We’ve all driven down the highway and seen that billboard that proclaims: Nobody Reads This.

That concept crossed my mind last Friday when we were conducting a seminar for a large client. The purpose of the presentation? To begin to teach a sales force of a large multi-million dollar company what’s possible by fundamentally changing their sales process. How? By incorporating the magic of the social web into their daily lives.

What was amazing to me was how many folks in the room were not on Twitter, Facebook, or even LinkedIn. Really. A room full of sales reps, and only TWO on LinkedIn. Most of them had never read a blog.

But you could see the lights coming on as the day progressed, as they began to see and understand what’s possible.

You see, early in the session, a few doubters had two thoughts in their mind: One, there is nothing out there of value to me – spending time out on the social web isn’t worth my time. And two, not a soul – not one person – gives a damn about anything I have to say…

As the day progressed and we talked about concepts of sharing the work of others, how to search for and find content that matters, and how to take action on information that you find, they began to see it: Just as I (the sales rep) can learn to find the nuggets of valuable content out on the web…there will be people who will search for, find, and care about what I contribute.

It is like the billboard, there is an audience…more than you might imagine. There is someone out there who will care about what you have to say. It might be a small tribe, but that may be all that matters to sell into – and matter to – your marketplace.

We all have a story to tell. There are people who want to hear your story, share it, learn from it, and take their own action as a result.

This idea really clicked for me a while back when I heard Gary Vaynerchuk talk about how important it was to even have just ONE follower. Even if it is one person, what you say matters. And it might have deep impact on their life. And that makes it worthwhile.

So get to it. Start telling the story you’ve got to tell. Right now…

[photo from tumblr]

I suspect most people are in one of these two camps: those who do the maintenance and those who forge new paths, oftentimes blindly.

Those who do maintenance are those that follow strict routines, follow the existing path (even if they do it well), and execute on known concepts (even if they do it well). These are the people who seem to embrace the status quo, and the type who once they find something that works, they stick with it, probably longer than they should.

Those who forge new paths take risk, try NEW things, embrace fear, and are less worried about what others think. These are the people who do what others say can’t be done. And these folks keep tinkering…even with something that is working well.

So what are you? Are you one or the other? Or a blend of both? My guess is you are dominant towards one type, with occasional bouts of the other.

Long time readers of this blog will surely note that I feel an affinity with the forgers…although I want to become even more courageous and intrepid in my life. Once you stop pushing the envelope, the status quo wins.

If you want to forge new paths, here are a handful of ideas to think about that might help you along:

1. See what everyone else is doing, and go the opposite way.

2. Think about all the ideas you’ve had over the years, and identify one that really spooked you. Try it.

3. Have an opposite day. Pick a 24-hour window, and do the opposite of what you would normally do. See what happens. See what creative juices flow as a result.

4. Randomly pick an A-lister in your space. Offer to help them. See what happens.

5. Randomly pick an unknown in your space. Offer to help them. See what happens.

6. Tie your marketing efforts to some sort of charitable cause. Not only will you better the world, but I promise you will connect with new people that will help you forge new paths.

7. Host a podcast featuring people in your space. Spotlight them and make them look good. Enjoy what happens to your business.

8. Identify a prospect you think has ZERO interest in buying from you. Make a confident, service-oriented appeal to help them. You will either get a surprise new client…or learn some valuable lessons.

9. Find a new cluster of people you don’t know and have NEVER spent time with. Go spend time there. Connect. Serve.

10. Close your eyes, and randomly pick a name from your rolodex. Call them. Say you just wanted to say hello. Ask what they are up to. Ask to help. See what happens…

I promise to devote more energy to implementing these myself, and will report what happens. I hope you do the same. Let us know how it goes! And I hope you are able to begin forging new paths!

