The human side of business

Archives for January 2018

Small Business

Demonstrate.

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Market Restaurant, Annesquam, MA

The details do the talking.

One of the most powerful things one can do to sell anything, or even to persuade anyone about anything, is to demonstrate. It’s an easily overlooked attribute to marketing because it requires thought, sincerity and is (almost) always more work than slapping a logo on a promotion, or adding exclamation points for emphasis.

It can actually mean less – not more.
It could mean asking the right questions (and listening to the answers.)
Or even sharing best practices as a means of building trust.

None of us likes to be sold to.
Yet, we all enjoy buying into things that speak to us.

Rather than plaster her image on bus stops, a savvy real estate agent differentiates herself with memorable touch points… a thoughtful business card, a tasteful open house sign, and something other than stale supermarket cookies.

A facialist sells by teaching technique, recommending beautification strategies or sharing how to choose a qualified technician. We want her because she doesn’t seem to want anything from us in a business where everyone’s chasing you with a needle.

Taken further, the person who really wants everyone to meditate or take the self-help course, will get everyone interested by being different, not telling us how much we should do it.

In my world, either as a hired creative or as part of a larger agency, we ‘tell’ future clients who we are by the questions we ask and the conversations we start. It is rarely about showing them what we do or how we do it – they can see that with a quick Google search. We need to demonstrate what it might be like to work with us. And how better to do that than to get to know who they are and what they care about? And while it’s not an intentional marketing tactic, it also isn’t pitching in the traditional sense. It is sincere and the right clients remember (and subscribe to it.)

Sure, there are countless outlets for you to pontificate, elaborate, articulate and otherwise proliferate your marketing efforts (thanks for letting me do that.)

But, none will be as effective in attracting the right audience as demonstrating – embodying your message in ways that are seen and felt.

It comes down to this… no one ever wants to be convinced to enroll themselves into anything – products, people, ideas – benevolent cults included.

Be the thing you want us to know. Make choices that reflect rather than project. It’s more of a whisper than a shout.

Big Life

Brrr.

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January can often usher in a commitment to do it different or better, even to take on more, but with this drive often comes a dash of existential angst. And, if you happen to experience the winter months in extra cold weather, it can further deepen the crevasse between what you want and what you have, causing you (I mean me) to take a kind of personal inventory.

If you’re reading this, you’ve lived long enough to know that life can be shorter than we might have thought and different than we could have predicted.

The time is now…is a recurring theme.

So it was at about mid-December, amid all the holiday décor, toast-making and reassuring traditions that I started to ask myself…

Am I taking enough risk, or settled and complacent?
Are things vibrant and fierce or muted and dull?
Do I need a cold splash of water over my entire being?

In other words, am I too comfortable?

It occurred to me that I have done the stuff I’m most proud of when I’ve been pretty uncomfortable.

Giving birth.
Climbing mountains.
Facing illness.
Telling the truth.

With sub zero temps outside my window, I don’t have to look far for a little discomfort. Which got me thinking…

Most of us dwell in lives where we’re warm when we want to be, cold when we need to be, fed when we feel like it and distracted…on demand. Assuming chronic pain or crisis isn’t part of your immediate reality, comfort is mostly within arm’s reach.

Which is why any discomfort – physical, emotional – is almost always a shock to our systems, a place we flee rather than seek. Yet, being out of comfort is often precisely what provokes good work that we wouldn’t produce otherwise. I’m starting to think that for as much as I’ve tended to my personal care rituals, there may be equal mileage in finding or embracing some discomfort; withstanding what I don’t think I can stand.

If you follow Wim Hof (whose disciples include Tim Ferris, Tony Robbins and Dean Karnazes) you probably know about ice baths – or at the very least – cold showers. The wisdom behind cold exposure is that our “evolution” has made us less tolerant of the elements, and therefore more susceptible to disease and depression. Our wild, ancient human has been lost. Technically, cold-water submersion is one of a handful of practices that reconditions the hypothalamus to be more adaptive and resilient. The ability to tolerate healthy but difficult environments sharpens the senses and grows capacity, radically changing how we regard our own strengths. All of this, of course, tends to create higher performance. And toughness.

But this isn’t about ice baths or becoming harder. It’s about the dozens of opportunities that already exist in life that have us contracting or flinching, that we discard or escape – thinking they’re bad (at worst) or not useful (at best.) But what if we’re missing an opportunity? What if we could stay in the moment, feel the feelings, witness the unease, hunger, pain, and restlessness – whatever sensation descends – instead of getting out? Why not instead, go in?

Pushing physical (or other) limits to build emotional resiliency is not a new idea, but I like it as a mission, for this year especially, as I take on a fresh set of projects and some realignment on personal goals.

But how do we make the uncomfortable more of a natural habitat?

