeated twenty times".

Something to consider when you or someone you work with speaks of their "vast experience".

Don't be that person. If you are going to speak of your "experience"... make sure you ARE NOT talking about how ignorant you've been for the past 20 years, but rather speak to your ability to be open minded, innovative, compelling and forward thinking.

There's a reason why the dinosaurs are dead.

Also, if you are on the young end of experience, accept that you don't know everything. Listen to the dinosaurs, be open minded and learn from what they have to say. From their knowledge you might be able to create a fresh approach that they were not able to see due to their "it's always been this way" attitude. Fresh perspectives can peel away layers (years) of complacency.

Looking and learning from the past is fine-just don't live in it.

Embrace that you don't know everything and neither do they.

I don’t know if you follow the NFL Draft, but I thought this was an interesting takeaway from RG3’s post draft pick interview. He was wearing a pair of socks that said “catch your dreams”, when asked why, he said this:

“Go catch that dream — because a lot of times when you chase something you never get to it,” he said. “So if you say, ‘Hey, I’m going to go catch my dream,’ you’re already telling yourself that you’re going to get it.”

Simple- but very true. Visualization is an important thing. Goals are only real when you write them down and commit to them (getting them stitched into a sock is like writing them down I guess).

Giving them a life and air to breath by putting them in visual form.

Pretty powerful stuff.

If you are doing something you love than this would certainly apply to you. Remember that you have this job for a reason. Chances are you are good at it and others recognize that.

Be confident that there are not a lot of people that can do what you do, but certainly don't be ignorant or arrogant about it. Even though all of us can be replaced... never let that consume you. Instead, let it motivate you. Scared animals run and hide. Winners always see opportunities. ( be a winner unless you want to be consumed by the lions of your industry)

They can hire someone else, but there are only 2 outcomes if they do: 1) they hire someone who is awesome and will do the things that you should have learned to do. 2) they hire someone weaker than you. (in this case, they get what they deserve) In the meantime, be open minded, willing to learn and always work ahead so that you have extra time to apply towards your ongoing education.

Never step learning, (unless your plan is to get phased out) When you feel like you have paid all your dues...this is about the same time you put yourself in a replaceable situation. Keep paying them. Work is designed to never be finished-neither is your education.

"Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising."

Mark Twain

Marketing is an accelerator. If your business is awesome, consumers will find out about your brand and positive word of mouth will follow. Of course, if your business sucks-then consumers will find out faster than you can file for bankruptcy. Negative messages move much faster than positive. When selling an advertising schedule to a client, make sure they are ready for the traffic. Think about the last new restaurant you went to during a grand opening period or sometime during their infancy. You only have one chance of making a fist impression. Slow service, blah food or a long wait to eat can kill you.

Rarely will the client accept that they are in the wrong or that their product isn't great. According to the client, right or wrong, it is your fault the investment didn't yield the desired results.

In some ways it is actually your fault…

Was the client ready for the foot traffic? Did you sell them the right kind of schedule for their business? Are you the right form of media for this business? If you are in sales, make sure you are interested in growing this client's business and not just fixated on growing the size of your wallet. I cannot tell you how many times over the years I have had to work to restore a clients faith in radio after someone else, usually from another company, sold them the world and delivered very little in return. You are asking them to invest and it's only right that you invest in them.

Remember, you are not just selling them an opportunity. You are serving as a spokesperson for your form of media. You are not in competition with other people of the same form of media. Believe in the power of your business! (to hell with the other guys!)

For my money, radio is the ultimate accelerator! By the way, newspaper is a terrible investment and it's been robbing people blind for far too long.

But I'm not bias.... 🙂

Writer/Blogger Greg Verdino wrote a book called Micro Marketing. In his book he references social media and that everyone who participates in it- has an audience. Everyone with a twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, etc….has an audience of people who care enough to notice or even engage in the things they do. As you know, you don’t have to be a celebrity to have an audience (insert famous blogger name here). I met and saw Greg’s presentation 2 years ago. I don’t agree with everything he says in his books/blogs, but I do pay attention to the guy.

