Marketing, Strategy, Kosher!

Six Things I Learned Speaking at Google

issamar — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 00:31:54 +0000

I was honored to speak at Google’s Israel headquarters two weeks ago. It was an amazing experience, with stunning and breathtaking views of the Tel Aviv skyline! )

Here’s some of my thoughts and lessons learned.

Rabbi Issamar Speaking at Google Headquarters in Israel

Get Visually Comfortable Even Before You Arrive.

Always ask for a picture of the room you will be speaking in. Especially when your talk is right after an “all hands aboard!” event, so you don’t walk into the room util literally the moment that your speech will begin, it allows you to get a feel of the room layout, which makes the mental stress of walking into unfamiliar territory almost disappear.

Think about the Why.

When your clients say “we don’t allow pictures.” always think about why they are saying that. In this case for example, more follow up revealed that they do not let in guest photographers, but if you ask early enough they can bring in someone that they do allow that will film for you. (as it turned out, I was unable to do that on such short notice, and had to settle for some still images and audio of the session…)

Understand How To Tweak Your Presentation to Your Audience, Specifically.

One of the topics I spoke about was testimonials, and how they do more for your business in more ways than you can imagine. Several of the questions and comments afterward were about how engineers tend to, well, be “engineer-y” when recommending co-workers, and overcompensating the good they say with a wallop of overdosed negatives so it seems “balanced.” while actually leaning heavily on the negatives and rendering many testimonials and letters of recommendation useless by the recipient.Another commented that about the unique way Google does employee reviews, and that one of the techniques I dropped would enable him to get better reviews at his next meeting- even though the ratings are done anonymously and he would, before my speech, have no way of controlling what anyone would write. The effusive thanks was nice, but it made me realize how much more it would have been valuable to the audience had I spelled that out specifically so!

Say something (sort of) unrelated to warm them up.
I said an old Jewish parable to expand on an audience question. (Yes, even Google-ites have questions sometimes!) That parable, as well as some other stories I mentioned (and Kenneth Cole in particular), was very well received by the audience because of it’s application to their professional as well as personal lives…

Bring Your Own Guests.
Have clients or potential clients that live nearby? Have them come and hear you speak. it adds to your credibility, gets them to kvell about you (“I was invited to a private Google lecture. oooh.”) and gives them additional reasons to hire you. (as in”I don’t care if he looks like he just stepped out of a silent film of the 1930s. If he spoke at Google, he knows what he is doing and can help us!”). assuming the client doesn’t mind, it’s a win win win… and you have someone there that you feel comfortable asking to take several snapshots of you as you speak.

Confessions…

I did not utilize this appearance “Hasidic Rabbi Speaks at Google to Resounding Applause”properly. no media mentions of it, no (that I know of) tweets or Facebook photos of it, which was partially due to a family wedding which took place just several days before. But had I done that, this event would have gotten media attention in the wider media, and that would have brought many more people to knowing about me and visiting my website.I also should have asked and encouraged the audience, at some point, to please take pictures and send them to me (for which I could have given a free book or somethin’.)

Now, why did I speak there? I did not speak there with the intentions of getting Google employees as clients, or even to “get hooked up” to an unlimited number of AdWords vouchers. I spoke there because of the prestige of Google, and the fact that once I spoke at Google, it’s a powerful name drop that I can use to further build my brand and my credibility with potential clients.

Your Thoughts? (and special request: please share this post.) I gotta ask…

Kenneth Cole… and “The Birthing of a Shoe Company”

issamar — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 00:30:22 +0000

From a recent seminar: A story about Kenneth Cole and real “out of the box” thinking.

Kosher?

Every Vote a Miracle- Sliding in Under the Fence

issamar — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 17:46:53 +0000

I just saw one of the big gurus send out an email all about “shiny object syndrome.”

Essentially, they are promising to make you focus and stop looking for the “next big thing”… How? Buy having you buy THEIR product, which incidentally costs a few thousand dollars… And for the most part, is simply a collection of repackaged old courses!

Yecch.

It reminds me of what Kevin Hogan says about democrats and republicans..

Democrats say “well do it all for you.” jobs, retirement, benefits- you just vote for us and you will get everything you need- cradle to grave- without putting in any effort!

On the other hand, if republicans can get even 30% of the common votes with suggesting that YOU will actually Need to hustle and work to better your life… Than that in itself is miraculous!

Bottom line?

