We're Not Innocent Anymore

Note from Adams: I purposely delayed this editorial. Was a hard one to write, at least until the end. Here goes.

My son was born on 9/11.

He turned 9 on ‘that’ 9/11, and had football practice that day. It was a bright Alabama day, blue skies completely and eerily unpierced by the presence of airplanes. Parents sat on aluminum bleachers, creaking with each anxious shift, speaking in hushed tones of suspended disbelief, most with folded arms. Any feeling of laughter felt guilty.

I’d returned from my first ever speaking engagement the day before, elated from the experience, which quickly diminished to triviality. Celebration felt guilty. 

You know where you were too. Though we’d like to forget, each time we remove half our clothing in the airports under scrutiny of eyes trained to spot the ghostly outline of your favorite pocket knife you meant to remove, you’re reminded. 

But here’s what did NOT feel guilty…

1. Wanting to help the cause. Wanting to spread yourself too thin, to give more, to send more, to pray more. And conversely –
2. Wanting to kick the living organs out of something or someone. Maybe that was a guy reaction, or an American one. Not saying that feeling was right, but it seemed to offer solace.

That’s what I felt. Recently, watching some of the 15-year anniversary documentaries stirred both emotions, and like the Italian dressing bottle’s contents, I couldn’t make the bell pepper bits separate from the onion. They all swirled together until I just couldn’t watch anymore. My mind went to terrible places, unsettled places and that horribly infertile field called worry.

 

But once distant from the images, there was good. Like, lots of it. 

Watching the firefighters, police, paramedics, responders of every type seek to help total strangers. Watching a city covered in the dust and debris from a zillion pounds of Portland cement begin to clean up the aftermath one truckload, one wheelbarrow and eventually one dustpan at a time was absolutely inspirational. 

And you, dear contractors, are featured heroes too. While the nation watched politics, posturing and policy develop, somebody had to get the blooming water running again. 

Somebody had to untangle the god-awful miles of wiring and get the lights on. Somebody had to clean the air, condition the air and comfort the uncomfortable masses. 

Water. Light. Air. Seems God referenced those early on. Pretty valuable stuff, people. If you ever, ever, question your value, just consider your remarkable contribution to these cornerstones of civilization.  

That’s what was refreshingly (though inversely) idealistic about that time: We were pretty much reduced to “stuff that really matters.” 

The routine – so willingly cast aside before the tragedy – seemed like paradise. Churches – so easy to find fault while analyzing two sentences buried in Galatians – were filled with those offering prayer, thanks, support. 

I don’t remember seeing anyone making a statement during the National Anthem, or debating about gender-swapping rights, or proclaiming the cops weren’t doing their jobs well. (Maybe it’s worth walking a mile in their ballistic vest on a nightshift first?) 

Anyway, I could go on. And the cool thing is:

We, as in America, did go on, and will go on. 

Our family just celebrated my son’s 24th birthday in New York. Visited the memorial. Saw Hamilton. And remembered. It’s the struggles that make you tougher. By Sunday’s end, I was reminded that the key to achievement is not individual genius, but collective tenacity to pursue what’s important.

Here’s to you, contractors. Here’s to you, America. We will not forget.

Adams Hudson

How to Map Out Strong Conten

Can you influence a prospect in 7 seconds? 140 characters? 23 words? Your answer better be yes if you want to win friends and influence people in a marketplace that’s got a microscopic attention span.

With prospects, you’ll get an initial 10 seconds of time – tops – to grab their attention. That’s about 23 words, or the length of a tweet. For a broadcast message, you’re down to 7 seconds. For copy, a lot of readers stop at the headline. If that.

So what does it take to communicate? Consistency. That way, as your messages are shortened or broadened, they all communicate the same thing – affirming your image and brand.

Once someone becomes aware of you and enters your “content funnel,” the amount of time they’ll give you increases. It breaks down like this:

·         7-9 seconds – headline, tweet

·         2 minutes – info graphics, videos, blog posts

·         5 minutes – magazine articles, long webpages

·         20 minutes – white papers, webinars

Your goal is to get your prospects to consume larger pieces of content as they move toward your products and services. And you need to keep the message consistent throughout. What will help?

Create a map – A message map is a one-sheet tool that defines what points you want to emphasize on a topic and how you can support your points – whether you’ve got one minute or 10 minutes of attention span. It’s basically your main message, 3 supporting statements, plus supporting detail.

