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In Defense of Selling

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No Soliciting
Image by paganites via Flickr

There is a growing movement of people that seem to believe that selling is equivalent to the old style peep shows frequented by dirty old men. They’d rather we all hold hands and sing songs around the campfire. I love a good round of Kumbaya as much as the next person but campfire songs don’t pay my bills. Crude of me to say I know, but I am rather fond of the basics of life such as shelter, electricity, indoor plumbing and at least one meal a day.

I am all for engagement, and authenticity but wonder if we have gone overboard. While the way we market and sell continues to evolve, the activities cannot be eliminated. If I listen to this growing contingent, I am never to ask for business and when I do receive it because I played nicely with the kids at camp, I am to perform the work and then apologize profusely for charging for it.

Hogwash.  While I am not a fan of ONLY talking about yourself, and pushing your products like a crack dealer on a street corner I am quite passionate about my work. I have clients who are doing amazing things. I love sharing their successes and am honored to play a tiny role in their business. Sometimes I will talk about that. And by golly while we’re singing if you express a need I am going to speak up! (Truthfully, I am more apt to recommend someone else because it’s not all about me!) Conversely, when you speak you can count on me to really listen and hear you.

Where on earth did we get the idea that we should be ashamed to be in business? The energy company never apologizes to me for taking my money, nor do any of the other vendors I pay monthly. Many make me feel good about CHOOSING them and express their delight I am a customer, but apologies? Never. And why should they? These vendors are providing something I want or need. I pay them in exchange for their products and services. We’re all happy even without the campfire songs. The songs are a bonus, either an entry or deepening of the relationship but not required for me to choose to do business with you. What is required is you delivering on the promise, you can sing all you want but in the end if you don’t do what you say it really won’t matter.

I’m cool with not being Facebook friends with my OB/Gyn. We’re quite personal enough, thank you very much. I don’t need my grocery store to follow me on Twitter and tweet me inspirational messages (although I do love coupons and sale alerts).

I love the conversations and friendships that develop via social media but I also have a responsibility to be a faithful steward to my business. This means I have to tell people I exist. I have to make money so that I can keep my economic ecosystem in balance. When I do the work, I also have to charge for it. I will not apologize for billing you but I will work my tail off to exceed your expectations. I will treat your business with respect and look for ways to add value, and I will let you know how much I appreciate you choosing me. I may even sing a song or two with you but I will not disrespect you by apologizing for the transaction.

So yes, let’s keep the engagement, bring it on! However, let us not hang our heads in shame or fear at respectfully engaging in marketing.

What are your thoughts? Is there a happy middle ground? Dissenting opinions are welcomed, disrespect is not so be nice to me and each other. 🙂

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Facebook, the Illusion of Privacy and Loud Mouth Quitters

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Facebook logo
Image via Wikipedia

Sigh. I was not planning on writing a post on Facebook although I have been sharing extensively on the issue. Still, I was not going to step out on my own and say a word until Brad Shorr and Joanna Paterson double teamed me. Okay, they did not intentionally double team me. Unbeknownst to one another both published posts yesterday on Facebook. Both, in their typical style, examined the issue and offered honest, balanced opinions. That however is not what prompted me to write, no it was a comment by Brad on Joanna’s post that reminded me of my social responsibility to educate others on a key issue that is in fact in my area of expertise. Sigh.

So, is Facebook evil? I cannot pretend to know the hearts and minds of the Facebook team but in a word “no.” Like Joanna and Brad, I have a love-hate relationship with Facebook. To be fair, I also love-hate email, twitter and coupons. Welcome to my world. Yes, Facebook has convoluted, unbelievably complicated privacy controls, and I take my stand with others seeking a change, but evil is pushing it in my opinion.

Privacy online is a myth. I learned this years ago when we had nothing more than email and bulletin boards. I sent a “private” email to a recently fired colleague. My “private” email ended up as “evidence” in my friend’s lawsuit against the company. A simple gesture of kindness, and solidarity sent “privately” was in fact discoverable. The lesson stuck and 9/11 pushed it deeper.

If you want private, don’t share it. I am not excusing Facebook’s privacy policy but we should be clear that our words and actions are rarely private. Do you use reward cards, credit cards or buy any products or services? Do you have a driver’s license, social security card or insurance? Do you live in a place that has public cameras (street lights, security cameras)? Information is collected about us all the time and used in various ways to monitor and/or predict our behavior.

Yet, the platforms we use also have a responsibility in making it easy for us to manage the flow of information. This is the “hate” part of my relationship with Facebook.

There are those that will diligently plow through the information, read the policy carefully and take precautions. Others will ignore or tune out the hubbub and continue to play Farmville, chat with friends and post funny pictures. Still others will protest loudly and lead an army of people to quit altogether.

The people who will ignore the warnings are largely the “real people” that brought many of us to Facebook in the first place. You know the people who don’t live in the social media echo chamber, are not opted in to a million lists and simply take the web and its content at face value. Yea, the people we marketers salaciously went after once we discovered they were on Facebook.

