The Newsletter That Was, Dec 4th

Another newsletter hits the email boxes! Are you on the list?

If not, here it is. Just for you. Yes, you.

It’s December 4

All sorts of good things happen in December around the Chambers household. Basketball starts, recitals take place, wayward children return from college, and we celebrate an Anniversary. And the Holidays. It’s all good.

Knowing that, you can assume that I am writing this note with a slight smile on my face. If you didn’t know all those things, how would you be interpreting this note?

I was just on the phone with a software company that wants me to offer their solution to the companies I work with. The rep was earnest, but expressed a particular disdain for any outbound or interruptive marketing efforts. Blogs, white papers, webinars, newsletters, postcards, videos etc are the preferred method for finding new business, she said. Cold calling is dead. She was evangelizing Content Marketing. Face to face and interruptive phone calls are dead.

Tell me what you really think!

Back in the day, I used to give a presentation that was all about communication. Telling stories. The power of in-person communication with it’s incredible effectiveness all the way down to the often misinterpreted text message, which is not so effective.

Things are what they are. We ascribe value and meaning to events in order to make sense of them. Most of us aren’t all that great at it. Communication is hard.

Mr. Kent used to tell me, “Strive for clarity, Gregory. Strive for clarity.” Simple but not easy.

Here’s what’s happening on the CPI blog this week:

Facebook Changes to Company Pages – deal with it.

Starting a Business – focus on that cash flow.

Long Tail Demand and the Direct to Garment Printer – lessons from the field

The Law of Reciprocity – click, whirr. . .it’s hard to unlearn a habit

Data as Currency – getting paid in data. Interesting.

and lastly, I did a webinar with my friends at GoLeads. You can watch it online: The Framework for Making Marketing Decisions webinar.

Busy times!

Here are some links to items I enjoyed and you may find useful:

What Killed Michael Porter’s Monitor Group? The One Force that Really Matters – Forbes

Why Management Consultants Need to Make Apps, Take “Rep Rides”, and Study High-Selling Hair Farmers – Fast Company

Growth Hacker is the new VP of Marketing – Andrew Chen

Good stuff.

Greg