Vision Graphics Inc. Connect Magazine March/April 2013 by Tyson Polzkill

Vision Graphics Inc. Engaging Marketing Minds

Vol 3, Issue 2, March/April 2013

s n o s s e Lfrom ge a t S the n o i t a s i v o r p m I s How s e c c u S o t s d a e L INSIDE Synced

Sales

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publisher ’s letter

Perfect Pain

“A perfection of means, and confusion of aims, seems to be our main problem” – Albert Einstein

ver the years, marketers have been given a very short leash. It is estimated that CMOs traditionally have an average tenure of 18 to 24 months. Many are either discarded or leave, because the pressure of providing good returns is too great. The organization wants things to be perfect. They typically want everything neatly tied before marketing investments are made. But things just are not perfect. In fact, they may never be perfect. And if we wait to get everything right before moving forward, we’ll be waiting a long time. Success is rooted in clinging to market-based values and being truly immersed in our communities. Marketing has a lot of science in it, but the greatest marketers realize there is a significant amount of art involved as well. The rules of hard work, diligence and practicality are yesterday’s news. And while those qualities are important, they are not scarce. Plenty of people work hard and put their time into the process. What is scarce and in demand now are people with passion, creativity and initiative. These are the new attributes of success – traits that often can be found in true marketers. The beauty of these new rules is that they allow us to think fast on our feet. Being market based affords us the ability to adapt at a moment’s notice. In turn, it allows us to move forward, make decisions and not delay the process by waiting to have “our ducks in a row.” Our cover article, “Lesson from the Stage,” includes a fantastic interview with Tom Yorton of Second City. His insights into the art of improvisation demonstrate the attributes that are in high demand for all of us. Our second feature, “Cycle vs. Funnel,” discusses the marketing process, including marketing automation, sales calls, prospecting, and more. The story takes an inside look at where the marketing process stands today. We hope you enjoy this issue. We had to break free from some old rules to put it out. And while it may not be perfect, there is great passion, creativity and incredible initiative on every page.

Marketing has a lot of science in it, but the greatest marketers realize there is a significant amount of art involved as well.

Have a wonderful spring,

Mark Steputis Publisher

Publisher

Mark Steputis mark.steputis@visiongraphics-inc.com

Managing Editor

Michele McCreath michele.mccreath@visiongraphics-inc.com

Art Direction

Contents 03 Publisher’s Letter Perfect Pain

04 The Inbox 06 Lessons from the Stage

How improvisation leads to success

10 Synced Sales

Why collaboration between marketing and sales is critical to today’s sales cycle

14 From Where I Sit

brandiD’s Rachel Gogos on going back to the basics

15 Imprint

A look at who’s driving today’s purchasing decisions

connect – Vision Graphics Inc. • March/April 2013

The Inbox

The percent of B2B marketers who say not producing enough content is the biggest challenge they face today, according to “2013 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends – North America,” a report conducted by the Content Marketing Institute (CMI) and MarketingProfs.

The tablets have it It’s becoming a tablet kind of world. Global market intelligence firm IDC has raised its 2013 forecast for worldwide tablet shipments to 172.4 million units. Among the factors driving demand are more mobile screen sizes and lower price points. By 2016, IDC predicts that shipments could reach 282.7 million units. In 2012, 122.3 million tablets were shipped worldwide. Innovative products from Apple, Google, Amazon and Samsung continue to drive consumer demand, IDC reports.

March/April 2013 • connect – Vision Graphics Inc.

The Inbox

Yeah, you’ve got mail No matter how technologically superior all those newfangled ways to communicate out there today appear, email still is the way to go. According to the “Marketing from Mars” report from ExactTarget, nearly seven in 10 consumers (69 percent) check their email before doing anything else online each day. The report also says about one in four marketers and one in three consumers think brands should invest more marketing time and resources into email. Facebook and Twitter fared less in that regard. Twenty-one percent of marketers and 22 percent of consumers point to Facebook for more marketing investment, while 12 percent of marketers and 5 percent of consumers put a higher priority on Twitter.