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This Sunday, we celebrate the 234th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Enjoy the scene wonderfully portrayed below in the HBO mini-series John Adams:

I am always looking for lessons on how to live my life, market my business, teach others, and grow as a human being… Watching the clip above, and then reflecting on what I saw, I drew these lessons from what the 4th of July means to me:

1. Follow your heart. If you believe in something, follow that dream. Without question, without doubt. There was great risk in fighting for independence, a lot of suffering as a result, and very poor odds of success. But our young American nation, and the men who lead her, persisted and held strong. When you have goals and dreams, follow your heart until you achieve it, without giving up. You can do this, because it is something you believe in…

2. Gird yourself against the doubters, the status quo. As seen in the clip above, not all colonies were fully on board the concept of independence. Hard to imagine NOT being supportive of independence back then, but you must realize the men in that room were considered treasonous and traitors for rebelling against the crown. Not surprising that many in the 13 colonies were opposed to this idea. But, there were leaders who believed strongly, men including Jefferson, Adams, Franklin (as seen in the video). And their unwillingness to keep to the status quo is why were are here today…

3. Encourage and participate in debate, but once resolved, support the cause. Many people think our politics is mean and nasty today. But they don’t even compare to the bitterness and vitriol of those times. What makes our nation great is our ability to engage in serious debate. But once a decision has been made, it is important to support the cause and help it succeed.

4. Make sure your goal is a clear one. Avoid complexity. It was clear what our cause was…independence. Nothing more, nothing less. The Revolutionary War was simply to earn our right to set our own nation’s course, to govern ourselves as we saw fit. Many people in their lives and in running their business, needlessly complicate things. Remember the clarity of our purpose back then, and apply that to your life today. But as we experienced then, simple isn’t easy. It is, in fact, hard. But success is rarely achieved without clarity of vision.

5. Put it in writing. The Declaration of Independence, the document, is one of the most important written documents in the history of mankind. Talk about a mission statement! The colonists could have waged the rebellion without such a document, but honestly, it wouldn’t have been the same. You and I have read all our lives about the importance of writing down your goals and dreams. This commits it to your heart and soul. It was important enough for this nation to commit our ideals and aspirations to paper…it is important for you in achieving your own life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness!

Happy Birthday U.S.A! And God bless America!

The Intrepid flying above the Moon...

First of all…you might know my company, Intrepid, is named after the lunar lander from Apollo 12. America’s space program has fascinated me since I was a child.

The Moon has been in the news a lot recently. Namely, our government has decided to cancel scheduled Moon missions and landings over the next several decades.

I suppose you can’t argue with that from a technical standpoint, since our government has no money, yet continues to add more spending.

But I think it is a shame. Much like the race to the Moon in the sixties galvanized a nation around a common goal, and lead to countless scientific discoveries that we still benefit from today, I think the biggest benefit of Apollo was that it allowed us to dream, gave us an intrepid goal to aim for, and brought a nation together in what ultimately was a very difficult and trying decade.

When you take that dream away, you become rudderless. And I don’t think it is a good thing for a struggling nation like ours NOT to have something to rally behind.

The point I want to make today? YOU need your own Moon landing to strive for. That big, audacious, “never gonna happen” goal that at first, probably seems impossible. Why bother living if you aren’t striving to achieve some big, crazy dream?

Why does this matter? A bold goal gives you focus, gets you up in the morning, drives you through tough days, motivates you to work the late hours, gives you purpose, and makes your life meaningful. We all need that these days…

I personally think one of the reasons we remember JFK fondly is that he not only set us on the path towards our moon landing, but set a tight deadline that added to the value and importance of achieving it.

So what’s your moon shot? What dreams are you doing that are hard, not because they are easy?

As you know, I write a lot about intrepid marketers. I define them this way. If you don’t keep an eye on TED, you are missing out. And if you haven’t watched this video featuring Benjamin Zander, you are missing a treasure. And once you watch it, you too will strive to run an one-buttock company… Enjoy!

Usually, something that is solid, that doesn’t move, that is unchanging, immobile, etc…is something we rely on, something that can be counted on, something that seems like a steady foundation. Almost comforting, if you will.

But not in the modern world of marketing. When it comes to your web presence, you don’t want to be described as unchanging or immobile. Your web presence needs to be…ENGAGING.

That’s what intrepid marketers do. [More text below video]

[In the video below, I discuss the value of an engaging web presence:]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ek9hJljaWQ0]

Here are a few tactical ideas you can use to provide an engaging web presence:

1. Incorporate a blog into your site.
2. Allow comments on your blog.
3. Respond and engage people when they comment.
4. Provide forums to facilitate conversation.
5. Invite guest contributors.
6. Connect people to your social web tools, like Twitter.
7. Utilize surveys tools.
8. Solicit questions from your audience…
9. …and be sure to answer them!
10. Make it easy to share your content.
11. Invite people to join your e-newsletter.
12. Use an Instant Messenger plug in to invite conversation. Hold regular hours.
13. Provide content with various mediums, such as video and audio.

