Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Dave Schneider - Zero to a Billion - Lessons Learned in Silicon Valley

Dave Schneider, the VP of World Wide Sales for EMC BRS division (formerly Data Domain), started a blog called "Zero to a Billion - Lessons Learned in Silicon Valley".


I had the pleasure of working for Dave at Data Domain. He is a class act and an excellent sales leader. His posts are insightful and I hope there will be plenty more to come. Enjoy.

read the frickin’ manual - Mark Cuban Spotlight

I'm a huge fan of Mark Cuban (here's his bio). I like his blog and his off the whim posts. You can tell his posts are real and uncensored. You should bookmark it.


Every now and then he writes about sales related topics like he did in his post today Taking No for an Answer and other Business Mistakes

I thought I would share this part:

"It takes work to find qualified prospects. It also takes courage to overcome the fear of not knowing what will happen next. It is very, very easy to send someone an email every hour or daily.  That is what  a lazy person is going to do.  Spend all of two seconds hitting the resend button. A smart, focused and successful salesperson will gear up and do the homework necessary to find their next customer. That is a sign of confidence . Knowing that you believe so much in what you do, that it is going to be fun and exciting to find your next customer and show off with how amazing your products/service/idea is. If the last person didn’t get it. That is their problem. Not yours."

Mark also did a series of blog posts in 2007 on Success & Motivation. He shares in depth his attempts at starting, growing, and failing different businesses. This will get you fired up.

"I remember sitting in that little office till 10pm and then still being so pumped up, I would drive over to the gym I belonged to and run 5 to 10 miles on the treadmill going through that day, and the next in my head. Other days I would get so involved with learning a new piece of software that I would forget to eat and look up at the clock thinking it was 6 or 7pm and see that it was 1am or 2am. Time would fly by."

"After drinking that cheap champagne, I wasn’t getting out of bed till about 9pm, so I had tons of time to lie on the floor and read. It worked. Turns out not a lot of people ever bothered to RTFM (read the frickin’ manual), so people started really thinking I knew my stuff."

Enjoy.

- Bob

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Here is how I will respond to challenges

Here is how I will respond to challenges to make my life better:
  • Not jump to conclusions
  • Always have a positive attitude
  • Find the good in little things
  • Control my activity; let the rest go
  • Build relationships
  • Smile
  • Have the energy that no one else can find

    I challenge you to take a look at your approach.

      Wednesday, March 16, 2011

      Quick Resume Tips

      • .pdf it
      • Save it with your name BobFennerResume.pdf
      • Make it one page unless you really have that much to say
      • Load it with $, %, #'s. If you can't come up with $, %, #'s, you're not trying hard enough.
      • Cover pages are a waste of time
      • Ask Google if you're stuck: try this and that 

      If you really want to know how I feel about resumes, read this.

      Sunday, March 13, 2011

      The Things We Think and Do Not Say

      "That's how you become great, man. Put your balls out there." says the stoner looking clerk to Jerry Maguire late at night as he publishes his manuscript.

      The Things We Think and Do Not Say.
      The answer is simple "Fewer clients. Less Money".


      Despite your opinion on Tommy Cruise, I love this part of the movie Jerry Maguire. Jerry sits and writes. He vents, comes up a solution, a new stance, and takes action on it.

      I have incorporated this in my professional life (not freaking out and putting manuscripts in everyone's mailbox)... I call them "My Jerry Moments" and I end up writing them a couple times a year when I am frustrated and looking for answers.

      The format I use is:

      1. Vent
      2. Set Goals
      3. Create an Action Plan

      I usually read them over a few times and think it over for a few days. It is interesting to go back and read my thoughts and opinions at a certain time. In hindsight, life is usually not as bad as I thought it was. It's amazing to see what you can accomplish when you have a clear head, goals, and action plan to move forward on. Do you use any similar methods?

      - Bob

      Wednesday, March 9, 2011

      Brandon Croke: “Rockin’ the interwebs since ‘86”

      I first met Brandon Croke through The Sales Centre at Ohio University and have always been impressed.  If you don’t know Brandon, consider this your formal introduction. As his website states, he’s been “Rockin’ the interwebs since ‘86” and dishing out the goods on marketing, social media, brand strategy, and much more. We recently caught up and I thought I should share...

      Bob: What are you up to these days?

