Scot's Blog

OK. So why not? There’s a Horse Whisperer, a Dog Whisperer…there’s even a Ghost Whisperer. The name is meant to connote one’s ability to “speak” to the named entity in a language only it understands…and thereby achieve a level of cooperation and performance previously thought impossible (or at least improbable).

I can do that.

I’ve seen many things throughout the course of my 35+ years in the world of words, writing, marketing and yes, brands. And although the verb “branding” didn’t come into vogue until, ohhh, maybe fifteen years ago, it has been misused, misinterpreted and undervalued for much longer. There is a marked tendency for business owners to confuse product with promise, maximum effectiveness with mere presence.

A brand is not a product. It is a promise. One that your customers expect you to keep.

Brand effectiveness is not determined by how many times and places you can throw your logo. Brand success is a “how,” not a “what.”

As a Brand Whisperer, I put clients in touch with how to stay in touch…how to make a brand connection and sustain that engagement with consistency, value and trust.  What it takes is defined goals, assessment of what’s working and what’s not, and strategies for keeping the brand message (promise) on track, on target and on course for the future.

When was the last time you actually gave thought to what and how your brand…not your business…was doing? Do your clients have a clear understanding of the intangibles you provide them and why they should trust you over your competitors? Are you yourself contributing to client confusion when it comes to conveying your own vision? Are you delivering 100% on your promise? Could you do better in the delivery department?

I can help. When you’re ready, give me a whisper.

“I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can’t see from the center.”

— Kurt Vonnegut

OK, all you edge dwellers… let’s hear from you. What’s so great about it? Is seeing over the edge all it’s cracked up to be? Educate us.

Center supporters…what are you afraid of? Why not a little edge hopping? Isn’t safety and security overrated in this day and age? Is any one of us really safe, anyway?

Freshman year, UCSB. English 1B. The first book I bought for the class was entitled How Does a Poem Mean? The author, John Ciardi explained in his introduction that the title he has chosen is not intended in any way as a verbal trick. He is “interested rather in “How” the poem means, how it goes about being a performance of itself.’

So it is with brands. To an entrepreneur, the how is more important than the what… because the what is just a label. The how is everything else.

• A brand is a promise…kept. More than just a name, it is an assurance; a reason to believe.

• A brand tells your clients and potential clients more than what you sell. It tells them what you stand for.

• A brand engages consumer trust and creates emotional connection. That connection has the power to transcend price  wars and competitive offers…and your occasional oversights or mistakes.

Why is this important? Because in a boundless marketplace, brands rule.

• Brands build name awareness

• Consumers stay loyal to brands – without the need for promotional incentives

• Retailers provide brands greater visibility because brands drive sales. And brand owners don’t need to launch

NEW! offerings…they leverage the brand to grow the business.

Just a little thinking out loud. After all, that’s how a blog means. Til next time. What are you thinking out there? Would love to hear more about brands and blogs and business matters. Take a shot. I’ll listen.

If you started your business today…right now…what would you do differently?

First thing that comes to mind? I’d collect a deposit up front for those projects that went south (along with their originator and any hope of my being paid for many hours of work) in the first blushingly innocent year of The Simmons Group. I’m not bitter. Just more careful these days. I’m sure you entrepreneurs out there can shake your heads and chuckle at the remembrance of similar missteps. Some lessons are a little harder than others. Bottom Line: you gotta have a payment policy and you gotta stick to it – no matter what. You just gotta.

Other items on the list might include:

• Thinking bigger from the very beginning. Indulge your vision and make solid plans for getting out of the small pond and into the bigger one sooner than you’re absolutely comfortable with. Dream big and act boldly – even when it hurts. Builds character.

• Joining a business support group. Not necessarily a networking group, and not necessarily a chamber of commerce, but a support group – one that shares questions and listens to the answers. It’s a group that is not so much interested in generating leads or throwing business cards, but in helping each member do better and learn the ropes. I ended up co-founding a group (ISN) like this, for this – simply because there aren’t enough out there – and believe me, I kissed a lot of networking frogs in search of focus and purpose and value in the support category.