She said it…

» BOOK RECOMMENDATION

‘to sell Is Human: the surprising truth About Moving others By Daniel H. Pink

aniel Pink has it all figured out. That’s why he keeps sharing it with the rest of us. This time, the new book from the bestselling author of “Drive” and “A Whole New Mind” explores the power of selling in our lives. As Pink so cleverly points out, even though the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that one in nine Americans works in sales, the real truth is that we all do. Whether we’re pitching customers on the benefits of our services, or parents and teachers cajoling our children to study more, each of us spends our days trying to move others. “To Sell Is Human” offers a fresh look at the art and science of selling. Pink draws on a treasure trove of social science for his counterintuitive insights to show the new rules for moving others. Along the way, he defines the three rules for understanding another’s perspective, how you can make your message clearer and more persuasive, and much more. The result will change how you see the world and transform what you do.

The best content is a good story well told. That story can take place in any number of different formats, whether they are paid, owned, earned or shared. I think it’s a mistake to only associate content with earned and owned. The more we experiment with content creation and distribution, the more we see a fusing between paid and other distribution channels.” – Linda Boff, executive director, global digital marketing for GE, on how brands distinguish between content and advertising

connect – Vision Graphics Inc. • March/April 2013

March/April 2013 • connect – Vision Graphics Inc.

How “ Improvisation Leads to T Success

Improvisation is the expression of the accumulated yearnings, dreams and wisdom of the soul.”

By Michael J. Pallerino

– Noted Violinist Yehudi Menuhin

om Yorton admits to an epiphany moment. After 20 years in the corporate world as a senior marketing executive with the likes of 3COM, Sears and Ogilvy & Mather, he walked through the doors of the famed The Second City comedy troupe in Chicago with his eyes wide open to the possibilities. And then it hit him – just how much business was like an act of improvisation. It’s the kind of question Yorton, CEO of Second City Communications (SCC), gets often. Can the skills needed to make people laugh really translate into running a business? It’s a fair question – one that Yorton says surprises people when they realize two important lessons. Improvisation isn’t always about being funny, and humor is about finding the truth. To understand these concepts, it’s important to know SCC’s history. Founded in 1959, the legendary The Second City comedy theater became the launching pad for what seems like everything and everyone we find funny: John Belushi, Bill Murray, Mike Meyers, Steven Carell, Stephen Colbert and Tina Fey, to name a few. The list seems endless. Yes, The Second City has its place card in history as a pioneer of improvisational comedy and an environment where actors work without scripts and feed off each other’s ideas and energy to create a think tank of comedic genius. That it came to be a force in the world of corporate training is something that makes sense, when you see how humor helps to reveal the truth in situations. Yorton came aboard 11 years ago to help grow SCC, the business solutions arm of The Second City. Business people attending its shows started asking The Second City to perform at sales gatherings, annual meetings, etc. Invariably, it led to creating custom material for those events. “We found that our material not only could be used in the service of entertainment, but also to help convey messages within the business world,” Yorton says. “There is common ground between the two. In particular, the interpersonal communications and adaptive skills required in improvisation are similar to those in business.”

connect – Vision Graphics Inc. • March/April 2013

Lessons from the Stage

During his tenure, Yorton and company have worked with some 1,000 companies, ranging from nonprofit organizations to small companies and Fortune 500 giants. SCC’s indelible mark can be found on everything from communications skills workshops for salespeople to custom video training for insurance claims reps, and comedic compliance programs that complement e-learning modules.

Finding your comedic groove At its core, good improvisation is all about listening, reacting in the moment, creating and supporting the ideas of others, and innovating as an ensemble (see sidebar, “8 ways to

e found that the skills our W actors need to be successful on stage have a lot to do with the business world: listening, teamwork and collaboration, innovation and collaboration, risk taking, conflict resolution.”

improvise your way to success). And, while the end product sometimes can be funny, improv skills are not intrinsically about being funny. “Solid improv skills are present in supremely good communicators and team players,” Yorton says. “When those skills are brought to bear on stage, they are a powerful antidote to the fear, apprehension and mistrust that can lead to failure. These same skills can be developed in businesspeople to help them become more effective in their work, especially in their willingness to take responsible risks and to innovate.” To bridge the worlds of improvisation and business, SCC developed an event and conference component through which improv training and learning methodologies are used to help build skills for its corporate clients. “We found that the skills our actors need to be successful on stage have a lot to do with the business world: listening, teamwork and collaboration, innovation and collaboration, risk taking, conflict resolution,” Yorton says. “These are all of the things professionals require to do what they do.” The other parts of SCC’s business involve improvisation training for a corporate education context, video services and video productions. SCC also found success in the world of content marketing, where it is using improv to help create breakthrough content ideas by partnering with PR firms, ad agencies and client marketing teams. One of the programs it created for Seattle’s Best Coffee is a 24-hour, live

8 ways to improvise your way to success So, how do the worlds of improvisation and business compare? Tom Yorton, CEO of Second City Communications (SCC), shows you eight improvisation techniques that can help your business.