I find it hypocritical that “we” descended upon Facebook in droves and happily took advantage of the freedom to grow our networks and market our careers, products and services yet we now spit venom at the “evil ones” for daring to actually collect and use that information.

Again, this is no defense of Facebook’s policy but perhaps we should take the plank out of our own eyes before we remove the speck in our brother’s eye. We created this with our sharing and connecting. Did we really believe that a free tool would not see an opportunity to monetize our actions?

I am all for protesting to make things better and safer for everyone. I am joining the one day Facebook black out and I will continue to loudly add my voice to others urging for change but I will not cry foul and leave entirely. We have a responsibility to protect ourselves and I believe our communities. So, I will continue to love-hate Facebook but I will not blame them for a monster we collectively created.

How about you? What precautions do you take online? What are your feelings about online privacy?

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The World’s Not Small It’s Just Sliced Really Thin

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We often remark how much smaller the world has become.  Technology has facilitated our ability to seamlessly connect with people around the globe. Social media has added a new depth to this ability by allowing us to connect around common points of interests.

Yet, while the world seems small, it is vast and largely unexplored.

Only a small percentage of the world’s  population travels with regularity around the globe. It is both impractical and cost prohibitive for most people, but is the not the primary reason for the limitation. We are creatures of habit. We may venture out of our comfort zones on occasion but even the adventurer follows a predictable pattern.

Online, the limitations and boundaries are removed and still we confine ourselves to one little part of the globe. The cyberworld is not small it is huge but highly segmented into tiny little pieces.

We find micro communities or tribes based on interests, activities and hobbies and we settle into a comfortable networking community. Our tiny little segment seems big because it’s populated with people from around the globe. We marvel at our ability to connect across cultures, time zones and languages as we join virtual hands to sing “We are the world.”

We venture out from our big, tiny world on occasion but we return back to the familiar with predictable regularity.

I happen to be fond of tribes as a human and marketer, but I am not blind to the downside of tribal affinity. Tribes make it easy to get caught in an echo chamber where perception is mistaken as fact. You can fall into the belief that others understand the language, and share the same beliefs as the tribe.

The tribe can dull your senses and stunt your innovation. Without realizing it your world shrinks to the size of your tribe. You see the same topics discussed, products pushed and methods used by members of the tribe and your mind concludes that this is the way of everyone. Welcome to the echo chamber.

Luckily, there is an easy fix.  Go visit other cultures. You will find that a simple change of internet scenery will expose you to a whole new group of people with their own language, and tribal traditions.

You may find that the change of conversation will spark new ideas and enable you to see your business challenges and triumphs in a new way. You may even find a previously untapped market eager for what you have to offer.

Tribes are good except when they’re not. Get out and see the world, after all online it’s virtually free.

Have you ever found yourself caught in the echo chamber? How did it affect your views and decisions?

It’s All About You

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♡♡♡ Thank you my Friend ♡♡♡
Image by janusz l via Flickr

Written by Karen D. Swim

“I’m not addicted to FaceBook. Or Twitter. Or LinkedIn. I’m addicted to you. Your energy.” @manicactive, via Twitter
The above tweet was sent out yesterday by the infectiously enthusiastic Laura Bergells. (Side note: Whether sharing information, links or just chatting, Laura has a way of communicating with warmth and humanity. If you are on twitter, she is one to follow. ) When I read the tweet it reaffirmed my own belief that the “why” of most of our actions is in direct relation to our humanity and the sharing of such with others.

Without people the tools we use and the actions we take are rather hollow. With all that is going on in our collective worlds and the demands on our time, Laura’s tweet reminded me to celebrate the people in my life.

If you’re reading this post today, thank you. Whether you realize it or not,  each one of you has added value and beauty to my life. Yes, even those who read in silence, I know you’re there and am so very thankful that you continue to subscribe to this little blog.

Now back to you! Wonderful things are happening and here’s a few that you should not miss:

  • The wonderful Kelly Erickson is celebrating her 300th post. Please join in by leaving a comment and telling a friend or five. Your comment will enter you in a drawing for some cool prizes but in my opinion Kelly’s posts are more than enough reasont to visit and read.
  • Amy  Palko has launched a new blog with a focus on social media. Amy’s keen mind and artistic lens adds a fresh perspective to this space.
  • Chris Garrett is offering a webinar packed with valuable information and the price is a donation to a children’s charity.  Chris is such a gracious man and this is one of the many ways he walks the talk.
  • Joyful Jubilant Learning is having a month long love affair with books. There have been a wide variety of excellent book reviews by a superstar lineup of contributors. I’m scheduled to participate over the weekend and hope you’ll pop over and share.
  • What better way to celebrate community than to share what they have taught you? Joanna Young is hosting a group writing project that invites you to share the writing lessons you have learned from your blogging community. You have until March 27th to enter.
What are you celebrating this week?  Was there any one person who encouraged or motivated you this week?
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