Dear Outdoor Companies - Your "Agency" May Be Costing You a LOT of Money...

Dear shooting, hunting and outdoor related companies… Your marketing agency may be costing you money. 

Lots of it. 

 Dear agencies that operate in the shooting hunting and outdoor industry… You are losing a ton of money for you and your clients… 

 You know, just when I think I can't be more surprised about something, something happens that brings me another paradigm shift. 

 

We are several weeks out from the annual Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade show (the SHOT Show)  where I personally met with hundreds of people representing numerous businesses, agencies, manufacturers, and other related professionals. 

 Many people know that I work as a freelance marketing consultant, but what many are not aware of is that I regularly refer clients to marketing agencies and am often referred to an agency by a prospective client. 

 Last year those referrals from me were worth somewhere in the $200,000-$300,000 range. 

 I don't know about you, but to me that's a fair amount of money. 

 Imagine my surprise, then, when emails and messages to multiple agencies have not been returned despite numerous attempts to contact. 

 I also find that the "crossover" agencies ( The ones that are mainly in the "green" space but cross over to "hook and bullet") are often the biggest violators to this protocol.  

 Now, the particular agency in this example is not one of those types, and is one that I have known and that certainly knows me. 

 I never intentionally try and get anybody into trouble, but there comes a point where my due diligence in contacting you has been done. 

 I'll always do my best to never waste anyone's time- therefore, I expect the same in return. 

My last message to agencies that don't answer several contacts are similar to, "I reached out to you several times as a professional courtesy. If this is not the proper protocol, I can go back to dealing direct with XYZ company."

 Another huge mistake agencies make is being threatened by anyone or anything that comes to speak with their clients. 

In the few situations where I work as a marketing consultant with a company or I work with a private client, I owe it to them to perform due diligence on any opportunities they have to make money. I have a rule of thumb – I never, ever recommend to stop doing something that makes money or to not to do something that will make money. 

That is regardless of whether I another entity provides it. 

That's keeping my clients best interests always in mind. 

 

I recently, at the request of the client, sent some information to an agency regarding some newsletter and blog products that I represent.  I also copied the client so that he knew I had done as asked.  

Now, even I get ahead of myself sometimes and make errors – and in this case switched two numbers around- Page views, and unique viewers. (and in my defense, I was simply repeating what I was told over the phone but it is ultimately my responsibility.) 

 This marketing agency representative replied to me within 15 minutes with an email basically "calling me out" on my numbers – asking for validity because he couldn't find that kind of traffic and that the actual traffic was XXX… And he also copied the client. 

I guess we both know he considers me a threat, even though I'm not. 

Now, being in the marketing and advertising world, everybody knows that it is extremely simple to check the estimated traffic numbers on any website- therefore, we all use the actual numbers. The numbers for this product or actually quite impressive. 

 

I responded to this representative that he was correct, I had mixed the numbers, and that the portion that we were speaking of was "bonus" traffic, anyway, as we did not price nor calculate our cost per thousand based on the blogs. 

 I received no response to that message that day. 

Nor did I receive a response the next day. 

Or the day after that – or to the message I just sent today, one week later, to ask if something had perhaps happened to him. 

Now, it's obvious that this person is either 1. Threatened by me speaking with his client (and if that's the case, then he probably should be.) or, 2.  Doesn't like to make money.

You see, and I have no problem paying referral fees for people that bring me business. That's just smart business. 

 I have another situation that also sounds fairly ridiculous when it's brought into the open. I met a company that the try and Buy show prior to SHOT Show that wanted to set up a meeting with me  to discuss some of the content marketing options I have. 

 As a courtesy, I reached out to their agency via email with an introduction and let them know that I had met with one of their clients and that I wanted to get on the phone with them because I work with numerous agencies in referring them business. 

 I actually sent two emails – one to each founding partner of the company. 

 Three days later I made a phone call and left a message for each of them. 

 

Nothing but crickets since then. 

 In the meantime, there are potentially thousands of dollars waiting for them and their clients to just go and get because they simply want to pick up the phone or return a courteous message. 

