How to Increase Your Winning Percentage: Just Say No

I'm not proud to admit that I once answered 127 RFI/RFPs in one year.  I went to a Mirren BizDev conference once, and the speaker asked how many people in the room answered 10 RFP's in a year.  Everyone's hand's shot up.  "25?"  Hands went down. "30?"  One hand left up.  I was embarrassed, so I pulled my hand down at that point.

Like the lottery ad says, the truth is "you gotta be in it to win it."  But, seriously, you can't be in all of them and expect to be "New Business Brilliant" every time.

You've got to pick and choose your battles.  The difference between a success and failure is sizing up the opportunity and then going after the ones that you know you can win.  Easy to say.  Hard to say "no".

Donny Deutsch talks about taking his father's company from $40 Million to $400 Million.  Do you know what he said his secret was?  He "learned to say NO".

Another famous Donny - New York Yankees First Baseman, Don Mattingly (Donnie Baseball) reminds me:

"Get a good pitch.  Hit it hard somewhere.  The rest is out of your hands."

I have always tried to heed the advice of both Donny's as I approach every new business opportunity.

Providence, RI: An Overlooked Gem of Business and Pleasure

I may have mentioned this before, yet it bears repeating.  My daughter is at school in Providence, Rhode Island. I've been to Providence before on business (Hasbro, CVS), and for pleasure (WaterFire).  Though, I have never realized what a gem of a city it was - until now.

On a recent "Parent's Day" weekend, we had the good fortune to dine on Federal Hill.  Homemade pasta.  Handmade cheeses.  Hand-crafted bread.  It was heaven-on-a-hilltop.  Dining alfresco, we were seduced by a the vocal styling of a "Big Band Revival" band.  Sinatra.  Bennett.  Damone.  Even Julius LaRosa.  They were all there -- en full throat!  The best part was that Buddy Cianci - the colorful ex-mayor/ex-con - upon whose back this revitalized city owes it's newfound resplendant glory -- was dining with us.  And, regardless of your politics, the warm glow of the early fall evening sun made everything seem right.  It was a good night.  And, for dessert?  You can't beat beat a Sfogliatella from Scialo Bros. Bakery.  Layer after flaky layer.  Emmm.  Emmm.  As Lidia would say, Tutti a table! A mangaro.

Roxy's Bone to Pick: Pets

Roxy reminds me that she is not a pet.  Quite indignantly, in her usual throaty growl, she huffs, "I am a DOG."

Her view on the matter is that pets are soft-in-the-middle, fufu house guests.  Dogs are unattached, uninvolved, and independent.

She points out that it was my choice - definitely - not - hers! - to disrupt her life - and bring her into mine.  She, after all, was minding her own business, nustling through the cedar chips with her new-found friend Lucy, until I came along.

"Well, excuse me," she huffs once more for emphasis.  "I never, not once, ever pretended to be all soft, cuddly, and puppified.  It was you - you - who projected your fancy, high-faluttin, suburbanated notions of what a puppy should be - onto me!"

She, of course, is right.  As usual.  To say that Roxy is of her own mind is an understatement. Roxy has no interest in pleasing me - or anyone else - animal or person.  That is - unless she wants to.  Until Roxy makes up her mind to do something, you will never ever convince, persuade, or cajole her otherwise.

Get off the couch?  "For-ged-aboud-it."  Play with the other dogs?  "Screwyou."  Stop barking?  "Grrrrrraarrragh!"

But, when she wants something -- really, really wants something -- she couldn't be sweeter.  "Rollover, you say?  Tumble aside Mary Lou!  You want soft and cuddly?  Check out my belly.  Go ahead, give me rub. Pat my head.  C'mon.  C'mon.  I can do soft and cuddly!"

Roxy reminds me that just because she can't talk, doesn't mean she can't communicate.  As a result, she has bestowed unto me that rare gift of a new perspective.  Because of her, I see things differently now.  Not as they are, but as they should be.   Like it or not Roxy, I appreciate that.

(You can see more pictures of Roxy -- and her friends -- over here.)

Holy Truck! Road Trip!

This post over at Mashable is inspiring.  My hat's off to the readers of Mashable for their list of favorite food trucks around the country.

Food Trucks are the "Target" of the Foodie world.  To me, they represent "The Democratization of Gourmet Food".  (You heard that here first, didn't ya!)  Great food.  Easy to access.  Lots of fun.

Well the Mashable post puts me in the mind to travel the country testing all the food trucks.  Perhaps rating them.  Maybe, it's time for a national-level Zagats-type guide to Food Trucks?  Or perhaps a Food Truck Ap?  If anyone knows of one, please respond back to me, as I would love to download it.

Another very cool site is Roadfood.com.  I am always sure to check it when going to another city.  I always want to sample the local fair - and I know of no better source than Roadfood.com for providing great intel on the diviest places!

A couple of summers ago, my sons and I, and my father too, went on a hotdog hunt.  Well - to be exact - a Texas Wiener hunt.  We visited all of the best Texas Wiener stops in and around Paterson, New Jersey - for my money - the home of the best Texas Wieners in the world - but this is for another post.

For now, I am busy plotting my course to fukuburger!

Going Postal - It's a Good Thing!

I love this post over at AgencySpy.  It really nails the heart and soul of the US Postal Service, unlike anything I have seen in the past (save the "Let the River Run" anthem developed by Grey that ran immediately following events of 9/11/2001.)

