* robfrankel   Yes, there IS a Free Clinic today, Monday, February 1, 2010. It will begin at the top of the hour as designated by the clock in the upper right hand corner of your browser.
* robfrankel   At that time, I'll keep my browser open for anyone who drops by, helping them out at no charge with their business or branding issues...
* robfrankel   So grab a cup of herbal tea or coffee or soup and snuggle up against your keyboard and meet us back here at the top of the hour.
* robfrankel   Okie doke, the gates are open! I'll hang out for the next 60 minutes, just as I have since 1998 or something....
:D
- steffen   Hey Rob! How's it going?
- steffen   where is everyone?
* robfrankel   Hi Steffen. What's up?
* robfrankel   It's Monday. You never know what's with people. Sometimes they're catching up with other things.
* robfrankel   And then there are days when we're totally crowded.
* robfrankel   I just keep the browser open, and when people come by, I'm here.
* robfrankel   I send the announcement every Monday on FrankelBiz and also on Twitter.
- steffen   The screen refreshes way too fast on the chat room. Can't barely type without loosing cursor
* robfrankel   That's strange. This chat script hasn't changed in a very long time. Most people complain about something, tho. It's usually a browser issue.
- steffen   let me try Mozilla
- patrysha   Good morning
* robfrankel   Hi Patrysha! How's it going?
- patrysha   Pretty darn good for 10am on Monday :-)
- steffen   Hey Rob, Mozilla seems not to refresh so quickly.
* robfrankel   Yay. Seems like the rest of the world is taking it easy....
* robfrankel   Steffen were you using IE before?
- steffen   What's the pulse out there in CA Rob?
- patrysha   maybe they can afford to take it easy...I can't...
- steffen   Yes. IE
* robfrankel   Yeah, IE gets the most complaints. It's kind of an antique.
* robfrankel   Shows you how Microsoft developed its browser for reasons OTHER than viewing the web....
* robfrankel   So... anyone got a burning issue to toss up?
* robfrankel   I think the worst of the recession is over. It's safe to come out now and start marketing before your competition does.
- steffen   I agree. Not sure about the worst though. Commercial real estate needs to go through the ringer first.
* robfrankel   Steffen, CA is a mess. And getting worse. Sales tax is really high as is unemployment.
For once, I'm glad that my client base is everywhere BUT California.
- rick_goldberg   Have any of you used targeted Email like Infosoft?
- steffen   Also, until jobs start being created, the recession ain't over.
- steffen   Miami sucks ass too! We don't build shit any more so I'm not sure where ALL THE NECESSARY jobs are going to come from???
* robfrankel   Right, commercial real estate does need to go through its phase, but I suspect it will be a lot less than feared, because we've already handled the consumer phase. The public and the Feds will have a track record to go by.
- imjoel   How important is the graphical identity (logo, colors, etc) to the overall success of a brand?
* robfrankel   Steffen, depends who and where you are to see if the recession is over. We just had a great January, but then I don't work on the factory floor....
* robfrankel   No, Rick, I don't use targeted e-mail services. I strongly believe in building your own database.
- steffen   Yes, but FEAR is FEAR and the mob isn't smart enough to distinguish another panick attack versus economic cycles.
* robfrankel   ImJoel, graphical identity is hardly important at all compared to everything else involved in branding. You BRAND STRATEGY is the most important. And your logo and graphical identity has to be an extension of that.
- steffen   Rick, there's an adage...never sell something to someone who isn't INTERESTED first. No one becomes interested through spam.
* robfrankel   That having been said, ImJoel, in its own space, the decisions you make about graphics *can* have *some* effect.
* robfrankel   I agree with Steffen.
You always want to address your high probability prospects.
- steffen   Joel, it sure does! If you see an amateur logo, what comes to mind...???
- rick_goldberg   Infosoft does automated Email responses to inquiries.
- steffen   Rick, how many inquiries do you get that you can't respond individually?
* robfrankel   Rick, I suppose it depends on the business you're in. So far, I haven't seen any automate e-mail services that really do the job.
* robfrankel   It's funny: Bad logos, bad graphics, impersonal e-mail responses are all sold as "cost efficient" but they usually do more to KILL business than close it.
* robfrankel   President Richard Nixon once said that you never choose a Vice President to help you win. You choose someone who won't help you lose.
That's how it is with graphics.
- imjoel   Rob.. I follow you on twitter and love your standpoints on things.. but what is your graphical identity saying about you?
* robfrankel   What do you think it says? :D
- imjoel   You're old school
* robfrankel   for my graphical identity to make sense, you have to know who my targets are.
- imjoel   You've had this look for awhile and it's been working for you for a long time...
* robfrankel   ImJoel, old school is exactly what I'm not. But I suspect you're not among my target audience.
- imjoel   I'm young die hard entrepreneur and designer... 24 years old. Raised on technology. FYI
* robfrankel   You have no idea how many designers contact me to tell me that my site and stuff is really bad. I laugh, because I pay nothing for SEO and usually stay at the top of every search engine's free listings.
* robfrankel   I chuckle at how many designers tell me how much my graphics are *probably* costing me in business, when I earn a fairly nice living.....
* robfrankel   IMJoel, search "branding expert" (which is what anyone who finds me searches for) and see how it works for you.