I learned long ago from several different business mentors that simply picking up my phone, returning phone calls, and replying to emails even if I didn't think I needed what was offered for my or my client's business was an easy path to success. 

What do you think about the protocol of "response in kind?"

Do you always return phone calls and emails? 

 

Are you open to new ways for your clients to make money, even if it doesn't always benefit you directly? 

 I do, and I am, and it has always served me well. 

Will 2018 Be the Year You "Embrace the Hate?"

“The only thing more frustrating than slanderers is those foolish enough to listen to them.”                                      -Criss Jami
“People will always have their opinion on you despite who you are and what your capable of.”  -Ana Chable

"You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life.                                 -Winston Churchill

I absolutely love haters. 

 Love them. 

You see, if I am receiving mail from "haters" it means my message is most definitely reaching  my audience and MORE! 

Whenever I send something out and I get nasty responses back by a few people, it gives me a little warm feeling in my heart to know that I must be absolutely motivating them to take action and that, based on the laws of statistics and large numbers that for everyone there is like that there are about 50 to 100  that  have received a tremendous value from what I have sent, posted, or sold. 

 Several of the top sales "gurus" that I follow are of the same way. 

"If they say you're sending too much, double what you're sending."

"If they say stop, you might want to stop to them (or not) and double your efforts sending to everyone else! " 

 No matter what you do, there will always be people that don't agree with you, but feel it there place to give you advice, or, just folks that are, generally, negative people that would complain no matter what you said or did. 

One of the best things you can do when you are engaging with these people is to let them know that you  appreciate their feedback, but that you are a "positive" person who believes in taking MASSIVE action rather than sitting by the sidelines waiting for something to happen. That is a very difficult line of thought to respond negatively to. 

I'll give you an example that happened to me recently...

I sent out a release to a bunch of Outdoor and gun writers about a new contest that I am helping to promote. 

I received a scathing response from one, what I would call, "Lower-mid-level" writer. 

He writes for some local and regional publications and is an occasional "guest" on some television shows. 

"UNSUBSCRIBE FROM THIS LIST!" 

Not so bad, really. 

But...

Right now I have an "auto response" for anyone that sends me an email. 

I want them to know that I received it, but am so busy with show season that  I may not respond right away, but I still want to talk. 

This is where it gets a little UGLY. 

"I SUBMITTED AN UNSUBSCRIBE REQUEST!!!! THIS IS A VIOLATION OF CAN/SPAM!!! YOU ARE IN VIOLATION OF FEDERAL LAW AND CAN BE PROSECUTED FOR HARASSMENT!!! 

Dude...

Chill out.

Needless to say, I sent confirmation that he was "unsubscribed" from my list- With a nice note to make sure he takes his blood pressure pills. 

I learned several things from this. 

One- that my emails went out and were delivered. 

Two- that the message resonated with the audience. 

Three- that I learned of one worthless member of my list that shouldn't be on it.  

Now, I am subscribed to HUNDREDS of email lists. Many become useless/worthless over time, but I still learn a TON from them- Things like this must be a compelling headline- I opened it- and what are the typical things beoing pushed in the info-marketing world. Also, what is valuable and how long does it remain so. 

Here are the questions that he, and you, should have asked before "unsubscribing" from my emails. 

1. Do I want to not have the opportunity to learn something from this person/company/list? 

2. Is this one thing of lesser value worth eliminating the possibility of hundreds of their more valuable things? 

3. What can I take from this person/company/list that I can easily "re-purpose" to my own business? (Secret- I steal good headline ideas from my own subscribed lists all the time) 

 2017 is the past now. 2018 is the future. Are you going to take control of your destiny, take control of your business, control the conversation about you and what you do, or will you react to what happens – being constantly behind the curve? 

 That's a question that everyone will need to answer in this "new outdoor economy."

How Not To Be "Average."

 If you want to be better than average, you have to give better than AVERAGE. 

 Quick – name the most AVERAGE baseball player in the major leagues today. 

