For many years, I personally shouted from the rooftops how being a renegade, an outlier, and a defender of non-corporate culture was the best thing since sliced bread.  Let’s face it.  Being able to wear whatever I felt like, say what I believed to be honest truth, and act in ways far outside typical corporate norms was a pretty fun experience.  It was a great ride while it suited who I was at the time.

Yet underneath that public persona, there’s been a more conservative truth to who I am in the world, and in business.  Built on decades of life experience as an entrepreneur, on some great successes and some truly painful failures.  And it’s those lessons I learned through trial and error, through the ups and downs of long-term experience running, managing and participating on advisory boards for many small and mid-size companies that, for quite a long time now, have guided my path.  And ultimately, led me to accepting the offer to work for Click2Rank.

Myopic Business Methods Vs. Sustainable Business Methods

Myopic business methods come from a belief that the short-term is what matters most, and that what we know in how to run a business today must also be how we’ll operate business tomorrow.  If we grab enough money today, surely we’ll have that much more money down the road.  If we create the appearance of a Zappos or a 37Signals, surely we’ll become as successful as them.

Sustainable business methods are based on sound business decisions, internal growth only when it’s justified by judicious budgetary constraint, and respecting the concept of legal ramifications as relates to business governance. They don’t however, come from seeing successful companies we admire and just guessing that we think we understand how they got there.

These are critical concepts that come from knowing that economies change, business models need to evolve, contractual obligations and financial expenditures have consequences, not to mention that  just because there’s money coming in today it does not automatically ensure that we won’t hit lean times down the road.

REWORK – the 37Signals Culture

Just as important, as those realities are, if we don’t truly pay attention to what appear to be subtle factors regarding successful companies, we’re really not modeling ours after theirs.

The geniuses behind BaseCamp and its related products have, what appears on its surface, one of the most enjoyable companies to work for on earth.  They don’t believe in having to have business meetings, a board of directors, or a host of other “corporate” structure methods.  So surely, since they have apparently tossed out all the “rules” of corporate process, then why bother having any such rules at all?

There are a number of key factors many people who read Jason and David’s story overlook.  It’s intoxicating to think they completely abandoned traditional business thinking and yet still found such immense success.  And that intoxication causes people to over-simplify, ignore or otherwise block out some key issues.

In the introduction to ReWork, Jason and David’s bestseller on how they got where they got, they state:

Some people consider us an Internet company, but that makes us cringe.  Internet companies are known for hiring compulsively, spending wildly, and failing spectacularly.  That’s not us.  We’re small (sixteen people as this book goes to press), frugal and profitable.

Nimble, Frugal and Profitable

That one statement, in a nutshell, is one of the core reasons I was asked to take on this job.  As much as it pains some people to hear, the truth is that for all of their previous accomplishments, Click2Rank was far from profitable.  Whatever some people believe the reasons for that are, it’s a fact.  A big fact.

Several people in the company were not productive in the least.  Not because they aren’t skilled, or lack the passion to do the work.  But because the work was not there to justify their presence.  And at least some of the projects that were being worked on, or about to be worked on, were so ridiculously undersold that it was impossible to reach profitability from a 30,000 foot budgetary view.

Other costs of doing business, the overhead behind the scenes, were not being tracked based on sound accounting practices.  So while there may have been talk that the company was profitable based on total contracted client projects, that single numeric was never properly held up to the light of balance sheets or profit and loss statements.  Decisions on company hiring and morale-boosting perks therefore, were tragically misguided.

Click2Rank Was Far From Frugal, Sustainable or Healthy

Up until a few weeks before SMX Advanced, Christine Gibbs, Click2Rank’s CEO, had a hands-off approach, as she has the responsibility for running a bigger business with over 170 employees.   She’d had the belief that the company was in good hands, and what was being reported to her as fact was actually fact.  As she was able to pause long enough from those other efforts, it was rapidly apparent to her that not only were things completely amiss, they were wildly and dangerously out of line with sustainable business methods.

Methods that helped her take a company from nothing and turn it into a global success.  So she reached out to me (more on that later) to help provide insights specific to our industry.  As successful as Christine has been for many years running multi-million dollar enterprises, the SEO world is not her specific area of expertise.

So she needed someone she could trust, with the right kind of experience, that both understood the fundamental business process flaws she’d already seen for herself, and to help her nail down the exact industry-specific factors that were causing the larger “regardless of business type” problems she knew had to be addressed.  And that’s where I came in.  And together our findings were monumental…

The Outsourcing Panacea

It’s easy to believe that outsourcing saves costs.  When individual wages are a tiny fraction of in-house staff, it’s tempting to think, based on that notion, that you can then charge a lot less than everyone else, and as a result, automatically become profitable.

Sadly, if that’s all you see or consider, if you overlook the true costs involved, it usually turns out that outsourcing can cost you a lot more than your initial belief.  So in the case of Click2Rank, the actual costs of outsourcing were much higher than they had been made out to be.  And at every turn, purchasing decisions and “culture-related” spending was beyond unjustified based on what real world profit-and-loss statements showed would be reasonable.

In-House Perks

If you don’t first produce realistic profit and loss projections, nor maintain such fundamental bookkeeping records, it’s irresponsible at best, and reckless at worst, to then decide you’re going to be lavish in your company perks. Presenting the notion of a glamorous big budget lifestyle as a reason people should come to work for a company that is not backed by an equally healthy base of start-up capital is one of the single biggest reasons so many dot-com era companies imploded in such spectacular ways.

Anyone who lived through that time-frame, including myself, (I owned a company that got hundreds of thousands of dollars of seed funding and was on the verge of signing a deal for $15 million in 1st round funding when the collapse happened) knows now how foolish and dangerous such a policy is.

So Click2Ranks “perks” and hiring carrots were anything but wisely decided upon.  They created the illusion of an amazing company to work for. One that had the appearance of being on solid financial ground.

Billable Rates

Something I had to learn the hard way regarding business is what to charge for services rendered.  A severely under-priced offering will, eventually be the death knell to a business.  Yet time and again, all too often, sales people think it’s perfectly acceptable to charge a rate they think will get the contract.  Regardless of business finance, balance sheet reality, or true overhead expenditures.

Quite often this comes from a short-sighted desire to bring in clients.  The project may be quite sexy just because of the client name, or the potential achievement that can then be touted as a “look what we did for X” mentality.  Just as often though, it’s due to a scarcity mentality, the belief being that “we have to get this one because it’s in front of us to have…”

In reality, if you don’t first understand the real costs of doing business, if you don’t have the financial resources in the bank to tide you over until you reach long-term consistent positive cash flow, you’re doomed to bleed the company dry.

When I came on board, Click2Rank had at least one contract on the table at the whopping billable rate of $75 an hour.  Including at least some hours from the then senior-most manager. I don’t care how efficiently work is performed- $75 an hour is unrealistic in professional services businesses.  When it’s for 80 hours of work, it’s unhealthy.