- imjoel   Well.. who are your kind of customers? I'm not hear to bash you, at all, btw... I am here because I am huge believer in brand strategy and want to learn something today. :P
- rick_goldberg   OK. Email responses are for websites, not finding leads.
- imjoel   I'm very aware of who you are and respect you greatly.
* robfrankel   Joel, my primary target is very simple:
CEO's who are fed up with non-producing designers, agencies and PR firms who *claim* they know brand strategy, but end up costing them bucks.
* robfrankel   THAT'S why you *think* I am old school. That's why fed up CEO's KNOW I speak their language.
- rick_goldberg   My "strategy" is to tell prospects that I do what their PR, ad and marketing agencies don't do. This only works when they have a need and a budget.
* robfrankel   The CEO's I work with have had it with Flash-driven smoke and mirrors. Half of them are ready to fire their VP's because they hire vendors who don't produce.
* robfrankel   Rick, you can't do that with automation. You CAN do that will mass mailings, which I do, as you know. But your message has to address their pain points, not "sell what you do." big mistake.
- rick_goldberg   I pitch results, defined as measurable deliverable that their competitors will attach a dollar value to.
* robfrankel   So ImJoel, no disrespect taken or intended. It's just that you're not in my sites. I don't really NEED you to respond to my branding, because you're not my target.
* robfrankel   Rick, there's clearly something in your message that's not working. EVERYONE *pitches* that stuff. Your brand strategy has to pitch so that you're the only solution.
* robfrankel   Another aspect, ImJoel, is stability. In that I have to clean up the messes made by fly-by-night, we-re-so-hip agencies, I maintain a solid, stable look that only slightly changes over time. Clients want to know I'm proven and stable.
* robfrankel   If you go back in time, to the waybackmachine at archive.org, you can see how the site has evolved, albeit in little dribs and drabs, and even then only to improve the messaging.
- imjoel   rob.. very much understood. playing devils advocate: have you ever felt like you're selling a three legged dog, though? from my standpoint, armed with the experience that you have that make stuff happen... can't you demonstrate that with a tighter tangible experience, e.g. design?
* robfrankel   I don't need to, ImJoel. That's what you're not seeing. The people I sell to have WAY more important issues than hip slick design. They're business people. Bottom line folks. And the truth is that the majority of my revenue is derived from reaching out to them, because so many of them have no idea what their real issues are, or who to call to solve them.
* robfrankel   Rick, I would never trust a third party with my sales efforts. At least for me, they usually do it badly and/or get the messaging wrong.
- imjoel   I'm talking way deeper than pretty pictures here.. I'm talking about purposeful design that can translate into results. I feel like design can make that happen.
- rick_goldberg   The "only" solution is pitching that you understand their business.
* robfrankel   ImJoel, good luck with that approach. I've been in the bi a lot of years and have yet to find the design firm that could sell that proposition. Still waiting to see it.
* robfrankel   Rick, that's what EVERYONE says.....
* robfrankel   EIGHT MINUTE WARNING (still plenty of time)
- rick_goldberg   What people say and do can be quite different. What do you say, Rob, that works?
* robfrankel   Unless you can show me the data, it's just another pitch. And these guys hear pitches all day long. PLUS, you can't present a solution if THEY don't agree as to what their PROBLEM is.
- imjoel   Well.. good talk Rob.. I gotta get outta here. Thanks for the talk. I'm @rhythmofself on the Twitter, btw.
* robfrankel   Rick:
fb-105
How to Send Unsolicited E-Mail and NOT be a Spammer
Yes, e-mail really does work for prospecting business if you know what youre doing. Who Are Your Best Prospects?, Where Do You Find Them?, How Often Should You E-Mail?, What Kind of Letter Should You Write?, How Do You Build and Manage the Contacts?, When Do You Send Letters? What kind of follow up?
* robfrankel   It's at the FrankelBiz store.
http://frankelbiz.com/stock/StockCatalog.php?m=store
* robfrankel   It would take too long to go into here.
* robfrankel   Bye ImJoel! Glad you stopped by!
- rick_goldberg   Their problem is defined as what keeps them up at night. How do you convince them that you can solve it?
* robfrankel   Um, I think you need to define the problem more specifically and then realize that not all of them are either going to have that problem or admit it. But SOME will and those guys will respond.
* robfrankel   Rick the #1 telegraph of bullshit is generality. The first step toward credibility is specifics.
* robfrankel   I can send out 150 e-mails and get 8 responses. Six might be interested, four might do a phone call and I might sign one or two. If your fee structure is right, that's pretty good.
- rick_goldberg   OK. Thanks, Rob. If their problem is how to stay in business, it's hard for them to make the leap. Also, what can a project do to help?
* robfrankel   If you do that every DAY, signing one of every 500 is fine.
* robfrankel   TWO MINUTES
* robfrankel   Rick, forget about what YOU SELL. Think about WHY THEY'D BUY. They're two sides of the same coin.
Again, it's branding from the outside in.
- rick_goldberg   Thanks, Rob. It is a numbers game. Bye.
* robfrankel   Alrighty then, it started slow but really got rocking. Thanks you guys! have a great week. I'll see ya online!