 Who wins the title for the MOST AVERAGE basketball player in the NBA playoffs? 

Who is the MOST AVERAGE  hockey player to ever play the game?

 Do you find it hard to come up with those names? You should. 

Which one do you want to be? 

You know, Children are a great reflection upon society. They are, for the most part, pure innocence and pure, uncorrupted emotion. 

Watch your child playing in the sand experiencing pure joy. You could sit in that same stand and be bored. Or aggravated. 

You could become unmotivated and lie down.

...But if you watch the child digging in the sand – he or she is usually fascinated. They're fascinated by the texture. The feeling. The fact that they can mold and shape to their will. That brings them joy. 

 I bring this up for a very good reason. 

 Think back-- for some of you way, way, way back… To what you wanted and dreamed as a child. 

 When you were a child did you want to be "average"? 

 When you were five or six years old, did you look at the world and say, "when I grow up, I want to sit in a cubicle punching keys all day, work for a mediocre boss, At a mediocre company, doing the same thing, every single day of my entire life?"

                                                   If you did, you were the odd one. 

 Most likely you wanted to be a superhero. 

Perhaps as you got older he wanted to "be like mike (Michael Jordan),  you wanted to be the quarterback of your favorite football team, or some other superstar. 

 If you want better than "average", you have to give better than "average."

 One of MJ's most famous commercials was highlights of him sinking winning shots, winning big games, etc., but the background was Michael Jordan speaking 

 "I have missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I've been trusted To take the game-winning shot… And missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

Michael Jordan used to practice his shooting technique – not just his shot – but his actual "technique" for 2 to 3 hours per day. 

 Tiger Woods hit hundreds of golf balls every single day. 

Michael Phelps is the most decorated Olympian of all time. He has won 19 gold medals-  and as impressive as that is, his training routine is even more so. 

 He swims 50 miles per week – an average of 8 miles per training day. 

Plus dry land workouts.

He works so hard and so long that he needs to consume 12,000 calories per day just to maintain his body mass. 

 If a training day falls on Christmas, he swims in my house. If it falls on New Year's – 8 miles. Nothing gets in the way of his training. 

Even me, an- I hate to even say it- “average” guy- competed nationally in Olympic Taekwondo.

I trained 3 hours a day, PLUS my regular team and sparring practices.

I never lost because the other guy outlasted me and set a record for most knockouts.

I still work out every day.

I read a book a week and write at least one content piece, published or not, twice a week.

 The important question is, what are you willing to give THIS YEAR  in order to get? 

 One of my most recent articles talked about the state of the outdoor industry – how the gun economy has definitely changed.

How many companies out there are going to look for "average" results this year? 

 How many companies in the gun world are going to, rather than put in their "8 miles" of training – "cut their expenses" (which I've always found ridiculous, as marketing should never, ever be put under your ledger as an "expense)  

Instead of working harder, smarter, and doing MORE, many honestly believe that they will get by with doing LESS.

If you were on any type of sports team, when you really wanted to get BETTER and WIN MORE, did your coach ever say to you, or did you ever say to yourself, “You know what? We need to do LESS! We’re going to NOT WORK AS HARD in order to get BETTER and WIN MORE!”

I didn’t think so.

 The next year will separate a lot of "average" from many new and up-and-comer's that will become "exceptional."

 Which camp will you be in? 

You CAN'T...

Ace Luciano is a firm believer in the "Can vs. Can't" Philosophy

...And you're RIGHT.

However, YOU CAN....
...and you are, also, RIGHT.

Sometimes, Life Is Hard, and it's Easy to Get Down...
Really.

The problem is that most people, most of the time use "Can't" when they should really use the term, "W-O-N-'T"
It's not that you CAN'T get the money- it's that you WON'T take the extra classes, go BACK to school, PAY for the training, hire the consultant or coach, work the longer hours, the second job, or go for the better job to GET IT.
It's not that you CAN'T lose the weight, or that you CAN'T quit smoking, or that you CAN'T get that boat...or go on that dream hunting trip...or live in that dream location...