Company Culture

If you’re going to create a relaxed atmosphere at the office, with unlimited energy drinks, round the clock work hours, come-and-go-as-you-please policies, you do so at the expense of understanding the ramifications such an atmosphere may bring.

You need to consider the possibility that if it’s too relaxed, employees are going to fail to grasp the fact that you’re working in a professional services industry.  As though you’re instead, a garage start-up.  Everyone’s going to lose sight of the desire or need to have an outside life.  People are going to become so free-for-all-ish that even when you work in the same building as your parent company, themselves being a business casual yet truly professional environment, you’re going to be seen as the black sheep.

People are going to disrespect your space, your work-flow, and your ability to contribute to their success as relates to internal projects.

Your staff will, in turn, become stressed to the breaking point.  Work that should take hours will take days.  Work that should take days will take weeks.

At Click2Rank, the biggest single fail-point in all this was that internal projects (the sole initial purpose of the company’s existence) fell by the wayside.  Initial achievements all those months ago languished and never got past half-success.  Causing severe road-blocks for the parent company to grow and take on even bigger opportunities.

And employee morale was, in truth, tragic.  Families were frayed to the point of ever-increasing pressure they should never have been put under.  Coupled with their feeling disrespected, misled and lacking in any kind of healthy leadership, the potential for individual breakdowns had become quite real.

A House of Cards

Myopic business methods are ultimately built on a house of cards.  They’re short-sighted, they lack true understanding of what makes a great company successful in the long-term.  They may give the initial appearance to be the greatest thing since sliced bread.  Yet over time, the surface appearance inevitably gives way to major flaws.  Because that surface appearance isn’t truly built on sound business practices, they’re not sustainable.

Sustainable business methods ensure the foundation is much stronger, more likely to weather the ups and downs of any business life cycle.  They’re designed based on modeling one’s business after other companies that have been able to grow and succeed through decades of ups and downs.  The culture built isn’t just on the surface.  It runs through and through.  It ensures the most likely chance for long term success because it doesn’t just consider appearances.  It considers stability, structure, and consistency over time.

Words used after I came on board and began bringing order to chaos have included “relieved”, “excited”, “finally respected”…

Exceptions To A Rule Don’t Themselves Justify Choices

Myopic business methods only succeed in the long-term in very rare situations.  Extremely rare. Sure, they’re the ones that grab headlines the most in the tech sector.  They’re sexy.  They’re the stuff that makes up “the grass is greener” illusion most people become enamored with who work for more traditional companies.

In reality, most myopically run companies fail miserably.  The short-term ride is wild, for sure.  It’s even fun for a while.  But inevitably, most such companies end up leaving everyone disillusioned, saddened, and in severe personal and familial crisis.

Sustainable business methods don’t all succeed either.  Yet they succeed more often.  They offer a better likelihood of opportunity for more people within the company.

Click2Rank was in such disarray when I came on board that a complete sea-change was needed. The person needing to steer the ship on a day to day basis was going to need to really grasp the underlying issues, the causes of the symptoms, and the best way to bring about change.  It would take someone who happens to have the vast combination of experience I have.  A young, shoot-from-the-hip, “act now and figure it out later” gun was not going to work to fix this.  It’s what got the company in the mess it was in to begin with.

Jerry Maguire Syndrome

Jerry Maguire ended up going on to start his own thing.  He got the opportunity to run his own ship, do things his way. Yet if you know the whole story, you’d know that when he did so, he ended up learning several very harsh and painful lessons – things he’d refused to see, acknowledge or accept before he went his own way.  And just as important, life became filled with more hardship than he could have previously anticipated.

Well, for me, the reality is I was Jerry Maguire.  I had to go through many years of pain, suffering and disillusionment.  Personally, it led to me turning to pot and alcohol in order to just cope enough to get by. I ended up sleeping on friends and families couches.  A shadow of my true inner self.

My life became even more of a mess than I thought possible.  I caused wreckage and destruction along the way as well.

One day however, August 27, 2004 to be exact, I woke up.  I found God.  “My way” was no longer the illusion I’d made it out to be.  Real world reality took on a whole new light and meaning.  And it was at that point when I began to shed the Jerry Maguire belief system.  It slowly, over time, became less and less about me having to prove to the world that I was right, and more and more that first and foremost, we’re placed on this earth to be of service to others.

Each of us has unique gifts, passions and talent.  Yet if we don’t get out of our own way, we’ll never rise up above ego long enough to see those used in a way that not only elevates us as individuals, but truly helps others to reach their capacity as well.  If we don’t give up having to be someone who thinks they have all the answers, we never truly learn to model ourselves after others.

If we don’t continually have the willingness to be honest with ourselves and others, the courage to change and adapt in healthy ways rather than self-centered ways, we’ll never grow, evolve and mature.

So too, do these same principles apply to business.

Miracles Happen For A Reason

For the past several years, as I’ve ceaselessly worked to build myself into a respectable, productive member of society, I’ve also consistently looked to a higher power – a greater truth, bigger than me, to guide me.  I’ve steadfastly applied the concept that each of us has those unique gifts, passions and talents.  And I’ve held true to the understanding that when we show up this way, with integrity, to the best of our human ability, doing the right thing for the right reasons and not for ego sake, that miracles will happen.

That’s how I came to meet Christine Gibbs. Regardless of the “surface” reasons we met, the fact is that we met.  And that first day, a simple act of kindness on her part moved me so much, that it moved me to tears.  I was that humbled.

That, in turn, led me to want to learn more about her.  So I read her bio, and one of her articles.

Key Transforming Moments In Life

And here’s where you may choose to write this off as too bizarre for your preference.  Yet if you do, you may miss out on a pretty amazing thing. So hang in there with me just a little longer.  It’s worth it.

It was in that very moment of reading Christine’s bio that I honestly felt moved by something greater than me.  In a way I’ve never felt before.  And in that moment, I also felt that Christine is someone I need to model myself after in business and life.

So when, a few days later, Christine reached out to me for guidance on righting the Click2Rank ship, I knew within a few minutes discussing that situation, that I was the person for the job.  It all clicked.

Big Things Become Even Bigger

Initially, we both thought it would just be a 90 day gig.  I’d come in, perform a true soup-to-nuts business audit to fill in the industry specific blanks in her already thick folder of documentation, and together we’d develop processes, methods and systems for turning things around.

As it turned out, in short order, the severity of the problem, the deeply woven flaws in the fabric of the company became clear.  And unavoidable.

So when it went from “consultant” to “Director”, I prayed.  And I discussed it with the people most dear to my life.  My support group.  Personal and business relationships I have come to understand as also being critical if we as humans are to ever really get to the point where we can make sound decisions, and go from ego-based judgment calls to discernment.