No. 1: Seek Those ‘Yes, and …’ Moments

Improvisation is about affirmation, creation and mutual support. Its training is built on the concept of what it calls “yes, and” moments. That’s when other members of the group put an idea or proposition forward, the group affirms the proposition, and then additional information is added. This allows the team to reach its full potential before objections derail an idea.

March/April 2013 • connect – Vision Graphics Inc.

No. 2: Follow Your Fears No. 3: Plan Less and Fear usually is an indication that Discover More something important is at stake. People feel fear because they care about an outcome. In improv, actors are taught to “lean into” conflict, not walk away from it. This practice likely reveals something new.

The less you plan, the more you’ll discover; the more you plan, the less you’ll discover. Every organization wants to be known as innovative and creative. Yet, most conditions that allow for innovation and creativity seldomly are present. Standard routines and processes govern most daily work experiences. In improvisation, the absence of a plan allows room for discovery.

9 streaming improvised comedy show accessible via Facebook. SCC invited Seattle’s Best’s agency, Creature Creative, and its public relations firm, Zeno Group, to participate in SCC’s Creative Development Calling all PR firms, ad agencies and Workshop, where parties use client marketing teams. Second City improv to explore themes, ideas Communications has a simple mesand relationships. sage for you: Life’s funny. Why isn’t For Yorton, this process helps your approach to content marketing? If you’re looking to spice up your reaffirm the epiphany he had 11 marketing content, give the SCC exyears ago. “We pretend that everyperience a try. For information, visit thing is fully scripted. We pretend www.secondcitycommunications.com/ that we are in complete control. But brandedcontent there are a million curves that get thrown at you every day in business, and a million things that require you to be nimble, adaptive, agile and to think on your feet. Improv assumes an ensemble. In business, you’re always working with somebody. You’re improvising all the time; it’s just that you don’t think about it as such. If you can process this better, you not only can function better as an individual, but also as a team, a department and an organization. Every business is an imperfect situation. We use the humor to get to the truth by giving you tools you can use to navigate better. It’s all about creating a better connection.”

In business, you’re always working with

somebody. You’re improvising all the time; it’s just that you don’t think about it as such.”

No. 4: Start in the Middle

Improv actors know that a linear, orderly progression makes for a boring scene. In business, people take great pains to lay things out in logical progressions. There is comfort in following the flow. But when there’s a crisis or need to innovate, success sometimes comes from taking leaps and making creative connections in the absence of perfect information and thoughtful preparation.

No. 5: ‘Bring a Brick, Not a Cathedral’

Employees don’t like to feel small and insignificant. This causes them to hold back ideas and feedback. In improvisation, seemingly small contributions are important to the whole. If each ensemble member brings something, the collective energy is greater than one person carrying the load. When your contribution matters, you’re obligated to bring something to the game.

No. 6: If One Idea Doesn’t Work, Try Another

In improvisation, people move quickly. There’s little time to analyze or assess; only time to listen and react. Consequently, ideas and inspiration come and go fluidly. Improv actors know that right and wrong usually is a false dichotomy; there are only possibilities and choices. Performers are rewarded by their willingness to support the ensemble and adapt on the fly to new ideas.

No. 7: Try Not to Top Someone ...

...at least until you’ve equaled him. Because business usually is a competitive endeavor, people always are trying to one-up each other. This comes out of a fear of looking bad and falling behind in an internal competition. Someone else’s gain means your loss, which creates a stifling environment. In improvisation, the best way to “get fed” is to do some feeding of your own.

No. 8: Make Accidents Work

The world has a tendency to throw curveballs. The key is how you respond to it. In improvisation, the axiom “make accidents work” describes much of its existence. There is no such thing as a preordained outcome in improvisation. It’s about living in the moment. Learn to embrace the possibilities that “accidents” offer.

connect – Vision Graphics Inc. • March/April 2013

March/April 2013 • connect – Vision Graphics Inc.

irst, the bad news: The sales cycle still

Why collaboration between marketing and sales is critical to today’s sales cycle

call in resources/man hours to make it happen.

