More Clients Memorandum

How to be free

Posted byIan Brodie on December 6th, 2015.

A bit of a stream-of-consciousness-dip-into-philosophy email today – so apologies if you came expecting a hardcore marketing tip.

But honestly, I think it's vital for all of us to step back every now and then and make sure we're clear why we're doing this.

I didn't used to think this way. I was Mr Pragmatism. All hints and tips to get the job done.

But at the end of the day, the reason we're getting the job done, for most of us, is to have a good life. And so it's important to make sure that all the pragmatic tactics actually take us closer to that good life rather than further away.

Now exactly what your “good life” looks like I'm not sure of, I only know what it is for me.

But I can guess that if you run your own business or are an independent or do any form of professional service then “freedom” looms large in what you're looking for.

For me, freedom is the ability to do what I want, when I want, as much as possible.

Now some people try to achieve their freedom of sorts by working hard doing something they hate but which pays them a lot of money so they can then disappear to a far flung shore for a few weeks a year to finally enjoy themselves.

That route's not for me. I think it's a sure fire recipe for a painful life.

For me, freedom is doing work I enjoy, not working too many hours, and doing what I want a lot. Like reading, walking, spending time with my family.

So when it comes to marketing (hey, I have to link back to marketing somehow) that means a number of things:

1. The marketing I do has to be fun and fulfilling for me.

That means I don't do cold calling, I don't do networking. I don't even answer my phone these days. I do the sort of marketing that I enjoy (usually content marketing through video, blogs and emails).

I like to think the way I do marketing is some of the most effective there is. But in truth it just has to be good enough. If I discovered that cold calling was way better than what I do now I still wouldn't do it, because I don't enjoy it and I want to spend as much time as I can doing things I enjoy, even if there are better ways.

My goal is not necessarily to do things the best they can be done, but to do them well enough in ways I enjoy doing.

2. My marketing has to generate a surplus of leads and clients.

I've found that having “just enough” leads to hit my revenue targets tends to result in me pitching for and accepting work that I don't really want to do but I need to do to hit my goals.

Much better to have a surplus of leads way above what I need, so I can pick and choose and only work on the things that get me really energised.

3. I need to work the 80:20 rule.

If I'm going to have the free time I want to do things I enjoy other than work then I'm going to need to be super-efficient with my marketing. I need to focus on the 20% of activities that deliver 80% of my results.

Now as it turns out, I'm pretty good at figuring that out. What I'm hopeless at is then stopping doing the other things or outsourcing the ones I can't stop. That's probably going to need to be my main development goal of the next 18 months.

So what does freedom mean for you? And what are your steps to achieving it? Maybe your steps are similar to mine. Maybe not. Either way, thinking them through can be immensely helpful for you.

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John Stuart Mill’s networking wisdom

Posted byIan Brodie on November 29th, 2015.

If you've studied history, politics or economics you'll have no doubt heard of the 19th-century Utilitarian philosopher and economist, John Stuart Mill.

He was an early proponent of liberty, equality and women's rights. Way ahead of his time in many respects. And recently I stumbled across a quote of his of huge relevance if networking is part of your marketing approach.

“It is hardly possible to overrate the value, in the present low state of human improvement, of placing human beings in contact with persons dissimilar to themselves, and with modes of thought and action unlike those with which they are familiar.”

Mill was highlighting back in 1848 what social scientists have only recently been able to prove: that the most valuable human networks are diverse ones.

We may feel more comfortable networking with people who are like us. We may enjoy hanging around with “like-minded people” and having our opinions validated. But we get the most new ideas and new opportunities from people we know who are different to us and we don't hang around with all the time.

These “weak ties” to people who move in different circles to us and who have different opinions and experiences are easy to overlook or even avoid.

But since they move in those different circles, know different people and have different experiences, they're the ones most likely to bring different and new information and opportunities to us. Far more so than the people who think like us, act like us and know the same people as us.

So whenever you're networking: make sure to connect with people who are a bit different to your normal crowd. And keep those connections live. You don't need to be in regular contact, but you do need to stay familiar.

And ignore the advice of people who tell you to only connect to people on Linkedin who you already know. If you want new opportunities and ideas you need to expand the diversity of your network, not keep it narrow.  

More Clients Memorandum

Do you have this problem too?

Posted byIan Brodie on November 15th, 2015.

The biggest problem I think I have with marketing right now is my ever diminishing attention span.

Perhaps you have the same challenge too?

Left unchecked it can really kill your productivity.

I've barely typed a few sentences in this email yet I've already checked my email inbox and the latest sports news.

These days it's just too easy to fill gaps by checking something online and getting a hit of “new”.

Whether it's from Facebook, Twitter, your favourite website, email, TV, a video game, doesn't really matter.

The problem is it turns you into a passive consumer of information. And the need for a constant buzz of external input wrecks any chance you have of concentrating to get stuff done.

It also damages your creativity. Creativity comes partly from external stimulus, but also from quiet, reflective times when your mind relaxes, neurons fire and make new connections.

It's an act of willpower to cut off that stimulation. Or simply to refrain from checking all the different input streams that it's easier to look at than to do the hard work of thinking or writing.

Luckily, it doesn't require huge willpower. At least not yet.

So simply being aware of the problem and deciding to ignore the urge to check stuff has meant I've typed the rest of this email interruption free.