It's that you WON'T do what it takes- whatever that is- to get it done.
I know what you're saying to yourself RIGHT NOW.
You're making the excuses-and, as my dear friend and mentor Steve Sipress says-
"You can make excuses, or you can make money, but you can't make both."

How would I know?
I've BEEN THERE.
You see, I was never supposed to be here...

I was supposed to be a DOCTOR.
I learned, I studied, and tread the path laid out for me... and FAILED.
Over and over.

It was rather exhausting- working three part-time jobs, studying all night, taking classes after graduating college...
The truth is, I was ALLOWING myself to fail- because it wasn't where I really wanted to be.
Once I realized that, my life got a LOT easier.
I was BORN to sell, and DESTINED to be in the outdoor world- but it certainly wasn't easy.

I worked for FREE for over a year.
I spend THOUSANDS of dollars travelling, meeting, and entertaining.
I wrote and wrote and wrote article after article... and was rejected.
I applied to EVERY JOB I COULD FIND- and was given the most ABSURD excuses.
"You've never sold "apparel" before."
The foolish, "You're rather "overqualified" for this position...
"You have a lot of sales experience, but none "in the industry."
and, my personal favorite, the generic, "Though your resume is impressive, we have decided to move forward with another candidate."

Then, things began to happen. I made my own waves. I turned down jobs offered to me, and I began to carve my own path.
I learned how to POSITION myself.
Ironically, I was relating my story to someone that is a huge sports fan that let me know a BUNCH of similarities to a professional athlete that were directly related to my struggles.

Check out the NFL history report for this athlete.

Second string QB for high school team that went 0-8 Freshman year.
Started Sophomore year because no other QB went out.
Varsity passing: 219 passes for 3,514 yards and 33 touchdowns
Baseball catcher and football quarterback in high school who was drafted for MLB in the 18th round of the June 1995 baseball draft. Opted for football and redshirted in '95 as #7 QB on the depth chart.

Saw limited action in '96 and '97 and started '98 and '99.

Poor build. Very skinny and narrow. Ended final season weighing 195 pounds and still "looked like a rail" at 211. Looks a little frail and lacks great physical stature and strength. Can get pushed down more easily than we'd like. Lacks mobility and ability to avoid the rush. Lacks a really strong arm. Can't drive the ball down the field and does not throw a really tight spiral. System-type player who can get exposed if he must ad-lib and do things on his own.
Vertical jump- lowest of peers.
40 yard dash time: Lowest ever

Seems to have decent field view and decision making ability.

Chosen as the 199th pick of the 2000 NFL draft.
Almost didn't make the team.

Has thrown 456 Touchdown passes in the NFL- the 4th most ever.
Has 61,582 passing yards- the third most EVER.
Has thrown the second most TD passes in a single season- 50.
Has played in 7 Superbowls and WON 5- the most EVER.

In case you haven't figured it out- this athlete is Tom Brady, and he was never supposed to be here, let alone WIN.

Remember that the next time you think things are "hard." or that you "can't"
Remember - "CAN'T" could easily be spelled "W-O-N-'T"

I'm not, nor have I ever been a New England Patriots fan, but I am certainly an admirer of Tom Brady.
He wanted it.
He wanted it bad enough to work for it- to put HOURS in the gym and the weight room. HOURS running through plays. HOURS visualizing outcomes and wins.

Yes, Tom Brady proved beyond a doubt that championships are won not just on the FIELD, but in the extra minutes of practice, the extra hours of lifting weights, and the night after night after night after night studying, learning, and practicing...

So...

What's your excuse?
Too small?

Not smart enough?

Not strong enough?

Everyone else is better? Faster? Stronger?
SMARTER?
Luckier?

Not enough MONEY?

Learn the lessons here- that one of the oldest players in the league just set the all time record for championship wins-

...and he was never even supposed to be there.
That can be you.

What types of obstacles have been in YOUR way?
What have you done to overcome them?

Do you need help with a challenge?
Please use the comments below to let us all know.