The items listed above are not new. They are not rocket science. In fact, I suppose when you reviewed the list, you probably said something along the lines of “no kidding.”

Yet I continue to be amazed how many entrepreneurs have chosen not to incorporate these simple tactical options into their web presence.

But that said, it is what you do with these ideas that matter. Here are a few reasons why having an engaging presence matters:

1. Strengthens your brand.
2. Allows relationships to develop. This is where the sales come from.
3. Simplifies process of testing – and getting feedback on – new ideas.
4. Does a better job educating people about you and your business.
5. Makes it easier to teach and help and serve others.
6. Allows for better story telling.
7. Not to mention provides fresh and unique content – updated regularly – that keeps people coming back for more.
8. Oh, and added Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strength.

At the end of the day, it is the safe and easy path to build a static website – one that is solid, reliable, and unchanging. But dare I say it is lazy? And boring? Static sites just don’t cut it any more in this fast-paced, conversational, and engaging world we now live in.

What do you think?

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cartoon by @gapingvoid

In my examination of what makes for intrepid marketers, it is clear to me that they are simply master storytellers. They can take complex issues, and make them simple. They can take ordinary people, and make them legends. They can take boring things, and make them scintillating.

In other words, they are master storytellers. They talk about things that matter. They keep you riveted. They make you believe. They are master marketers. They are intrepid marketers.

There are many tools at their disposal. But what most intrepid marketers utilize in their quest to do something remarkable, is a blog. It is amazing to me how many individuals and small business people still do not blog. But the list of people who are achieving big things and living big dreams because of their blog is a steadily growing list.

But just why is that happening to that select and intrepid group? Here are a few reasons…

The free form of a blog is liberating, and conducive to storytelling. There are relatively few constraints on a blog, and spirited, creative thinkers thrive in this medium.

But ordinary people can make something happen too. I mean, look at me for chrissakes…

Blogs facilitate conversation. And as any intrepid marketer knows, this is what the new marketing is all about.

Blogs don’t care if some new idea you are trying out tanks, big time. You can always write new content the next day.

Blogs demand that you be different, edgy, living on the edge, pushing the envelope. That nice tri-fold brochure you have? That is so yesterday…

Blogs just seem to work better when you are being yourself. Be yourself, yes, but speak your damn mind. Be honest. Be transparent.

So, if you currently aren’t blogging, get out there and do it. Try it. Experiment. It can be free. And the lessons you learn, and the experiences you achieve, will be worth the effort. Two key thoughts:

Blogs require a sustained effort over time. Blogging takes a while. Don’t retire after ten posts. It works, but slowly…

Blogs work best when you use them to spin electronic yarns. About whatever the heck you are passionate about. I mean, I really can’t think of a better medium to facilitate good story telling. Use them!

What do you think?

[Read my list of 99 ways to be an Intrepid marketer.]
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I was reading Leo Babauta’s e-book about focus recently, and he was talking about the importance of rituals. He says it is easy to get distracted in this modern age, but when you engage in rituals, you are more likely to be focused and in the moment. He writes:

A ritual is a set of actions you repeat habitually — you might have a pre-bed ritual or a religious ritual or a just-started-up-my-computer ritual. One of the powerful things about rituals is that we often give them a special importance: they can be almost spiritual (and sometimes actually spiritual, depending on the ritual). And when they become special, we are more mindful of them — we don’t just rush through them mindlessly.

And I thought, I bet intrepid marketers have marketing rituals. So let’s examine this idea…

If intrepid marketers (CLICK HERE to learn what an intrepid marketer is) engage in rituals, based on Leo’s writing above, we should assume they are focused. On this point, I don’t think there is any argument. The question then becomes, what are they focused on? And thus, what part of their marketing process is cemented into daily ritual…

Are you focused on the customer? It is my opinion that each business needs to be more customer-focused, and thus, we need to devote more time – each day – to thinking about every customer interaction. We often overlook even the little ways our customers interface with our business.

