Don't make people guess who you are.

Over the past month or so I have been involved with our own FCPNY annual Super Conference and the Association of Free Community Papers (AFCP) conference, held this year at Disney in Orlando. At each event I had the opportunity to meet people face-to-face that previously I had known only through email or phone contact. With many folks today hiding behind their digital communications means, this is becoming a more common occurrence. What's more, none of these people looked like I imagined they would.

Two reasons:

1. I am quickly becoming one of the older people in the conference room. I am in that narrowing group of business people nearing retirement age while most of the other folks in the room are 59 and under. I tend to imagine people as being in my own demographic stratum but most turn out to be younger. Duh. Much younger in some cases. I met one salesperson that looked like she could have been the high school aged daughter of the woman I imagined her to be.

2. No one ever looks like you imagine them -- we are all non-psychic, lousy guessers.

Which leads to the selling point: prospects use the same electronic gatekeepers as our colleagues, only they have them running at DEFCON 1. On top of that, prospects are trying to do more with less (just like our companies) so they have less time to spend chatting with salespeople. Thus, we often don't know what they look like, sound like, what they need, want or fear. How do we overcome?

Honestly, if I knew the hard, fast answer I wouldn't be here writing a blog, I'd be cashing checks in Palm Springs. The wires are full of suggestions on how to break through and get conversations started. Boil down most of what you read and you're left with two basic realities:

1. You haven't shown or aroused potential value in your brief opening.

2. You don't stand out from the rest of the selling crowd.

If your product doesn't have value, fix it. If it does and you haven't conveyed it, practice. Be sincere and be supportive. Don't sell. And practice, practice, practice what you say or do.

If you don't stand apart, work on branding your product and yourself. Yes, you need a personal brand that you convey so people remember you and what you do. Unless you’re the product owner, your personal brand may be the only brand you have total control of. Make sure everyone knows what you look and sound like, and what you stand for. 

We at FCPNY can help you with all of these sales needs as well as other selling issues you may be facing. Give us a call at 877-275-2726 or email me at tcuskey@fcpny.com.

Thanks so much for your time!

Crazy and fun still sells.

Two industry headlines in this morning's AdMall Minute email serve as great reminders that anything is possible in advertising. Both reference recent stories in Advertising Age magazine.

First, and most timely, is Richard Sherman. At this point even the most sleepy non-football fan is likely aware of the Seattle Seahawk's TV tirade following his team's win last Sunday, punching their ticket to the Super Bowl. This pro-wrestling-meets-Darth Vader rant featured a deep cutting insult aimed at San Francisco 49er receiver Michael Crabtree, a "mediocre" player according to Sherman (who also pointed out that he himself is the best at what he does).

True? Who knows. Rude? Definitely. Inappropriate? Not according to national, big-label marketers who want to cash in on Mr. Sherman's streaking notoriety. According to the story, this is what many marketers hope for: an opportunity to ride a huge wave in the middle of an ocean of hype that is the Super Bowl. Cha-ching for Richard Sherman and his entourage of agents and advisors. Underneath the surface of this sometimes angry athlete is a very smart and savvy man. This was no accident.

Local advertising lessons: non-criminal crazy behavior by the suddenly famous can be an opportunity to latch on to. The key is to move fast and grab the wave while it's there. Super Bowl size events probably don't happen in your market so look for opportunities that do occur that you can squeeze for ad dollars.

Second is a humorous account by writer Sally Abrahms whose husband happens to be a dead ringer for "the most interesting man in the world." You know who he is..."Bigfoot once took a picture of him!" He "doesn't always drink beer, but" when he does he prefers you probably know what. The look-alike's life is full of sightings and folks who want their picture taken with him. Probably a mixed blessing. The point of the story, though, is the opportunities created for mature models and spokespeople as the gracefully aging population buys more goods and services than ever before.

Local advertising lessons: know your market, know your audience and use appropriate models, terminology and scenarios to entice them.

Selfish reasons for this: if you're an FCPNY member, use your AdMall. It's a tremendous member benefit, full of data and information. It's paid for by selling CPAN network ads, especially ClassifiedsNY ads. When you sell these ads, we keep benefits like AdMall, CVC Audits, training, conferences and more flowing to you. If you don't sell the ads those benefits and your edge in the local marketplace go away. And we all know that once you lose something good, it seldom returns.

Need help with network ads, AdMall or local opportunities? Call me at 877-275-2726 or email me at tcuskey@fcpny.com and I will do all I can to assist you. Thank you!

New beginnings

Happy New Year! I attended a worship service on New Year's Day and the presider gave a wonderful homily about being granted opportunities to start over. He opened with a cute story about a man who started each day with a review of the local obituaries. Finding his name among the obits one morning, the man called the newspaper editor to complain. After taking an earful of grief from the caller, the editor promised to make it up to him by including his name the next day among the listing of new births. "We'll give you a whole new beginning," he told the man.

Hopefully neither you nor I want to go back that far, but it is nice to get a chance to make a fresh start in any aspect of life. Taking advice from the same preacher, we should do the following before making resolutions:

1. Examine the past -- where are you coming from? You can do it anytime but the New Year is a nice time to restate your personal credo. What do you stand for? What few words describe your ethics, your beliefs and your values? What experiences -- both in the past year and in life generally -- need to be processed and evaluated as you move forward?

