To set better goals, begin at the end

Like a road map, a well-defined goal tells you where to go and how to get there. But without a specific endpoint, a map is just a piece of paper tat can send you anywhere. Setting a goal is like unfolding a map -- it's a beginning, not a destination.

Before you set any goals in your workplace, clarify your organization's strategic objectives. What does your company want to accomplish in the long term? Build your goals around these big-picture achievements.

Goals that support strategic objectives will make more sense to your employees, leading to greater commitment and effort as everyone moves forward.

Source: The Manager's Intelligence Report -- adapted from the Birmingham Business Journal

Are you listening?

What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals -- Johann von Gothe

The Case for CVBs

How convention & visitors bureaus can help produce successful, affordable meetings

(compiled from staff reports from Association Meetings Magazine) CVBs are a sales engine. Meeting planners partnering with them should do so early on. Even if the planner is brand loyal, linking up with the CVB can help search out tips and suggestions.

Through the Eyes of Planners

• The CVB will make you look good. They know everything that has ever worked for groups and planner can depend on them to be a partner to be a bridge to a community. With selecting services and suppliers, the planner needs the CVBs help.
• CVBs are getting more and more creative in finding ways to assist the planner. Sales Efforts are more aggressive, and they're planning more familiarization tours and featuring the city as a destination, not just a hotel. Some CVs are taking their cities "on the road" with media presentations. Those are fine, but nothing takes the place of experiencing the touch and feel of a destination.
• The planner should be be fair and honest when submitting a request for proposal. CVBs represent a large number of properties; CVBs can be of the help if the planner provides an accurate, detailed RFP.
• The planner should be realistic with attendance estimates. Don't say, "We had 40 last year, but we're expecting at least 90 this year."
• If the planner has had a bad experience in a city, check back later with the CVB. New people or new practices might be in place.
• Look for professional and competent staffing in CVBs. With sales, look for people are knowledgeable about the market and are responsive to needs.
• After the planner has booked a meeting, they should turn to the CVB's event-management team and ask to help identify all the things that the CVB can do for the planner's organization.
• For housing, generally, the planner can work with the CVBs housing bureau. If you go this route, get assurances that the CVB is capable of processing reservations promptly.
• Planners can look to the CVB for help with volunteers. Many cities have volunteers who are available to help throughout the event
• If a city is no longer being considered for a meeting, the planner should let the CVB know.

Through the Eyes of CVB Personnel

• Nobody knows the city better than the CVB. The CVb will try to determine the purpose of the meeting and the planner's priorities. The CVb can save a lot of time, and best of all, most if not all services are free
• The CVB is the face of the city.
• CVBs can do as much or as little as the planner wants. For example, if the planner wants welcome banners, the CVB can do that. If the planner wants letters of welcome from elected officials, they can do that too.
• Typically, the purpose of CVBs is generate revenue for their cities. The CVBs goal is to relieve the planner's stress and make the meeting a great experience so that the organization will come back again.
• CVBs do bid proposals -- they even do presentations to decision makers.
• CVBs join the meeting planner's team when they come to the city and you're the boss. The CVB does what the planner tells them to do
• If the planner needs funding for a meeting, the CVB can help find sponsors.
• The CVB can help put the planner in touch with local members of the organization.
• CVBs know the hotels and attractions and work well with them.
• The CVB will help that planner with whatever services needed, even if the planner has already committed to a hotel.
• The CVB wants the conference to well attended and will provide attendance-building tools.
• The CVB cannot recommend one hotel over another based on which one the CVB likes.
• If the planner is new to meeting planner, the CVB can look over the meeting spec and find ways to save the organization money.
• The CVB can inform the planner about what else is going on in the city, and about groups in town that might be incompatible.

Making a Business Case for Mobile Marketing

Mobile marketing creates opportunities for timely and intimate consumer experiences, but is often poorly understood. And unlike online tactics like search, email, and social marketing, few brands have dollars set aside for mobile development, meaning business cases and ROI models must be cemented upfront. The good news is consumers are already mobile. Hundreds of millions of North American consumers are engaged with their mobile devices. 



Many marketers are overwhelmed by the technologies and terminology that fall under "mobile." However, the foundational components of mobile marketing are straightforward, support core marketing and communications programs, and deliver clear and measurable outcomes.



Here are a few tips for making a mobile business case:



The Foundation



1. Text Messaging (SMS)

There are more than 300 million mobile subscribers in North America, representing approximately 90% of all adults. Virtually every mobile device supports SMS. Studies indicate day-to-day use of SMS has quickly migrated into older age groups, with as much as 50% penetration among boomers. After voice, SMS is the most ubiquitous mobile technology. Any ROI metric looks better when the potential audience is 300 million consumers.



2. E-mail and Social Media

The number of consumers with feature phones or smartphones accessing personal or business e-mail accounts, and monitoring Facebook statuses and tweets, is growing quickly. E-mail and social media must be understood as components of mobile marketing. Considering how engrained e-mail and social media are within online marketing, the incremental costs to adjust for mobile-friendly content delivery should be very tolerable and seen as the lowest hanging fruit. 



