Ever heard of a brown bag party? I know a woman who hosts brown bag parties (BBPs for short) often. The premise is simple. Everyone brings a bottle of wine in a brown bag. They conduct a blind taste-test contest. The winners are solely based on each individuals' experience in tasting the wine in … [Read more...] about Scarlett Letter #46: Brownbagging it–Your brand & your relationships versus ‘blind judgement’
Archives for September 2009
Scarlett Letter #45: Support your claims with memorable stories
Posts #43 and #44 were around using ‘behavioral interviewing’ and the STAR format as prompters for excellent selling content, particularly when you need to support your claims of being the best, brightest, fastest, most creative....you get the idea. Let's stick with the theme of … [Read more...] about Scarlett Letter #45: Support your claims with memorable stories
Scarlett Letter #44: Behavioral interviewing technique—great application for sales/marketing, Part II
In the Scarlett Letter #43, I shared the merits of behavioral interviewing, along with the STAR technique for responding. To refresh your memory, 'behavioral interviewing' techniques follow the notion that ‘past behaviors will predict future behaviors’. Therefore, depending upon how you have … [Read more...] about Scarlett Letter #44: Behavioral interviewing technique—great application for sales/marketing, Part II
Scarlett Letter #43: Behavioral interviewing technique—great application for sales/marketing, Part I
If your AEC firm has a sophisticated human resources department, then no doubt that group uses an interviewing format called 'behavioral interviewing' when hiring new candidates. In the shortest of descriptions, behavioral interviewing assumes that 'past behaviors will predict future behaviors'. … [Read more...] about Scarlett Letter #43: Behavioral interviewing technique—great application for sales/marketing, Part I
Scarlett Letter #42: Pecha Kucha–innovative presentation format for AEC professionals
Last week, I had the pleasure of talking with industry colleague Lira Luis at Chicago's 2009 Twestival. As we discussed the oral communications challenges of fellow professionals in the AEC industry, Lira shared with me her positive experiences involved with Pecha Kucha night. In short, Pecha Kucha … [Read more...] about Scarlett Letter #42: Pecha Kucha–innovative presentation format for AEC professionals
Scarlett Letter #41: RSS feeds; alerts; readers—you’d be crazy not to use these tools!
Just yesterday, I (again) had the experience of conversing with someone who said to me, "Oh yes, I read all of your published articles; in fact, I often visit your website to read the latest." And then when I ask, "Have you subscribed to my blog?" or even "What blogs are you reading regularly?", I … [Read more...] about Scarlett Letter #41: RSS feeds; alerts; readers—you’d be crazy not to use these tools!
Scarlett Letter #40: Put your (marketing/sales) expectations in writing
As I finalize my syllabus for this semester's Columbia College Oral Communications classes, I can't help but compare the level of detail and 'spell-it-all-out-format' of my syllabus relative to the syllabi of my colleagues that teach the same course. Is it necessary, I wonder, to provide such a … [Read more...] about Scarlett Letter #40: Put your (marketing/sales) expectations in writing
Turning lemons into lemonade: Part II of II
Mobilizing under-utilized staff to contribute to your firm's business development solution. Published in PSMJ Rainmaker and RainToday. Part I spoke about structuring a program where you—as the marketing/business development professional—can guide your ‘expanded marketing team’ (aka underutilized … [Read more...] about Turning lemons into lemonade: Part II of II
Scarlett Letter #39: What areas of your business do you want to grow?
"What area of your business are you most interested in growing?" was a question posed to me recently in an entrepreneur-to-entrepreneur conversation. "I'd like to help you with the part of your business that you care most about." What a great way for him to position the question! He reminded me yet … [Read more...] about Scarlett Letter #39: What areas of your business do you want to grow?