Do the first few words you use to describe your company accurately reflect who you are? Are you able to hold your hand on your heart and honestly say “this is us?” Or do you have a degree of embarrassment that your first message is closer to fiction than reality? Because the simple fact of … Continue reading Lipstick on a pig, versus naming your pet pig
Category Archives: punchline
Do you think you could put together 100 consecutive blogs over 20 working weeks? That is, publish a piece reflective of both your own thoughts and those of importance to your business? I’m not sure I could (hell, who am I kidding…I couldn’t). Which is why I’m tipping my hat to Christine Langdon, Co-founder and … Continue reading Could you write 100 blogs in 100 days?
Sometimes it it difficult to express your what and why in one sentence. The concepts you’re trying to express may be too different, or you can’t link them smoothly. Alternatively, you may have quite technical or complex products or services to sell. Don’t be afraid to play with an idea equation. Give yourself permission to … Continue reading Idea equations = another way to sell a story
A couple of 13 year olds were in the same room as me, where the television happened to be on. (Of course, normally they’d be head down over an internet device of some kind and wouldn’t be seen dead watching some ‘old’ technology). An ad came on, though I wasn’t looking at the time so … Continue reading And sometimes those sales messages fail to land
Once, the following terms were new and fresh. But, as everyone starts using them, abusing them, they become overused, they become ignored. These words actually make it harder for people to understand you – which is ironic because they originally were meant to do the opposite. Audit, tax and advisory services firm Grant Thornton recently … Continue reading Use these words at your peril (or…how quickly terms become overused)
You’ve got to love it when heavyweights go head to head – or bun to bun in this case. Comparative advertising’s a risky play at times – you’re also providing free publicity for the opposition. But when you can humourously make a dig at your rival, and illustrate it well, it’s probably worth the risk. … Continue reading When you know the back stories, very few words are needed to tell a new story
Restricting yourself to 10 words, tell me about your business. Have you described why someone should be interested in your product or service? Have you given me a what and a why? Is part of the heart and soul of who you are evident along with your value proposition? Does what you say sound fresh, … Continue reading If you’ve only got one chance to tell your story…
What’s the name for a person who is neither a consultant nor a contractor? The term facilitator doesn’t cut the mustard for the definition I’m after. Online thesaurus’s aren’t coming to the party either. Neither consultant nor contractor Because I’m trying to name the role – it is neither a contractor nor a consultant – … Continue reading Neither fish nor fowl, master nor minion
The value of starting your business story with a brand/name that resonates with your product or service is priceless. Conversely, giving a business an obscure name, which in itself requires explaining before you get around to telling people what you do and why you should care is immensely counterproductive. In today’s attention economy, failing to … Continue reading A great way to start your story…the right name
Recently I had the privilege of presenting ‘storytelling 101’, and the importance of your first story, to New Zealand’s first cohort through the PopUp Business School Aotearoa. Fifty people signed up for the Porirua two-week intensive, lead by the irrepressible Tony Henderson-Newport, who brought across and Kiwified a British initiative started back in 2012. His … Continue reading A schooled up reminder of getting your first most important story right