Admission to Community Members

Don't you hate it when projects veer off schedule despite decomposition only weeks ago? Our project members know how painful this can be especially when dealing with distance players (on shore, naturally). No sweat. We're resilient and, as long as LCM ops aren't effected, only insiders would know the logistics frustration.

If you're not yet a member, this doesn't apply to you, but it may give you insight as to what's going on—back at the ranch (aka headquarters). Growing pains is one (of the best) explanation; then excessive unplanned work is another (oops); and let's not forget Murphy's Law which always is in attendance.

Did we mention Secretariat is our horse!?

Lest we head off into (another) tangent, let's bring you up to speed re: our own online marketing efforts, that is, non- SEO/SEM and non-Social Media related. Specifically, we're talking about the various cross-functional team efforts that keep our membership drives alive!  Since we have no products and no services—save for LCM, we exist only on behalf of members. Said differently, members define us. Without MORE and BETTER members always joining the community, clustering within each county, there's simply no reason to exist let alone to flourish. 

So, let spend a minute discussing internal operations a bit. Let's start with Infusionsoft. FYI, this happens to be quite a terrific CRM program ... if you're into diligently following [hounding] suspects who managed to get on your radar. Seriously, as a marketing tool, you could do a lot worse. This is a left-hand endorsement coming from your admin who gave it a try last year. Like others before it, this COTS had too much learning curve and required considerable hand-holding from the onset for our liking. (Okay, this is on us, not them; so maybe we'll take another look later.)

To comply with our desire to maintain community databases OFFLINE, the above CRM didn't get the job done. Call it paranoia, skittishness or even baseless timidity, but the fear of being hacked continues to make headlines too often, doesn't it?  With the help of a few very talented outsourced techs, we are building a custom-designed search engine, CRM with simplified ERP features to fill our/your needs. I'm told we'll come out of POC and into piloting the new LCM driver within the next 60-days.  In the interim, it's "life as usual" and that's not necessarily a bad thing!  But, if not attended to shortly...well let's just say avalanches can be dangerous of even fatal!

So, the community's horse is in front of the cart, so to speak. That's because our project plan (after 3 major revisions) showed a mighty steed (you know it's like the 1973 Horse of the Year, pictured above) pacing behind (?) of our wagon—but in full stride, of course.

Conjured up your most favorable Budweiser commercial and that's how we'll end this blog. Suffice it to say, there's a whole team of highly-stepping steeds pushing the wagon right now. Eventually, we'll get them in front. Promise!

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Put Up —or— Give My Money Back!

For those of you who are "healthy skeptics" let's examine the Value Proposition of PM Community.org once again (or for the first-time, if you've been steered to this blog).  

First, viewed in a vacuum, anything can look good/bad depending on disposition and material. Hence, we suggest a quick visit to our collateral history (aka About Us) to see how we got here. Then, there's a page on Value Proposition. Invariably, you'll read about how we arrived at TWO (and only two) components of value.  Not so coincidentally, they are our Member Benefits, plain and simple.

1. To position a member to BETTER SERVE existing clients, and
2. To more easily acquire NEW CLIENTS from fellow members.

Everything else is ancillary or fluff/hype.  Think about it.  #1 above is the most important proposition insofar as it immediately makes each member more valuable to her/his existing clients.  By far, this is the most essential value component we offer. Done well/rightly, positioning each and every joining member into their proper marketing channel so that local members can access them QUICKLY whenever one of their clients need help, is the name of the game.

Granted, members do not access other members directly themselves. Why? For the simple reason of abuse. What? If we allow members to indiscriminately seek-and-find based on whatever criteria, be assured there'd be endless breaches of confidentiality. There are ample searchable databases up & down the net, starting with Google, Yahoo, Bing and so on. There are literally hundreds of other lesser known and perhaps more tightly focused on a particular group or profession. We  applaud all of them—to the extent they may add value to the user.

We do not, and will not, expose our members' identity, criteria, or any details—at any time for any reason to anyone—with the notable exception to HELP them provide a value service for their existing clients (accessibility to virtually every needed discipline on-demand), or (turn the coin over), as a service provider themselves to respond to the immediate, qualified needs of a fellow member.  (Think: "rainmaking" because this could be anytime!)  

As a final thought on the topic of confidentiality—held inviolate within the community—we are on record that our databases (for matters related to searches, matches & cross-matches) are maintained and managed offline, deliberately, to preclude the possibility of a breach.