A Big Vision Requires An Even Bigger Vessel

I’ve had a very big vision for where I might be able to go in life with my unique gifts, passions and experience.  Yet as a consultant, the culmination of that came this year.  Like Justin Briggs shared this past week, I too had goals that, through those years of struggle, scraping and clawing my way back up, I kept focused on.  And like Justin, I reached the pinnacle of those when I was invited by Danny Sullivan to speak at SMX Advanced.

It was in that experience I was left with “what’s next?”  “Where do I go from here?”  And “I’ll be 52 next month – can this consulting thing, as fun as it is, get me where I need to be in 10 years? At my age?”

See – that’s what’s so powerful.  I recognized that week, that consulting would most likely not get me to that next end-goal I knew it was time to focus on.  It’s a big goal.  To be able to do even greater things than I’ve already done – in business and in life.  It didn’t feel like the right vessel, that it wasn’t big enough.

And that’s why to me, it’s even more amazing how I was led to the opportunity to take on this responsibility.  As clear as anything I’ve ever felt, I knew so vividly that this was the right opportunity for me that I left all my belongings, save what would fit in my car, behind to move up here.  Even when it was just going to be for 90 days, I had packed everything away.  Which it turned out made it effortless for me to then give away after I got up here and it turned into an offer for a permanent position.

And since that day, everything about this career choice has fallen into place, come together and otherwise unfolded effortlessly.

Nothing In Life Is A Sure Thing

Now just because I’ve moved up here, and taken on this position, and just because I report to one of the most dynamic, successful and visionary people I’ve ever had the fortune to meet and work with, does not itself mean it’s a guaranteed success right out the gate.

Needing to completely change an entire company’s direction, get our internal house in order before we can even think about taking on new outside clients, and build a truly stable foundation for success is going to take a lot of work.  It’s going to take the commitment of everyone involved.  And the support of a lot of people and resources.

There are going to be a lot of challenges, a lot of perceived obstacles as well.

Yet at the end of the day, when time has passed, whatever comes to be, I’ll be able to look myself in the mirror, knowing that I’ve once again made the decision to follow my heart, do what I love, and make myself available for God’s will in my life.  And along the way, I’ll have done my very best as a human being, as a manager, as a business leader, to help those around me.

Why I Joined Click2Rank is a post from: Search Marketing Wisdom All content copyright protected - all rights reserved.

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Whatever your unique scenario is, one reality holds true for anyone in the consulting business.  The need to market your services.  A couple of the biggest challenges to marketing are where to market, and how much is it going to cost.  Having been at this for as long as I have, I’ve found the answer to both of these questions for my unique situation, and would like to share them here with you.

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Works For Me, Maybe Not You

Of course, these methods may not work for you – I can only share what works for me.  So well in fact, that last year, this is how I generated about 60% of my income.  And since November of last year through today, it’s now where I get 80% of my income.  The total of which has, not insignificantly, increased as well.

You’ll need to see if what I recommend fits your unique persona, situation and market.  Maybe it will, maybe it won’t.  Yet if it does, you’ll be amazed at how well it works.

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Find Your Ideal Community

A lot has been said over the years, and more is discussed all the time these days, about the need to find where your ideal market – the people who make up your customer or client base are spending their time online.  I can’t emphasize enough how important this is, regardless of what the services are that you’re offering.  Because it’s wherever they are that you need to get yourself engaged.

For me, it turns out that just a few of the places my prospective clients spend there time include:

• LinkedIn
• Search Engine Journal
• Twitter
• This Blog
• My Own Site
• SEOmoz Pro Q&A

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LinkedIn

While I hardly spend any serious time on LinkedIn these days, when I first dove into social media as a possible source of leads, Iwent to LinkedIn.  I set up a well crafted profile. I then explored the various services they offer to see where people were connecting and how they were possibly getting value out of that participation. Personally I didn’t care for groups, or blasting questions out to everyone in my circle.  Instead, I found the LinkedIn Q&A were best for my needs.

Not only was I able to ask questions from time to time, I was able to find questions others had posted where I felt I could offer real value and insight.   And within a matter of just a few months, I garnered a total of fifty “best answers” awarded to answers I provided.  Eventually I dropped off the LinkedIn system for extensive periods of time, mostly because life took me in other directions.

Yet I still go back occasionally, and when I do, I pop into the Q&A area.  And even that casual effort has since gotten me a handful of additional “best answers”.

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Search Engine Journal

SEJ is a miracle to me.  Ann Smarty reached out to me and asked if I’d guest post there.  That first guest article was so well received that Ann asked if I’d like to write again.  And that led to being invited to being a regular contributor.  As of this week I’ve now written forty nine articles at SEJ.  Some have been monumental in how well they engage dialogue.  Others, not so much.

My best success however, from the perspective of what generates the most client business from SEJ has got to be my four part “Anatomy of an SEO Audit” series.  That series of articles has brought me no less than a dozen clients.  More recently, my article on the Farmer/Panda update, which I posted at the beginning of March, has itself brought me four clients.

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Twitter

Many of you know all about my adventures on Twitter. I’m now infamous for my rants there.  Something you’d think was NOT conducive to generating business.  Yet that’s why it’s critical to understand the environment, and how you can bring your unique style to bear in making it work for you.

It turns out that the majority of my business that comes through Twitter comes from the fact that the people I engage with the most there are within my industry peer community.  And while some people find my tweet style to be quite caustic at times, there are enough agency owners, and small business consultants who follow my Twitter stream and also happen to enjoy my rants.

They say it’s because they appreciate how brutally honest I am in my tweeting.  How refreshing it is.  And how dead-on accurate my perspective is in much of what I rant about related to this industry.

And of course, I also happen to go the extra mile to retweet quality content from others that’s appropriate to my little corner of the Twitterverse.

The extra beauty of getting client work this way?  When one agency becomes a client, they inevitably lead to several projects.  Repeat business.  And what I really like even more?  They do the heavy lifting – they get the end clients, handle the sale pitch, the contract work, the project management.  I just bang out high quality audits, and offer guidance as requested.

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This Blog

SearchMarketingWisdom.com has been a wild journey.  Started out in 2007 as a way for me to offer additional free Internet Marketing info to existing clients. And over the past couple years, SMW has gone through the roller coaster of my persona changes.  Some good, some not so good.  Yet always, this blog has been one of the best ways I’ve been able to show prospective clients who might come to me from other paths, specific articles and knowledge that supports the concept of how I can help them.

And of course, there’s enough “extended rant” material here to support and back-up what comes across on my tweets.  Again – that’s not always a good thing.  Because I can be very cutting and go over the top in those rants.  Which is something I’ve been re-evaluating as of late.

It has, nevertheless, been as much a “deal closer” as anything for me.

