Archive for the ‘ The Arland Group ’ tag

My Glass Isn’t Just Half Full, It’s Broken

Years ago, I had a prospect that I had been pursuing for several months, with zero success.  I couldn’t sell them a thing. I had used all of my awesome sales training (Selling to VITO, Spin Selling, Give ‘Em the Pickle and more) to no avail. The client had expressed their pains, and I had listened attentively and then diligently worked alongside of them to fashion a solution that they agreed would solve their problems and certainly make their lives easier.  The stumbling block was neither my contact nor his boss would take the risk and pull the trigger.  Why? Because, in their eyes, change meant running the risk of making a huge mistake in front of peers or senior executives.  Their fear of failure paralyzed and wedded them forever to their existing solution which was an admitted failure.

After disclosing in a tense pipeline review that another month would pass without this account closing, my manager sat me down.  He had disappointment in his eyes and said these words I will never forget:  ”It’s time you change up your approach- you’re growing stale.  You need to get serious and break some glass or you will never get your customers to break it!”  I was super frustrated and confused (break the glass?  What in the world was he talking about?!)  I wondered if my manager could tell that I wanted to throw everything in my cubicle including him.  Then being sensitive to criticism, I felt my neck grow hot, embarrassed and shocked that someone actually thought my approach had gotten old.  I mean, seriously, who the heck was he talking to?  I had been told by clients that I was like an entire cheer squad, or a cute puppy with a severe case of ADD, but never had I been called stale.  It took me a long time to get over that horrible moment in my cube…Looking back now; I understand what he was trying to do.  He was giving me the big shove I needed to take a different approach and ruffle some feathers to get my point across.

Today, I speak to talent acquisition leaders daily and some of them are managing recruiting programs that are seriously flat lining. Sadly, some are incorporating recruiting methodologies and processes that were used 10-15 years ago and they are genuinely disturbed and saddened that the old “post and pray” isn’t effective anymore.  Unfortunately, this is what happens when no one questions “the method behind your madness” or no one cares to challenge the status quo or when HR can’t get support from the rest of the business and they are relegated to being just a huge cost center.  And, let’s face it, recruiting is not an easy gig right now and there is certainly no silver bullet.  It is much easier to just sit back and keep riding the same old recruiting train.  We can kick back and make stops here and there to lay blame:  job boards don’t work, social media is unsafe and unproven, we lack resources or budget, or our website sucks, the economy blows, my recruiters are lazy, and the list goes on and on and on…

Personally, I made a vow to myself at the beginning of the year to find ways to start chipping away at the legacy glassware that has become the accepted and the norm.  I am pushing myself to have frank, honest and sometimes uncomfortable discussions with my clients and hope that they don’t get their feelings hurt or throw me out of their offices.  The questions aren’t that crazy, but you never know when you are knocking someone’s baby.  ”Do you know who you are and why anyone would want to work for you?”, “Do you believe that your (fill in the blank with-process/job postings/ careersite/ branding) is effective?” or “Why do your current employees stay/leave?” Oh, and by the way, if you do know the answers to these questions, then why in the heck aren’t you sharing your story and/or fixing the issues?   It might be a little uncomfortable, but not asking would be a disservice to our clients.  I am going to help who I can that will listen and divert my attention from those that continue to don their 1999 recruiting earmuffs.  I know that I might emerge at the end of 2012 with a few cuts and bruises, but I’m sticking to the plan because I can’t let myself or my customers get stale.

Final thought:  I don’t recommend going in Rambo style and shattering everything in sight, but my mantra is “Take out your velvet hammer and start tapping, kids!”  Life is better when the glass is half full and a bit broken.