No one is going to give you anything free. It’s all gimmicks, sale hooks, backend monthly programs, and PR opportunities…

Why not do it yourself? Isn’t it time to face the glowing reality that should rightfully be yours when you work hard to achieve the american dream?

Whether you are a democrat or republican, if you want to better your business and career, This is the time and this is the place to get moving.

Someone’s gotta say it, even if no one wants to hear it. the ones that make money long term, honestly and ethically… work smart and hustle to get it!

(Special note- I have room for three entrepreneurs to learn everything they need to know to build a better and much more money generating business- if you can work hard and aren’t drinking the Kool-aid. e-mail me if this is you!)

Leave your comments below….

This article has a problem. Do you know what it is?

issamar — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 18:32:15 +0000

(this blog post is written in English with a smattering of Yiddish words. it’s catered toward my orthodox Jewish readers, but enjoyable by all. Posted here after being declined for publication by a major Jewish website, possibly due to being too provocative…)

The answer is: it’s posted online.

Which means, that unlike newspapers in print, anybody and everybody, with a few taps on his computer keyboard, can respond within minutes, and without much thought for as to if what they are saying has value to add, or not. And of course, with the ability to post anonymously, it’s not like we actually have to face up to what we say in real, offline, life, right?

Many of us, having grown up in the internet generation, are, whether we want to admit it or not, news junkies. Why wait for the hour or the half hour for headlines when you can get the latest headlines in moments? Or even get them, “pushed” to our smart phones so we can have the news before it hits the airwaves as breaking news?

I have no axe to grind; for me, personally, the internet has been a blessing. And even when some anonymous fellow posted a negative comment about me in one of the forums, it led much traffic to my website… and, after my giving of a seminar in Brooklyn at which the anonymous poster attended, the remarks were mysteriously removed.

Why?

Because, to that anonymous individual, I was no longer someone “out there” that they’d never met. They had spoken to me, one-on-one, and now knew me- and realized that their words had no basis in real life. I had been able to help them.

As a chassidishe yid that works out there in the wider, non-Jewish world, I have a unique understanding and appreciation for both the amazing opportunities that there are “out there” on the internet. No different from 13th avenue, which has all kinds of shops and businesses, some good and some bad, the internet is a highway and not a destination.

I say this so you know; I am by no means a paragon of perfection in my personal or professional life. So my words here are not said in a condescending manner; I am guilty myself of the very same charge that I am about to mention here as something that we, frum users of the internet, need to understand, so that we can understand what sometimes goes on inside of each of us…And here’s the word:

Schadenfreude. Sameach B’Takalas chaveiro.

It’s a German word, whose shoresh comes from two words Yiddish speakers will understand: Shuden, meaning loss, and freyd, meaning happiness.

Meaning: Both you and I have a natural tendency to get a certain kick, or pleasure, out of another’s misfortune.

When an article comes out, critical of yidden, it takes mere moments sometimes for the commenters to start having a blast; poke fun at the gedolim, say “serves ‘em right!” when someone gets into legal troubles, and make many other kinds of arm chair general, where we sit in the comfort of our own home and decide exactly what happened and who deserves the blame.

Earlier this week, there was a post on one of the major jewish blogs, vosizneias, about a Lubavitcher Chassid in crown heights who was arrested with the article indicating that passersby has taken a video of the man getting arrested. Reading the article and then the comments, it was quite amusing/shocking to see that a fair number of the commenters did not even understand WHO had been arrested- was it the driver, for speeding close to shkia to get home, or was it a bystander trying to explain to the police that he should not be forced to be mechallel Shabbos, ticket, fine, or not?

Many of the readers of this page have no interest in hearing drashos about teshuva- nor am I qualified to give one! The self righteousness of practically each and every person who registers to leave comments on a blog post are sky-high… to the extend that reading sites like the Wall Street Journal using firefox and a plug-in called adblock that blocks unwanted advertisements and images sometimes seems like a better alternative than reading “kosher” sources of news.

And for those posters, who even after reading the above can’t resist leaving a comment: yes, there are spelling and grammar mistakes on this post. Yes, I did write it totally for self promotion and because I’m haughty and selfish… and yes, you are right, I shouldn’t be on the internet…

Now that we have covered all your objections, can I please get at least a slight acknowledgement that the concept about being more careful in comments in the future that can, and have, hurt people, changed lives, and in general been something less than a mitzvah is perhaps just a tiny bit true? That there isn’t a need to critique and poke fun of everything we read about on these sites?

