EXTENDED VERSION OF POST ON TRIPWIRE.COM posted on 6/28/2010 : With Comments/responses

With apologies to the ghost of Hunter S. Thompson, I write this as one of Hunter’s favorite words for a person who was fresh meat in battle, “Rube.”  Thompson’s battle theaters were politics, war, corporate malfeasance, sports culture and media as infotainment.

Personal and Professional Data Deluge

My new battlefield is IT security and compliance automation. My first tour of duty was the Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit 2010 (Participant threads on Twitter here: http://bit.ly/9EmuJB ). I prepped for this  summit by carnivorously cutting my teeth on data breach stories past and present, IT security spending trends, and leaching off the minds of Infosec’s (Information security) indentured servants,  on the battles between “white hats” and “black hats” on the Wild Wild Web, and discovering other ominous terms out of Sci-fi novels like“Cybersecurity,” “Bots,” “APTs,”  and “Widening Attack Surfaces”

Jerry Bruckheimerwould have blushed, to be sure.

What washed up on the beach

A few observations after wringing out the jet lag and the PowerPoint deluge from my brain:

• A random sampling of attendees at sessions and lunch tables revealed that at the end of the day “Security” centered on protecting personally identifiable and critical business data and infrastructure from being taken, taken over, lost or peppered with unauthorized access.
• Security, IT or otherwise, is measured day-by-day, hour-by-hour and is a life-long journey, not a destination
• “Absolute security” is not only impossible – it can be as harmful, if not more harmful, to a organization than a full-blown breach
• Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt and Dread (FUDD) is the prevailing mood
• John Ashcroft being self-deprecating was uncomfortable for both of us
• I left more insecure than when I got there

Audit Fatigue, Breach Fatigue & the “Red Bull” of Knowledge

When I say insecure, I mean to say that once you dive into the vernacular of threat vectors, the data that points you toward the fact that great harm can come from something as seemingly as innocuous as a worm and that organized crime prefers data theft over illegal drugs as its most profitable illicit enterprise – human nature dictates that you’ll feel more than a little spooked.

And yet…despite evidence to the contrary…the more I talked to people on the front lines of protecting personal and business critical information and IT infrastructure from Black Hats, well-intentioned white hats and IT admins with baseball caps or no hats at all, the more I came to realize that they want to put FUDD out to pasture with knowledge.

A survey of people whose names I’ve forgotten, but faces I might recall, resoundingly said they were not only experiencing audit fatigue from having to pore over data logs until they were blind from seeking out suspicious needles in a stack of less suspicious needles–but  were also well worn of data breach horror stories (3.4 million search results on Google as of this writing).

One woman from a well-known insurance company told me flat out: “I don’t need to be scared into taking action. I just need to know what I can do to stop it,” pausing briefly, then continuing, “and how to convince my boss that we need to do it.”

So, for her and the others I listened to, spoke with or spied on, I’m going to hunker down in my IT Security foxhole to find the “HOW?”and continue my battle to neutralize the FUDD.

I heard over and over that Goal #1 was to protect data with the visibility to find threats before the breach, the intelligence to take decisive action and the automation to both keep operations up and running and securely use data through automated security controls to get business done. Find out more on how Tripwire does this here.

A post that stuck with me in the last couple of weeks:

Guest Commentary: Matt Olney on Lieberman cybersecurity bill

Stay vigilant, my friends.

ME

Comments from Tripwire.com

• Scott Anderson 1 day ago

  2 people liked this.

  Praise for any posting that weaves together Hunter S. Thompson and former AG John Ashcroft — not to mention FUDD. Gents Yin and Yang make good bookends for the broad issue of IT security. And, though I wish it weren’t the case, it’s likely that Fear of the economic consequences of IT insecurity will rule the day, despite the fatigue and thousand yard stares. Fear is a good motivator, always has been. It’s about channeling it and transforming the FUDD…

  Flag

  You liked this.

