Red Zone Marketing's Blog

Guest Blog: New Kids on the Block

Guest Blog from Lena Rizkallah of Mosaic Consulting

The results of November’s tumultuous mid-term elections are in: for the third time in four years, a significant change has taken over Congress.  The Republicans took back the majority in the House while the Democrats maintained their lead in the Senate, albeit by a slim margin.  Overwhelmingly, the shift among voters resulted from the state of the economy, job losses and an uncertain future.

One thing is clear: the election results demonstrated what is most on the minds of Americans today, and that is the state of the economy.  It’s critical then to keep this in mind when meeting with your clients and prospects (because it’s clearly on their minds too).  They may be tired of talking about the slow economic recover and may be tired of hearing about it, but that’s because they’re ready to see results.  Are your clients and prospects still looking to you to help them as the economy continues to recover, or are they too looking to shift the balance in power and seek advice elsewhere?

It is in the best interests not only of the country but also for the future of our political leaders to make economic recovery the number one priority.  Not the repeal of the health care bill.  Not the pushing forward of a cap and trade bill.  Not a prolonged dissection of the Dodd-Frank Bill. And, seriously, the US can wait on whether to legalize marijuana or not.

That’s not to say that these issues are not relevant, and they certainly should be given their fair turn in debate in Congress.  But for now, let’s focus on the real issues at hand: setting policies into place that would lead to an economic recovery and long-term economic growth; creating incentives to encourage job creation; providing small business incentives; and for Pete’s sake, let’s make some decisions on where taxes are headed already!

President Obama has a tough road ahead of him.  Now that the Republicans are back in town, along with some Tea Partiers, it will be more challenging for him to push through his agenda.  In fact, the elections will probably cause him to scale back his ambitious agenda and result in a more conciliatory approach.  In his speech last Wednesday, President Obama indicated that he welcomes collaboration and bipartisanship to take shape in the next few years.  But judging from the squabbles of the past two years, it’s unclear whether either party will actually ‘play nice.’

Hopefully, with more clarity on income, investment and estate tax rates and a focus on the economy, Americans may finally leave the land of uncertainty and return to the land of prosperity.  It is important to address these concerns directly with your clients and prospects.  Be the one they can trust to get them back on track.  Lead them out of the current turmoil and you will have a wealth of happy clients--which could result in fantastic referrals and new clients too!

Mudslinging!

 

 

Blog from Maribeth Kuzmeski of Red Zone Marketing 

Attack ads in politics are successful because they are much more interesting to watch than regular boring TV commercials. It’s true! We are attracted to things that are interesting, different and even controversial (i.e. Reality TV). That’s precisely why we were just subjected to perhaps the highest level of negative political advertising in history.
 
If I told you that this video http://politi.co/aG48EV interview on mudslinging in campaigns received hundreds of thousands of views yesterday, would you check it out? Well, maybe to see what others thought was interesting. Do you think lots of people would watch a video that was boring and content heavy? It is unlikely. (Frankly this interview is downright “dirty fun!”)
 
Most people will say they despise negative political ads. They make us uncomfortable. Yet we can’t turn away … every time. And what we do see helps us form our opinions on candidates. In business, as in politics, having something that is even slightly interesting is critical. And although negativity may not work in business like it does in politics, doing something different does.

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Mud on my face on Election Day

 

 

Blog from Maribeth Kuzmeski of Red Zone Marketing 

Check out the video interview I did with a reporter at Politico.com (this site gets 3 million hits per day!) where we are literally throwing mud at each other discussing dirty politics. Sensitive types and clean freaks – this is NOT for you! Everyone else, please take a look if you want to see some “dirty” fun! 

In the video interview, Washington reporter Patrick Gavin of Politico.com and I are discussing how politicians have failed at connecting with their constituents. We’re talking about the ugly side of politics and the real life effects of mudslinging!

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Is Your Marketing Authentic?

 

 

Blog from Maribeth Kuzmeski of Red Zone Marketing 

Do you think politicians are authentic? How about financial advisors? What about the way you present your business?  Do you take an approach that is genuine to who you are?

Many people assume that their marketing has to be a hard push to get people to take action.  Relying on tactics that strike fear in their audience or attack their competition, instead of taking an approach that highlights who they are, and what their business offers others.

Why does being authentic make such a big impact on your business?

People who are authentic, genuine and real are usually at ease because they’re not trying to cover anything up. In turn, being at ease puts others at ease. Authenticity is giving others the idea that what you see is what you get.  Real people are easy to be around because you feel safe knowing that you can trust what they say.