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My Own Site

When I began the transition earlier this year with SearchMarketingWisdom.com, I realized it was time to finally take the plunge with a site solely around building my identity as a brand – that I, myself, am the brand.  That’s how AlanBleiweiss.com was born. And let me be quite honest here – it was one of the smartest moves I’ve ever made.  Nowadays, when I get a contact from a prospective client, it’s almost always through that site’s contact form.

Sure, the majority of people find me on Twitter, or here, or SEJ, or LinkedIn, or lately even SEOmoz, yet the vast majority end up at my personal site and most of them end up reading three or four pages there before contacting me for an audit. And because I have ballpark pricing info right on my audit services page, anyone who’s gone there already knows I don’t give away my services for free.  So all the “can you do an audit for $50 type inquiries have gone away.

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SEOmoz Pro Q&A

Over the past few years I’ve read a number of articles in YOUmoz, and reading Rand’s correlation articles is always entertaining, and even enlightening in many ways.  Yet until recently, I never really spent a whole lot of time there.  There’s just so much time in a given day.  And countless other great sites and communities that continually attempt to lure me away.

That’s when I came across Pro Q&A.

And let me tell you here, and now, I simply LOVE it.  It’s like if you could extract the Search Marketing section out of LinkedIn’s Q&A section, then get a much higher level of reasonable relevant questions into the system, weed out nearly all of the bullshit that pollutes the LinkedIn system, and wrap it up in a neat little bows, that’s how I feel about the Moz Pro Q&A system.

Why am I so enamored with it?

Because I love being of help to others.  And from my experience with the LinkedIn Q&A system, I learned how to use it to be of the most service possible.  So I don’t just try to answer every single question.  I only offer answers either when I know for a fact that I’m going above and beyond what others are providing, or when what I offer adds real value to the discussion, or occasionally, if a question goes unanswered for several hours or a day or two, and if I can offer at least some insight.

Bonus Value.

In these couple months I’ve been there, I’ve already gotten fifty five “good answer” flags.  And three of my answers were recognized by Moz staff as being truly worthy enough to be Moz endorsed.

Not Just Ego.

Now while you may think that’s ALL about ego, it really isn’t.  It’s also about third party confirmation of value offered.  It’s about “how do I know I’m really being helpful beyond my own mind’s belief”…  And that’s what matters most to me.

Oh – and did I mention that already this week, I’ve picked up two new clients, both of whom found my answers in the Pro Q&A system of such high quality that they reached out to me to help them on their sites and both have now hired me…

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Some Final Tips

Be Outstanding

Whatever the places are you identify, find ways to get involved.  Be sure the way you get involved is appropriate to that unique environment.  And just as appropriate to your unique style within that environment.

When you participate in any community that fits your market focus, and you truly provide value, you may get a lot of people thanking you, yet ultimately you may not see direct results the way I do.  For me however, what happens, every time I get involved at a high quality level, is people ultimately to contact me.  They read what I contribute there, and that leads them to reaching out for my services.

Go the Extra Mile

Don’t just write articles, or tweet or answer questions or participate like everyone else.  Be truly helpful.  If someone else has already said it, it’s okay to once in a while say “I totally agree with what X said”.  Yet if that’s all you’re doing, you’re not really adding much value beyond confirmation that someone else is providing the real value.  And sure, it’s okay to occasionally or even regularly write vapid hot-air type articles if that’s your style.  But to be truly outstanding, you need to go that extra mile.

Like when I wrote the Microformat Reference Guide for SEO & Programmers. To this day, that’s one of my most successful, visited and linked articles. 

Be Consistent

Consistency is one of the biggest challenges I face in my daily routine.  I love to have something different going on every day of my life.  It’s the whole “shiny object” syndrome.  Sure, I float from one platform to the next over the years.  Because that’s reality – your path will always take you where it will take you.  Yet when I do recognize that there’s something of true value somewhere, I do my best to be consistent in participation, to whatever degree my life allows.

And everywhere it’s different.  On SEJ I do my best to write twice a month.  On Twitter, at least several days a week.  Here, I’ve recently lagged a bit, yet for the most part it’s at least once if not twice a month.  Over at the SEOmoz Pro Q&A system, it’s almost every day.  Because I made that page my browser’s default landing page.

How I get 80% of my income Through Social Media is a post from: Search Marketing Wisdom All content copyright protected - all rights reserved.

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What if they top off the accusation with “and so-and-so said they saw you reading!” (Oh me. Oh my. Oh no!!)

It’s like you’ve been accused of cheating, being “green,” or a neophyte not deserving of an SEO Karate white belt.

You may be prompted to write a “Dear Ignoramus” letter to the accuser if you hadn’t already given them a Karate sidekick. As an SEO, you may realize the idiocy of such comments and decide not to waste your energy.

SEO Ninja always training - Monica Wright

SEO is like Karate. It’s a martial art. Serious SEO ninjas never stop training.

SEO Experience

Let’s make it clear…

No matter what stage of experience you are in SEO – white belt, brown belt, black belt or Sensei, you’d better be reading, researching, testing, and “learning on the job” regularly!

I’m not advocating you ignore the need for billable hours or meeting client needs. However, if you work at an agency or on your own, you’d better schedule time training on the SEO dojo floor to perfect your search marketing skills. There is no level of “attainment” in which you rest on the laurels of the color of your SEO belt. Your clients need you to be a Master.

I don’t yet know the demographics of readers on Search Marketing Wisdom. I imagine, however, that most of you who practice SEO and search marketing break down into the following as practitioners:

• Freelance
• Partner
• Agency employee
• In-House SEO
• Owner/Operator of your own retail or lead-gen sites

Each one of you (correction) Each one of us has a pressing, dire, need to stay on top of what is happening in search. It doesn’t matter how many site audits, competitive analyses, information architectures, optimized pages of content and links we have under our belts. We live in a constantly-changing, metamorphosing world of search.

Rapid-Fire SEO

“Rapid-fire SEO” is the first adjective that comes to mind when thinking
about SEO the past few years.

Matt Cutts in an interview with Virginia Nussey on interview on SEM Synergy, said that in 2008 Google had approximately 450 algorithm changes.

Did you pick up on that?

That means Google changed the way they index, rank, and display results FOUR HUNDRED & FIFTY times in one year. That was 2008.

2009 brought an influx of universal results and personalization. The rapid-fire changes to search algorithms continues. Matt Cutts, in a Google Webmaster video answered the question, “How many changes did Google make to their primary search algorithm in 2009?” He explains Google averages 350-400 per year, averaging 1 change per day overall.

Chop. Chop. Hiya!

Do you remember December 8, 2009 when Google launched Twitter Real-Time results in their SERPs? The ramification on what it meant for spam in search results was tremendous. If you weren’t paying attention, you wouldn’t have informed clients of the resulting opportunity (or missed opportunity) to participate as well.