Scott,
Thanks for the praise. Surprisingly easier to weave that thread than I thought. Point well taken on fear being a good motivator. I’ll admit, fear always shakes me into action. That said,  I always end up having to course correct or  recognizing way too late the opportunities I left on the table to prepare for future heartache by being too haphazard and reactionary at the outset of any attempt quell immediate insecurities. I suspect the human beings that make up the IT Security Panopolis are in much the same spin cycle. I encourage deep breathing exercises and then leaning on the people, processes and technologies that have fought a similar battle before and survived or thrived.
Thanks for reading and your comment. Keep it coming!
Mark

• Carri Bugbee 1 day ago

  2 people liked this.

  Mark, that’s the most entertaining piece about IT security I’ve ever read. You’ll do the industry some good! But I sure wish the font on this page wasn’t so small. Was this blog designed by 20-somethings? I suspect that’s not your target audience. And when I increase the font size, it just bleeds off the left column.Keep neutralizing, my friend. Just don’t make me squint.

  @CarriBugbee

Carri,
Thanks for reading and particularly for your comment. Exhilarating subject matter that changes with the wind, that much is for sure. I haven’t seen any 20-somethings in my neck of the woods, but I’ll  be sure to surface the need/desire for a squint-free user experience.
Keep reading and sharing!
Best,
Mark
@MarkAEvertz

Are we headed for the playground in a year or two when LIKE no longer suffices? I REALLY LIKE LIKE YOU! — Mr. website, Mr./Mrs. person, Mr./Mrs. band or song! Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, I’m certain,  has me by 50+ IQ points and holds a grand vision for his company well beyond my comprehension, but that’s kind of my point.

I’m the end user and I already see the shelf life on this word. I know I’m going to have to embed a “LIke X 4″ widget on my site or client sites in the not-too-distant future.

In the race for Web  dominance, as well as amassing legions of  friends, fans, followers, supporters and now LIKERS (L-A-M-E!), I wonder if Facebook is adopting the news media maxim of “Be First, First. Be Right Later.” If so, ask yourself…how’s that going?

In the interim, I’m treating Facebook like a kid or adult with ADHD — waiting for the spazzing to stop before I react too firmly or adopt anything new. Facebook might, as a result,  lose me for awhile.

OK…yeah….Mark Z. and team are going to be heartbroken–only 399 million users now. Oh no! But I’ll bet there are at least a few of you getting worn out by it all. Seriously, how many of you have started Facebook Farms, played with Mafia Wars more than physically interact with your family or friends, allowed an application to suck you in for a trivia quiz –  only to be persistently annoyed by unwanted follow up?

Does this recent South Park clip hit a little close to home? (You will laugh and nod at the same time. I promise)

Or this one?

Trust me…this isn’t a pronouncement of a potential tipping point or leveling off of Facebook users. Just a question. How much is too much? Because if you were already at the eyeball level with Facebook’s antics and peripatetic machinations on things like their Terms and Conditions — you’re about to have your head blown off your neck in the weeks, months and years to come. Here’s an article on Facebook’s plans that you should read and know what you’re about to experience.

Maybe it will be great…but, frankly, I’m kinda wigged out about one entity knowing every preference, distaste, habit, or feeling I have right when I have it. I’m probably being naive. I’m sure Google is already cloning me for deep space exploration. That said, I think some things should just be left for old school social networking, like actually going to meet somebody for a cup of coffee or attending an event to learn about things and people. My former virtual pal @CarriBugbee became real to me recently when she “pulled me out of the basement” to speak on a panel. I’ve gotta say, it was great to meet her, talk to her,  interact with other  human beings and get to know people for more than their profile and prettiest picture.

With this new model, I wonder if people will just bypass personal contact all together. I’ve got my music, my friends, my news, food, beer in the fridge, and soon, hopefully, Netflix, after I convince my wife there’s actually an adult value proposition and application for Playstation 3. Sounds pretty sweet…..but….

Let’s just make a deal right now to not live like that. You pull me out of the basement once in awhile and I’ll do the same for you — by sending you fun things to do outdoors or at least outside of your home or office — to your Facebook page.

