atkinson advisor

Brian Clark and Sonia Simone write for a successful blog called Copyblogger, which focuses on writing for sales and marketing. They give away valuable writing advice and insights every day.

Yet when you contact them, they say they are not taking on any new projects right now.

How can a company give away its expertise yet be so busy it cannot accept new clients?

It’s because Brian and Simone have established themselves as authorities. Marketing has entered a new era where authority matters and is accessible to any individual or organization.

Check out our conversation about authority on the new Atkinson Public Relations Web site.

Read Brian Clark’s Authority Rules.

We often hear from prospects that they want to “get our name out there.” They believe that being “out there” will translate into new business.

This is possible if their service or product costs less than $100, because the consequences of a bad decision are minimal. For everything above $100, getting the business’ name out there is important, but it’s only step one in the process of landing a new client.

The better question is, “How do I get people to choose my company?”

It’s also a bigger question.

Prospects make decisions to spend their hard-earned money after they have cleared several other hurdles.  They include:

1. Awareness
2. Introduction
3. Attention
4. Understanding
5. Preference
6. Choice

We will tackle each one of these hurdles — and certain combinations of them — in future issues of the Atkinson Advisor.

Next time you’re searching for a product in a specific price range, try using Google parameters to narrow your search.

For example, you would search for a chef’s knife that costs $50 to $75. You would type: “chef’s knife $50…$75″ in the Google search box. Change the product or the values for additional searches.

Difficult decisions often are unpopular.

In addition to making the decision, CEOs and other senior executives have the challenging task of communicating the decision – sometimes to angry constituencies – because the business must continue to operate.

Here’s how to handle these situations:

1. Be the standard of the truth. This should be pretty easy. Say “I can’t share that information” if a piece of information is confidential or not intended to be public. 
2. Meet people on the right emotional level. It’s easy to talk numbers, margins, markets, etc. Employees don’t care about any of that until they believe your understand and accept their emotional state. It’s often fear – What does this mean for my job? It can be anger. Make sure to acknowledge the feelings and accept them.
3. Create context for the decision. “Why did the company have to [insert tough decision]?” This question shows a lack of context. Be clear and specific about what caused the problems leading to the tough decision.
4. Provide criteria for the decision. “How did they decide to [insert tough decision]?” People are more tolerant when they understand how leadership makes decisions. By sharing this information, you prevent the rumor mill from making up its own criteria, which you will undoubtedly not like.
5. Set the target. It’s impossible for companies to return to business as usual after a significant change. The change is supposed to create a new normal that is better for the company’s future. Explain what it will take to achieve that new normal and how employees can help.

www.iconfinder.net

It’s hard to find good clip art for presentations and other uses. Icon Finder solves part of that problem with some unique art. Admittedly, the graphics are small because they are designed as icons for Web sites, but we definitely see applications in PowerPoint presentations or other media.

Open the Icon Finder gallery.

The title is no lie. Author Clark Campbell has devised a method for capturing a project’s salient points into a one-page project manager (OPPM) that can communicate its status and the performance of those in charge.

Campbell has used his approach to plan a $30 million software project for SAP, a large event, and a $10 million distribution center.

The information captured in the page includes:

• Key objectives
• Major tasks to be accomplished
• Status of those tasks
• Who is in charge of the task and other team members
• Costs

Campbell provides a step-by-step plan for completing the OPPM, how to use the OPPM to compile reports for senior management, and how to use the OPPM as a meeting agenda.

Download the OPPM template.