Enter and exit 2010.

You’ve heard the adage…

“Don’t blink or you’ll miss it.”

Yes, Google changes faster than you can blink.

What about the other search engines? If you blinked too long, you were not prepared for one Bing and Yahoo! index. Or you may have missed Blekko.

Alan Bleiweiss recapped the continual “gifts” we received in 2010 in his Search Engine Journal post, “An Epic Year for SEO.”

SEOs who were not constantly reading, researching and testing would not have been responsive to help clients with Google Caffeine, May Day and the rising influence of social media and mobile. If you were not learning on the job, you would have missed:

• September 8 when Google Instant was unleashed, changing the way we search and the way we instantly access sites deemed relevant to our queries.
• October 27 when Google Places changed the game of local SEO, placing significant emphasis on citations and reviews and changing SERP layout and real estate. If your target query has a geo-related modifier, the way you optimize for that phrase has changed. At PubCon Las Vegas, Greg Boser called October 27, 2010 “Black Wednesday” for SEOs.

Earned your black belt yet?

What about 2011?

SEOs have another hugely significant “learning opportunity” that affects all Internet marketing strategies… Facebook.

• The term “Facebook,” and modifiers thereof, were the most searched terms, topping “Google” in 2010.
• Facebook topped Google as THE most visited site. Read these Hitwise stats at Mashable’s “2010: The Year Facebook Dethroned Google as King of the Web.”

Remember, Facebook IS a place where people search and look for stuff! Will it ever be a search engine? Search Engine Land reported on 1/3/11 that Facebook has raised $500 million from Goldman Sachs. As the article ponders, is a Facebook search engine inevitable?

Time for Learning, R&D

How will you be keeping up on the latest in 2011 and the rapid-fire changes in search? Will you be learning on the job? Heck, you’d better get caught in the act often!!

Not everyone reads and studies search and Google patents like David Harry, SEO Sensei behind the SEO Dojo. David constantly reads with his ear to the search ground. Ask Dave one of the “changes” of 2010 that’s significant for 2011 and beyond, and he may tell you Google’s purchase of Metaweb. Dave calls the need to be in constant study, “research and development.” It’s essential to anticipate for what’s coming!

SEOs need to wax on, wax off.

A highly-regarded SEO friend told me he spends about 3 hours/day in the SEO Book forums – studying and “keeping up with the latest.” Constant study is a necessity for any skilled marketing Ninja.

If you’re a search marketer, no matter the color of your belt, you had better be “learning on the job” – watching, sharing, testing, evaluating AND reading. If you get “caught” doing so, you’re on your way to black belt. And if your SEO skills are already at the black-belt level, you’ll need to study to retain your belt and become Sensei to teach others.

“Wax on. Wax off. Breath in. Breath out.”

How many hours a week do you spend sharpening your skills?

“Learning” On The Job – SEO Ninja Training is a post from: Search Marketing Wisdom All content copyright protected - all rights reserved.

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Who am I kidding, put down the hand weights, grab a Twinkie, and let’s talk about spending more time staring at the computer screen this next year.  Or at least making the most of the time we spend when we do have to sit here.

Actually, I’m excited to take the time to set some professional goals for myself.  Last year was completely amazing, so I can’t wait to take off for new heights in 2011.  So, I had to ask myself, what could I focus my attention on that would make my Social Media life even better?  I came up with a handful of things that will not only help me, but I think will help you, too.

Learn more.

I won’t ask you to admit it out loud, but how many of you are guilty of taking the little you do know and running on instinct for the rest?  In such a fast paced industry as Social Media Marketing, and Internet Marketing in general for that matter, we almost have to go with our gut sometimes.  We are surrounded by creative, innovative people who look as though they are flying by the seat of their pants.

It should come as no big surprise that there are tons of opportunities to LEARN in this industry.  What is amazing is the willingness of all the people I’ve met to share what they know and seek out the ideas and perspectives of others.  Learning opportunities abound, and I personally plan to take advantage of as many opportunities as I can.

Already, I’m reading more.  I picked up several books over the Christmas season that I am devouring.  Some of them are very easy reads, others are going to take me a while to dig through and digest.  But, doubt not that I am stuffing my brain with all kinds of goodness.

The bloggers within this field are amazing, too.  I am constantly asking others who they like to read.  My goal for this year is to set aside designated time every day to keep up with all that’s out there in cyberspace.

Let’s not forget for a moment all the great conferences.  There’s nothing like sitting in a room and absorbing the wealth of knowledge.  I will be doing everything in my power to get to 3 or 4 more this year.

With all the great resources out there, there’s no excuse not to add something new to what you already know.

Share what I’m learning.

I don’t know about you, but I need time to process all of the good stuff I learn.  One of the best ways I’ve found to really assimilate all the new data is to write it down.  That, my friends, is all the excuse I will ever need to up my level of contribution to the conversation.  When I share what I’m learning, as I’m learning it, it sticks with me better.  And if I’m sharing, I will usually get great comments and fresh perspective on the topics I choose to discuss.

So, I will be dedicating more time this new year to keeping my own blog up to date with the latest and greatest.  I will also take advantage of the opportunities to write for other blogs.

How about you?  How will you share what you’ve learned with the world around you in 2011?

Be a more active blogger.

Obviously, writing more blog posts will contribute to this goal.  But I want to be a more active member of the blogging community.  I plan to make it a point not only to read and write more, but to actively comment and engage with other bloggers.  I’m not writing for TV, magazines, or newspapers.  Blogging is social.  It’s a conversation, and I want to be an active part and not just skulk around in the shadows.

Maybe you aren’t as comfortable writing blog articles, yet, but you could take the extra moment to comment on the posts that really sparked some ideas for you.  Make the effort to click a Facebook or twitter button and share the blog posts that you’re enjoying with your network of friends and colleges.

Try a few more networks.

I’ve become so enamored of the networks that I really connect on that I’ve lost sight of all the Social goodness still to experience out there.  This is the year to try some new things, build a few more profiles, and make some new friends.  Who knows, I might discover just the right solution to someone’s unique Social Media needs.

Are you really comfortable with Linked-In and Facebook, but still not so sure about Twitter?  This might just be the year to jump into the stream and see what everyone else has been chirping about.

Reach out to others.

If I’m going to learn and share and grow, I want to be sure that I’m taking others along on the journey.  I want to connect and learn from all of the super-smart people around me, so I’m not going to hesitate to reach out to them with my questions.  I also want to help others.  I’m going to make a greater effort to reach out to people who need tips, hints, and answers about how Social Media can benefit them.

Hopefully my handful of resolutions have triggered some ideas for you.  Let’s make 2011 a spectacular year together!

2011 Social Media Resolutions is a post from: Search Marketing Wisdom All content copyright protected - all rights reserved.