Until next time, don’t tell me you love me (Blip.fm)  just tell me you LIKE me.

M

OK…seriously…6 months since my last blog post?@?@?@? I’m surprised this thing even works anymore. Cause-based marketing keeps you hopping…that’s for sure.

But to be honest..the previous Grampa post just took a lot outta me. I looked at it every time I tried to write and didn’t have anything else nearly as relevant or heartfelt to really add after that.

That is until someone mentioned the book “The Secret.” I’d be lying if I said I read it, but I’ve gotten enough book reports from key advisers to get the central premise. You attract how you act. If you are a force for change and get white-hot pissed when people don’t follow, you attract a like-minded crew of malcontents and beehive bashers. So “The Secret” for me was to retire “Pessimism” and Evolve.

Evolved Thinking isn’t so much a measure of my evolution from troglodyte to upright warrior  to compassionate cogitator to Bubbly Brad Garrett as it is celebrating others for smelling the roses through the hot mess of sewer sludge all around us.

One thing I’ve tried to do during my busiest of moments is at least stay plugged in through Twitter, Google Buzz, Facebook and other key blogs to remain current.

Speaking of which, good God, can someone help a brother out on incorporating my Twitter feed into this blog through a sidebar! I’ve uploaded and downloaded Twitter plugins to the point of Supreme Twitdom and can’t for the life of me figure out how to make my Tweets  flow into my blog. HELP!

I hope the next 9 months of 2010 brings a little clarity and priority to my life and yours.

One point of clarity, priority and purpose so far has been my work on a new social media monitoring and content creation start-up EVolution Communications Group and two non-profits — Wish Upon A Wedding Portland and  Special Olympics Oregon. It’s been a whirlwind tour, but I remain fascinated by people who make  organizations move, raise money, cultivate legions of loyal consumers and  catalyze indefatigable volunteers or unsung (unpaid) helpers.

Whether it’s ensuing that a deserving couple gets their dying wish,  a uniquely able athlete gets the chance to compete and apply lessons to everyday life, or a corporation looking to build equity in doing the right thing and then using a content monitoring and creation practice to support it — I’m all in. Suffice it to say…I’ve found something that inspires me to get up in the morning, work harder than I ever have before, and still want to come back for more.

Where ever you are in life,  rest assured getting involved in something bigger than yourself and the day-to-day grind will sustain you and turn you from pessimist to at least a reluctant optimist.

Until then…here’s a person and a few organizations that through their big hearts, big brains or both that have blown me away.

1. Chris Brogan — An early supporter of my work at Special Olympics Oregon, Chris continues to impress me personally by wearing his heart on his sleeve. This recent post on not fitting in a box of someone else’s creation, but building one of your own reinvigorated me at just the right time.
2. Wish Upon a Wedding – Fulfilling someone’s dying wish to be together — or potentially empowering a miraculous recovery through the healing touch of love is a cause that tugs at the heartstrings. See it in action.
3. Clothes Off Our Backs — This great nonprofit gets celebrities to literally give the shirts (and pants, and dresses, et al) off their backs for a rotating list of charities each year. Purely awesome concept.
4. Mercy Corps — Anybody notice how this Portland, Oregon-based nonprofit raised bucketloads of money for relief in Haiti and hit the ground  in-country ready to help?  If you didn’t it’s because they’re not self-promoters. They’re doers. What an amazing group. Help them in anyway you can.

I’m watching, learning and will abscond with every great thing you are doing–giving you full credit, of course.

To an optimistic 2010 from here on out — from a newly invigorated,  rapidly evolving thinker and retired Cockeyed Pessimist.