Looking back, there’s not a whole lot that I would do differently — this due largely to the fact that there was one item that I aced right out of the gate. The first thing I did when striking out on my own (actually before striking out on my own) was to hire a business coach. Had I not done that, my list would rival the Los Angeles Phone Book in size and weight.

Hutt Bush (Being Point, Inc.) was the single greatest move I ever made as a business entrepreneur. He’s still with me and we’re still blazing new territory together. If you haven’t considered consulting a coach or business mentor, start now. Accountability is a powerful (not to mention absolutely necessary) thing. Having someone on your side – to bounce ideas off, to help you anticipate pitfalls and “rubbing points,” to guide you with experience and knowledge and to hold you accountable — represents value beyond measure. Believe me. Get a coach – end of story.

So let’s hear from you! Tell your story. What would you have done differently? What did you do that holds true-to-course today? What’s your advice for those lined up at the entrepreneur starting gate?

– “But do you know how old I will be by the time I learn to really play the piano/act a scene/paint a portrait/write my book?”

– “Yes. The same age you will be if you don’t.”

Don’t know who said it. Not the same since I read it. The difference between those who do it and those who don’t is that those who do it sit down and do it.

Death and Taxes. Widely believed to be the only things you can count on in this world. The month of April brought me death in triplicate – my mother, Sandra Simmons; dear friend Frank Maguire; former student Jorge de los Reyes.

Enough.

Interesting that both death and taxes demand a price – introspection…an account-taking  of sorts, a self-examination that is never cursory and most always painful in one way or another. Not really the deepest thoughts I’ve ever had, but certainly a concept for us all to click on for at least a few self-searching moments. Truth be told, at this point, I’ve had all the self-searching I can handle for awhile.

I was privileged to see David Sedaris live the other night. If you haven’t experienced his work on some level – book or recording or live reading – you have deprived yourself of a superior talent. Wit, culture, irony, irreverence…profound, tear-gushing, laugh-out-loud humor. Sedaris is the dead-on chronicler of the human condition and everyday absurdity – and a master at his craft.

Some of his best stories are drawn from a diary that he keeps while on the road. Intrigued by the prospects, I’ve taken to keeping a diary, myself. Not a diary full of deep thought or mental anguish or attempts to answer THE BIG QUESTIONS, but one simply of occurrences. An event diary, if you will, that focuses solely on the WHAT. No forays into the whys or hows or significance of. Just a record of experiences with various individuals — friends, family and otherwise — from various times of my life. For now, they will exist as encounters without analysis. Text without sub-text. Lines without between-the-lines. (Remembering without Reminiscing?)  I’m trying to keep the data as raw and as un-examined as possible. Because right now, that’s the best I can do.

I’ll look deeper later. When death and taxes are a little less with me.  And the stories are going to be great – better than ever…you can count on it.

Miss you, Ma.           Miss you, Frank.          Miss you, Jorge.

“There will be time, there will be time

To prepare a face to meet the faces  that you meet;

There will be time to murder and create,

And time for all the works and days of hands

That lift and drop a question on your plate;

Time for you and time for me,

And  time yet for a hundred indecisions,

And for a hundred visions and  revisions,

Before the taking of a toast and tea.”

Some of you will recognize this as an excerpt from “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot. Some of you won’t — and that’s OK…really. No poetry snob, me.

I simply wanted to throw it out there as a kind of end-of-the-year conversation spark…because we all find ourselves at one time or another — frequently at year’s end — questioning whether or not we’re running out of time. Seems there’s never enough of it. And if you’re a late bloomer to this dream actualization thing like I am — having phoned in more years than I’d care to admit to while immersed in what I whimsically refer to as a corporate coma — you might frequently pose the question “Do I have enough time to pull it off?”

In a short span of time, I’ve started my own business; seen it succeed; made it grow; written a book (and almost completed another); opened up more doors to my talents and potential than I ever thought possible. But I can never shake the notion that I’m still catching up…that I’m doing now what I should have done decades ago…that I’m never going to have as much time as I need to dare and develop all those things dreamed of in my newly enlightened state.

Sound like someone you might know?

It’s been a difficult, trying, challenging  year for all of us. A dream squasher of a year in many respects, and many of us are questioning ourselves and doubting ourselves and thinking maybe it’s best that we back off a little and hold on to what we’ve got. Can’t argue with counting your blessings. But that doesn’t mean you ignore the options and opportunities and new dreams available out there, either.