Posted: February 3rd, 2012
at 9:20am by Deb Andrychuk

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Categories: Employment Branding

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Magazines Don’t Have To Die

Mobile devices have completely altered publishing. We’ve heard about the chains like Borders going under and we’ve seen magazines shrinking and disappearing and this has all happened in a very small span of time. When I started in the magazine business 14 years ago, we were still sending film to our printer to be scanned and made digital for us. It took six people to design, write and produce our largest publication but it was a beast at 100+ pages per issue. Today, that same magazine averages 44 pages and only has three people on staff not including sales reps. Many big b2b publishing companies are turning into ghost towns and those who are left know their days are numbered. In the last 3 years, I’ve known of 47 different b2b titles that have shuttered their doors.

That said, our client, Convenience Store Decisions—a b2b magazine—has had an absolutely incredible year. This is a magazine that a large publishing company ran into the ground and walked away from. A young publishing company, Harbor Communications, bought the title and completely turned it around. What did they do right? Everything. They refused to print an issue less than 68 pages even if they only had 15 ad pages to start, they didn’t skimp on paper or ink quality, they gathered an incredibly potent sales and publishing force, stood behind their talented editorial staff and hired a group of designers who have been with them all the way to help put their magazine at the top of its game—if we do say so ourselves.  They have never sold their industry or themselves short. Everything about them says quality. But they have also redesigned their website, developed a mobile application, created conferences and basically done everything they can to cater to their industry while moving in the direction that technology is taking them.  They haven’t given up on the paper product nor should they. Rather, their paper, web and mobile products along with their in-person events all work in conjunction with one another to support the CSD brand.

So what is the take-away here? If there a service or product that is needed by a particular market, no matter what changes come along, there is no reason that service or product can’t be successful as long as customer’s needs—rather than the presentation to the investors—are always the priority. Sometimes you have to take it on the chin awhile to get something off the ground but once it takes off, hard work and proper money and resource management should keep it going.

Magazines don’t have to die off but they are changing. Many of the same industries exist and benefit from ideas shared. But many publishers have given up readjusting their approach. I think a lot of the reason is big publishing companies have lost site of the markets they service. They don’t make the effort to entrench themselves in the market. I’ve worked with amazing publishers and weak publishers and the difference is that great publishers are their magazine(s).  They foster and raise their magazines and care for their growth and well-being past the ego of the title. They support and direct their team while tirelessly reaching out to the industry. I hope more entrepreneurial publishers buy run down titles and turn them around. The industry needs you whoever you are.  And we’d love to work with you!

Posted: December 13th, 2011
at 1:36pm by Erin Canetta

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House Advantage Swings to Google

When we started The Arland Group six years ago, social media was not even on the list of services we provided. Facebook was for college students and Twitter wasn’t even an idea yet.

Today, social media is not only one of the most exciting segments of our business, it’s also the fastest growing. We now employ people just to develop mountains of content for our clients’ social networks.

To date, most of our efforts have focused on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. But there is a new player in town in the form of Google+. I’m a cynic when it comes to new social media networks, mainly because I think the big three are innovative and continually push for improvements on their platforms. It’s hard to be the new kid on the block when everyone loves hanging around with the older, cooler kid.

I have a Google+ account, but I don’t get it. I think the user interface is clumsy, the concept is contrived and not too many of my friends and colleagues have embraced it, so I feel pretty isolated when on the platform. Despite what I perceive to be its shortcomings though, Google+ has an immense house advantage: the algorithm.

The mysterious mathematical equation Google uses to determine the results of search engines is the holy grail of digital marketing. As an agency, we strive to make sure our clients are on that front page of search results when their clients look for them. Getting on the front page requires an immense amount of work, of which I won’t go into detail here (you can call me though!).

On a recent Google search of  “The Arland Group,” we were shocked to see our Google+ page was the third result posted! It was above our Facebook and Twitter pages, despite the fact that we only have five posts on Google+ and hundreds on Facebook and Twitter. Despite building a solid brand on Facebook and Twitter, Google played its house advantage and tilted the algorithm to Google+.

Kudos to them. If you have an advantage, you capitalize on it. They have singlehandedly forced our agency to start launching Google+ accounts for all of our clients. We’re not sure it’s the best way for them to promote their brand, but with a world of information driven by Google, it’s imperative that our customers are present and accounted for on Google+.