Mark

The Marlboro Man Prequel (mouse up to the top of the page after clickthrough for the full obituary)

Jack Norman Evertz (March 8, 1927 – July 27, 2009)

The words “They just don’t make ‘em like that anymore” come to mind when I think about my gramps. Part redneck, part roughneck and all man in an increasingly domesticated man’s world, Grampa Jack was quick with opinions and head-shaking dismay despite his lack of a high school diploma to back him up. Common sense ruled — in the shop, around the card table, on the porch and anywhere else he chose to plant his Size 12 Tony Lama boots. A simple wisdom left permanent marks, like these gems:

Grampa Jack on Stress:
“I just never could understand why you and your dad always worried to high hell about everything. More than half the time, it never turns out that way and the rest of the time it’s not nearly as bad as you think. And if it is ever that bad you’re too damn worn out from worrying to do anything about it.”

Grampa Jack on Women:
“Nothing’s harder on a man than an angry woman.”

Grampa Jack on Manhood:
“The world doesn’t owe you anything and it will knock you on your ass every chance it gets. Your job is to keep gettin’ up.” His favorite movie was Cool Hand Luke if that tells you anything.

He laughed at the pussification of the American male and would routinely harken back to his Golden Era of the’50s and ’60s where smokin’, drinkin’ and raisin’ hell were a man’s God-given right –  and anybody who said otherwise could go straight to hell.

Some of that tenacity and toughness no doubt makes you strong on the battlefield or in the bar room, but I had the hardest time convincing Grampa Jack that his Advanced Coursework in Manhood for his only grandson was losing the battle in the boardroom. “There’s ego, politics, turf wars, and hurt feelings that come into play. You have to be nice,” I told him.

“What the hell does nice have to do with business?” he asked. “And, did you say hurt feelings?”

Never did give him any good  answers on why brains had rapidly replaced balls for dominance in the American West, except to throw another cliche at him that got him to come around half way. “You get more bees with honey, Grampa.”

Well, with him cashing in his chips at the end of July to spend the rest of eternity with my Gramma Grace (a tough cookie in her own right), here are 5 things Grampa Jack taught me that make me a better man and a better marketer.

1. If you don’t mean it, don’t say it.

2. Shut up. You just might learn something. (Still working on this one)

3. If you make a mistake, own up to it. Then work like hell to fix it.

4. If you believe in what you’re doing, don’t back down.

5. A man is only as good as his word.

T-5. Outwork your co-workers. Outsmart your enemies.

R.I.P. Gramps. You were a helluva lot smarter than you gave yourself credit for.

A prelude to an actual point
Before I figure out where I’m going, I’d like to take a peek back to where I was the last time we crossed paths in this here wordslinger’s outpost OK…Done. Hmmm…All I can think of is: Who the hell pissed God off in June?

Michael Jackson - R.I.P.
Farrah Fawcett – R.I.P.
Ed McMahan - R.I.P.
Billy Mays – R.I.P.
Karl Malden – R.I.P.
My Job – R.I.P.

And July’s off to a grim start with Steve McNair and Arturo Gatti. All I can say is: Hang in there Patrick Swayze!

This recent foray into obitu-tainment and an air of professional vulnerability at the moment have made me take stock in a few things — as death and loss have a tendency to do.

Family – Seeing my kid swim for the first time and hanging out with my wife at a movie on a Tuesday afternoon were life-affirming ( Go See Public Enemies!) .

Remembering the world through the eyes of a child – Just watching my kid react to something and then ask “Why?” has re-educated me on the importance of not taking anything at face value. And the whole wonderment thing he’s got going  for the seemingly inconsequential…I want more of that, for sure! Check out this dispatch from Braden Kelly (www.twitter.com/innovate for you Tweeps) Innovation Through the Eyes of a Child. Get your inner child back via this recap with vids featuring Gever Tulley @ the TED Conference on Tinkering School. And for a longer leap into this idea, Watch Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture — Achieving Your Childhood Dreams video (76 min. of pure gold). Still blown away by the personal and professional lessons in his presentation/book.

Connections with people of like mind — I can’t believe how many people want to help me or need help themselves when it comes to marketing, social media strategy, sales lead generation, Green business communications or health care research. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the kindness and opportunities.