It's probably taken me a quarter of the time it would have taken had I been flitting backwards and forwards to my online feeds or had the TV on in the background.

So for right now, my advice is simply to catch yourself being distracted and resolve to focus for 10 minutes. User a timer – it works.

Then up it to 15 minutes, 20 minutes or more. Make it a game.

Build your “concentration muscle” and you'll get much better results.

The biggest problem I think I have with marketing right now is my ever diminishing attention span.

Perhaps you have the same challenge too?

Left unchecked it can really kill your productivity.

I've barely typed a few sentences in this email yet I've already checked my email inbox and the latest sports news.

These days it's just too easy to fill gaps by checking something online and getting a hit of “new”.

Whether it's from Facebook, Twitter, your favourite website, email, TV, a video game, doesn't really matter.

The problem is it turns you into a passive consumer of information. And the need for a constant buzz of external input wrecks any chance you have of concentrating to get stuff done.

It also damages your creativity. Creativity comes partly from external stimulus, but also from quiet, reflective times when your mind relaxes, neurons fire and make new connections.

It's an act of willpower to cut off that stimulation. Or simply to refrain from checking all the different input streams that it's easier to look at than to do the hard work of thinking or writing.

Luckily, it doesn't require huge willpower. At least not yet.

So simply being aware of the problem and deciding to ignore the urge to check stuff has meant I've typed the rest of this email interruption free.

It's probably taken me a quarter of the time it would have taken had I been flitting backwards and forwards to my online feeds or had the TV on in the background.

So for right now, my advice is simply to catch yourself being distracted and resolve to focus for 10 minutes. User a timer – it works.

Then up it to 15 minutes, 20 minutes or more. Make it a game.

Build your “concentration muscle” and you'll get much better results.

The biggest problem I think I have with marketing right now is my ever diminishing attention span.

Perhaps you have the same challenge too?

Left unchecked it can really kill your productivity.

I've barely typed a few sentences in this email yet I've already checked my email inbox and the latest sports news.

These days it's just too easy to fill gaps by checking something online and getting a hit of “new”.

Whether it's from Facebook, Twitter, your favourite website, email, TV, a video game, doesn't really matter.

The problem is it turns you into a passive consumer of information. And the need for a constant buzz of external input wrecks any chance you have of concentrating to get stuff done.

It also damages your creativity. Creativity comes partly from external stimulus, but also from quiet, reflective times when your mind relaxes, neurons fire and make new connections.

It's an act of willpower to cut off that stimulation. Or simply to refrain from checking all the different input streams that it's easier to look at than to do the hard work of thinking or writing.

Luckily, it doesn't require huge willpower. At least not yet.

So simply being aware of the problem and deciding to ignore the urge to check stuff has meant I've typed the rest of this email interruption free.

It's probably taken me a quarter of the time it would have taken had I been flitting backwards and forwards to my online feeds or had the TV on in the background.

So for right now, my advice is simply to catch yourself being distracted and resolve to focus for 10 minutes. User a timer – it works.

Then up it to 15 minutes, 20 minutes or more. Make it a game.

Build your “concentration muscle” and you'll get much better results.

The biggest problem I think I have with marketing right now is my ever diminishing attention span.

Perhaps you have the same challenge too?

Left unchecked it can really kill your productivity.

I've barely typed a few sentences in this email yet I've already checked my email inbox and the latest sports news.

These days it's just too easy to fill gaps by checking something online and getting a hit of “new”.

Whether it's from Facebook, Twitter, your favourite website, email, TV, a video game, doesn't really matter.

The problem is it turns you into a passive consumer of information. And the need for a constant buzz of external input wrecks any chance you have of concentrating to get stuff done.

It also damages your creativity. Creativity comes partly from external stimulus, but also from quiet, reflective times when your mind relaxes, neurons fire and make new connections.

It's an act of willpower to cut off that stimulation. Or simply to refrain from checking all the different input streams that it's easier to look at than to do the hard work of thinking or writing.

Luckily, it doesn't require huge willpower. At least not yet.

So simply being aware of the problem and deciding to ignore the urge to check stuff has meant I've typed the rest of this email interruption free.

It's probably taken me a quarter of the time it would have taken had I been flitting backwards and forwards to my online feeds or had the TV on in the background.

So for right now, my advice is simply to catch yourself being distracted and resolve to focus for 10 minutes. User a timer – it works.

Then up it to 15 minutes, 20 minutes or more. Make it a game.

Build your “concentration muscle” and you'll get much better results.

More Clients Memorandum

Make your marketing timeless

Posted byIan Brodie on November 8th, 2015.

Some things are just timeless, aren't they?

I'm just a little bit too young to remember the Beatles or the Stones in their prime, but if one of their hits comes on the radio it still sounds fresh to me.

Same goes with great art, great drama. Timeless.

At least some of your marketing should be like that too.

Of course, there's value in keeping up with the latest trends. I've been very successful with social media for lead generation for the last few years for example. But it's really been email that's been the timeless mainstay of my business.

Some marketing has a “best before” date. Works well for a few years until everyone starts doing it, then becomes less and less effective.

Other marketing has been working for decades and likely will for many to come: email marketing, direct mail, referrals.

Make sure you have some timeless marketing like this in your armoury.