I’m taking cold showers. And I sat in the snow and took 30 breaths in a tank top the other day. I’m resisting the urge to look at my device when an answer eludes me, because I see that it’s an avoidance technique for discomfort. I’m breathing when I feel like clenching. I’m staying in the pose.

Because…

With discomfort comes expansion.
With expansion comes space; it widens the margins, makes more room.

I want that even if my bare feet have to touch the ice to find it. And yes, there are many other ways! But cold has a hold on me. Confronting and embracing it is right outside my door.

Let’s not avoid the things that grip us.
Maybe their existence is the invitation we need to be most awake.

Big Brands

Stella.

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I don’t often use this platform to criticize brands. I come from the school of thought that it’s more powerful praise the ones who are getting it right.

But having just come off the season of celebrations, I feel moved to comment on a campaign I’ve noticed.

I can’t seem to shake the irritation that bubbles up when I hear the current ad campaign from the beer brand Stella Artois. It touched a nerve. While it’s true that I am not the target audience, I can’t ignore the fact that it so blatantly misses the mark in its message. The copy goes like this:

“These days, rare moments are hard to come by…so host one to remember (with Stella Artois.)”

I don’t take issue with the campaign theme – hosting, and the celebratory themes around holding a meaningful gathering, are relevant and effective. But to posit that rare moments are harder than ever to find seems dead counter to what is actually going on in our world in 2018.
Culturally, politically, socially – and even spiritually – we’re living in a world that many are deeming “apocalyptic” at worst, and falling apart at best, with environmental, geo-political, genocidal and constitutional issues at the front of every headline.

From the conversations I’m hearing, I’d argue that we aren’t actually feeling that “special moments” are rare. I think it’s just the opposite. The way I see it, all moments of life – of being alive, of being okay, of survival, of any good fortune in the way of house, home, loved ones, job security, physical wellness, etc. – feel pretty special. In fact, it’s the daily, seemingly banal aspects of our lives, once taken for granted (perhaps), that so many of us have learned to appreciate.

I think the campaign was earnestly trying to say this same thing, ironically, but instead, said the opposite. It’s a question of paying off the theme, “Host one to remember,” with language that resonates with how people are feeling – but not articulating.

That’s the magic of good messaging. It’s usually a sentiment you couldn’t put your finger on, had not identified, or didn’t realize was true, that creates an “OMG, yes!” moment when a brand nails it.

Stella missed this opportunity.

Great campaign idea. Strong creative. Misguided payoff.

It happens to the best of us, but if I could take a crack at rewriting the copy, what I would say instead is this:

“Everyday moments are everywhere, and worth celebrating. Share them with the people who matter by hosting one to remember.”

Just a suggestion, Stella.

Big Life

Hello 2018.

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Hello Friends,

So here we are, nine days into 2018.

I wonder how each of you cross this annual threshold. Do you have a ritual? A way to close one year…or open the next?

I like to look back on the past year and see where I can connect the dots. Were there any patterns? Was there a set point? An overall feeling … or a series of independent messages that, only in hindsight, form a greater picture?

In my own life, 2017 was a year about boundaries. What can I live with…what can’t I? How can I help make something better, without giving too much? Where am I called to action? When do I give myself permission to devote my energy elsewhere? While these are questions (as they appear on paper), in my mind’s eye, I think of them more as statements. They function as an internal GPS. The moment they are presented…the answer reveals itself. The course, suddenly clearer.

Related to this was staying in the discomfort, acknowledging how it is and (just as much) how it isn’t. Being able to exist with multiple realities, various extremes, conflicting stories, opposing views; disappointments and victories, within the same minute.

I go into this year knowing that these themes may continue, but despite them or because of them, I will commit to putting one foot in front of the other, with full presence, integrity and service. I can’t really promise more than that. I do this knowing that there are questions I can’t answer, grief’s I can’t solve, aspirations that hold a future hope – but as of yet – little evidence. There is light and joy right here, under my feet, within reach, and also the things that remain unresolved – but not unseen.

How can I answer my own calling – when sometimes I can’t even hear it?
How can I watch for signs – but still do the work – whether they show up or not?

I’m not waiting for answers. That’s not the point of the asking. But if I had a resolution, being brave enough to ask the questions would be it.

This is my work.
What is yours?

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About

SMARTY began as a thriving community in Los Angeles and Boston with weekly panel discussions and events designed to better understand the mindset and growth strategies behind successful entrepreneurs. Today, SMARTY is a weekly blog written by Amy Swift Crosby who chronicles her life as a creative, parent, entrepreneur and spiritual seeker. As an urban refugee living in a New England seaside village, she unpacks topics ranging from uncertainty and doubt to the built environment and advertising. More on Amy.

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