A strict,  bullshit-free diet — Seriously, just tell me what you have, what you want and why you think you need it. If I can help I will. With brevity, sincerity and transparency, people will likely be willing to join your parade by being followers, evangelists or customers.

The last life lesson re: avoiding b.s. is hard to do in an uberconnected, socially explosive and largely self-serving world. I don’t spend a lot of time on social psychology but one name that always sticks out is Abraham Maslow and his Theory of Human Motivation, aka Hierarchy of Needs. Sales guys and gals grinding it out day-to-day know this theory all too well. Marketers are trained these days to call them pain points and my guess is that sales reps have adopted the language out of sheer acquiescence borne from too many deer-in-the-headlights interactions with doe-eyed corporate do-gooders.

Putting the pain point out of its misery
Maybe in these dark times filled with grief, fear and  financial uncertainty  we should pick a new rallying point for how we engage people who don’t know us very well and probably don’t care. The video on David Meerman Scott’s recent blog post Times Change. B2B Fundamentals Do Not says it all (worth the 2 minutes, but basically…Who are you? What do you want and why should I care in both  GrumpyVision and BusyVision). Be concise. Be relevant. Be helpful. Or Be Gone. This isn’t about you convincing people you understand their pain with limp phrases like In this tough economy… or a  data point from a well-paid analyst that says 80 percent of their peers fear losing their jobs and are eating  Xanax by the handful.

Trust me, your prospects know money is tight, that  their job is harder than it was a year ago and that their bosses are way too interested in  showing  hotshot summer interns the ropes in marketing and sales departments all across the country.

Enough with trying to sympathize. Do something or sell something that assuages fear or boosts confidence.

The Maslow Mashup
Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy lives in the textbooks of many a marketing student but slowly leaks out of the brain over time due to stress, forced servitude and/or organizational compliance under the heading of “We’ve always done it this way so you will too.”

If your sales pitch to prospects doesn’t somehow tell a good story using at least one of these 5 needs, you need to talk to someone in your marketing department. If you’re in the marketing department and you have no idea what I’m writing about, then we need talk, tweet or telepathically connect.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Take note of the fact that if your product helps people breathe, eat, drink, have sex, sleep, stay chilled out, or poop you are likely going to make a very good first impression. Good for you!

If not, then you need to: Be Concise. Be Relevant. Or Be Helpful.

So let’s put the pain point to bed and try to be a little more reaffirming, huh? I vote for PuppyPoint: Warm fuzzy ways to trick the heart into buying something you know you’re going to have to clean up after, but just can’t resist.

I’ve been part of the problem for about 15 years now, but moving forward I’ll try to market and sell products, services, causes (myself!?!?) in  ways that help people keep their jobs, feed and spend more time with  their families, save or make money and have more sex. Before you think I’m on the road to door-to-door perversity, remember that even if your product isn’t Viagra or some jaw-dropping gadget, it is likely to have the capacity to help someone in some way to afford a new car, buy a nice place to sleep or grab just the right body spray to get the girl or boy. If you can make that connection with a level of relevance and sincerity in any industry from Agriculture to Zoology, then you’ve done your job.

Let me know what you’re doing out there to make a difference. And if you’re in sales or marketing and want to tell me “DUH!” then feel free to do that below. If you need me, though, I’m ready to help.

Cheers,

Mark

T.C.P.

I’m on a desperate search for  people and information that contributes to a greater good. You are out there. Bring me something uplifting and real to share that isn’t a Twitter tip, a video of your cat, or a marketing trick to get me to buy something that we both know I don’t need.

Knock me on my ass with value. Get me to say, wow, this makes me smarter and empowers me to help others. Introduce me to people, causes and stories of gut-level inspiration.

Until then…I remain a reluctant pessimist, mystified by shitty behavior that lives at the DNA-level in some, is well-coached in others or so masked in self-absorption that it goes unrecognized. I’m confident that fear, ignorance and weakness of mind and spirit are at the root of this.