“Do I dare disturb the universe?”

In a minute there is time

For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.”

The answer is yes. Disturb the universe. Remember how you got here and make a promise to move forward. Dare to keep challenging and questioning and achieving. There’s time for it all.

By now we’ve all seen and had suitable time to react to the Oprah interview with that unfortunate victimized woman who was recently mauled by an unfortunately vilified chimpanzee. And if you have read my book, Mr. Coleman, you know that it presents a very different take on human/chimpanzee relationships. Because it does, I feel compelled to go on record (or set the record straight, whichever you prefer) regarding that “chimpanzee thing” and how I feel about it.

A chimpanzee – child or adult, captive or free, rescued or taken – is a wild animal. The mistake here, and the accompanying danger, occurs when that hard fact is ignored or trivialized or forgotten.  The owner of the chimp in this most-current incident (and in the previously publicized “Birthday Party” incident involving the chimp, Moe) lost sight of the line that must be drawn.

The character Tim, in Mr. Coleman, rescues Coleman from a situation that would have resulted in his death at the hands of his own kind. He kept him confined for the protection of all concerned (including, of course, Coleman) and he never crossed the line by actually considering Coleman to be anything but what he was…a full grown chimpanzee with the ability to literally tear a human being apart. There were times of risk and concern and fear throughout the course of their relationship…but profound and unwavering respect – for what Coleman was and for what he was capable of  — was always part of the equation.

I addressed the right/wrong issue minimally in Mr. Coleman because I didn’t want the story to be about anything other than Coleman — the special circumstances, the special bond, the outright uniqueness of his relationship with Tim…at that time, in that place, under those circumstances. Mr. Coleman is a special story…as it should be.

That’s it. That’s all. My opinion – no more, no less. Line up on whatever side you choose – or don’t buy in at all. Your choice. Just keep in mind that there are no pat, easy answers to anything these days – and that the beauty (as well as the tragedy) of life can be found in its complexity.

You’ve heard of a ghost writer, right? Same principle. A ghost blogger works with professionals – from corporate CEOs to power-of-the-pitch salespeople to over-extended entrepreneurs – who recognize the value of a blog but don’t have the time or the desire to commit to churning one out with the regularity required to ensure effectiveness. The ghost blogger helps brainstorm, distill and deliver key messages with clarity, personality and style.

We all work from pretty much the same core template, but here’s how I do it:

Step 1: MAKE A PLAN. Sit down with the client and kick around a list of potential blogging ideas, buzz topics, themes – complete with keywords and core concepts. Make a list – including topics that may require more than a single two paragraph blog to cover. Consider news and current event tie-ins to enhance the buzz and increase reader resonance.

Step 2: MAKE IT WORK. Create a sample blog entry which the professional approves — and the ghost blogger subsequently publishes.

Step 3: KEEP IT REAL. Meet briefly each month – in person or on the phone – to brainstorm new topics and maintain process momentum, publishing blog entries on a daily, weekly or biweekly basis. Whatever your budget allows — for anywhere from 3 months to 6 months to a year or longer.

From that point, the rest is all about building more opportunities – articles, vlogs, videos, seminars, e-books and books – from the valuable information created and consumer tested via your blog.

Sound like a solution for your blog commitment – and business connection –issues? I thought so.

Give me a call. Blogging – ghost blogging — is my business.

Til next time.

Something we all need to realize about blogging. Each and every blog you post is a premier – and I mean first class, a-#1, slam dunk, top-of-the-charts — viral marketing opportunity. Once it’s up it can go not only to your website, but to millions of others – as well as to blog directories, to online media outlets, to online and print newsletters, to your Twitter page and Facebook page and Linked-in page and page upon page upon page everywhere else on the web…and more.

Search engines love blogs – because they are fresh information. Readers – from the casual kind to devoted followers – appreciate the human side of the story that blogs present…and they actively seek that blog that provides what they need (and what we all need) in this world. Touch – even when (especially when) actual one on one, face to face connection is impossible.

And blogs are easy. Easier. Enter your username and password, write your entry, click the mouse once or twice and Bob’s Your Uncle (old expression – means essentially, “That’s that.”). It’s out there.

