I’ve been on a bit of a podcasts kick lately and wanted to share a series that I found to be very informative: Slate.com’s Negotiation Academy.

This series is made up of 10 very easily digestable podcasts (10-15 minutes each) that focus on a different aspect of negotiating. It is led by Jill Barshay and Seth Stevenson who studied negotiating tactics at Columbia Business School. They do an excellent job of explaining each key topic, provide very relevant and easy to understand examples, and interview some of the leading negotiators and mediators in the world.

If you’re looking for something to listen to on your way to work for the next week or two, I’d definitely suggest you check it out, but, in the meantime here are some of my key takeaways:

• Be Prepared. Before you even think about sitting at the negotiating table, you better know your stuff. Know the other party and where they’re coming from. Know the price that you want to start at and what your walkaway price is. Your preparation is often the one thing that you can control, so you’re going to want to knock it out of the park. This will also help make you much more confident, which will serve you very well in the heat of the moment.
• Build Rapport. Let’s be honest, someone is going to be more receptive to working with someone who they actually like, so whether it’s before you meet for the negotiation or from the second you shake their hand–Work it! It may be tempting to act like the serious dealmaker, but coming off as a jerk isn’t going to get you very far.
• Ask Questions. Your biggest priority at the negotiating table should be to extract as much information from the other party as possible. The more you learn about them, the more leverage you will gain by understanding what their priorities are and the more likely you will be able to come to an agreement that is beneficial to both of you.

Ultimately, what all of these come down to is doing everything you can to have the upper hand in negotiations and gain leverage over the party.

Whether you’re negotiating a multi-million dollar deal or simply trying to negotiate a raise, there’s certainly something for you to learn from this podcast series, so I’d encourage you to check it out!

Have you had a chance to build some negotiating skills? What are some tips that you would suggest? Are there any podcasts that you’d recommend?

Image from Travel Aficionado

It’s almost inevitable that, no matter what career path you take, you’ll experience times where your job situation is less than ideal. For some folks it may be working under a boss that is unbearable, for others it may be working for a company or brand that simply doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, or it could be anywhere in between.

The thing is, when you find yourself in such a situation, you typically have three options:

1. Grin and bear it. Suck it up and just get by.
2. Call it quits. Get out of there and seek something different.
3. Stick around, but do what you can to improve the situation.

The first of these options is obviously the easiest but, quite frankly, is a silly option. Do not do this.

What is interesting is that the 2nd and 3rd option are both very valid ones, and neither is necessarily right or wrong in every situation. Looking for a new job or getting out of that situation is the more obvious option, but it could also be a way of taking the easy way out and could eventually lead to the same exact problems at your next opportunity.

What I’m getting at is, it can often be extremely hard to decide which path to take, which is why I’ve come up with a few questions to ask yourself…

• Do I have control over the aspects of the current job that I dislike? If so, what could I do to improve or change them?
• What are some of the benefits of your current job, and how do they stack up against the disadvantages?
• Is there a risk of these same negative characteristics popping up in other jobs? In other words, is it that you dislike the job or that you simply  don’t want to acknowledge that you’re not using your skills effectively?
• Are the negative characteristics fixed or variable? If “X” happens in the next few weeks or months, could that potentially solve the problem?
• Do the negative characteristics actually present an opportunity for you to showcase or develop new skills while working to solve the problem? Could you be an agent of change?
• What sort of negative effects is the job having on your life away from work? Would this change at a new job?
• Have you maximized your personal growth potential at the current job? What new opportunities for growth would a new job provide?
• Is there an opportunity to talk about your concerns about the current job with your manager/boss? Would they be willing to help improve your situation?
• Where do you want to be in 5 years? Where do you see that company being in 5 years? Do those two visions sync up?

Really, one of the key points I want to drive home here is that leaving your job could be a mistake if the reasons you’re leaving the job are actually due to your inability to effectively handle the situation as opposed to the cards being unfairly stacked against you.

What are some other questions that professionals should ask themselves before making a decision about leaving (or staying at) their current job?

Image by fuzzcat

“It’s only after we’ve lost everything that we’re free to do anything.” – Fight Club

Imagine a fresh start. Maybe it’s a fresh start for your company or brand that you endorse. Maybe it’s your blog. Heck, maybe it’s a relationship with a friend. Usually there are all sorts of barriers that prevent us from making changes.

You can’t change something about your product because you have millions of dollars already invested in the direction it’s heading right now. You can’t change the direction of your business because your investors will be calling for your head.

So just imagine you have a blank slate. You’re free to do anything. What’s it going to be?

Use what I think of as the scale-it-back technique. Think of anything, no matter how crazy it is, and then scale it back. Reconcile it with reality and think about how you can nudge it in that direction.

Because how are we going to move forward if we let a barrier stand in our way?

Image by Calsidyrose

I’m spending today over at Tyler Durbin’s blog, Generation Y Journey. Check out my guest post titled “The Ultimate Act of Humility for Gen-Y.” Honestly, the post started out as a complete rant on why we even care that much about Gen-Y, but then I realized the post wasn’t really even making a point, and therefore, wasn’t any good. But, now it’s been retooled and hopefully you can get something out of it. Anyways, be sure to check out Tyler’s blog after you read the post, as he’s got some muy bueno content for the Gen-Y crew.