Let’s turn the tide together with ways to quell the concern, smarten up the masses and feed the soul with something that sustains. Here’s a little something to start the ball rolling.

Bob Dylan
Shelter From the Storm

Cheers, Ev. T.C.P.

This Post Inspired By I’ve Seen All Good People — Yes.

You and your sales colleagues call them leads. Some call them prospects. Others suspects. Whatever you call those who you believe absolutely need what you sell—take a breath.

Think for a minute before you go headlong into strategies, tactics and buying cycle position assessments. These are people.

Just like you and me. We all hold the same fears of making bad decisions, losing respect or getting fired. The same needs for validation. Similar desires for adulation.

With that empathy in mind, now take a look at your current sales funnel. Some people are waving a big red flag saying “Help me right now” by phone call, e-mail or Web site visit. Others were kind enough to respond to your BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timing) profile questions on a microsite after you reached out to them via direct mail, e-mail or online.

Tire-kicking isn’t a crime
All others who showed interest in your message but didn’t meet your sales teams’ BANT criteria have been relegated to the tire-kicker position—doomed to languish into perpetuity in your CRM database.

This decision just cost your company big money. Research indicates that 80-90 percent of those “tire-kickers” will buy a product similar to yours in the next 12 months. It’s likely that product won’t be yours unless you keep your company top of mind. Turn your info seekers into buyers by becoming a genuine business decision collaborator.

Prospect-to-lead tip: Restraint
But…wait! Back away from the phone or keyboard for a minute. Before offering more brochureware or demos, put yourself in your prospect’s shoes. What would you want? If you are actually having an internal dialogue right now, you’re likely saying “Something relevant. Something actionable. Something that helps me take one step forward—not retreat in fear from a full-frontal marketing assault on my senses.”

Here are four steps.

First: Be relevant
Your marketing materials in all media formats sent out via every communication vehicle at your disposal is not relevance. It’s carpet bombing. Find thought leaders outside your company to talk about solutions to broader industry challenges. A simple, timely, “Did you see this?” with a one-sentence description, a link to the article, and a one-sentence explanation of why this is relevant to previous interactions with your company will suffice.

Second: Be timely but considerate
Again, put yourself in the shoes of the person you are engaging with. How many times would you want to be contacted in this manner or another mode of communication and what makes it less intrusive? Once a week? Once a month? Once a quarter? Don’t know? Ask.

Here’s a great article forwarded to me recently by a colleague that has two industry leaders answering questions on B2B best practices, reading “Digital Body Language” and nurturing prospects to become leads: When Is It Nurturing, When Is It “Big Brother”?

Third: Set expectations
On that first communication with your new acquaintance, set the ground rules for any outreach going forward. Tell them you are contacting them based on their expressed interest in the subject matter and that you intend to send news and information that could help them stay abreast of key issues and solutions in the industry. Set a delivery expectation timeframe and enable them to say “No.”

Fourth: Request feedback
Set up a feedback loop for prospects to either ask questions or update their current interest or buying status related to your products. The key is patience. Help them arrive at decisions based on knowledge.

Lead cultivation resources
Marketing Sherpa has a library of strategic documents on proven approaches that gingerly move people through buying decisions. Lead Nurturing Best Practices: New Data, Charts, Tips to Put More Punch in Your Cultivation Tactics provides great guidance.

Ann Handley from MarketingProfs is another marketing/buying behavior guru worth checking out. She can be followed on Twitter here.

Good luck and stay positive.

Mark

This post inspired by The Fleet Foxes — Ragged Wood.

Being in the marketing department during a budget crisis is like being a cornered fox in a foxhunt. All eyes are on your next move. If you’re not faster and smarter, the dogs are going to get you.

Any time I’ve been the cornered fox (lots), the only way I’ve ever survived is by feeding the dogs something other than me. Only actionable leads will get them off your tail and help you be viewed as an indispensable revenue partner.

How you ask? 4 Steps: Assess. Target. Connect. Execute.