2. Identify the present -- where do you stand today? This is the transition moment. You've looked back and now you're turning your head to the future. Don't try moving forward while still looking back; you'll surely bump into something or trip and fall if you do, maybe even hurt yourself. Look ahead and identify where you want to go. The homily included another story. The great Mickey Mantle was walking one afternoon in New York City to Yogi Berra's apartment. Getting lost on the way, he stopped at a payphone and called Yogi. "Where are you now?" Yogi asked. "On the corner of 5th and Main," replied Mantle. In keeping with his well-known style Berra then said, "Great, just keep coming this way!" and then hung up. Moving without a destination in mind leads to wandering and squandering of time, talent and treasure. Know your destination before moving forward.

3. Chart the course and evaluate frequently -- once you start moving toward an objective you need to regularly measure where you are. Is the course you charted getting you to the destination you want? If not, re-chart and move in the new direction. Don't abandon the goal, even if you have moved farther away than you were when you started. You can still get there and, with the right outlook, might even enjoy the longer than expected ride.

Best wishes for a happy, healthy and fruitful year and beyond. Drop us a note at tcuskey@fcpny.com or call 877-275-2726 if we can be of help to you.

One Naughty List To Really Avoid

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to all!

Referring to the latter, one of the many end-of-year reports and predictions in the news caught my eye this morning. You can click HERE to see the whole story about one online expert's predictions of ten brands that will not survive 2014. Remember: it's not scientific and it's only one opinion but it is interesting.

In summary, the list includes:

a. Two automakers

b. Two magazines

c. One sports league

d. A camera maker

e. Three companies that I will group as "technology" (the list doesn't discriminate; even tech can fail today)

The big surprise...at least I am surprised...is the number one on the list: retail giant J.C. Penney. I know what you're thinking, that this prediction shouldn't be a surprise given the well-documented story of Penney's decline. The shock I see in this is the huge impact that effectively one marketing direction decision had on a company that has stood and prospered for many years. Things weren't great when Ron Johnson, one of the brains behind Apple's retail success, came in to get JCP back on track. That was 2012. A year and a half later, though, Johnson is gone along with any hope for the company's survival. He made marketing decisions that quickly spelled disaster. "This is not a turn-around situation," George Bradt, managing director of executive consulting firm PrimeGenesis told Business Insider recently about JCP. "This is a 'turn off the lights' situation."

Let this be a valuable lesson to advertising salespeople, ad buyers and retailers everywhere, especially small retailers who don't have big cash reserves. STOP the next time you as an ad rep or you as an SMB retailer buying ads find yourself in this conversation: "Yeah, I'm busy -- just keep running that same ad and we'll catch up soon" or "I threw this together. I'm not sure it will work but let's try it and see how it goes." No, don't do it.

Every marketing and advertising decision you do or don't make is going to impact your business, and could be the one that takes you down the dead end if you're not careful. Think, take time to review your options and plan out campaigns that make sense for you. Advertising is your business oxygen; it helps bring in fresh dollars to keep you breathing. Monitor results and don't stick with a plan that isn't working just because it's your plan.

All of us at FCPNY are here to support our member sales staffs with training and sales tools to help you help your clients. And if you are a retailer or business looking for help, we can connect you to local experts who can assist you. In short, we are here to try to make 2014 the year that your business grows and prospers. Contact us at 877-275-2726 or email me at tcuskey@fcpny.com. Best wishes for a great New Year!

Driving change -- a holiday story.

Growing up in Auburn, NY, my dad worked primarily in auto sales for most of his life. The holiday season was not a time he looked forward to as auto prospects were typically very hard to come by back in the day. In a time when most people holiday shopped local stores or did some catalog shopping -- and prepaid for most of their purchases -- disposable income was devoted primarily to gifts, festive meals and not much else. Consequently, dealers pulled in their advertising reins as the year wound down. My father never gave me much advice but always proclaimed that "the best time to buy a car was in December, right before Christmas, in the middle of a snowstorm!" The salesman and the dealer were pretty hard up in that situation and would make incredible deals according to the old man.

Fast forward 50 or so years, arguably 50 years that have seen more changes than in any other period in our history. Including (maybe especially) car sales. As I sat with my coffee watching the morning news today, in a 15-minute span there were four major auto manufacturer ads on the tube extolling the pleasures of holiday car shopping. And three of the four were high-end wheels: Mercedes Benz, Infiniti and Cadillac (Ford rounded out the group). Apparently what was once a barren time for auto retailers is now among the most prolific, based on the quality and frequency of the ads they are running. And TV time at the holidays typically commands the highest rates as avails shrink. 

What changed? A better question might be "what hasn't changed?" Rebates, cheap leases, 0% financing and mega dealerships have reshaped auto sales, not to mention the huge impact that online inventories and information have had on the industry. Plus, there are more brands and models available today than ever before. But when you cut through all that, it still comes down to a salesperson, a customer and the perception of value. With some adaptation and education my father would still fit right in.

Media sales (especially print media) have changed dramatically, too. We still have our seasonal challenges plus more brands and models of competition -- and an educated buyer who is looking for the one thing everyone wants: value. It's the perceived package they get after factoring price, quality, service, function and return on investment. That never changes. 

Lessons we can learn from our automotive mentors:

1. Create excitement that turns slow times around with promotions that offer emotional appeal and logical value to buyers.

2. Diversify and expand your product offerings. Something for everyone.

3. Make it easy to buy: you can't lease advertising but are there ways to make it easier on the budget that you haven't considered?

4. Remember that in the end, it's one-on-one: a customer and a salesperson. Train, train, train and always be sure that support ("Let me talk to my manager!") is always available.

5. Ask for the business! ("What do I have to do to put you in a car today?")

FCPNY is here to help our members with training and ideas to help. Call us at 877-275-2726 or email me at tcuskey@fcpny.com. Enjoy the holidays!