Posted: December 7th, 2011
at 3:13pm by Keith Seiz

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Categories: Content

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Recognizing Subtle Significance

As the year winds down I realize I’m really going to miss 2011. It was a good year for no one big reason but rather for realization of so many special reasons. I don’t know if it’s age or wisdom or what but this year more than ever I’ve found joy in the subtle significance of life.

My baby girl Vivienne, with her bounds of energy, has made me realize that 10 minutes of quiet while staring out the window with a cup of tea is magic. Now with my 7-year-old approaching chin height I’ve realized she’s growing up very fast and I need to really value our enlightening conversations on the way to school.  The realization that I get to wake up everyday and work in an environment that is always supportive, encouraging and challenging is extremely fulfilling.

I was looking though our colleague, Jonathan’s, photographs from India that he’s been posting on facebook and he captures that subtlety of the moment in the faces and places he photographed. Living in fast-paced world we are often living in the moment that is ahead of us rather than living in the guaranteed moment we’re standing in. Jonathan picked out many of those “now moments” that most people miss and few would think to capture with a camera.

I think we approach our clients and their products the same way at TAG. On every phone call, conference call and meeting and at every level we are fully present and absorbing our client’s reality and the significance their product offers. We ingest and digest it so we can pick out the seed or seeds that make their product invaluable to their potential customer. Something worth investing in is rarely made up of one big bang but rather consists of many subtle yet important layers that fit into a person’s day to make their job or life easier or more enriched. And it’s the subtle significance at TAG that we focus on, blow up and make real. Once something is made real, its significance becomes intuitive.

So no major big bang in 2011 for me but many, many real moments have made this year worth remembering.

Posted: November 29th, 2011
at 9:32am by Erin Canetta

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Avoiding Designer’s Block

At some point designer’s block is inevitable. Colors become dull, all typography starts to resemble Comic Sans, the vastness of white space stares right back into your soul. It’s an overwhelming feeling that usually strikes while the deadline  is breathing down your neck. While I do think that it’s unavoidable, there are some precautions I try to take to minimize the damage of designer’s block and keep the creativity flowing.

As tempting as smashingmagazine (http://www.smashingmagazine.com/) or any other design blog is for inspiration, I often find myself feeling less adequate after spending hours looking at other peoples design. Sometimes there’s nothing more inspiring than physically interacting with the world beyond your window. Whether you work near a park or a high rise, there are limitless amounts of colors, textures, and shape interactions. It can be as simple as going for a bike ride or grabbing a cup of coffee, being open and aware of your surroundings can really breathe new life into the creative process and break the monotony of our drag and drop routine.

Collaboration is key to our process at The Arland Group. Talking through a concept can help your ideas mature more organically. Asking questions can help to develop the idea as well as teach a whole new approach. Some of my best ideas have come up from simply starting a conversation, especially when it doesn’t pertain to the project at hand. Design is visual communication. It helps for me to remember that, rather than keep an idea in suppressed in my head until I break down.

When all else fails, I turn to music. I may be a bit biased because I myself am a musician, but nothing seems to inspire me more than sound. When I’m feeling complete stress over a project, music motivates me to move beyond it. It has the power to change my mind and mood almost instantaneously. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t find myself turning to my Itunes library for inspiration. I also think discovering new music is like developing a new technique. Breaking out of your old standards can inspire you to try new things and discover new ways of thinking. Here are a couple sites that I turn to when I’m looking for something new and interesting: 14tracks.com (http://14tracks.com/selections/182-14_tracks_present_future) and mimaroglumusicsales.com (http://www.mimaroglumusicsales.com/new.php?limit=25&page=2).

As hard as it is sometimes I think slowing down and avoiding stress are essential in avoiding designers block. Being open to new ideas and having the ability to communicate are extremely helpful for me. Feeling stuck is unavoidable. Being able to find and use your inspiration will help you to overcome this hurdle and ultimately become a better designer.

Posted: November 17th, 2011
at 9:48am by Ryan McRyhew

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Categories: Office

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