Assess
Reflect on your current situation. Assume you’re being watched. The leaders in the C-Suite and the sales team are waiting to see which way you’ll go. Innovative contributor or continued drain on the company? Don’t be tentative. Take control of your fate with campaigns that turn leads into sales.

Target
A quick look at your competition will reveal companies and people who are dissatisfied with their current level of service or quality of product. Go to Twitter Search and put the name of your competitor in the search bar to see who’s unhappy, why they’re unhappy and any bad news the company’s trying to hide.

You should also consider getting a Twitter account for yourself to enter some online discussions that center around your company or industry to build a stronger sense of the business challenges your prospects are facing. Bloglines is a great way to aggregate Web chatter and build a library of bloggers or people espousing opinions and influencing decisions in the blogging community.

And…don’t forget to mine your own network on LinkedIn!

Connect
When you have built out messages targeted by job role, perceived business challenge or industry vertical—or really any criteria that fits your research—then you can begin thinking about the most effective means of reaching your audience.

Recent work with Fortune 1000 clients, guidance from really smart co-workers and copious amounts of research all tell me that an integrated approach yields leads that turn into sales. As an example, my current employer deploys tactics that acquire, profile, convert or cultivate leads. We do this by tying together these outreach tactics through message and a singular call to action.

Execute
The components of a successful connected strategy that I’ve witnessed and participated in are below. The most important takeaway for you is don’t get mired in the tactics themselves. Just make sure they all work together and support each other in a logical, impactful way. A logical order example might be:

First touch: Direct mail—Despite its reputation for being a bit old-school in a Web-driven world, printed, tangible pieces that scream out from the mail stack still lead the day in terms of lead performance.

Second-Touch Follow up: Email
At my current company, some of our highest performing e-mails are links to breaking news or industry reports that are available for download.

Concurrent: Digital/social media cultivation
Go where the eyeballs are! In some venues, like virtual tradeshows or third-party publisher webinars, you can get guaranteed leads out of the experience.

Concurrent: Link-tracked microsite
This is the hub of all outbound, lead generation efforts. DM, EM and digital actions are fed into this media-rich, hyper-relevant knowledge center with a front-end that captures prospect data and a backend that tracks clicks so you know who’s acting and what they’re acting on.

Final interaction prior to sales hand-off: Telemarketing follow-up
Take the time to write a quick follow-up script to help your biz dev team further qualify the leads that will be immediately actionable by sales. Then hit the phones. Forget this step at your own peril. A bad lead delivered to sales will hurt you more than no lead at all.

The bottom line is, downturn or not, people need to buy products and services that help them do their jobs better, smarter and more efficiently, so they too can avoid a nerve-rattling visit from the CFO. If you can position yourself as their savior, you can feed your sales dogs the leads they need and live to see another foxhunt.

Here are a few more resources to keep you ahead:

Inspiration & Good ideas –Terry Starbucker’s Ramblings from a Glass Half Full & MarketingProfs, respectively

Articles
5 Tips: Lead generation lift-off – DM News

Tips for b-to-b lead acquisition – Multichannel Merchant

B2B Marketing 2.0: How to Engage Social Buyers and Break Marketing/Sales Gridlock – CustomerThink

Every once in a while I bump into something or someone who just speaks the truth or hits the Hallelujah point for me.

This month, that person was Renny Gleeson, the digital marketing guru at Wieden & Kennedy. His parallel of present-day marketing and advertising following into the bumbling footsteps of the music industry struck a life-affirming power chord in me.

You’ll also appreciate his insight on digital being only one shiny element in a dynamic marketing mix, and not a singular answer to budget slash, here: For me, this dude just gets it. And I hear he’s a big proponent and avid user of the F-bomb…double bonus!

A few years ago, at an event at Marylhurst University, I asked Dan Wieden about  the then-emerging social media and interactive marketing push. I was curious  what a company so entrenched as a marketing innovator and cultural bellwether was  doing to foster relationships and communities online with clients and end consumers. He sheepishly dipped his head, smiled and admitted that he and W+K were lagging in that area and said that needed to change. It appears that with Renny there now things have changed and will continue to do so, quite rapidly, I suspect. Thankfully, however, they left the door open a little for the rest of us.