Here’s an excerpt from the book that might help to summarize where I am going with this:

“Every day the world sees 1 million new blog posts, tens of millions of tweets, hundreds of millions of new pieces of Facebook content, and more than 1 billion you tube videos. Where does your brand fit in? In our age of information saturation, consumer attention is the scarcest commodity of all-which makes your job tougher than ever. How do you thread your messages through billions of bite-sized information snapshots to reach the right people? One thing is for sure, you’re not going to succeed using traditional approaches. Mass marketing is dead; the next big thing is indeed very little”.

What Greg is suggesting is to think and act small. I’m not saying we need to necessarily do that with everything we do- just suggesting that we should apply energy to the smaller pockets of audience as well. We should continue to do the big pool type marketing, but make sure we are not forgetting the smaller efforts. Often we are enamored with the big chatter of getting on TV or having 250 billboards. Yes, this is awesome and we should continue to want that. Let’s not forget about the extra mile stuff. The little things.

The goal is to get the message out. To have more people see it. To drive our numbers up. It doesn’t always have to be the P1 hard core listeners-I can certainly be shared to your individual pockets of audience as well. Suggest to your friends and family members, etc. Everyone on social media has an audience. Their audience needs to see the content we create too. Sales should share this with their clients (especially the ones who DIDN’T buy into it). Every promotion part-time person should put this on their personal pages and share with their friends. I sent it off to my friends in radio (that don’t work here or even for the company) and they shared it too. My brother who has 97 Facebook friends will be getting an email from me today to share this with his “audience”. I’m assuming I can stop now….you get the point?

Let’s not become fixated on the BIG stuff all the time (although it is very important). A few small pockets of random people can equal a big audience. The goal is to get noticed and drive your total numbers up. Let’s make sure we are taking the extra steps in order to get the most from our investment.

Feel free to share this with anyone who would benefit from it.

PS- If you care to read about Greg or follow him on twitter… http://micromarketingbook.com or @gregverdino

Something to consider when you are trying to convince someone to hire you or when you are looking to make the right impression.

"If you don't see yourself as a winner, then you cannot perform as a winner." Zig

Also, something to keep in mind, if you are a guy trying to impress a lady. 🙂 Often, in life and in business, talented people forget the most important thing...confidence. Cocky isn't sexy, but confidence is. Prepare like a winner. Carry yourself like a winner. See yourself as a winner. Perform like a winner.

Above all, try not to suck.

I wrote this a while back...thought I would put it on my blog. Sitting on the plane on my way back to South Carolina to pick up my family. I just finished the book "Poke The Box" by Seth Godin. Seth has written many books (like 13) and I have pretty much read all of them. Much of what he writes is under 200 pages, thought provoking and riddled with takeaways that can be applied to what we do in radio.

The book "Poke The Box" is a compilation of short examples and stories of people, businesses and ideas that provoke the reader to do something that might be uncomfortable...actually follow up on your ideas. It is meant to push you to fail, learn, win and share. When someone is "poking the box", they are essentially challenging the norm or pushing themselves (and often others) to create and share without holding back. To "ship" your ideas and thoughts out into the world without worrying about failure or ridicule. There's a quote from Siddhartha Gautama at the end of the book that I felt was pretty effective in summing up the 84 pages (yes it is that short)..."There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth. Not going all the way, and not starting".

Too often we get marred in the day to day and get stuck in ruts that prevent us from creating and "shipping" out our ideas to the world. At times it is easiest to just do what we have always done, make few waves, and just survive change while it is happening around us. It's much easier to allow change to happen to us than to be the catalyst of change. To some people...being in a rut is safe.

That's not for me. I encourage change. I welcome it and look for opportunities to make myself (and others) think differently. We have to challenge each other to be creative, inventive and to not be afraid of "shipping" our ideas. Me sending this email to all of you and encouraging you to share it with others is an example of trying to effect culture and not fear the potential eye rolling ridicule that may occur. I would encourage others to do the same.

We don't need to execute change for the sake of change, but we should challenge each other to mentally walk outside of the norm. Instead of asking a client the same questions about their business, ask them how their business has changed and what they are doing to be in front of it. Promotionally we should always re-examine events and concepts to make sure we are executing at the highest level and look to eliminate roadblocks that prevent us from surpassing our goals. Talent needs to focus on reinventing benchmarks, bits and contests to make sure that ruts are not occurring. Do things differently and examine the success versus the " way we've always done it". Ideas and concepts that lack passion or buy in are easily forgotten by the masses.