Remember: who is the message for? Your customers. And they want to know: “what’s in it for them?” Put benefits in your first 9 seconds so that the customer knows what you can do for them and why they should contact you. “We keep you comfortable year-round” is a basic message, for example. But you add more when you…

Make your supporting points – Create three supporting statements that relate to and explain/ prove your main message. That would look something like, say: “We keep you comfortable year-round through expert installation and repair, innovative energy efficiency and friendly, personal service.”

This first map is your main message – the one that should be included in everything you do. And it should stay within the 9-second, 23 word cut-off. From there, the amount of detail and supporting information varies based on the type of content and where it fits within your content funnel.  

If you need some assistance mapping out the perfect message, email a Hudson, Ink Marketing Coach today at coaches@hudsonink.com. 

Fishing For Some Answers

Growing up, I fished a lot. Since my father died before I could remember, my uncle stepped in to be my surrogate. Plus, he needed someone to back in the trailer. And deal with the bait. And drive the boat. I was more than willing since I had some ‘learning’ to catch up on. 

Lots of days, the trip was valuable even if we caught nothing. This came in handy more often than I admit to other fishermen. We had a good time talking out in the sun and discussing, as he said, “which one of the 4,812 reasons the fish didn’t bite today.” As a career writer with Readers’ Digest,he had a knack for phrasing. 

The top reasons – for which the fisherman had no influence – were the usual, such as water temperature, presence of food and whether or not we were so blooming hot we had to move the boat or else we’d burst into flames.  

Yet the esoteric reasons for not catching fish were casting ability, bait presentation and lure retrieval. All this was the fisherman’s choice.  

We eventually arrived at an honest conclusion. Shockingly, it impacts your marketing and your business, every day, even among your customers and employees.

 

A NOT-SO PROFOUND OBSERVATION

When we didn’t catch fish, it was due to the uncontrollable reasons. When we did – you guessed it – it was skill, pure and simple.  

My Uncle Allen has long since passed away, but the lesson stuck. We’re all fishing, all the time. In the upside-down logic of human behavior, according to fishermen, we let the outcome determine who gets the blame for it. 

Could be we’re fishing for a better job, deeper love, more respect, fewer hardships, more money, less stress, more peace.  Okay, throw in rock-hard abs, whiter teeth and a magnetic personality. 

“The reason I lost my last job,” said a recent applicant, “was because of my dumb boss and his stupid ideas.”  (This same stupid guy is among the top franchisees of a company in the Fortune 1000.)

A televised weight-loss competitor said on the air, “It’s a fast-food conspiracy that keeps us fat. The food is too available, too fast and it smells good.” Pause for smacking plump lips. “Plus, the prices are pretty reasonable. Something’s wrong there.”  

What? To me, those are the very mission of the company. I was waiting for her to say ‘addictive,’ which all of us in business are still looking to achieve. As soon as I can figure out how to get people hooked on Hudson, Ink, I’ll let you know. I’m not above attempting hypnosis. 

So, what are you looking to ‘fix?’ And is that fix within your control… or outside of it? 

Do you believe your increase or decrease in leads is solely due to the weather? Partner with the weather by forcing early season adopters. Tempt late season procrastinators with closeouts. Increase your efficiency in peak seasons to do more with fewer people. There are ways around this.

Do you believe your town is “just not big enough” to grow your business? Then add up the cumulative sales of all your competitors. That’s your market. You just figure how hard you want to work to go get it. 

Do you feel marketing is a waste of time and effort, because your sales ‘really’ come from ‘word of mouth?’ Then name ONE company that’s successful without marketing. Wait – if they have a sign, a logo or can be found online, they’re marketing. 

Do you believe just having a website is ‘good enough,’ and if people want you, they’ll find you? Then consider that 64% of home service sales are now researched online first, before they ever call you. Also, your online reputation can turn hundreds of leads from EVER calling you in the first place. Your web marketing must enter the ‘new’ phase of human behavior. 

What’s your biggest marketing problem or challenge? Don’t hold back. We all have them, me included. (Contrary to my publicly manipulated reputation, I falter and stink up the marketing joint too. But don’t worry – you don’t pay for those, I DO. The information/advice you get here was gathered from a variety of blunders and experiments.)

So how do you end this sentence: “My biggest marketing challenge is…” Click to send it to us. We’re happy to lend guidance. That’s why we’re here.

Free advice: Keep fishing. But it’s impossible to catch anything with your bait still in the boat.

Happy Fishing,

Adams Hudson