What to do? Setting a ritual where you review these interactions – on a regular basis – is vital to success of your business. How about creating a series of questions you ask yourself – maybe at the end of each day – that help keep you focused and review how each customer interacted with your business, and how you can improve those. Include everything, from products, to voice mail, to your invoicing process.

Are you creatively focused? If being creative is an important part of your work, and it is for most of us, then ritual is probably a very critical element in your creative process. What does it take to get you in the creative mood? Do you need to remove all distractions, such as email? Twitter? Phones? Do you need to use a specific creative space, such as your studio, coffee shop, or the conference room?

What to do? Figure out what you need and then execute on the ritual so you can deliver your best creative work. And don’t let ANYTHING disrupt the ritual process.

Are you focused on process? Or results? These are two very different things, process and results. How you might ritualize to focus on these two would be different in my opinion.

What to do? First of all, do you have your process committed to paper? Can you measure the results of each step in the process? A regular examination of this process, and ritualizing to determine what is working and what can be improved might be a good thing to always be getting better at what you do.

As for results, well, isn’t this what we are after? Most people are more worried about the process than the results, and that’s why they have NO cash flow. It might be helpful to set a weekly ritual where you focus on thinking through all you are doing to be sure they are leading to actual positive results for your business…

Are you focused on conversation with your marketplace? Is interacting on the social web important to you and your business? Well, then you need a ritual. And I am not talking about getting on Twitter and just doing whatever for several hours.

What to do? What is your goal on the social web? If it is to identify and make relationships with new prospects, then create a ritual where you listen for keywords that are of interest to you, and begin a conversation. Then share information with that new contact. This three-step ritual might work for you. Here is what I do to help bring some sense of ritual to one element of my social web activity.

See, I am thinking most small business people don’t have marketing rituals. We are all too busy trying to manage the mundane and time consuming tasks of running our shop day-to-day. But, if Leo is right and rituals are a set of actions you repeat habitually, then we all need to formulate some new rituals. Life is too hectic, and we probably don’t have the discipline to focus our minds – on a regular basis – on the important things related to our business.

What do you think? What are your rituals? What works for you?

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[photo from untitled blue on Flickr]

cartoon by @gapingvoid

OK, so maybe it is not almost Christmas, but when in the hell did March suddenly pop up right around the corner?

It made me quickly realize I am a wee bit behind with some of my goals, projects, marathon training, etc. But the sudden and brutal realization about where we are on the calendar made me step back for a few minutes, take a snapshot of where things are, and reassess where to go next. It was a good wake-up call.

And actually, that’s a good thing.

Although apparently it was two months ago, it feels like only yesterday that I published this post, where I laid out my 2010 goals. I have made some progress on these, keyword on “some.”

But as I was doing this, I was thinking about this tendency we all have to only check progress at very well-defined points in time – the top of the hour, the close of each week, the end of each month.

Why do we do this? Why do we only make resolutions around January 1st? Sure, there is a sense of order around doing these tasks on well-defined points in time. But why do we do that to ourselves?

This recalls one of my favorite quotes, “Every passing minute is another chance to turn it all around.”  [from the film Vanilla Sky.]

This quote speaks to me. It is profound in that it reminds me that you can make, affect, enforce, and do change – whenever you want to. You don’t have to wait for society-selected times.

As for my 2010 goals, I am not panicked. Yet. I am making progress, and new ideas and new projects have presented themselves since I wrote my goals post. I am not making excuses, I am stating fact. Life happens. Which is all the more reason to keep focused on your goals. And at any given moment, use the inspiration to make the adjustments/changes you need to get back on track.

Sure, the advice we receive to write down goals, and check on their progress at regular intervals is good advice. But you will get distracted. You will get off track. Just don’t decide to wait until March 1st to figure out how to get back on track. DECIDE and take action now.

Be Intrepid. When you want to make change happen, do it.

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So, what exactly is an intrepid marketer? And why have I built a business – and started this blog – around the idea of making people intrepid marketers?

The definition of intrepid from the Wiktionary is fearless, bold, and brave. It’s etymology is the Latin intrepidus, meaning “not nervous.” Here is a more detailed explanation for why I named the company HERE.

