The Fiesta Nobody Loves.
As we enter the fall season and another online advertising year begins to ebb, the human-powered agency RFP process continues -- against all odds -- to cling to life. For those looking in from the outside,…
As we enter the fall season and another online advertising year begins to ebb, the human-powered agency RFP process continues -- against all odds -- to cling to life. For those looking in from the outside,…
Like just about every other conscious human, I'm passionately ambivalent about Google these days. So yesterday's New York Times Article ("Google to Face Congressional Antitrust Hearing") caught my eye.…
At Monday's iMedia Brand Summit in Coronado I had the opportunity to speak with a group of 150 sales leaders on a topic of pretty serious urgency: the sales talent crisis....with a twist. The position…
This week a good friend sent a provocative Ad Age article around to several people in the industry; the topic was marketers' new-found tendency to throw their agencies under the bus. ("In Pressure Cooker,…
This is not the normal content you find in The Drift, but these are not normal times up here in Vermont. So many readers and friends have called or written to ask how we at Upstream Group were affected…
As I was curled up last night with Forrester's 5 year US Interactive Marketing Forecast, (sad commentary on my nightlife, I realize) it occurred to me that most people would end up fixating on the big…
A client asked me this week what I thought was the most destructive quality in a digital seller. After just a few seconds, the answer that came to me was simple. Acceptance. There are a great many forces…
Here's my list of the "7 Really Damaging Things That are Said and Done Every Day on Sales Calls." Mediocrity doesn't always boldly announce itself through grand, tragic mistakes. More often it tiptoes in on little cat feet. It's the small things we do - and don't do - that really matter.
Those who've been in one of my workshops may remember me saying that three qualities make for a very effective seller: focus, impact and generosity. Focus helps you understand where your time and efforts are best spent - where you really can make a difference. Impact is something you lay out as a challenge to yourself - I want to do enough to really make a difference. And generosity is one of those counterintuitive notions that turns out to be truly liberating; the best sellers (along with the best executives and, for that matter, the best people) don't tally the score after every action - they know that doing good for those you serve always comes back. These three are the major components of a great career...and a very good life.
The following is a redistribution of "The Bigger Bang," which I posted in The Drift way back in February 2007. I was reminded of this post earlier this week when I moderated a discussion among a panel…
Our headlong rush into the automated, commoditized future of online media buying has spawned a cottage industry around the concept of "Brand Safety." The story line goes something like this: (1) Challenged…
The unthinkable happened yesterday in New York. Right in the middle of conference about consumer privacy and data policy, someone invited - get this! - a bunch of consumers! And while the earth didn't…