3. Mobile Web

Twenty percent of mobile subscribers have both the device and data plan needed to access the mobile Web. The small number of subscribers with the ability to access the mobile Web creates challenging ROI metrics. The potential audience diminishes while development and infrastructure costs increase. The mobile Web, however, is vital to more interactive experiences and provides access to greater information on-demand, all while supporting SMS and mobile e-mail tactics. The mobile Web is a lynchpin of effective mobile marketing.



4. Device-specific apps

Many marketers envy the buzz around other brands' iPhone apps. But marketers looking to create apps must be cautious. The ROI of apps is inherently challenging. Among the 20% of all mobile subscribers with smartphones, only a fraction own iPhones. To deliver meaningful app experiences to all smartphone users, marketers must create several apps (Android, Blackberry, Symbian and Palm) and make a large investment. Marketers that focus on iPhone users only rely on a small relative audience of potential consumers to balance their investment.



5. Mobile Advertising

Paid search and banner advertising are growing mobile marketplaces. It is necessary to understand the potential audience is those with mobile Web access. In contrast to traditional online search, mobile search is implicitly urgent. The consumer is ready to take action; they need information and direction now. Mobile search ads can include results for local stores, access to driving directions, or a simple click-to-call to convert interest into a sale. 
The foundational components of mobile marketing must be mapped to business or consumer use cases to bring the ROI metrics into greater clarity.



The Examples



1. Customer service, care and support

The business objective is to replace high-cost, reactive customer service experiences with lower-cost, more proactive experiences. Examples include extending online assets and automated services to mobile devices for maximum cost efficiency and on-demand access.



The broad reach and low operational cost of SMS provides a logical starting point for proving ROI. SMS programs can tap into back-end business systems or Web applications to make important information available on-demand, or through automated notifications. Examples include account balances, shipping status, appointment reminders, store locations, and more.



Mobile web sites are ideal for providing consumers with self-help services like FAQs or help tickets. Apps are suited to high-value experiences such as live chat or intelligent automated response programs.



2. Acquisition, sales, and purchase influence

Mobile users demonstrate shorter buying cycles. They want actionable content like reviews, discounts and directions now. For mobile users, convenience trumps all. Deliver actionable content and convenience, and revenue will follow.



SMS and mobile search are good starting points. The two tactics are well suited for driving foot traffic with precise timing of scheduled messaging (SMS) or relevant, location-based lead-generation (mobile search).



Mobile Web content can add more interactive substance necessary for some purchase decisions. For instance, existing online content like product reviews, feature highlights, or promotional videos can be re-purposed for mobile access to shoppers in store. The content can influence purchase decisions for large ticket items, technology, and fashion goods, or help fill a larger cart.
Device-specific app investments are more costly, but support robust mCommerce, making a new line item in the channel revenue reports. 



3. Branding is perception and experience

Mobile devices are relatively small, but mobile experiences can have a huge impact on consumer brand perception. Why? Consumers appreciate valuable, relevant content delivered when and where it is most needed. Leave the consumer saying "that was easy," "that was helpful," or "that was convenient" and the brand experience is held in high esteem. Valuable mobile experiences become addictive, and the foundation of brand loyalty and advocacy. 



The Math



Budgets for mobile marketing are elusive. How can marketers get started? Attack the opportunities that, by the math, are best suited to deliver positive ROI.



1. Invest in foundational mobile components first such as SMS, e-mail, and select mobile Web experiences


2. Identify the low-hanging fruit in consumer use cases that best map to business objectives


3. Convert initial wins into investment capital, funding more sophisticated solutions and creative exploration


Bryce Marshall (bmarshall@knotice.com) is the director of strategic services for Knotice.

Encouraging employees to participate actively in meetings isn't easy. The secret is providing the kind of leadership that's crucial to getting everyone to join in. Consider these tips:

1. Break larger groups into smaller ones
2. Open with a very safe agenda topic
3. Dont' change gears too suddenly
4. Use the right language

Source: Adapted from the Consulting Skills for Professionals Web Site

5 things a team needs to succeed -- No. 3 CLEAR GOALS

Team managers must set well-defined goals, and make sure the team has the necessary authority and resources to meet those goals. Important: As soon as one goal is reached, it's crucial to set another one, so the team always has something to shoot for.

Source: The Manager's Intelligence Report -- April 2010

Five things a team needs to succeed -- No 2 A COACH

This person has to help the team overcome such hazards as mental laziness and indecisiveness. The coach forces the team to brainstorm new ideas, and then makes sure those ideas are implemented. Without a coach, many teams tend to get too bogged down in routine details to be creative.

Source: The Manager's Intelligence Report, April 2010

Five things a team needs to succeed -- No 1 TIME

As a manager, you need to make sure your team has enough time for free-flowing discussion, especially if they're working on a special project outside their normal duties. This is how problems are solved and new ideas generated.