<MOMENT OF GRATUITOUS SELF-PROMOTION TO MAKE A POINT>That little cat nap, in my humble opinion, helped spawn a unique niche in marketing that my colleagues at Babcock & Jenkins and a select few others have been all too glad to fill. I’ll let you read more about what we/I do, but I’ve found that marketers focused on lead generation and helping clients nurture current customers don’t appear nearly as beaten down by the economic downturn. Don’t get me wrong, I still bite my nails on occasion, but I sleep a little easier knowing that I have a hand in  uniting print & Web storytelling with  real-time campaign performance analytics to help clients land customers and cultivate relationships that turn into revenue.

HaaaaHaaaHaaa Crappy economy, nagging backache and  a recent head cold aside, I have laughed a lot recently and thought I’d share. I’m a big fan of the political hair-parter and often, the more snarky the better, but this recent  exchange between Sen. Richard Shelby (Alabama-R), and Lawrence Summers of the National Economic Council was snark-free, apt and beautifully understated. Leading Republicans warned Sunday that the Obama administration’s $800 billion-plus economic stimulus effort will lead to what one called a “financial disaster.” “Everybody on the street in America understands that,” said Sen. Richard Shelby, the ranking Republican on the Senate Banking Committee. “This is not the right road to go. We’ll pay dearly.” But Lawrence Summers, the head of the administration’s National Economic Council, said Republicans have lost their credibility on the issue. “Those who presided over the last eight years — the eight years that brought us to the point where we inherit trillions of dollars of deficit, an economy that’s collapsing more rapidly than at any time in the last 50 years — don’t seem to me in a strong position to lecture about the lessons of history.” Classic!

On an even more somber note, I have had more friends and former colleagues than I have fingers and toes reach out to tell me recently that they’ve become yet another layoff statistic. I am keeping my eyes open for all of you and will publish your names, contact info and desired positions in this blog if you think it would help. Just let me know. Until then, keep your spirits up with these two entries: One from The Onion that might hit pretty close to home. I’m calling it: Office Space 2.0, the Recession Years. Hey Man, You Got A Second So I Can Fire You? Another is a video to laugh about the plight of Jemaine and Bret. If it gets this bad for you, call me.

Meanwhile, Asteroids, Van Halen-style can and will  dull the pain.

Hell Yea! I am lucky enough to have a music-driven workplace and an addiction to http://blip.fm. Here are a few bands that are floating my boat right now that you should check out: Bon Iver — Skinny Love N.A.S.A — Whachadoin The Foals — Olympic Airways The Jam — Move on Up Blitzen Trapper — Furr Bonus Cut: The Kills — Tape Song So….live the lessons in this blog until we meet again. Ponder. Laugh. Jam. Adios! ME, aka, Ev, aka T.C.P.

Oh….and to include this:

YES! YES! YES! I’ve been trying add BLIP.FM for about 4 months to no avail . Now, for better or worse, you can listen to my most recently shared music on the site and post notes on anything you’re listening to that I might like.

Music is my chosen social medium of the moment…anything that furthers my audio addiction. Plus…I’m a firm believer that you’ll get to know me better (and I will get to know you better) by music that moves us both.

That’s all for now…

EXCEPT: I would also appreciate your thoughts on evolving the Cockeyed Pessimist moniker for this here forum, despite its personal shout-out to the esteem-shattering lazy eye I had briefly in junior high school and an obvious attempt at wordplay humor.

Maybe something more encapsulating of an emerging optimism on the heels of the inauguration of President Obama (Grrrrrr…Fight back pessimism…most expensive inauguration despite slumping economy…fight the urge…)

Top 3 Obama-influenced blog names for MarkEvertz.com — for now:

The Emerging Optimist
The Reluctant Optimist
A sunnier disposition

Anything on your mind? Let it off below.