Barbara Walters Price

How Do You Know If You Are Famous?

My friend, Eva Lang, alerted me to this short commentary by Michael Platt, founder of AccountingWEB.  It appeared in the July 7th e-mail edition of their newsletter:

"Niche marketing experts have long held the belief that for your firm to successfully build a service or industry niche, you must have a champion and that person must be 'famous.' But how do you know if someone is considered a famous person?

There are many different kinds of measurements commonly used: the number of committees the person is actively involved in; the number of articles published in industry magazines; the number of incoming referrals during the year; high rankings in name awareness surveys inside the niche; or the most objective, democratic, ranking system of all - the number of Google hits when you simultaneously search for the person's name and the niche practice area.

The truest measure of being famous, in my opinion, is that you are truly known in the community you serve as 'the auto dealer guy' or the 'go-to person for business valuations.' As a famous person, you are truly building a brand name - with all of the advantages and characteristics of a brand. That should be the standard you strive for when aiming to become a famous person in your niche." [emphasis added]

Are you famous?  If not, begin today to do those things that will build your personal brand!

London Town

Given yesterday's despicable terrorist attack on the people of London, I was struck by a commentary in today's Wall Street Journal [subscription required].  The commentary, entitled "London Pride", was authored by Andrew Roberts, an historian and author, inter alia, of "Hitler and Churchill" (Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 2003).  His commentary begins:

"Will they never learn? Anyone who thinks that the bombing of London might bring about any kind of favorable political result whatever betrays a fantastic historical ignorance of the true nature of Britain's capital city. No one, absolutely no one, whom I have spoken to since yesterday morning's attacks has expressed anything other than what one of them called "disgusted resignation" at the way our city has been violated yet again."

The commentary ends with:

"... If the elderly lady I overheard in a small crowd watching the events on TV through the windows of an electrical goods store in the King's Road, Chelsea, is anything to go by, the general attitude is: 'It's ridiculous not being able to take trains home. If we didn't kowtow to Hitler, why should we to this lot?'

I must admit to an involuntary shudder of pride tingling down my spine when I heard her say those words. They reminded me of the wartime song "London Pride," in which Noel Coward pointed out how the Nazis' attacks simply strengthened Londoners' resolve. The final stanza goes: 'Every Blitz your resistance toughening/ From the Ritz to the Anchor and Crown/ Nothing ever could override the pride of London town.' That is how, through all the sadness and the sirens' wailing, London feels today."

Amen and God Bless the people of London.

Self-Publishing on the Radio

An earlier post talked of the benefits of self-publishing.  Our firm has had great success with the concept.  For an interesting general overview, check out the June 30th edition of the Diane Rehm's radio program.  Her guests at the 11:00 hour were:

• Dan Poynter, author and "self-publishing guru" (my term - visit his website for more info)
• Peyton Lewis, author of the novel "Perilous Journey" and playwright
• Howie Schaffer, author of the poetry collection "Not Like Everybody Else" and media officer for a public education advocacy organization
• C.E. Petit, lawyer concentrating in publishing and copyright issues

While her two authors did not choose a business-related topic, the discussion is nevertheless informative for those interested in the idea of self-publishing.   

More to come on the topic of self-publishing very, very soon.

The Coach is in the Game

The Coach is in the game ... the Blog Coach, that is.   Paul Chaney is the Blog Coach.  The mission of his blog is in the sub-title: Training to help you become an expert blogger.

As George Halas once said, "What makes a good coach? Complete dedication."  Paul is completely dedicated to and passionate about the power of blogs and helping you to harness that power.

As Paul notes on his blog: "WE KNOW BLOGS and we know how to help your business use them to communicate directly with customers, constituents and stakeholders to create strong personal, lasting relationships. Not only that, we know blogs can help your business set itself apart from the competition and make you the recognized expert in your field."

In the spirit of full disclosure, Paul served as our blog consultant when my firm, Mercer Capital, was developing Mercer on Value, Chris Mercer's CEO blog.  Paul did a fantastic job for us and he is still one of our trusted advisers. 

If you have a blog or are thinking of creating one, visit the Blog Coach as well as Radiant Marketing Group, Paul's consulting business site.

Just Do It

Whatever it is that you've been procrastinating about: today, just do it!  Now!

RSS: a Tool in Your Marketing Plan

Kevin O'Keefe's blog, Real Lawyers Have Blogs, has a great post re the inclusion of RSS in our business models.  Kevin's blog focuses on law firms yet the information contained here is applicable for any professional service firm. 

Legal marketers, it's time to incorporate RSS in marketing strategy

If you don't understand RSS or its potential, you are already behind the curve.  It should be part of your firm and personal marketing arsenal. 

Complimentary Articles Available for Downloading

To your left is a brand new section entitled "Complimentary Articles." Three articles are currently listed.  They are in a PDF format.  As part of our mission to provide actionable information to you, we have uploaded articles that originally began as posts on this blog.  We hope you they are helpful to you.  Continue to check back for future articles.