Consistency and Follow-Through: The two most underrated skills in business

I just got back from Vegas. I was there for the Kennedy Recruiting Conference, a girls week (I have loads of sisters) and to film an episode of Galavanting. Yeah, that’s a lot for four days right? So it might seem a bit odd to talk about consistency and follow-through after leaving a city where marriages can start (and end) in the blink of an eye.

But I am. See during this trip, my BlackBerry broke, my MacBook cord disappeared and I was more tired that I remember being in a long time. There were several times during the trip that I wanted to cancel all my PR meetings, skip out on the networking sessions at Kennedy or tell the girls to head to the pool without me, I was going to nap. But I simply couldn’t. Why? Because it’s not consistent with who I am or who I want to be in business.

That’s not to say I never screw up. Twice during the conference, I was late with an assignment and when I missed my flight and subsequent layover in Phoenix, I missed out on some face time with another client. So screwing-up is totally allowed in my world. Giving up is not. Here’s why:

Networking is sh*t if you don’t follow up. I have so many business cards, I could paper a room with clever cards designed to “stand out” from the crowd and make me just utterly compelled to call you. But they mean no more to me than the cards that are printed on someone’s home printer or have the little free vistaprint moniker stamped on the back (first off because if they have cards like that, they probably need my help, but I digress). In fact, none of the cards mean anything. It’s the action you take after exchanging the card. Whether you followup on a conversation via email, phone, twitter, or facebook…follow UP! It’s that extra step that so few take that separate the folks who walk away from conferences hung over and with a bag of free stuff and the people who walk away with at least two new projects/clients.

Branding is cr@p without consistency: You might find this odd coming from a woman who on any given day finds herself in the marketing, travel, recruiting, advertising, sponsor/conference, vendor, printing, design, fashion, finance and culinary worlds. But it’s true. So great, I brand myself as a completely adaptable marketing maven, at least I hope I do. Yeah there are times when I am more focused on pumping a Galavanting property than I am showcasing a new RecruitingBlogs.com feature or highlighting a new feature at an investment company. But people know I’m there and I’m working….on something. Tired after a long holiday weekend? You better believe it! Too tired to write a blog post before tackling a seemingly insurmountable pile of tasks on my desk? Never. Whether you post once a month, once a week or once a day, show UP! Be consistent. Let folks know what to expect and then deliver.

You’ve all heard the cliche about the match that burns brightly and then sputters? The social media marketing field is filled with spent matches. Stay consistent and follow through and you will not be one of them.

This will happen with or without you.

Okay, I know that usually I am your cheerleader. Usually, I try to slowly but surely get you to see the future and your place there. But today, dear company, I am tired. Today, I want you to grow a pair. The fact of the matter is, you are quickly losing your relevance. And it’s not for any good reason at all! It’s because you think social media is too:

trivial
cheap
easy
young
faddish

to get involved. Frankly, that’s ridiculous. And your dogged desire to hang on to what used to work is going to get you in a heap of trouble. What used to work isn’t working anymore. And as Mr. Vaynerchuck is so fond of saying “Every dollar that goes to a television station, a radio show or a billboard is in play.”. IT IS. Why? Because these media are IRRELEVANT. Guess what? That makes your message IRRELEVANT. Delivery matters. The experience matters. Where you find your employees, engage your customers, locate your clients and service your public is CHANGING.

Content is not king anymore. Conversation is. And your refusal to participate will not change that. This conversation is happening with or without you, so my advice, as a PROFESSIONAL, is to get on freaking BOARD! You are not powerful enough to fight the onslaught that is coming your way. You will not shout loud enough to be heard in a stadium where no one sits. Your company can not make a widget grand enough to sell from the pages of a newspaper no one is reading. Your job descriptions will not be written well enough to jump off the pages of a job board that no one visits (except spammers).

I know this sounds mean and I am sorry. But it’s your stubborn attitude that has gotten you here. Your refusal to slowly adapt and look ahead instead of futzing over what you’re leaving behind. So now all that’s really left is for you to close your eyes, walk to edge of the diving board and jump. I promise if you work hard enough, if you engage long enough, if you listen to your customers carefully enough and you present your story powerfully enough, there will be water in this pool.

Love,

Maren

Big Omaha, Blog Monday and Cool New Tools

Wow, what a week! Sorry for the lack of posts from last week but there was much to do and only the typical seven days in which to do it. First up, you’ll have to head on over to Galavanting.tv to see the Taos, NM episode where we ride Harleys, hang out in a hot air balloon and meet Dennis Hopper.

Then it was back home to Omaha for the very first Big Omaha conference. Truly, this conference, designed to celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit and creative class in the midwest, was a real triumph. Conference creators and organizers Dusty Davdison and Jeff Slobotski (the brains behind Silicon Prairie News) outdid themselvs. Not only did they provide an amazing venue, experience and fantastic promotion, they brought in some incredible speakers from all over the country while STILL CELEBRATING the local talent. From Gary Vaynerchuck to Jeffrey Kalmikoff to Jason Fried the speakers were amazingly accomplished and inspiring. Do yourself a favor and check out some of the preso notes and streaming video when it pops up on the Big Omaha site.

Last week, it also came to my attention that a gentleman from Georgetown U is doing a little something called Blog Monday. Mark Story has highlighted some pretty cool blogs, including mine and some I admire like Jason Falls and Armano’s Logic+Emotion. So in the spirit of “giving back” here are a few blogs that I like to dig in to from time to time:

Design for Users

The BrandBuilder

Find + Attract

Another Flight Attnedant Writing About Flying

Beth’s Blog

Cool new tools. I wish I could say I was all into the new stuff because I am so cool, but fact of the matter is, I heard about this latest one at church. It’s called Prezi.com and it makes presentations far less linear and much more interesting. It’s a free application and while it’s a little difficult to learn (especially for PPT addicts) it’s a lot of fun and inituitive once you get the hang of it! Media is also totally embeddable.

I’ve had enough people ask about the little  videos I make for trips and my son’s 4th grade class that I have decided to tell you all. It’s Animoto and it’s fabulous! Til now, I’ve used it only for personal stuff but I think there could be some seriously cool professional applications for the fun, peppy videos this creates (see Michael Marlatt’s use here). Seems most appropriate for relating fairly basic themes.

And looks like all the cool kids are migrating to FriendFeed or at least double posting. Anyone know of a great FF app for BlackBerry?