The Game Changer (#2 Member Standard)

To those who won't accept our explanation, we wish them well with Google et al, or the yellow pages, printed directories and lists galore available to them. This may fall into being a "healthy skeptic" but not a hardcore cynic.  The former are always welcome to kick the proverbial tires as hard as they want and, ultimately, join us if they're so inclined. The latter (cynics) are welcomed to go elsewhere.  They are not collegiate which is our third Member Standard. (#2 Member Standard is pictured on left)

This brings us to ACQUIRING new clients, more easily and cost-effectively (see our "Do The Math" blog) than other forms of marketing. Let's be bold (and honest) enough to ask & answer the question straightforwardly. Is acquiring new clients guaranteed? The answer is absolutely—with the expressed understanding that she/he is an active participant in our Local Channel Marketing™ program. This said, our closed-community is not a "market maker." We do not advertise or promote any member's business in any way—except to make them available (read: properly position them into the correct channels) through our proprietary marketing program.  (FYI—We are NOT a full-marketing service.)

To get more details including our 100% Satisfaction Money-Back Guarantee and anytime Opt-Out provision, visit out website...early & often! Candidly, we can't be more fair than this. If you bother to find out: we are not a big-ticket item, especially since we are only a supplemental marketing venue. (Ask any of your primary venues about their own guarantees? Let us know how that works out for you?!?) 

If this long-winded explanation works for you, please join us.  We have members waiting to refer their unrepresented needy clients...and it's always better if you are preregistered, or better, an active participating member!

COMMENTS ARE CLOSED TO NON-MEMBERS. (Visit our copious FAQ Sessions!)

Spirit of Volunteerism [Unforced Activity]

When it's your "job" and the prevailing circumstances warrant, you do whatever is right. This may or may not include action and interaction of giving and taking. As it relates to Referrals between/among members, there is no rule or mandate requiring any forced activity. In fact, the opposite is true.

In the first—and the last—instance, members are guided by their pledge to remain "client-centric" whenever dealing with fellow members. Does this force the mantle of fiduciary agent upon each member? An argument could be made for a qualified 'yes,' but alas, we do not have any artificial mandates. If you may be duty-bound because of your profession, that's one thing; otherwise, let your conscience decide what's best.

The above two paragraphs are a lot of words to say: do-what-is-right.

As one gets (and gets) new clients, it's reasonable to assume that she/he will give (and continue to do so) as long as it "works" for all parties concerned. This is the nature of the beast, so to speak, about being in a closed-community. We're all members cut from similar cloths (in different professions) intent on better serving our respective clients as well as any new clients that come our way. Surprisingly, reports persist that we're a bunch of self-serving elitists who share clients to feather their nests without regard for consequences. Insiders know that this (sour grapes; see pix above) doesn't deserve defending.

At the end of the day, it's all about consequences, results, and outcomes!

Our relationship with members is, in general, fiducial in nature. And, we presume that every member feels/acts the same way toward us and about clients, old and new alike. In a perfect world, this is sacrosanct. In the real world, it's always something less due to Murphy's Law, unpredictable external factors, and unintended consequences regardless of good faith efforts.

Hence, the so-called "Laws of Reciprocity" are unwritten by design. One would spend more time trying to state the obvious about when & how they would apply; then, far more time about how & when they wouldn't apply!  So why bother? Suffice it to say, if collaborations between/among members satisfy the clients-first modis operandi, and concurrently, the 3 membership standards (esp. collegiality, where all parties feel good about each other), LET IT BE!  (Parenthetically, where is Sir Paul McCartney when you need him (Hey Jude, 1968 for those needing a frame of reference )?

Summing up, ours is a community of progressively helping Small & Midsize Businesses whenever in need. As members have so often heard, it's not about us. It's not even about our members. It's all about adding optimum value to SMB clients as frequently as possible. We don't have a "First, Do No Harm" clause in our communial understanding. It's just implied—right along with the Laws of Reciprocity.

COMMENT SECTION IS CLOSED TO NON-MEMBERS.

New Client Development made EASY

The headlines are designed to pull ("suck") readers into a brief, but informative discussion about pre-selling activities. After all, this is precisely what  marketing is: pre-sales efforts. In other words, if not done effectively, marketing is a waste. Perhaps this is the reason why so many solos, independent professionals one and all, stop spending money on marketing.

In truth, there is no way to totally avoid spending on marketing.  Those dollars spent on your ISP for email and web usage falls into marketing; and, every HOUR spent in/out of the office not serving existing clients but on trying to acquire new ones is, by default, marketing. And you know what you think of as sales activities are really just marketing—unless a sale actually results.

