So much of the branding, strategy and marketing advice I see around the web answers two questions – what and why. What do you need to do and why do you need to do it.

But there’s a third question that I see rarely answered. That question…how! How do you actually do what and why?

For instance, if you have a business, you need to market your business. Perhaps you learn what types of marketing would work best for your business. You even learn why those types of marketing can help you be successful. [ continue reading & share your thoughts → ]

Business is not just about what you do.

Yet, as business owners, we spend so much of our time focusing on how to do what we do better. We read, we blog, we train, we attend workshops and conferences, go to events, network and so on. All under the guise that we can gain some edge in how we do what we do.

But what if the edge isn’t in what we do for our clients and customers?

My grandmother buys a new car every four years. And for the past three decades, she’s been buying her cars from the same guy at the same dealership. Is it because the Buicks they sell are somehow better than the Buicks at other dealerships? Or maybe it’s that this specific salesman does his job better than the other salesmen do.

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Business is about relationships. Relationships are about people. So it should be obvious that people do business with people, not businesses.

Yet I’m always surprised how many small business owners miss this. Somewhere in all their efforts to develop their business plan and marketing strategy they seem to forget that it’s about the people.

Maybe it’s using terms like target audience or niche market that somehow dehumanizes their thoughts, I’m unsure. Or perhaps it’s the way we think about business in general as being a cold, cut-throat world where business owners are always trying to gain an upper hand on the competition. I know it’s hard to see people when we’re thinking like that.

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So many people I know are hesitant to sell. They’re hesitant to sell themselves. They’re hesitant to sell their products or services. And they’re hesitant to sell their business.

It’s easy to understand, right? As soon as I mention the word ‘sell’ what goes through your mind. For me I think of the pushy people in the appliance store. You know, the vultures hovering around waiting for the next carrion to fall through the door. Or the guy at the car dealership who goes through some pavlovian response the minute you have a question.

We just don’t think well of selling, do we? Which means we probably have some idea that stand in the way of us selling, as well.

But we don’t have to be obnoxious to sell. The obnoxious ones are not the best salesman. The best salesmen sell you without you ever knowing they were selling to you. They engage you, understand your need and help you fill it. That’s it.

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What does it take to have a successful blog for your business?

Denise Wakeman of Blog Squad fame asked that question of Chris Garrett. The conversation that grew created a bed of blogging tips. Watching the interview (5 1/2 minutes) Chris makes it pretty clear that a successful blog, like a successful business, is built on planning, focus, clarity and knowing your audience.

Whenever a client or prospective client ever asks me about marketing, I always begin my answer by finding out what they’re clear (and unclear) about in their business. I’ve learned the hard way of the years that you can only market, hence you can only sell, that which you’re clear about. And the greatest clarity I’ve found has come through understanding what problems my prospective clients face.

From the interview…

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You already know my experiences at SOBCon08 – at least those I could get down in a reasonable amount of time.

But aren’t you curious what others have been saying about it?

Well, I’ve done my best to compile all the posts I could find about the event. While extensive, this is likely not a complete listing. So if you have a post you’d like to add, please do so in the comment box and I’ll add it to the post below.

Did I read them all…no. But I did read most of them and commented on those I had something to add too. What always intrigues me most is that people often report more about their time getting to know someone then then they do the event content. Is there a little business secret tied up there? What do you think?

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SOBCon08 – Biz School for Bloggers… A report, part 2

Amazing that it took a whole blog post to cover the first day of SOBCon08, but it did. Friday was great. The boat ride stellar. And the conversation even better.

Seeing Lorelle first thing Saturday morning started the day off right. Got a chance to speak with Easton Ellsworth a bit, catching up on family and the like. Truth is I talk to Easton almost weekly. I did get to have breakfast with David Dalka and Phil Gerbyshak. We mostly talked shop – not blogging shop, but business shop – niche marketing and expert positioning. In other words, what problems do you solve for whom.

Business School was the theme of SOBCon08. The idea was born from watching lots of bloggers getting traffic and tons of comments, but making no money. This year’s SOBCon was going to bring business people and bloggers together so that business owners could learn about communities and using social media while bloggers could learn solid business practices.

Anita Bruzzese of 45Things kicked off the morning. She gave a great talk about managing your online reputation. Her advice: Remember “whatever you write has your name on it and you must be willing to stand behind it.” Her talk sparked a great conversation afterward that I was really getting in to. If only more time.

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