“The steps are the same as they were 50 years ago, but the environment you’re selling in is vastly different,” says Linda Bishop, sales expert, speaker and author. But there’s good news: Through advances in marketing products, autoBy Graham Garrison mated tracking tools and just plain better communication between team members, an organization can improve on its prospecting and the overall efficiency of its sales cycles.

And it still requires finding leads, convincing

Marketing matters

requires a lot of time and money. Speaker and marketing and sales consultant M.

H. (Mac) McIntosh says a study conducted a decade ago holds true today: It takes about five calls to close one sale, and $350 or more per

them to meet, qualifying, getting and closing the opportunity, and convincing the customer to buy again.

Perhaps the biggest advantage today’s companies have is an increased scope of marketing tools. Variable data, automated systems and better ROI tracking help find qualified prospects quicker and begin the “dating” process of the sales cycle sooner. Marketing creates awareness, educates buyers prior to the sale about benefits and advantages, and increases mindshare – so you are remembered. “All are required to get a serious shot at new business,” Bishop says. connect – Vision Graphics Inc. • March/April 2013

Synced Sales

It takes three… Linda Bishop, sales expert, speaker and author, spends her days supporting businesses nationwide on sales issues, including account acquisition, account penetration and top-down solution selling. Following are the three biggest things salespeople get right and wrong during the sales cycle. Three things salespeople do wrong: Three things salespeople do right: • Spend too much time on low-value leads • Convince a stranger to meet with you • Poor follow-up skills • Find a reason to go back after the • Do a poor job of qualifying prospects initial meeting to find out if they truly are interested in • Close the sale – or find out why the buying what you offer buyer won’t buy

“ Use letters as a way to introduce yourself. Buyers receive lots of emails. They don’t get many letters, so a letter stands out.” – Linda Bishop, Sales Expert, Speaker and Author

March/April 2013 • connect – Vision Graphics Inc.

Marketing should play an integral role, especially at the beginning of the sales cycle. “The idea of using marketing to handle the earlier parts of the sales cycle – prospecting, nurturing and qualifying steps – makes economic sense, because it frees up the salespeople to focus on being with prospects who are most likely to buy and do the demo, propose and close steps,” McIntosh says. “Those are where their one-on-one efforts are best invested.” Replace a couple of those traditional sales calls with marketing activities, and you’ve saved hundreds of dollars and increased sales efficiency by 30 percent to 40 percent. Marketing’s role is the macro side of the business – viewing clients as the herd. Pat Pallentino, director of the FSU Sales Institute at Florida State University, says you must ask what the herd behaviors are and the direction and overall size (value). “Sales’ role is the micro side of the business – the hunter who is armed with all of the marketing’s intelligence and can, in the most efficient way, single out and capture the biggest prize in the herd.” McIntosh says increased success with marketing also has led companies to consider the cost involved with other tactics, such as cold calling. “In my opinion [cold calling] is pretty much dead. It’s one of the most costly lead generation tactics today in B2B. People use it because they have nothing in the pipeline, and they can generate some results because they are playing the numbers game. If you call enough people, you might find interest. But the cost per lead is really high. McIntosh says what works better than cold calling is integrated calling into a multi-touch system, meaning maybe you start with email with a respond call back, or continue to email and use direct mail. He recommends a follow-up call once a quarter to see if you can engage and qualify the prospect. But email can be a double-edged sword. “You have to be smart about how and when you send your emails,” McIntosh says. “Sending useful, relevant content a couple times a month is better than emailing every day.” The increase in emails has led to the resurgence in a more traditional tool. “Use letters

as a way to introduce yourself,” Bishop says. “Buyers receive lots of emails. They don’t get many letters, so a letter stands out.”

Communication During the recent “Great Recession,” sales teams were desperate for any sales and, thus, loosened their criteria for what counted as a qualified lead. Improvements in the economy and prospecting, in general, have allowed them to be more selective in what counts as a sales-ready lead. McIntosh suggests sales and marketing teams create a framework that gets approval from management on standard qualifications, but also allows room for flexibility. Indeed, once a lead is generated and a prospect qualified, the hand-off shouldn’t be the end of communication between marketing and sales. Marketing should be able to use the company’s CRM system to see what’s working in generating leads. “That’s sort of the closed-loop process of tracking and measuring activity,” McIntosh says. “Instead of bugging the sales folks for information on every lead, if they’re using CRM to track their own activities as sales management is requiring it, they can often get that information right out of the CRM without having to ask the sales team.”