When a Jewish owned bank or real estate enterprise had major troubles, could you have done something more helpful for yourself and for them then you did? I know that I could have.

And one more thing: when you visit a mall and meet an Israeli guy there, you schmooze with him as if you two have something in common, even though if you saw him on a bus in Tel Aviv you wouldn’t look his way; because, you really do have much in common with him, just that its not that noticeable when on an Israeli street there is so much more then seems different about you two, right?

Well, as Klal Yisrael grows, humans like to feel comfortable… and one of the ways we keep our circles comfortable is by excluding people. So for example, when you are a (insert brand name here) Chassid, you might elevate the members of that same group to “peer” status… and without even realizing it, downgrading other groups to a second tier status.

this is why it seems so much easier to think negatively about another group of Jews, be they Chassidish, Litvish, Sephardic, modern orthodox, or even… gasp… non religious Jews.

When someone you know is in a hospital, they are bound to be utilizing the selfless services of organizations like Satmar bikur cholim… when someone is in need of an emergency place to stay anywhere in the world, they know that they are welcome at a Chabad.

When someone calls Hatzola, he can be the most chassidishe person in the world, when they call that number and selfless volunteers from every section of unzere come running, or when an attorney, chaplain, accountant, or government employee (yes!! Even politicians!!) is needed for some selfless, thankless task, we think about the things we share, the ideas of yiddishe nachas and we are glad there is someone that we can call and trust to do whatever is necessary so that you and I have a better nights sleep.

(And not to mention that much of the tzedakah that support our communities organizations come from people that some might consider “not as frum/holy/torah-true as us!”

Can we try, in this age of push button, digital publishing, where everyone has a deia’h, to try to wait at least 60 seconds before posting a comment?

I wish you a git gebentsht yohr… a year in which as Rebbe Elimelech of Lizensk zy”a says is full of seeing only the good sides of our friends and fellow Jews, and none of their defects.

And remember the rule… no comments for 30 seconds… and think before you leave one!

Only have $5 to spend marketing your business?

issamar — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 21:18:28 +0000

One of the biggest challenges I often hear from people starting a new business and entrepreneurs on a shoestring budget is:

I know marketing is important, but I don’t have the money to make it happen…”

All you need is a little creativity…. and you can make some amazing things happen for your small business marketing.

in this blog post, I want to focus on a website called fiverr.

But first; a warning: fiverr is addictive. it’s quite easy to spend $40-50 bucks on a few gigs that are just too good to pass up.

Fiverr is a site that is brilliant, fun, and valuable. Jobs, (which are known as ”fiverr gigs”) are priced at $5, across the entire site.

Gigs are divided into different categories, such as Funny and Bizarre, Social Marketing, Graphics, Writing, Technology, Business, Silly Stuff and Programming.

I’ve had a couple of gigs done for Issamar.com. While they aren’t the type of class that I personally use for my marketing, they are a great way of getting a quick demo or mock-up done… or, for example, getting someone with specific expertise to do a task for you. I’ve personally used fiver to have a letter written and phone call made on my behalf in Chinese, and to phone out specific insights for iPhone app development. ($5 got me an hour of time with a programmer on the phone who gave me priceless insights in regards to a project i’m working on for a client.) You can also get hundreds of views for your YouTube videos, LinkedIn recommendations (unbelievable!!) and a logo designed for your business…

Here are some of the gigs I had done, for the grand price of $5 apiece. Enjoy!

Jordan Confession. Offbeat… but different.

Your words or business logo etched in Stone. Really like this one!

Logo in ink- Great intro to your vlog posts and videos. or your website!

Remy Recommends Small Business Marketing Expert Rabbi Issamar

and, my favorite small business marketing video so far:

This gave me material for a marketing experiment, new connections to make… and a great blog post that will attract new eyeballs and new viewers to my blog.

Side thought: There area ton of gigs offering “video testimonials”, which seem to be a very seedy pat of the site- I can imagie ad youtube and video technology improves, it will be quite easy to identify who the paid shills are that say anything for $5.

And as the Federal Trade Commission has cracked down on fake testimonials, I think it’s a mistake for fiverr to allow these to exists- it drags down the site as a whole.

Tell me: How could You use one of these $5 fiverr gigs to generate buzz and interest?

Will you please tell Google what this blog post is all about?

issamar — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 21:18:31 +0000

No words needed to give it away. Leave your comments below!