Enjoy your Monday!

Since I butchered the name in the video, you can check out Danny Brown’s  site to find out about the “12 Days of Christmas Homeless Push.”

So I’m very excited to tell you that tomorrow I’ll be leaving on a jet plane heading to Las Vegas for Blog World Expo 09. No, I am not saying this to rub it in your face (although you know you’re jealous!) I’m saying this because you’re going to get to attend Blog World vicariously through my updates both here on The Curbside Marketer and on Twitter. I know I know, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but we’re going to make an exception for you. I’ll be sharing notes, thoughts, and wicked sick videos with you throughout the rest of the week.

If you are going to Blog World, be sure to let me know so that we can meet up some time! If you will not be there, let me know what you’d like to see/hear about from the event! Also, if you have any tips for how to dominate in the casinos, those are welcome, too.

Recently I read a report of the top and bottom 10 companies for customer service. The #1 top company was Apple. The #5 worst company was AT&T. The elephant in the room was the iPhone.

The Metaphorical iPhone

In AT&T’s defense, I’ve heard very few people ever say they were in love with their wireless carrier (no wireless carrier made the list for the top 10 in customer service). But, instead of blending into the crowd with other “mediocre” wireless brands why didn’t AT&T (or someone else, for that matter) step it up and over-deliver on their services?

There are a couple of points I want to make here. The first is that if you have a tremendous product backed with poor customer service and a poor framework of support, you can probably succeed in the short term. However, sooner or later, your customers are going to get fed up and someone else is going to come in with a product that’s just as good with even better service and leave you in the dust.

This brings me to my next point: inefficiencies are simply areas of opportunity. Take a hard look at your company or your competitors and look around for what you suck at. What does everyone suck at? When you can find that area and turn it around, you just found your competitive advantage.

It just makes you wonder: are wireless companies oblivious to their inefficiencies?

“Skills are cheap, passion is priceless.” – Gary Vaynerchuck

The woman with very tiny hands and very humongous ideas, Grace Boyle, is doing a little contest over at her blog and, seeing as it is 1. A good idea and 2. from Grace who is the bomb diggity, I’ve decided to take a whack at it. So, here we go.

When I started blogging, a little less than a year ago, I used it as a medium for me to showcase my skills. I was a senior who needed a job in a time where not many jobs were out there. I needed to set myself apart from everyone else, so, I figured a blog that I could slap on my resume and put in email signatures would surely prove I knew my stuff.

Fast forward to now. I still blog (duh), but not at all for the same reason. Now it’s simply because I’m passionate about marketing and I love talking about it with other people. I never claim to be an expert and love learning from others just as much as I enjoy teaching others.

So, why is this important? On a personal level, most  skills you need for jobs can be taught pretty easily. With so many people going to reputable colleges, your skills aren’t going to set you apart from anyone. What you need to have to stand out is passion. This passion will bleed into all aspects of your job. Your interactions with coworkers, your interaction with clients, and most importantly, the work that you produce.

So, how am I “crushing it?” First of all I thoroughly enjoy what I do in my job. With one responsibility I’m able to help brands monitor online conversation around them, something they likely would not have the tools or resources to do on their own. On the other hand, I’m also able to help them plan and execute social media strategies, an area which most are largely oblivious to how to do correctly.

But how do I know I’m passionate about this? Because it doesn’t stop at work. I talk about social media and marketing here at my blog. I read about it in magazines. I’m helping a community organization build a marketing campaign around a Christmas event. Sure, I have the skills needed for this, but what makes my work meaningful to me is the passion I’ve developed for it.

What does the future hold and how am I going to “Crush It” on down the road? Good question. One I’ve thought deeply about and still am not sure of the answer. Maybe it’s my own agency or one with some of my closest friends. Maybe it’s leading marketing or social media for a company. There’s one thing I do know though. I want it to be something I’m passionate about. I truly believe that your passion will show up in all aspects of a company. Everywhere from customer service, to the product, to corporate culture. So wherever I end up, I don’t want it to be a place for me to use the skills I’ve learned. I want it to be a place for me to use the passion I’ve developed.

So that leaves the question. How are you crushing it?

Photo from Randy Stewart

Leaf. Crack. It's a metaphor.

Have you ever thought about how much information we let slip through the cracks?

Maybe it’s a great quote that we’ll never remember after we hear it. An inspiring piece of art or even an advertisement or commercial that we won’t be able to recall when we need inspiration. Or maybe it’s a great marketing idea that we come up with and can’t remember to save our lives.

These would all be very valuable when we’re looking for some creative ideas or some inspiration at some point down the road. So, in hopes of preventing this from happening, there’s a few things that I’ve started doing…

JOURNAL

I recently bought a moleskin notebook and I’ve started using it to write all sorts of stuff in. This is mainly for inspirational quotes, long term “ideas” I come up with, or anything that I could look back on at a later time and find really useful. I see this sort of like the secret notebook from The Waterboy that the coach kept all of his plays in and was the secret to his success. I’m pretty psyched for the potential of this little notebook in the future.