We subscribe to the Paul DeModica (http://bit.ly/xG4lcH) concept of ValuForward thinking. While he espouses a unique system design for IT folks, the spill over to the rest of service-providing arena is obvious. He loudly shouts that marketing and selling BRAND for an individual [without portfolio] is stupid. Unless one is a household name, already easily recognized, immediately stop throwing money away! Nobody cares about giving money (doing business) to you, just another unknown entity. Message here: go to the nearest Salvation Army bucket and stuff it!  At least someone will get some value out of your hard-earned money.

Another suggestion re: your business' marketing spend is to read Andy Clancy's new book entitled The Success Gurus (Portfolio/Penquin 2011)...under $10.00 at Amazon.com.  Granted, the focus is more on how-to "management," but marketing permeates the "17 Lessons...from the Best Minds in Business."  From Goldsmith & Covey to Godin & Maxwell, this compilation is truly outstanding. 

Okay, we're running out of space & time for this blog, so let's sum up by reciting some of PM Community's own philosophies. If there is a meaningfully expressed need by a client outside of your area of expertise, act like a Trusted Advisor. Never ever let a needy client go off to the yellow pages, Google or a friend-of-a-friend. Quietly discuss the importance of Competence-Trustworthiness-Collegiality (best-local-talent, without cost or strings attached) Yes, PM Community's vast local talent pool that has the ability to [1] size up the requirements (determine the scope) and [2] would not only provide the fastest (agile/scrum) optimum solution but also save the client a ton of time and money!

Have we overstated the case?  Hardly. The client just needs to be educated that being in the right-place at the right-time is never luck, it's actually just diligent positioning, as in, Positioning-Netweaving-Rainmaking. Okay, now we're overstating...except to insiders who already know how the game is played in favor of every new client.

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Price SHOULD BE Secondary

In tough times like these, priorities get a little whacked. Those with the best products—and well deserving of a premium—often get overlooked because these really are tough times. Even your best clients are feeling it...and so aren't you...if they're feeling it!

So, what are you doing about it? "The best I can" is the logical answer. "Not much" is another. But, you could do a lot for them [and yourself] if you were a fellow member, that is, an insider participating in Local Channel Marketing.™ What's that? More wishful thinking, you say? Hardly, since members don't feel the pressure of "tough times" within our closed-community.

Getting down to the nitty gritty, it still is all about the benjamins. This is inescapable in any commercial setting. As long as there are buyers & sellers, how can you avoid it? (FYI--our valuation brothers are smiling a toothy grin because they know how to frame the answer.)  Demand & Supply. Buyers & Sellers. Open markets & negotiated exchange. Capitalism thriving under Adam Smith fundamental law. Yes, we all are forced to play the game according to the "invisible hand." [This could be a perfect time to go off on a tangent about how PACs and the rich skew things in their favor, but we'll resist.]

No matter how you look at it, the benjamins rule!

If it isn't about generating greater revenues, it must be about trimming expenses. As undergrads we all learned that it's as easy as "1-ADD to the top» 2-CONTROL the middle» 3-the REST FALLS to the bottom."  Just as simple as that! 

But then you go onto grad school and they complicate it by teaching the all the exceptions, changes, workarounds, how to "beat the system" or at least, do things to be even more competitive [hurt competitors on the supply side]  or create greater demand [stimulate buyers on the demand side] regardless of economic conditions or competition. 

Using the fundamental economics above as a framework, trusted advisors have a duty to their clients. As a fiduciary, a higher moral/legal imperative is attached. But irrespective of the laws of agency, all of us must strive to ensure that our clients gain/keep/save more benjamins than their competition, right? (If not, you're not adding value and damn well shouldn't be in play!) 

Even if members don't acquire a new client this month/quarter, they're still imminently more valuable to their clients—since they have gained access to a vast local (think: pre-registered competent, trustworthy & collegiate) talent pool standing ready to assist as outsourcing needs arise.

This, dear candidates, is why becoming a member is so important. Inside our community, we are all client-centric, whether fiduciaries or not. Sure, everyone expects their "fair share" of new unrepresented clients that need their discipline/talent but serving your existing clients comes first...and foremost.

Summing up, saving benjamins as much as creating benjamins is equally as important. Fortunately for us, while doing the first, the second automatically happens—again and again. This is exactly what LCM™ is all about!

COMMENTS SECTION IS CLOSED--EXCEPT TO MEMBERS.