Getting Granular: The DigitalGrit Blog

Ning: Started a Group on Web Marketing. Join!!

So I checked out Ning -- and started a group on Web marketing. You should join. It's called Marketing Super Geniuses. (I had to think of something quick, OK??)

One *MILLION* Jobs

We have about a million job openings right now. I'm not even exaggerating. (Much.) Account Managers, Developers, Project Mangers, Copywriters, Creative Directors...all kinds of positions available!

And we're a pretty crediblie organization, too. We're a Best Place to Work (NJ and US) and a Deloitte Technology Fast 50 company, and now we've won the Forbes Enterprise Award...We're members of SEMPO, The DMA, The IAB....We've spoken at ad:tech, The DMA Annual, The Search Insider Summit, OMMA East...

I mean, I could go on...but you're probably already putting your resume together, right? If you're talented, smart and would generally consider yourself a cool person, get that res over to us pronto.

UXP Rant: Web Server Error Code Copy … Say WHAT????!!!!

A special guest post from Jane-Anne, our "Queen of User Experience."

You have to admire Google. I do, because they gave me an opportunity to talk about something related to User Experience (although really, everything is related to the user experience. See my follow-up post to our mascot blog entry as well for proof!).

Too often, web server error messages are full of technical-ese and don’t tell the user what is going on, what happened or what they should do. And too often, marketers are missing a really nice way to strengthen, or at least keep, the relationship with the user and build upon their brand.

All it takes is a little creativity. Say something in simple, understandable language and if you can, make sure it reflects the tone, style and culture of your organization. The DG employee who received the Google error message said it made her laugh. This is a big change from a user who would get the standard 404 error message and be left confused or worse – frustrated.  Even better, it won’t get ignored like the typical error message will, and you might even get some viral activity around it like this Google one did.

At the very least, we’ll think you’re pretty cool.

UXP Rant: Web Server Error Code Copy … Say WHAT????!!!!

A special guest post from Jane-Anne, our "Queen of User Experience."

You have to admire Google. I do, because they gave me an opportunity to talk about something related to User Experience (although really, everything is related to the user experience. See my follow-up post to our mascot blog entry as well for proof!).

Too often, web server error messages are full of technical-ese and don’t tell the user what is going on, what happened or what they should do. And too often, marketers are missing a really nice way to strengthen, or at least keep, the relationship with the user and build upon their brand.

All it takes is a little creativity. Say something in simple, understandable language and if you can, make sure it reflects the tone, style and culture of your organization. The DG employee who received the Google error message said it made her laugh. This is a big change from a user who would get the standard 404 error message and be left confused or worse – frustrated.  Even better, it won’t get ignored like the typical error message will, and you might even get some viral activity around it like this Google one did.

At the very least, we’ll think you’re pretty cool.

Belated holiday Gift: B2B Search Podcast

It's been a great year for the DigitalGrit blog, and rather than celebrate with a "best of" or "Year in Review" post, we thought we'd offer our favorit e, evergreen podcast. It's a long one, but you'll walk away with lots of use-today tips and tools for maximizing your B2B search marketing campaigns.

From us to you, with best wishes for a happy, prosperous 2006!

Check out the podcast.

Belated holiday Gift: B2B Search Podcast

It's been a great year for the DigitalGrit blog, and rather than celebrate with a "best of" or "Year in Review" post, we thought we'd offer our favorit e, evergreen podcast. It's a long one, but you'll walk away with lots of use-today tips and tools for maximizing your B2B search marketing campaigns.

From us to you, with best wishes for a happy, prosperous 2006!

Check out the podcast.

DigitalGrit's Business Blog Service has Officially Launched!

Yes, it's true. We've launched our results-oriented, ROI-focused biz blog service. Don't expect to see any Raging Cows, Lincoln Fries, or Captain's Blogs here.

DigitalGrit Launches Business Blog Service
Web Marketing Firm Introduces Results-Oriented Web Log Offering

November 7, 2005 (Boonton, NJ): Web marketing and technology firm DigitalGrit introduced its Business Blog Service today. The new service offers large and medium sized companies a turnkey solution for creating, maintaining, marketing and measuring the success of a company web log, or blog....

Read the whole thing.

UPDATE: Thanks to Blog Herald (one of my fave feeds, in fact) and BusinessBlogWire for the mentions!

DigitalGrit's Business Blog Service has Officially Launched!

Yes, it's true. We've launched our results-oriented, ROI-focused biz blog service. Don't expect to see any Raging Cows, Lincoln Fries, or Captain's Blogs here.

DigitalGrit Launches Business Blog Service
Web Marketing Firm Introduces Results-Oriented Web Log Offering

November 7, 2005 (Boonton, NJ): Web marketing and technology firm DigitalGrit introduced its Business Blog Service today. The new service offers large and medium sized companies a turnkey solution for creating, maintaining, marketing and measuring the success of a company web log, or blog....

Read the whole thing.

UPDATE: Thanks to Blog Herald (one of my fave feeds, in fact) and BusinessBlogWire for the mentions!

The Pendulum Theory

At some point in my sales career I was introduced to “The Pendulum Theory”.  It is a vicious cycle that most sales people fall victim too.  The concept is significantly easier to understand then finding a solution. 