Repeat, and do again A repeatable process is essential to selling success, says Pat Pallentino, director, FSU Sales Institute, Florida State University. “Not a robotic set of steps, but a flow where content can be tailored to the needs of the client.” Pallentino says the elements are: 1. Industry, customer and product knowledge 2. Setting valid objectives, both overall strategically and tactical, for each interaction 3. A total commitment to planning every interaction 4. After execution, debrief toward the goal of continual improvement.

Intangibles in motion Even with advances in technology and marketing techniques, a successful sales cycle still requires the intuition of a sales rep. On one hand: “People are busy, they’re not sitting by the phone waiting for your call,” McIntosh says. “You have to be intelligent and diligent about your follow up.” On the other hand, Bishop says, it’s important to recognize that if you’ve let too much time go by between calls, you’ll likely end up starting over. A successful run through the sales cycle depends on individual talent, coupled with mastery of skills. “Some people can get the first meeting, but are weak at closing,” Bishop says. “Other salespeople struggle to get first meetings, but find it easy to get an opportunity once they’re in the door. There is no single answer because people are selling, and everyone is unique.”

Sales’ role is the micro side of the business – the hunter who is armed with all of the marketing’s intelligence and can, in the most efficient way, single out and capture the biggest prize in the herd.” – Pat Pallentino, FSU Sales Institute

connect – Vision Graphics Inc. • March/April 2013

Q&A

From Where I Sit brandiD’s Rachel Gogos on going back to the basics

achel Gogos was doing the whole “personal branding” thing long before it became an industry buzzword. Along with stops at the United Nations, The Wall Street Journal and DowJones.com, the serial entrepreneur founded several companies, including brandiD in Pittsburgh. Today, Gogos finds great fulfillment in helping

her customers clarify their purpose through three of her brands: brandiD (which provides digital marketing for individuals and small companies); iDentityShoppe.com (a D-I-Y option for those who need a web presence on a limited budget); and MyPath101.com (a soon-to-be-launched membership site for college students that will provide the aforementioned services). We recently sat down with her to discuss what today’s marketers are facing.

If I’m working with a client to figure out a name, a tagline or creative idea, my mind continues to churn long after the lights are out. I literally sit in a small part of this big space we call marketing. My focus is on personal branding – helping people (or small businesses) get clear on their purpose, differentiators, goals and brand attributes, among other things. Once their message is clear, we show them how to market online.

Be authentic. Just being you is your biggest differentiator.

I think we’re “newed” out. It’s time to go back to the basics, which is very refreshing. It’s like a balloon when you’re blowing air into it – it can only take so much, and then, POP. You have to get another one and start all over again.

I love the “Got Milk” campaign. It’s timeless and coined a phrase that people often use in new ways on a day-to-day basis. Every time I hear “Got anything” I think “Got Milk.”

I wish I could make my mind stop, but it’s so hard. If I’m working with a client to figure out a name, a tagline or creative idea, my mind continues to churn long after the lights are out.

The basics are simple: It’s about having a strong, authentic message and communicating that clearly.

Creativity is the key marketing ingredient. Our audiences’ attention spans are getting shorter and shorter, so campaigns must be creative in unique ways. The more creative a campaign is, the easier it is for people to notice.

There are lots of new toys for us marketers. Social media. Apps. Analytics tools. There are new ones on the market nearly daily, while the others continue to evolve. Keeping up with everything becomes very challenging.

Every marketer must be curious and have an open mind; they go hand in hand. Those traits keep marketers fresh and on the cutting edge.

Identify a few cutting-edge news sources and a few innovators in your field, and follow them. Look for people who practice what they preach and those who work in your particular specialty. March/April 2013 • connect – Vision Graphics Inc.

Mobile marketing is an uncharted territory. I think there is much to learn and, therefore, much to execute on. Because we are over stimulated and over communicated with, we have to use mobile to market effectively in a nondisruptive, non-intrusive way.

Before You Go

I’ll Have What She’s Having A look at who’s driving today’s purchasing decisions You’ll never guess who’s influencing today’s consumer purchasing decisions. According to WSL/Strategic Retail’s “How America Shops: Buzz to Buy 3.0,” we are influenced by our friends and family, the manufacturer/retail websites we visit, and traditional media, including print. Here’s a look at how the whole list shakes out.

Social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest)

Friends and family (word of mouth)

Emails from manufacturers and retailers

Sales associates

Traditional media (print, TV)

Manufacturer/ retailer websites

connect – Vision Graphics Inc. • March/April 2013

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