Anything else Archives - Page 4 of 9

JUST DON’T GET TOO PERSONAL

June 25, 2014 by Scott Flood

I nearly always advocate making marketing communications as personal as possible. The more that your website, brochures, emails, and all the rest reach out to your stakeholders on a one-to-one level, the more receptive they’ll be to your message. Most humans enjoy building personal connections with others, even when those others are actually companies. The … Read more

FOR FASTER DECISIONS, NARROW THE CHOICES

May 28, 2014 by Scott Flood

I once worked with an account executive who was a master at getting clients to approve projects in an amazingly short amount of time. One of his most effective techniques was narrowing the number of choices the client had to make. For example, consider a new ad for placement in a newspaper. Each ad … Read more

USING SIMPLE EXAMPLES TO CONVEY COMPLEX CONCEPTS

May 14, 2014 by Scott Flood

There are times when writers need to convey complex, difficult concepts to audiences that may not have the same level of knowledge as the organization that is sending the message. A simple solution that works wonders in those situations is the use of analogies, similes, and metaphors. When you can distill something complicated into something … Read more

YOUTH SPORTS AND LESSONS FROM CRUMMY CHILDHOODS

April 16, 2014 by Scott Flood

(I hope my three regular readers will forgive a brief departure from advice about marketing and writing. As this spring’s youth sports seasons start up, I’d like to share an essay I wrote several years ago. Hope you enjoy it.)

I guess it’s human nature for people to want their children to have the things they lacked as youngsters. Maybe it’s because we remember how badly we wanted the things our parents couldn’t afford or simply chose to deny us. Or maybe it’s because giving our kids abundance allows us to flaunt our own successes.

SIMPLE TIPS FOR WRITING A SPEECH

January 22, 2014 by Scott Flood

It’s often said that death is the only fear greater than being forced to speak in public. Fortunately, most people only die once, but you may face multiple occasions in your career or civic activities in which you’re forced to get up and speak.

There are many folk cures for reducing the anxiety associated with speaking. Some recommend that you pretend your audience failed to dress themselves. My Midwestern upbringing means the thought of speaking to a large group of naked people only makes me more nervous, so I had to find a better way to overcome those fears. And I did.

PRESENTATIONS: PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE

January 8, 2014 by Scott Flood

Too many people think the secret to a great presentation is a dazzling PowerPoint presentation. Not quite. Whether you’re an occasional presenter or a seasoned pro, the answer is the same as the punch line to that tired joke: “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?”

It’s practice, practice, and more practice, pure and simple. The people who deliver presentations that seem to be so natural and casual are usually those who have practiced the most.

FAQS ARE AN AMAZING TOOL: PART TWO

November 20, 2013 by Scott Flood

In my last post, I mentioned the amazing power of frequently asked question pages or documents. As I noted, these simple, easy-to-create tools can strengthen your sales efforts, overcome resistance, minimize misunderstandings, and boost customer satisfaction.

However, FAQs won’t do any of those things effectively unless they’re completely candid and honest. An FAQ isn’t the place to duck tough subjects or hide behind weasel wording. That’s because your customers and prospects are much better at spotting that kind of stuff than you realize.

SUCCESS STORY: ANGELIC APPROACH

October 16, 2013 by Scott Flood

How do you explain complicated planned giving strategies to ordinary people who don’t have a wealth of financial knowledge? That was the heart of the challenge facing the Catholic Community Foundation, the planned-giving arm of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.

The CCF manages endowments funds for parishes, charities, and other organizations with the Archdiocese, and its messages needed to compete for attention among the many appeals local Catholics received from those groups. Complicating the issue was the fact that planned giving strategies such as charitable remainder trusts and charitable lead trusts tend to be complex financial vehicles that senior citizens and others with money to give might find confusing or intimidating.

SHOOTING YOURSELF IN THE FOOT WITH A PIZZA WHEEL

October 2, 2013 by Scott Flood

Sometimes, companies are so focused on addressing a perceived shortfall or problem that they miss more important messages, or even send the wrong message to their stakeholders.

The newest commercial for Domino’s Pizza floored me because it’s a perfect example. Domino’s has been running a series of spots in which they admit that they haven’t been perfect in the past, but golly, they’re working on getting better. Most of the spots have been okay.