SCRAPBOOK

I know what you’re thinking and, no, I’m not talking the type of scrapbook that you start a club for. I like looking through magazines and clipping out ads that I find really creative and are really able to break through the clutter. These can be a source for me to use when I’m looking for a creative kick start.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

Other times, I’ll be in some random place and think of an idea for a blog post or a great idea for how to approach a project out of nowhere. This is when I’ll have to get creative in how I make note of it (because I’ve learned that with me, if I don’t take a note, I’m bound to forget it). My first option is to email myself if I’m at a computer so that I’ll definitely see it. If I’m not at a computer, I’ll type a note into my phone or iPod and save it. If neither of those work, well, I’ll probably spend so much time thinking about how to make note of it that it’d be virtually impossible for me to forget.

So, why am I telling you this? For starters, I thought some of these may be useful for yourself and inspire you to start doing something along these lines. More importantly, though, I wanted to see if there was anything you do that’s similar to either remember stuff for inspiration later or simply what do you do when you need inspiration? Do you look through notes you have? Do you read books? Do you look at other people’s work? I’m excited to hear your processes in the comments section!

Photo from Flickr user: EJP Photo

So this semester I am being bombarded with talk of globalization. 50% of the classes i’m enrolled in are “Global” courses (Global Marketing and Global Business). As I do in most classes, I try and relate what I’m learning about to the world of sports. Marketing is pretty easy to do. Same with finance, and organizational behavior, and law, etc. However, many of the concepts in my global business courses I, at least initially, had trouble relating directly to American sports. Sure, teams pull from the global talent pool to get the most talented players on NBA teams, and recently leagues have been holding exhibition games in foreign countries with great success. Despite these surface level global examples, I had (and still am sort of struggling) trouble figuring out why sports care about globalization. For the most part, leagues are national leagues (with the exception of world tournaments and Canada, which for all intensive purposes, isn’t exactly “global” from an American’s perspective. If you look at the main ways sports organizations make money, ticket sales and sponsorships, how does globalization effect teams revenue streams?

In terms of ticket sales, I don’t think a team which has a global presence has much of an advantage over a team which doesn’t. Not many Asian Yankees fans will buy tickets for a game in New York to make an incremental difference. There is, I’m sure, a correlation between ticket sales and global presence merely because teams popular globally are probably popular nationally as well, but this isn’t a causal relationship. Ticket sales are affected when games are held in another country, however. If you tried to take a Lacrosse match to London, it wouldn’t generated nearly as much interest as the NFL or NBA, which are expanding their global reach (especially the NBA). So really, in terms of ticket sales, a global focus is helpful for these exhibition matches held a handful of times a year. I’d argue this alone isn’t enough to warrant an extreme focus on globalization.

Global popularity for a team, or player, would also have a considerable effect on retail sales in a foreign country. Look at Kobe in China. Despite Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian being in the NBA, Kobe Bryant is on top of the jersey sales charts for China. Kobe is further capitalizing on this tremendous popularity by recently agreeing to blog for a chinese website, SINA. Kobe recognizes the importance of his personal brand in having a global presence. He probably knows many Americans are somewhat still holding his court case against him and there’s little room for continuing growing his popularity here. China, however, is an untapped market (a frickin HUGE one too), which has no single sports icon (that i’m aware of) to look to. The NBA is also trying to grow basketball in general in China by opening offices and NBA stores. This appears to be the land of opportunity for basketball.

Finally, you have the moneymaker: Sponsorships. With my limited experience, I don’t know what % of revenue for sports teams is from sponsorships, but I’m thinking it’s a large amount. If your team has a global fan base, including fans in Asia, Europe, etc. you have both a larger fan base which sponsors can be exposed to (AIG for Manchester United, for example), and you also have a wider selection of sponsors to choose from. If you’re attracting fans in China, some Chinese companies are likely to seek you for some kind of partnership. Each of these could result in getting more money for your sponsorships. By telling sponsors they have a global audience instead of a local fan-base, this will increase their willingness to pay. Similarly, if your sponsors know they are competing with teams from other countries (high demand), they’ll also have a higher willingness to pay.

In other ways, globalization can help cut costs, by outsourcing certain activities like ticketing or database management. I’m not sure how prevalent this is in sports, but it is certainly a possibility. Why not outsource the compilation of marketing databases, which will get sent back to you after being compiled by highly skilled professionals in India [other than the fact that you can get interns to do this for free ]. Call centers could easily handle phone calls about purchasing tickets. If you can’t make more money in a difficult economic period, why not cut costs?

These were just a few of my thoughts surrounding globalization of sports and how I see it happening. I’d love to hear other people’s input on my examples or other examples in which it is having an effect. Thomas Friedman, I know you’re an avid reader of my blog (HA), what are your thoughts? It’ll be interesting to see what direction our leagues, teams, and players move in in the coming years with respect to globalization. Until next time…I’m out!