Many of you probably already do this. We are successful and that means that the players involved are creative and most likely challenge others to be creative as well. Good. In time, you will find I am a planter of seeds that are meant to get people thinking. Doing the same thing over and over again without taking a moment to inject new perspective is called a rut. Sometimes stepping outside of your comfort zone will cause you to fail....and thats ok. No idea was ever created or life that has ever been lived has been successful without some degree of failure. It's healthy.

Don't be afraid to fail. Failure means you did something differently. Keep it up. Be a catalyst of creativity. Ship your ideas to others. Goals become real once they are shared. Poke the box...ship your ideas...see what happens. Thanks for taking the time to read my latest novel. I am not creating an idea; rather I am "shipping" and sharing in order to help encourage the team to not be afraid to share ideas and think openly and creatively. Feel free to share this with others if you feel they could benefit from these words...or just bypass this and keep moving....my feelings won't be hurt.

Last night I watched my friend Matthew Taylor get married. We've been friends since 6th grade, went to high school together and even roomed together in college. So very proud and excited for him. I was asked to do the official toast for the evening and this is what I did. (yes, had to keep it Irish!) In case you need a quick blessing/toast, might I suggest this one...

May you always have work for your hands to do
May your pockets hold always a coin or two

May the sun shine bright on your windowpane
May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain

May the hand of a friend always be near you
And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you

(raise your glass)

May you both live as long as you want and never want as long as you live.

Till next time

You may not know…but no grown male in his 30s knows more about Disney than I do. (insert your own jokes here)

With that said…

Whenever Disney introduces a new ride at WDW or DL, they take out the ride with the lowest “ridership”. Even though there is a lot of historical significance to the park, Disney is constantly evolving and creating new opportunities and excitement. This same philosophy holds true in our business.

Be honest with yourself and take 2-3 steps back from the emotional attachment of your station or your title or even your client. Are you living up to the goals you are setting for yourself and your team? Is the client you are working with staying true to the goals they have set for their business? Is the amount of energy and resources being returned in ratings, attendance or revenue? I’m not suggesting we kill heritage elements for the sake of killing them, I am just suggesting that sometimes we are attached to what is safe and known. That can be dangerous.

The phrase “because we’ve always done that” is something that we all know is not the right answer, but often it becomes the failsafe for us due to fear or sometimes laziness. This isn’t healthy. If Disney kept this philosophy, they would have 2 run down parks that fewer and fewer people would come to each summer. If we think this way we will see fewer results in ratings, listenership, attendance and profit.

I’m sure we have clients who continue to market the same way and expect new and better results each quarter. To convince them to change their message or their form of marketing is often like asking them to give us their first born. Planting the seed of change is the first step in shaking someone out of their rut/comfort zone. Just make sure you have their interest in mind and not your commission.

When it comes to promotions and benchmarks- we have ways to measure these things. We can see trends in attendance of events or ratings for features. Taking an honest look at these elements is imperative to our success. “Because we have always done it this way” or “Everyone loves it” are statements people often use when they are afraid of looking at the results. We can measure everything these days and determine if people really do “love” it. If the results say it’s not popular-there is no reason we shouldn’t reevaluate our position (low ride out). It’s fine to jump the shark on a heritage event and look for ways to make it “sexier”. It’s also healthy to let it go off to the woodshed like Old Yeller. Trust me; if interest is low…you’ll be the only person who misses it.

When I was flipping stations for Citadel I learned that people hated change. Even when the changes we were making were to benefit them, they would still try to argue that “everyone loves what we do”. Trust me, nobody loved the .8 share 80s station in Modesto California, but people fought me as if the station was on fire and it was the greatest thing in the world….they soon forgot about how “popular” that station was after we debuted as an 8 share pop station. Just remember, people hate change and sometimes you have to drag them kicking and screaming into the world of success. Jocks love their benchmarks, promotion people love their events and many clients won’t let go of how they have always done it. To this I say “people don’t know what they don’t know” (I didn’t make it up, but I use it all the time). Show them what they don’t know and then make them believe it was their idea. There is always a more popular ride waiting just around the corner.

In case you were wondering…my favorite ride is Peter Pan. It’s not the fastest or the wildest, but to me it’s the best.

Till next time...