Source: The Manager's Intelligence Report, April 2010

Make up your mind (but know when to change it)

One thing people look for in leaders is decisiveness Your inability to make a decision, or stick to one, can be highly frustrating to employees.
That doesn't mean you can't change your mind when necessary, though. The question is costs versus benefits. When you;re considering whether to shift course, try to measure the cost and rewards of changing against the costs or rewards of sticking to your present path.

If they're roughly equal, don't confuse your employees by switching things around. Consistency is generally better for everyone concerned.

Source: Key Leader Consulting Web Site, Leading for Results

Consider...

A committee is a thing which takes a week to do what one good man can do in an hour -- Elbert Hubbard

Test your commitment to ethics: five essential and revealing questions

As a leader, your commitment to ethical behavior sets the example for the rest of your organization So making the right decisions is critical. When you're uncertain about whether a course of action is ethical, ask yourself these questions:

1. Is this fair to other people?
2. Are you being honest?
3. What promises have you made?
4. Whom will your action help or hurt?
5. Are you following the rules?

Source: Leading Results Feb 2010

Let your fingers do the walking

Develop itineraries by type of travel and activity. Do half-day, full-day, two- and three-day itineraries. Include specifics, not generalities.

Source: Your Town A Destination

Trends to Watch

Travel Consultant Judy Randall, Randall Travel Marketing, tells us the biggest trend she is seeing are shortened meetings to cut hotel and other costs; mid-day meetings for drive-in attendees; and planners cutting out extracurricular activities so meetings start purposely and stay focused on purpose.

Advice: Content is king. "Everyone wanst to know what is going on," she says. "They want educational content that helps them sort through the volumes of information in their field. Where are the frontiers."Randall also says its important to keep you network alive and strong.

Source Connect Magazine

Fours Ways of Thinking Will Make You a Better Manager

Part of a good manager is knowing how to think. Here are four directions your thoughts should always flow in:

1. Think positively. Managers need to think positively about themselves, their company, their product, and their customers. if you feel that you can't maintain a positive attitude about all these things, you may be in the wrong job.

2. Think creatively. Train yourself to solve problems. Every day, write down a problem that you have to solve that day, and then write down creative solutions to that problem. At the end of the day, evaluate your success.

3. Think critically. Every day, ask yourself this questions: Did I do the very best that I am capable of doing? Be honest with yourself. Analyze what happens when you do something wrong. But also remember to praise yourself when you do things right.

4. Think objectively. Set goals for yourself, so you have a purpose to what you do. Set daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly goals. Unless you have goals and a purpose, you will never be completely satisfied with what you accomplish.

Source: The Manager's Intelligence Report - adapted from the Greater Horizons Web Site

Tourism Day 2010

Tourism industry leaders met with Georgia state legislators to underscore the importance of tourism -- that Tourism is Economic Development. In Columbus, GA tourism generated a $358 million impact. BIG business for our city.

Create a "Do Later" list for your associates

It's important that your team stays on track and takes care of its most important priorities first. That's hard to do when they're constantly being peppered with smaller tasks that distract them from the job at hand. Try this tactic: Create a "Do Later" list for your team, listing routine duties that are necessary, but not a core priority. Tell your peple to do these chores only after your primary responsibilities are under control.

Source: The Manager's Intelligence Report

Leaders

When success comes in, the leader should give the credit to the team members. When failure comes, the leader should absorb the criticism and protet the team members.

Source: A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, in "Ideas That Have Worked"

What I have Learned (with apologies to Edward Kennedy)

Two hundred years from now, will people ask, "What was wrong with us?" We had exceptional prosperity, exceptional bounty, exceptional resources. Will they say, "They had the opportunity to do something about hunger, and they refused to address it?"

A shame that we have had so much opportunity to make a difference, because it would have been the right thing to do, yet we turn our backs or turn a deaf ear or simply do what is easy -- nothing.

Questions for Success

What are the general perceptions of your community?
Has your town had a visitor assessment?
Have you taken a hard look at your town's challenges and how you might be able to turn those into assets?

The exciting news is that Columbus has worked all three of these questions. And perhaps even more exciting is that the community continues to address these seemingly simple points. Not satisfied to do business as we have always done business, we follow the latest trends. And where appropriate we adopt those that will continue to propel us as a leader in the industry.

Our partnerships with hotels, attractions, community leaders, state organizations, etc. has positioned Columbus as a viable destination for those key market segments important for tourism in Columbus.

A Checklist for mastering closing

Closing is simple -- if you remember six fundamentals. Review the following checklist after your next sales call. Whether or not you made the sale, you'll see where you can improve your technique and closing rate.

1. Did you describe all the benefits your product or service offers and what they can do for the client?
2. Did you ask the client to buy? Did you ask outright for the order?
3. Did you discover they key issue in your client's buying decision? (Examples: You're too new. You're too much like XYZ company,which burned the client last time. Your company lacks name recognition)
4. Did you uncover the key benefit that your client wants from your product or service?
5. Did you make lots of little closes so that the client had an opportunity to make small decisions, rather than one big, threatening one>
6. Did you try one more time when you thought the sale was lost?

Use this checklist for two weeks. The fundamentals will become second nature and your'll be first-rate.

Source: Selling Power Editors