Marketing should be as authentic as you are. The words you use should be the words your clients and prospects would use to describe their challenges, solutions and benefits. Not perfect words and perfect pictures – your words, their words and authentic pictures. We are attracted to real, authentic marketing and portrayals of what you do and who you are. 

In politics and in business, people want to vote for or work with someone they are comfortable with, someone they can trust. In sales, less of the memorized pitch and more of the informal conversational approach has proven to be more successful. Why? Because it is authentic. And that’s what we need more of today.

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Negativity Works…It Must!

 

 

Blog from Maribeth Kuzmeski of Red Zone Marketing 

I was in California last week and had the “pleasure” of listening to the horrifically negative political ads on TV. Most TV’s across the country are filled with these ads right now. The California Gubernatorial race serves as the perfect example of a political race that has put productive political discourse aside and devolved into a cycle of negative ads. Democratic candidate Jerry Brown refers to his Republican opponent, Meg Whitman, as Pinocchio in his ads. Whitman says that Brown has a legacy of failure and that failure follows him everywhere. One thing is for sure. Negative ads must work because they are appearing coast to coast - from California to West Virginia to Delaware. But would negative ads work for financial advisors or other professional services businesses? I think not. Then why does it work for politicians?

Negative ads can be a very effective way to turn the electorate one way or the other through emotional arguments and attacks. It is a war of words with an ultimate winner and a loser. And it works. But the downside is that the perception left with voters is some level of disdain for both sides. This type of advertising wouldn’t work with professional services firms because their success is built upon relationships and trust. Obviously connecting with voters through trust is not a primary strategy for politicians. I personally believe that what candidates should focus on is becoming better connectors like financial advisors and other professionals must. Would it be that detrimental to take the high road?

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Why Increasing the “Social IQ” of Politicians Could Save The US (and how it improves your life too)

Blog from Maribeth Kuzmeski of Red Zone Marketing

Today’s politicians fight, bad mouth each other, ridicule, scream, occasionally tell half-truths, and cause overall frustration for many. Whether you’re a Republican, Democrat, or somewhere in-between, I think we would all agree that if there was more listening, cooperation, and compromise, there would be a lot more accomplished. But in order to do this, our politicians must stop pointing condemning fingers at each other and connect with each other.

Politicians should take a lesson from business. In business, compromise and collaboration are facts of everyday life. It is how things get done. Many would get fired for acting the way some politicians do. The truth is that the lack of connection, on both sides of the aisle, hurts citizens much more than the politicians themselves. Complaining and blaming, no matter if you believe you are right or wrong, creates noise, not solutions. And without solutions, where does that leave us?

Increased Social IQ can create more solutions for everybody. An increased Social IQ would certainly help to get more accomplished. Social IQ can be defined as the social intelligence that lies behind group interactions and behaviors. Social intelligence is made up of a person’s own social awareness including empathy, inclusion, control, influence and self-presentation. And no matter how much a politician or any of us knows, there’s always more to learn—and that’s just as true for social intelligence as it is for book smarts.

A simple way to determine where you are in your social intelligence is to think about how you currently interact with other people, and be honest with yourself. Are you exclusive, controlling, and distant? Or are you inclusive, empathetic, and warm? How often do you reach out? Do you take into account what others think? How do you make them feel? A quick and simple assessment here will help for increasing your social intelligence:

• Review the day and your interactions with colleagues and staff.

• Rate the positive impact on others (Grades A-F).

• Write down the notable successes and failures in interactions.

• Prepare for better future interactions.

(In the book, The Connectors, there is also a “Connector Assessment” that will take a closer look and categorize your connector skills and determine the specific areas of potential improvement.)

Once you’ve pinpointed the areas in which you need to improve, rehearse mentally. Anticipate how people might react to what you say. Practice conversations in advance. And remember that sometimes it’s not what you say but how you say it that turns people off or gets them to buy into what you are saying.

The goal here isn’t to be unreasonably or illogically optimistic, but to have hope for more positive outcomes that affect all of us. In politics, in business, in our families, with children and neighbors, forming better relationships can mean the difference between a stalemate and real solutions.

www.redzonemarketing.com

Maribeth Kuzmeski, is the author of the new book, The Connectors: How the World's Most Successful Businesspeople Build Relationships and Win Clients for Life (Wiley, September 2009, ISBN: 978-0-4704881-8-8, $22.95)

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