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So when James Zolman recently tweeted “I need an apprentice” then Dana Lookadoo then replied, saying she needs one too,  I chimed in, letting them know that hiring one was one of the best things I’ve ever done in business. Next thing I know, they’re asking me for tips.  From there, it all just came pouring out of me.  James then suggested all this should be a blog article, so here you go!

24 Tips on Hiring An Apprentice

1. Define what you need most help with that you can train someone on without drowning in training time

2. Reach out to everyone you know with your requirement, post to Craigslist as well

3. Remember they’re going to be your trainee so the 1st rule is “do we get along psychologically, emotionally”

4. Create a training manual so they can refer to it when you’re not around

5. If your pay is a fair, & they are passionate in the work you do together, you’ll know it intuitively during interviews.  In this economy you should get a flood of resume’s

6. Hiring local or long distance depends on your work-style. I have a local and a long distance.

7. If you treat them like a young version of you (read that equal as human yet needing loving guidance) they will prosper

8. Always pay attention to what they frown at. It’s a sign they may not enjoy the work.

9. If they don’t like an aspect of the work, find other things they do like or help them see it in a new way

10. Sometimes they don’t like tasks because they can’t see how their unique voice can be expressed in it

11. Show them how it helps YOU, that they’re worth diamonds to you.

12. If possible, show them how they can express their unique experience or voice to it

13. If their work doesn’t meet your needs, look for what’s good in it first, point that out then let them know that even tho that’s the case, you need it done differently. Explain why.

14. It’s NEVER “because I said so” or “Because I’m the boss”

15. If you take the time to do that, you may just learn that their thinking is better in a situation

16. If they ever interact with other people always protect them from bullshit others spew

17. Be willing to be their champion / protector the way you would want to be treated

18. If they step out of line, really cross it, take a time out before reacting

19. When you address unacceptable behavior, remember they are human, other issues that may be the cause

20. 1st try to discover the cause of their actions. They just may have personal crisis going on

21. Be understanding, yet always consistent in where the line is.

22. Even when being consistent, you may need to become flexible in order to allow their humanness

23. Remember too though, you’re running a business, so set limits to flexibility you can live with

24. This one is more a business philosophy tip – read this article from Brent D. Payne on business philosophy – every point will help you become more successful in the business world, and more importantly, happy in your business ventures

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Well that’s all I had in me to tweet that night.  What tips can you offer?

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Thanks to both James and Dana for pulling this out of me.  And for Annie Cushing confirming my view along the way, and Gab Goldenberg for tweeting “u guys just made me star about 40 tweets. please blog so i can just have 1 bookmark!”  Because that locked it for me as far as jumping right on the blog thing rather than waiting til some future date.  And of course, thanks just as much to Bennet and Sharon – two of the best apprentices a guy could ever ask for or hope to work with!

24 Tips on Hiring an Apprentice is a post from: Search Marketing Wisdom All content copyright protected - all rights reserved.

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Well, actually, we really didn’t have a choice at the time, we were in the Army.

Okay – we had a choice – but the consequences of not being in shape were a fairly good motivator.

On that particular day, I can recall everyone crowded around the starting line – a sea of olive green uniforms on a concrete road lined by a gaggle of trees on either side.   I don’t recall the time of day, except that it was pretty early in the morning.  (Lots of things happen early in the morning when you’re in the Army)…

When you’re in the Army, some people prefer to just be in the middle of the pack – not wanting to blaze trails (for fear of the concept that the people up front tend to get shot first).  Others really would rather be somewhere else, doing something else.  These people tend to end up at the rear of the pack.  Then there’s people like me.  – You will usually find us up front, doing what we think will give us a competitive advantage in the race – unafraid, because our minds are only on one thing in that moment – victory.

Now, I’m not so competitive or driven that I have that attitude in everything.  Believe me – I’m a lot less business-focused and a lot more life-balanced.  It’s just that when I decide to focus on a really succulent prize (like being able to say I was the fastest one in our Company that day), I can have a fairly intense focus. When it came to running, at least back in those days, I was truly passionate about the experience.  Not quite obsessed – heck – I never ever practiced on my own even.  Just passionate about the in-the-moment presence – like meditation in motion…

Except life isn’t always going to support us in our efforts, or make the task effortless.

In fact, on that warm sunny spring morning, life decided that, shortly after the start of the race, someone behind me would, themselves, be so determined to get where they were going that they only focused on the goal, and not their surroundings.

Because in that moment, I felt a foot stepping on one of my heels.   And then I felt the slow-motion sensation we all feel as we’re about to come crashing to the ground, helpless to do anything about it…

And come crashing down, I did!  down, onto that hard, pebble and grit strewn concrete road.   Hands flailing in front of me to instinctively break the fall – a true cave-man inborn survival reaction.  I could feel the burning sensation in the palms of my hands, the scraping of my elbows, and knees…  and at the same time, I also felt that sea of green wash over and around me, like waves crashing into the rocky shore.

Because my adrenaline had been so properly primed before the race however, once Newton’s law of motion had worked itself out, I didn’t just lay there, not even long enough to assess the damage.  Instead, I had an instantaneous vision of someone else, other than me, crossing that finish line first.  And I was pissed.

Fortunately, only a smidgen of my anger was directed at the unknown assailant.  Heck, I wasn’t able to picture a name or a face to target my wrath at.  All I knew was that someone did something – intentional or not, to knock me off my course, prevent me from reaching my goal, and all it did was cause me to double-up my determination, get up off the ground, and jump back into the race.

When adrenaline REALLY kicks in, like it did AFTER I had been knocked down, something clicks in the mind that causes the body to react and go into tunnel vision.  Kind of like – that cave man, when a big, bad dinosaur suddenly appears just behind him, already in attack mode, ready to eat lunch after not having any decent human flesh in days or weeks…

And that’s what happened to me in that moment.  Not because I was afraid I was going to die, but that someone else was going to achieve the goal that I had set out for myself!

And other than fleeting glimpses of others ahead or around me, or the twists and turns of the road as I would prepare for each next one in turn, I have no memory (nor did I later that day) of anything much else, because of that adrenaline induced tunnel vision…

Now, I’d like to be your hero here, and say that I won the race…

But that would be a bold-faced lie.  And while the Cancerian in me tends to express himself visually through a bold and emotive face, I would prefer to be honest and let you know that I actually came in second place that day…

Having had to catch up with the entire Company of 100 men and women.

And the only person who I wasn’t able to catch up to was the Company Executive Officer, a West Point graduate and former college athlete.

And he only beat me by about 30 seconds…

But the real kicker here, and the wrap-up on this prelude to success in SEO, is that after a few moments of exhilarating happiness of what I’d achieved that day, in spite of some snot-nosed low-life (yeah – at some point, even though the adrenaline, I had been able to muster up a re-visiting of the “incident”, and had, by then, formulated a belief that it was either intentional, or worse, that it was due to someone’s ignorance and lack of respect), that I had come back and nearly won the whole thing!  And in that moment, I felt completely joyous in coming in 2nd place.