The US Postal Service is often derided, I think, unfairly.  Yet, it is part of the very fabric of our country.  In the age of interactive media and digital relationships, I have long held that the US Postal Service is really the only one true interactive network that delivers messages face-to-face to every home in America.  Now, I see their campaigns are beginning to pick up on this key differentiator.

The US Postal Service has been delivering for us since 1775.  Now, it's time for us to deliver for them.  As Congress debates the fate of USPS,  I hope it's not too late.

Google Minus?

Ok.  Ok.  So I wasn't one of the digiteratti to get an invite to beta test Google+.  But, like the social-faithful, I hastily followed the blue-arrow prompt and took the plunge a few weeks ago.  I must say, at first blush, I was underwhelmed with the experience.  It felt much like admiring a cool new sports car from afar, only to be left unfulfilled behind the wheel during the test drive.  Lots of goo-gaws and gadgets.  Clunky to navigate.  Few of my friends and colleagues participating.  So, like the rest of the reported 60%, I bailed.

Until yesterday.  Thanks to my new friend Kit Costello, I am taking Google+ for another, extended test-drive.  I'll put it through its paces in all earnestness this time, and see where she takes me.  Afterall, The Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu, can't both be wrong.  Thanks Kit.

The e-Fairness Act - Devaluating Your Company by 25%?

Did you know that internet retailers are supposed to collect sales tax on goods sold in California, Connecticut and five other states?  Big deal, you say?  Just wait until the 44 other cash-strapped states jump on the revenue-windfall band wagon.  You'll start getting notices from every company you did business with to collect back taxes.

That's bad enough for consumers, but - can you image the collection nightmare involved for America's businesses?  I know - no one cares about corporate greed, but this will surely end up coming out of your pocket at some point.

Thank goodness for companies like Amazon, and the Direct Marketing Association who are standing up to the legislation.  But the fight will be a long one, and the DMA could use all the support it can get.

If you are an internet retailer, you may be interested in a new free webinar being sponsored by the DMA that addresses many of the issues you will need to face.  To find out more, send me an email:  rtraino@comcast.net.

Do you twitter like a teenage girl?

Everyone from the Pope to the President to your kid sister are Twittering today.  But, let’s be honest.  All tweets are not created equal.  Personally, I prefer the transparency of my kid-sister’s tweets about the family dog, to the promotional, self-serving, insincere “twosh” (that’s a cross between the words “tosh” and “tweet”, coined here) from big brands.

It’s no secret that brands have discovered Twitter as a way to engage better with their consumers.  But, that’s the problem.  To mis-quote one of my favorite creative geniuses, Emily Soell, “I don’t want to have a relationship with my aspirin.  I just want my headache to go away.”

If you can only hear your own voice and see your own content in your tweetstream then you’ve misunderstood what you’re here for. Your followers are following you because they are hoping you will provide information relevant to them.  They’re looking for information to pass along to their friends and their own followers.

For such a simple format, there is an incredible complexity to the variety of tweets, and the metadata that go along with them. 

How would you judge your won tweet anatomy?  Do you tweet like your kid sister, or do you tweet like a corporate hack?

Virtual Shopper Marketing

These days, it seems that every other agency in the world has some sort of fancy-schmancy "pathway to purchase" model. Truth-be-told, though - most are thinly-veiled interpretations of the real McCoy -- er, a McKinsey. (But, that's for another blog post.)

Now, it seems, they will all need to re-calibrate their little shopper compasses. South Korea's HomePlus is testing a virtual store that allows shoppers with smartphones to buy their groceries while they wait for the subway. At Seolleung station, there’s a row of brightly lit billboards along the subway platform, with hundreds of pictures of food – things like instant noodles, bottled beverages and bunches of bananas. Shoppers (or strap-hangers?) can hold their phones over the black-and-white QR Codes under product pictures, snap, order, and indicate when and where to deliver.

Innovative and smart.  Are you on the right path to purchase?

Sales Tip of the Day: Be Fascinating

In the past few months I have conducted a lot of interviews, talked to a lot of people, and the one thing that I have found to ring true is the need to be fascinating.  People are more distracted than ever before, and in order to hold their attention for more than a nano-second, it is critical to engage them from the start - and throughout the conversation.  The trick I am finding, is to be fascinating.  And, I learned a very long time ago - the one key secret to being fascinating.  Do you want to know what that secret is?

I'll tell you.  I learned it from an adjunct professor at Glassboro State College - my alma mater.  Back then - it wasn't known as Rowan.  There were no fancy-schmancy luxury hotel-dorms or upper-east-side-esque health club-like gyms.  Just Mimosa Hall and Esby Gym.  Oy!

Well, back to being fascinating.  Like I said, this adjunct professor -- he wasn't even a real professor -- but I have held onto most of what he taught us in one semester for the past 30 years.  He said, "the secret to being fascinating is to be ..."  wait for it ... wait for it... "the secret to being fascinating", well, simply "is to be fascinated".

There you have it.  The next time you are at a cocktail party - try it out.  Rather than talk about you, you, you.  Don't talk at all.  Engage people in a conversation about the most fascinating person in the room -- them.  Ask them about their story.  Probe about them. They won't shut up.  And, in the end - they will think you are the most fascinating person n the room -- because they will have been fully engaged in your conversation - about them.

The same holds true for job interviews, by the way.  Keep the other guy talking - and you win.

Fascinating.