Can’t do that with print. Can’t even do that with your website (unless you’re a serious tekkie). But you can do it with a blog. Fast info, quick hit, all good.

Bottom Line: There’s absolutely no argument against the potential of blogging for generating a mass following for your business or brand or viewpoint or product or service.

So why isn’t EVERYONE – from authors to attorneys, consultants to coaches, doctors to dentists, love gurus to limousine drivers (and anyone else in search of new delivery solutions for their message) – blogging? What’s stopping them?

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“The best thing for being sad is to learn something.  That is the only thing that never fails.  You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds.  There is only one thing for it then – to learn.  Learn why the world wags and what wags it.  That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting.”

Thought this was worth re-posting, because it’s been my salvation of late. It’s easy to be sad these days…real easy. Pick up a newspaper. Listen to five minutes (or less) of televised news. Consider our endangered environment. Just ask someone (anyone) how they’re doing today. It ain’t all roses and chuckles out there.

No shortage of advice on what to do about it either. But there are some simple ways to battle the malaise. See above.

Accompanying the learning of something? Exploration. Discovery. Challenge. Growth. Involvement. Pick one or all of these options and you’re snapping out of it already. Suggestions? Of course, I do.

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Rain. At last.

Hey, I live in L.A. It’s been awhile.  I actually missed the rain. Just like I miss Bay Area fog (OK…acquired taste, I admit). And although I am actually working this afternoon — putting  the finishing touches on an eclectic grouping of e-blasts and flyers and web pages, I’m also dreaming and dazing and gazing out at the veritable deluge that has already transformed my neighborhood and is probably causing a spate of traffic snarls and slow downs and commuter headaches as I speak/write. I’m loving it. Enough of the oppressive heat and the dead grass and the fires. Make way for the three-dog nights and the leaks in the roof and the mudslides…Yippee! OK. Over the top. No mudslides, please.

But I ramble on.  Thinking about how much I preferred the writing of my novel to the promotion of it. Not to say that the press releases and the pitch letters and the author’s notes and the twitters and the hype don’t have their own particular charm for a seasoned flinger of words such as myself, but I’m missing the rush that accompanies a finished page of fiction.  Time to start the next book. This one’s going to be about ghosts, I think, and home, and absent friends. [Read more →]

What’s the “message” of Mr. Coleman?  I get asked that a lot these days…and I should be really good at answering profoundly by now, but, well, not so much. I didn’t really have an agenda or a cause or a message to put forth when I started with Coleman.

I just wanted to tell a great story. And I had the fortune of starting with a great story – man rescues chimpanzee, gains the trust of and raises said chimpanzee, learns some basic truths about life (but not too many) and ends up prizing their unusual friendship for the rest of his life. That’s what Coleman is about…friendship. That’s the message. That’s the “deep underlying meaning.” Friendship can be and often is the most important thing in anyone’s life. This one even more so, because it is so different –and so thoroughly unique – right out of the gate.

The best stories are about friendship, the bond that grows with adversity and challenge and shared experience and…effort. We all have that one true friend – or certainly at the very least long for that one true friend – that “gets” us. That puts up with far more than average acquaintances ever would because they “get” us. We make an effort to forgive their foibles, their lapses, their human-ness, if you will. And they ours.

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Wow. Talk about a rush. Trying to get accustomed to associating the word “author” or words “published author” with my name…as opposed to all those authors I’ve been reading for decades (many decades, actually, but let’s not go there). I’m now including the title after my name in all correspondences. I’m printing “author” t-shirts. And I’m instructing all friends, family, associates, clients, casual acquaintances, perfect strangers to address me as “The Author” — all in the interest of establishing current accurate life status.

Ain’t it grand?

A dream come true. No lie. I recommend it to everyone. And just in case your still shaking your head, I was just kidding about the title and the tees and the instructions. Not to say that they’re all bad ideas…just a bit premature, perhaps. I should probably wait until my second book gets published before I take such steps. Ya think?

I know. I know. But seriously folks, this new development does require some getting used to. Now I have to find another ultimate, all-encompassing, wet-my-pants-with-glee achievement to shoot for. Won’t be difficult. Next stop…COLEMAN, THE MOVIE.