Until I went off to sit on the curb, and catch my breath.

Because as soon as I sat down, I saw, and felt, my knees.  Both knees of my olive drab uniform were soaked through with blood.  And both knees of my 20-something year old body, were all-of-a-sudden, in serious pain! And my hands – OMG – the palms of my hands had little tiny pebbles and grit buried in them – and abraisions all up along both my fore-arms… and one of my elbows had enough flesh ripped away from it that the skin was kind of dangling…

HEY – come back – barfing, even just a little in your mouth,  is not an excuse from finishing this article!

And that brings us to modern day.  Alan as an SEO consultant.

One of the reasons I consistently get my client sites onto the first page of Google (or whatever your cup of search happens to be) organically is because of that same passion and determination.  Whether it’s after having been slammed into the concrete pavement by some black-hat SEO, or if it’s having to catch up to a sea of competitors with years of lead time, or having to counter the next “Vince” update.

That’s the beauty of our industry.

With enough time, leverage and client budgetary willingness, by applying best of breed SEO techniques, anyone can achieve high organic rankings.

Oh sure, you may not get your client into that coveted #1 organic slot for every keyword phrase.

But you can get them there for some if you’re determined enough.  And you can get a lot more of them somewhere on the first page of results.  And you will, if you consider how big a deal it is, be able to look at those achievements, and smile.

In spite of the bloodied knees you get along the way, or better, you’ll be able to smile KNOWING you got there even when some people played by different rules.

SEO Sometimes Takes Bloody Determination is a post from: Search Marketing Wisdom All content copyright protected - all rights reserved.

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Tim Rutten, in his latest opinion piece at the LA Times, jumped on the bandwagon with the rest of the panic-stricken print media today calling for the Obama administration to turn a blind eye to the antitrust ambitions of that group of old-guard old-boys.  Since this is now a trend building great momentum, I felt compelled to chime in.  Not because I’m a journalist with a voice in the matter – in fact, I am not a journalist.  I am, instead, just another American citizen who happens to have been a visionary from the early days, when it comes to the Internet.  I am also a staunch supporter of all that is great in America, and oppose bully tactics on all fronts…

NOTE -Since there didn’t seem to be a way to do so directly at their site in any type of comment area, I’ve contacted Mr Rutten by email inviting his reply.  It would be nice to have a dialogue on the subject….

Mr. Rutten essentially regurgitates what several in his industry have been spewing lately. (How odd- a “journalist” who just repeats what all his buddies write)  That since print media is now obviously on a road to ruin, they should have the right to conspire, so that they may reap the financial reward that comes from monopolistic behavior, much like the oil cartels in how they manipulate the price of a barrel of oil.

At one point, he states:

“Readers — and democracy itself, which depends on a vigorously free and independent press — will be the ultimate losers.”

Well, Mr. Rutten’s article is an entertaining read.  That’s for sure. He and his colleagues have been using terminology and words that evoke fear, panic and a sense that America itself will die if they don’t get their way.  Kind of like the Republican Party did during the last election cycle.  And Dick Cheney is doing now. (though in my opinion, he’s doing that because he doesn’t want to go to jail, which is another story altogether…) (and no, I’m not a bleeding heart liberal.  I would have loved to have been able to vote for decorated war hero Colin Powell for president, because I feel he’s got the healthiest mix of views of just about anyone these days…)

Here’s where I have a problem with Mr Rutten’s whole premise.  (one mind you, that no major print media journalist has the guts to cover in depth because that would threaten their paychecks even if it would be true investigative journalism…)

First, the Internet has been around for a long time now.  Some of us recognized what it is and where it’s headed long ago.  I myself, on the very first day I was introduced to the world wide web in January of 1995, instantly understood the potential, and in that living room of a friend in Felton California that winter afternoon, knew that the Internet was the future, and in fact, my future.

Because I acted on that intuition, I’ve been an Internet professional ever since.  It’s been an amazing and wild ride.  Ups and downs have come in all sorts of ways.  And I know of what I speak when I mention things like “adapt and change with the times if you want to survive and hopefully thrive”.  It was because of that mentality that I was able to ride out the dot-com bust.  And it’s why I’ve continued to adapt and change how and what I do as an Internet professional all along.

Has it been an easy ride?  You tell me.

At my first financial peak, 1999, I brought in $139,000.  After the bust, in 2001, I brought in $12,000.  While that was extremely humbling,  it just drove me harder to find new ways to monetize my passion for the Internet.

Over these 14 plus years, I’ve had to learn HTML – versions 1, 2, 3, 4, and 4.1.  I’ve had to learn the essentials of Javascript, XML, ActionScript, Flash, Photoshop, FTP,  XHTML, CSS, ColdFusion, PHP, IIS, SEO, and SEM.  Over the years, I’ve had to become intimately knowledgeable on Email marketing, Spam prevention, Social Networking, affiliate networking, and of course, blogging.

Nobody forced me to learn any of that.  It’s been by my choice, gladly, because I have understood the concept “adapt or die”.

And the Internet has been my passion since the beginning.  I have no formal programming training, I didn’t graduate with any technology degree (in fact I have no college degree – I’ve been working out in the world since I was 17.  My parents couldn’t afford to send me to college, and my high school guidance counselor spent a grand total of 10 minutes with me my entire high school span, so I had nobody helping guide me back then).

Yet I’ve worked hard.  Very hard.  For many years.  Late into the night.

Because I embrace the Internet so completely, so thoroughly, I learned early on that if you truly want to succeed on the Internet, all you need to do is reach out to those who have come before you and succeeded in whatever path you are wanting to be on.  And they’ll gladly, freely share with you tips, suggestions, insights on what has and what has not worked for them.   They don’t conspire with you.  They teach you how to fish for yourself.

And most of what I have learned has come to me because I’ve found it freely, thank you very much, available online.  There to read, download, and learn from.

See, that’s the beauty and power of the web.  It’s the single most potent vehicle in the history of humankind as far as being able to empower humans who might not otherwise have been able to afford to pay for that empowerment.  People who want to learn just about anything, including how to adapt and change.

Oh yes – there are plenty of things we need to pay for online.  Essentially it’s got to do with superior quality, and more comprehensive content.  Heck, even Mr. Rutten admits that some entities like the Wall Street Journal have found ways to monetize very high quality deep content.  And to boot, he also refers to the fact that news media apparently raked in $447 million in online revenue last year.

What?  They made money online?  Hundreds of millions of dollars?

Yep.  Except that’s not nearly enough to help pay for the thousands of people who currently work in the print news industry.  They expect that they’ll need to make billions online if they are to survive the inevitable shift. And as of late, they’re working to get Google to pay for at least a big chunk of that.