Fear is something that always holds us back. Fear of being rejected, so you never submit that project on time. Fear of never achieving a goal, so you never set out to do it. Fear of taking that leap to do something you love and are passionate about, so you stay in a job you hate. Fear of being truly innovative and taking your small business in an exciting new direction, so you just do the same old tired things…

I want to make intrepid marketers out of all of us. So, here is a partial list of attributes that make people intrepid marketers:

1. Intrepid marketers take decisive action.
2. They are bold.
3. They are fearless.
4. They do not fear making important decisions.
5. They create a serious marketing plan…
6. …but aren’t afraid to make mid-course corrections on their plan.
7. They read voraciously.
8. They have a blog.
9. Their web presence engages. It is NOT static.
10. They embrace the social web.
11. The celebrate transparency.
12. They give back to their community.
13. They serve others…
14. …and they even serve their competition.
15. They don’t hide behind traditional media.
16. They teach.
17. They tell stories.
18. They listen.
19. They embrace new technology…
20. …but only new technology that advances their goals.
21. They don’t tear down others…
22. …but they learn lessons from the mistakes of others.
23. They love joint venturing.
24. They love collaborating.
25. They love learning. And never stop learning.
26. They engage with others…
27. …even with people they disagree with.
28. They focus only on the customer experience.
29. They recognize that every employee is in the marketing department. From the CEO to the cleaning crew.
30. They see every conceivable customer interaction as something that can and should be continuously improved.
31. They see that automation is a bad word, most of the time.
32. They worry about communicating well.
33. They welcome customer feedback…
34. …especially negative customer feedback. It helps them improve.
35. They thoughtfully comment on the blogs of others.
36. They share. Freely.
37. They only upsell if they are truly benefiting the customer.
38. They ask a lot of questions…
39. …but only to really hear and learn from the answers.
40. They don’t gloat or show-off.
41. They believe in quality over quantity.
42. They admire courage.
43. They know that marketing is a two-way conversation, not a one-way push.
44. They sense that interruption marketing is evil, and should be mercilessly destroyed.
45. They don’t compete on price…
46. …and they won’t. Ever.
47. They have no fear walking away from prospects who aren’t the right fit.
48. They love what they do.
49. They are minimalist marketers.
50. They don’t “work.”
51. They don’t take credit. For anything.
52. They demonstrate value. With ease.
53. They know you earn your brand. Not hire a consultant to “create” your brand.
54. They test and measure. Everything.
55. They are always improving. Everything.
56. They understand the power of video, even if the medium isn’t right for them.
57. They understand the power of podcasts, even if the medium isn’t right for them.
58. They love networking…
59. …by which I mean they love learning how to help others.
60. The relish the chance to connect people.
61. They know what they don’t know.
62. They are trust agents.
63. They understand the power of images.
64. They respect differing opinions.
65. They push themselves, even when there are obstacles.
66. They aren’t afraid of improvisation.
67. They know there is no such thing as an overnight success.
68. When they identify a problem, they fix it. They don’t wait and let it fester.
69. They don’t spam.
70. They hustle.
71. They are creative.
72. They have patience…
73. …but they don’t sit around and wait.
74. They respect the A-listers…
75. …but they help and push the little guys.
76. They are innovative…
77. …and actually know what innovation really means.
78. They don’t have too many products or services. They focus only on what they do very well.
79. They are continually trying to improve themselves in every way. Personal development never ends.
80. They are good problem solvers.
81. They are NOT afraid to adapt to an ever-changing environment.
82. They see themselves as artists.
83. They don’t multi-task. They focus.
84. They are in the moment.
85. They are deep thinkers. And they make time to do serious thinking.
86. They sweat the small stuff.
87. But spend time focusing on the big stuff.
88. They know how to apply the 80/20 principle to their situation.
89. They honor and celebrate referral partners.
90. They are not conformists.
91. They aren’t afraid of sharing what they know. They aren’t held back by this notion of “people need to pay me for my knowledge…”
92. …but they charge a premium for their services.
93. They embrace relationships.
94. They live by “serving first, selling second.”
95. They don’t have time management problems, because they are always focused on the important stuff.
96. They have balance, and enjoy things outside of business that drive them.
97. There is nothing fake about them. They are real.
98. They apologize when they need to. And work hard to fix the problem.
99. And they are honest. Always.

OK. So what else am I missing? Remember, this is a partial list. And it is always changing. What do you think?

[photo by ~jjjohn~]