If you are in sales you are well aware that every aspect of the sales cycle is tracked and measured.  When a sales person begins their career or starts a new sale job, the first thing they do is pound the pavement and speak to as many prospects as possible to fill the sales funnel with new opportunities.  These prospect meetings ultimately produce opportunities to deliver a proposal which in turn will result in a number of sales.  The pendulum swings and reaches a high point.  As the sales person begins to spend more time writing proposals and closing new business their attention moves away from prospect meetings.  It is extremely challenging for the sales person to maintain a high number of new prospect meetings during this stage of the sales cycle.  As a result, the funnel begins to dry up and the pendulum changes direction and begins a down swing.   Depending on the length of the sales cycle from prospect meeting to close, the sales person finds themselves at a point where they need to increase the level of prospect meetings again and the cycle starts all over. 

Needless to say, this is a frustrating cycle to the sales person and has significant impact on a small to midsize organization.  Wouldn’t we all love to have a steady incline of sales performance?  Nirvana is not as easily attained as it sounds. 

So what can a sales person do to reduce the effects of “The Pendulum Theory “?  Here are a few disciples that can be followed but they are far from easy.  My first suggestion is to respect the sales cycle and make every effort to add balance to your sales approach.  Sales people should establish a goal of new meetings with prospects each month.  The goal set should be attainable under the busiest of work conditions.  No matter what is in the pipeline, a high priority has to be placed on reaching your new prospect meeting goal. 

Another key discipline is the dedication to time management.  It is so hard to block out time to prospect and conduct new meetings when your opportunities are in the final stages of the sales cycle, but if you are going to avoid falling victim to the pendulum theory, it is a must.  Defining true sales activities from non sales activities is a critical piece of the puzzle.  Client and prospect interaction should be done during business hours.  Presentation and proposal development can be done before and after business hours. 

Pursuit of the right type of opportunities is also critical to defeating the pendulum.  Make sure that each opportunity has a high probability to close.  I know, easier said than done but the effort must exist.
The final disciple I’ll share in this post is patience.  Some would say that a patient sales person is not going to meet their quota.  I disagree!  Sales people should be aggressive with their client in an effort to close the sale but if that becomes the focus of all your efforts, something will suffer.  That something is usually the filling of the funnel.

In summary, add balance, good time management skills and patience to your sales efforts and you will reap the rewards of a successful sales career.  I hope the readers of this post will consider contributing their experiences.

Anthony P. Zarro - Interactive Marketing http://anthonyzarro.blogspot.com/

The Pendulum Theory

At some point in my sales career I was introduced to “The Pendulum Theory”.  It is a vicious cycle that most sales people fall victim too.  The concept is significantly easier to understand then finding a solution. 

If you are in sales you are well aware that every aspect of the sales cycle is tracked and measured.  When a sales person begins their career or starts a new sale job, the first thing they do is pound the pavement and speak to as many prospects as possible to fill the sales funnel with new opportunities.  These prospect meetings ultimately produce opportunities to deliver a proposal which in turn will result in a number of sales.  The pendulum swings and reaches a high point.  As the sales person begins to spend more time writing proposals and closing new business their attention moves away from prospect meetings.  It is extremely challenging for the sales person to maintain a high number of new prospect meetings during this stage of the sales cycle.  As a result, the funnel begins to dry up and the pendulum changes direction and begins a down swing.   Depending on the length of the sales cycle from prospect meeting to close, the sales person finds themselves at a point where they need to increase the level of prospect meetings again and the cycle starts all over. 

Needless to say, this is a frustrating cycle to the sales person and has significant impact on a small to midsize organization.  Wouldn’t we all love to have a steady incline of sales performance?  Nirvana is not as easily attained as it sounds. 

So what can a sales person do to reduce the effects of “The Pendulum Theory “?  Here are a few disciples that can be followed but they are far from easy.  My first suggestion is to respect the sales cycle and make every effort to add balance to your sales approach.  Sales people should establish a goal of new meetings with prospects each month.  The goal set should be attainable under the busiest of work conditions.  No matter what is in the pipeline, a high priority has to be placed on reaching your new prospect meeting goal. 

Another key discipline is the dedication to time management.  It is so hard to block out time to prospect and conduct new meetings when your opportunities are in the final stages of the sales cycle, but if you are going to avoid falling victim to the pendulum theory, it is a must.  Defining true sales activities from non sales activities is a critical piece of the puzzle.  Client and prospect interaction should be done during business hours.  Presentation and proposal development can be done before and after business hours. 

Pursuit of the right type of opportunities is also critical to defeating the pendulum.  Make sure that each opportunity has a high probability to close.  I know, easier said than done but the effort must exist.
The final disciple I’ll share in this post is patience.  Some would say that a patient sales person is not going to meet their quota.  I disagree!  Sales people should be aggressive with their client in an effort to close the sale but if that becomes the focus of all your efforts, something will suffer.  That something is usually the filling of the funnel.

In summary, add balance, good time management skills and patience to your sales efforts and you will reap the rewards of a successful sales career.  I hope the readers of this post will consider contributing their experiences.

Anthony P. Zarro - Interactive Marketing http://anthonyzarro.blogspot.com/