      Brandon: Right now I'm a Marketing Consultant for small businesses and start-ups with a focus on digital strategy. I graduated from Ohio University two years ago and studied marketing, psychology and sales (a dangerous combination) I've been working in digital marketing for a few different agencies since I graduated and have been fortunate enough to explore the evolving world of "social media" with Fortune 500 brands, colleges and small businesses. I blog at www.brandoncroke.com and tweet at @bcroke.

      Bob: What is all this social media stuff about?

      Brandon: This is a really tough question to answer and it really depends on who is asking it and in what context. The most basic form it’s about People (social) and Ideas (media). 

      It's funny because "social media" is all the rage right now and half of me thinks social media is revolutionizing business and culture and the other half thinks it’s a big joke that is blown out of proportion. Technology and the Internet are revolutionizing business and people's way of life. So many people get caught up in this social media echo-chamber when they really should open up their eyes to the entire digital revolution that is happening around us. 

      People have always been social, but there have never been the technology to enable global, instant, peer-to-peer communication.

      The problem I have with people focusing on "social media" is that those words usually conjure up images of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube and in turn fail to take into account the broader digital implications that may be more important than Facebook. (yes there are things more important than Facebook, especially when it comes to digital marketing)

      Bob: You've had a lot of experience helping businesses with social media and brand strategies. What are the typical gaps you see?

      Brandon: Gaps: There is no silver bullet or magic pill. Most people want a quick and easy fix to all their problems. They want to "set it and forget it", but that's not how the real world or digital world works. Another problem is that marketers have a tough time integrating social/digital strategies into the rest of the marketing mix. Everything needs to work together, and all your efforts are nothing without a great product or brand to stand behind.

      I've worked on a lot of different projects and talk to lots of people about their social media usage and every conversation unveils something new and unique. 

      The old big guys don't want to be "social" they want to make money. The problem is that setting out to make it in social media with the goal of making more money for this quarter is the opposite way someone needs to approach the issue. Being fun, creative and artistic isn't in the DNA of most large businesses and this new wave of marketing messaging, mediums and strategy really throws veteran CMO's for a loop.  

      On the other hand, small businesses (who now have the ability to reach a global audience) typically don't have the time or resources to devote to a remarkable social media strategy. Unless one of the leaders is "hip to it", there is usually little hope for an outside consultant to set up a few pages and solve all their needs (important to note there are hundreds of consultants ready to set you up for every social media account under the sun and in turn set your business up for failure).  

      Some people just don't get it and signing up for social media accounts isn't really going to help your cause. The bottom line is if nobody likes your brand in real life, it’s not going to matter if/when you sign up for a Facebook page. Focus on giving something people love first, then you can figure out how what you stand for can be amplified through social channels.

      Another big mistake people make is that they spend so much time and energy focusing on social media while they may be missing other crucial digital areas such as their website, search engine rankings and e-mail marketing. Fortune did some great research last year that showed e-mail marketing and SEO were the top 2 online marketing activities that produced a positive ROI. Meanwhile social media was towards the bottom of the list, with many marketers not knowing or questioning the ROI of their social activities.

      Bob:  I'm a soon to be college graduate and I need a job. What do I do?

      Brandon:

      1. Find things that interest you. 2. Go out and meet people.

      Find people working in a company, industry or position you have an interest in and say " I think what you do sounds interesting can I buy you lunch sometime to learn about your background and hear how you got to where you are today?" Meet as many people as possible. People hire people they know and trust. In my personal opinion there is no better way to get to know someone and build trust than through social media. 

      Bob: What are some tips to improve your personal brand?

      Brandon: Make sure you are Google-able, meaning when someone Google's your name they find things that would make them want to talk to you, work with you, or hire you. It's funny because like social media, personal branding has gotten a lot of coverage lately. But I think your personal brand is just a new way of saying what do people think of you? Be a good person; make friends, listen, and care. If you can do that through digital mediums that is great, but more importantly make sure your real-life self is in order. 

      Bob: If you don't already, should you blog? Why or why not?

      Brandon: Not everyone is going to be a great blogger. However, if you have ideas or a unique perspective on the world you should share it. Almost every company I know thinks they should blog, wants to blog, and concurrently has no idea how to blog. You should always take a chance to practice your writing and you never know when your blogging ability will land you your next job, project, or promotion. To be honest, my last blog landed me a job, a chance to work on special projects and a promotion.

      <end of interview>

      Additional Links:

      I highly recommend you check out this presentation by Brandon called “The Age of Disruption” – it will not disappoint.