Well that’s the rub Mr. Rutten.  Your industry failed to fully embrace the Internet more than a decade ago.  For the most part, your industry’s leaders have apparently been too myopic, or too arrogant or too lazy perhaps, to find a way to adapt even though the writing’s been on the wall for so many years.  And you still to this day, refuse to even consider that a dramatically smaller staffed group of niche market news outlets might in fact be both a much more focused and stellar bunch of journalists, let alone a dramatically much more highly profitable bunch.

No, heaven forbid tens of thousands should lose their income.  People who would, in that scenario, be obsolete.  Not needed.  Superfluous.  Actually, they wouldn’t – all anyone who loses their career in such a manner needs to do is learn to adapt and find new opportunities for themselves.  Is it painful?  Yes.  Does it take a huge toll on an individual or family?  Of course it does.  (See my experience from the year 2000 above). Yet due to the current financial crisis, people who, through no direct fault of their own, are having to do that right now – all across America, in all sectors.  But unlike them, your industry has gotten in this pickle through direct failure to take actionable steps based on sound business principles.

The bottom line here is this – deep-pocketed old-boy networks (wall-street, Detroit, and now print-media everywhere) find it easier to use fear-mongering and lawyers in suits when dealing with a potentially catastrophic event of their own making rather than the hard work and dedication it takes to adapt.  And since Congress (both parties thank you very much) consist of like minded people (read that – paid off under the table during their tenure in congress and as lobbyists afterward), we have a serious problem here people.

While I have no problem with individual news entities sharing their success stories with their peers, I have a serious problem when the entirety of the biggest players decides to get together so they can force that entire industry to stop giving news away in any form of any significance.  And I also think that how they do all they can to marginalize professional journalists who blog as independents is yet another major bully tactic to try and keep themselves relevant without adapting or embracing.

I encourage everyone who reads this to contact your members of Congress and express your outrage.  I did so yesterday – sent a  lengthy email out.  And I’d greatly appreciate you leaving a comment here – either letting me know how wrong I am or if you even agree a little… Because unlike the LA Time’s opinion column online, I believe it’s only proper to allow comments on an opinion piece article…  Call me crazy like that…

Why Newspapers Need To Fail is a post from: Search Marketing Wisdom All content copyright protected - all rights reserved.

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Wait – if you are about to put this away thinking it’s some kind of fruity new-age blah blah, it’s really not.  It’s a philosophy employed by the most successful people in the world.  And it’s not any MLM or get rich quick concept either… It’s the real deal in business.

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So how is it that now, in this economy, I get more clients, achieve more goals and enjoy a happier life?   One factor is recognizing / knowing what I am meant to be doing / what my company is really best suited to do.

The more I understand and accept that I and my company can’t / shouldn’t be all things to all people in all situations, the more I am willing to both rely on collaboration with others, and the more I am unwilling to compromise who I am or what my company’s best strengths are.

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FEAR BASED CHOICES

Over the years, there have been many times when business was slow, for whatever reason (sometimes all the marketing in the world isn’t necessarily enough, sometimes the economy has tanked), I would often take on clients primarily because of the fear of not having enough cash flow to operate.

We’d do work that we are competent at, yet a lot of that would be work that we are “just” competent at, not work that we are superior to the competition at.  And even when it was work that we shine in, trouble would still ensue due to that client’s needy nature or panic based participation.

Setting The Stage For Problems

The first problem this causes is that many of those clients end up being one or more of the following:

• Overly needy
• Drama queen types
• Disrespectful of our value

As a caveat I will say that because I’m human, and have been around for a number of decades, I’ve had my own moments where each of these has come out – so at the very least, I can understand some of the possible causes of these behaviors.  Personally though, I’ve also learned that business needs to be business, not personal, at least to the degree of my not acting like one of these:

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The Overly needy Client

Some people get into business and get over their head. Others start out great but due to whatever circumstance, reach a point where they’re on the fast track to collapse.  In either situation, some people panic and as a result, will become overly needy – it’s a human condition yet it most definitely seeps into their way of doing business.  Typical examples include calling sixteen times a day, or sending dozens of requests by email in a single day.

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The Drama queen Client

Some people when they are facing a crisis (in business or otherwise) will become at least partially blinded by their own worries or fears that they assume the worst case scenario has become real, or they leap to conclusions of doom at the drop of a hat.  Examples of this are – assuming minor delays mean the project is at a dead end, or that unanticipated 3rd party factors mean unavoidable catastrophe

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The Unappreciative Client

If I compromise my company’s rates, or go way beyond the project scope because I feel sorry for someone, the usual outcome is that consciously or subconsciously, some of these will turn into business Divas.  “What do you mean you’re charging me for our phone calls” (uh – because you’ve kept me on the phone for two hours a day for the past week even though I provided all the information you asked for in the email I sent twice). Or “How could it possibly take fifty hours to get my two page web site onto the first page of Google for sixty five phrases? – Just this morning another company sent me an email saying they could put my site on Google for $1 a year…”)

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THE DISRUPTIVE RESULT

Taking on such work compromises my own space in the business world and thus inner chaos ensues.  (Get flooded with enough instances from the above list, and eventually it throws off your focus – becomes a gnawing distraction and otherwise disrupts the rest of your work day).  Or worse – if an employee gets put in the middle, and if that employee wants to try and do the right thing, the client will more often than not take advantage of that employee.  And the next thing you know,  the project scope has been blown right out of the water.

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TO THINE OWN SELF (BEST SKILLS) BE TRUE

So what’s the answer?  The more I refuse to take on clients based on fear, the more I trust that there is enough business  available from clients who aren’t in one of the above categories, and where the work we do take on is more in alignment.

Even in this economy (see my “Perspective on the current economy” on my personal blog), as long as I stay true to my beliefs, and our strengths, the more we get to do what we are best at (and thus we enjoy our work more),  the less we expend countless hours trying to help save the world one needy client at a time, and projects are completed in a much smoother fashion in less time.  So we’re available to take on more clients.

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THE CLIENT EVANGELIST RIPPLE EFFECT

Because we only now take on clients who really appreciate and value our work (before hiring us, during the project and long after)- that kind of client will inevitably become our next evangelist.  What more could you ask for as an outcome than that?  They end up referring others who are of the same ilk, and we get more business.

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THE GIVE-BACK BONUS

The more I stay away from “trouble” clients, regardless of the reason, the more free I am to take on non-profit clients of MY choosing at a major discount or even pro bono.  And they become evangelists for us as well.

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So the cut-to-the-chase philosophy is if I refuse to make fear based choices, my business is much healthier for it, and I am as well.

Business Success In A Down Economy – To Thine Own Self Be True is a post from: Search Marketing Wisdom All content copyright protected - all rights reserved.

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