I was a competitive bicycle racer for over 21 years, and that same competitive spirit fuels much of my business efforts. Competition is a funny thing though because it’s easy to accidentally wobble over the line of friendly to fierce competition. One is productive, the other is not. You see fierce in advertising all the time in the form of negative messaging, attacking a competitor, whether directly or indirectly. Friendly always works better.

There are basically two kinds of competitors. The first is born and bred to compete, striving always to be number one. The second type of competitor is in the race simply for love of competition. I’m firmly in the second category, though I will go for the win when I’m clearly in the running. People who love competition can learn a ton from those who aspire to be number one. Top competitors always need rivals, so they benefit from the others too.

Clients frequently say they want to be number one in their market, but most people are not ready for the responsibility that comes with being number one. Only a few companies can ever reach the number one spot, and the thing is, the smarter aspiration is to be number two. If you’re the top dog, everyone is watching your moves, copying you, gunning to knock you off and take over.

When you’re looking ahead, checking your periphery, keeping track of your footing, and watching your back all at the same time, number one is a tiring position to hold.

Number two, on the other hand, is a position of great power and much easier to hold. Hardly anybody is watching you because no one is gunning for second place, so you can pull some great moves, win some big victories, and enjoy your competition far more. Plus, you’re always poised to take over number one if you’re truly ready.

Here’s to loving your competition. Happy Valentine’s Day.

Question for Clients: Does working with the one design firm or ad agency mean limiting opportunity for creative solutions? Nope — in fact, it increases the likelihood of getting the creative you really need. A firm that screens you first is a firm that respects you as a client and values the relationship.

Question for Designers: Does sidling up with your ideal clients mean turning away work that isn’t an absolute ideal? Heck no! We take on clients of all shapes and sizes, yet it’s good to know what works well in advance so we can make sure all client relationships rock.

The purpose of screening is to ensure we can provide the attention and value a client actually needs. It’s about identifying needs, assessing reciprocity, and determining best possible outcomes.

The first two methods had to do with budgeting and service needs. The next few are centered on good communication.

3. Project Scope
Sometimes a prospective client comes in describing a 3-panel brochure, but they’re really talking about a 36-page catalog; or a 5-page website, but it’s really 29 pages. Sometimes a client thinks they need just one ad, but we find out it needs to be produced in nine sizes — in three days.

A few smart questions help us to give the client clarity of project scope. Sometimes a client is well-prepared with a great project brief that is totally clear and concise, but more often than not they need help in defining their projects. Having the skill to help them goes a long ways towards knowing if the project is a good fit. It also provides us both the chance to see how we work together in the span of just a few short minutes.

4. Mutual Listening and Good Communication
Our proposals are super-clear, spelling things out in finite detail so that a client knows exactly what we will be doing on a project. It’s the best way to set up realistic expectations, set timeline goals, and avoid any unnecessary surprises.

If a prospective client doesn’t read the proposal, there are usually two reasons: 1) They’re super busy, or 2) They aren’t paying attention. If they’re just too busy to read long documents, but we can get things spelled out clearly with conversations and summaries, that rocks, and we’ll move forward.

Sometimes it becomes clear, however, that even after a detailed proposal and Q & A over the phone, plus several email exchanges, a prospective client just is not understanding the necessities of the project. That can leave us vulnerable to unrealistic expectations. On the rare occasion that this happens, it’s often best to wish the client (sincerely!) good luck on their project.

5. Difficulty Factor
If you get the feeling in your conversations with a prospective client that there is a lack of chemistry, or that the prospective client is not being totally forthright with their goals, project details, or expectations, it may be best to refer them on.

As I mentioned in Part 1, Train of Thought is an anomaly. Some of our best clients have been on the eccentric side of things. Since we’re super creative (read n-u-t-s), the tough clients can be a good fit for us. We can handle tough personalities, giant egos, super sensitive people, über-perfectionists, and even sweet people too! We can’t handle them all though — we have our limits.

Conclusion
Knowing our limitations, asking the tough questions at the start, being confident in our strengths, and communicating with clarity helps us take on the right clients to ensure we can enjoy doing great work and providing valuable solutions.

What if you could work only with clients who fit your ideal client criteria? You can, and it isn’t all that hard. You just have to know your capabilities and limitations inside out. I’m sharing these tips to help other businesspeople hone in on their ideal clients.

Train of Thought is a bit of an anomaly in that the firm has remained virtually the same size — by choice — for the entirety of our 19 years. We know how to attract exactly the types of clients and projects that suit us best, and we have the wisdom to turn away work that is not a mutually good match.

How can we turn away work at our size? I learned long ago that we can’t satisfy every client, though we’re pretty good at it with most. There are a few indicators that I’ve learned to look out for over the years which tell us early on if there’s a potential for a good or bad fit.

How did we get so good at figuring this out? It’s all about listening and learning.

1. Budget
I always ask budget right up front. If the prospective client says, “I have no idea,” that’s often a good indicator that they haven’t really planned for the project, which usually results in a search for the lowest price or a ton of tire-kicking.

We’re a high quality firm, with fair pricing, but we certainly don’t win jobs based on a low price. If price is the number one factor, I generally take a pass. Sometimes I’ll take the questioning to the next step, particularly if we get along well right from the start.

I don’t always dismiss the project based on that first question because sometimes the client needs a little help determining the budget, and we’re quite adept at helping clients figure out a realistic budget that fits with their goals. A little budget and goal alignment goes a long ways.

On the other hand, if a client has a clear idea of budget, or if they don’t flinch or fall over when I quote the price, there is the potential for great work together.

Quick Aside: Why is budget so important? We enjoy working with clients who allow us to do great work. If the budget is too low, we can’t dedicate the time and resources needed to do an outstanding job. If we take a project with a rock-bottom budget, we’ll be marketing for the next project while finishing this one, and I much prefer to not divide attention that way. If the budget is reasonable, however, we can place an intense focus on the project and really help the client.

2. Services Scope
If a prospective client says, “We know exactly what we want,” and they go on to describe it in finite detail, it often means they have little idea why they need a professional design firm or ad agency, nor what will actually constitute effective design or advertising.

These can be the most frustrating of clients because they will fight tooth and nail to keep the concepts theirs regardless of potential effectiveness. I can easily give up control, but I cannot produce poor work — I just don’t have it in me.

Clients who know exactly what they want are usually looking for yes-men, or basically, a production artist to produce their idea. Our strengths are our strategy and creative, so if we won’t be allowed to flex those muscles, it’s not a good mutual fit. We want to feel good about our work, and for us, that means being creative.

Read Part 2: Good communication, here.

Have you ever noticed a bad ad headline? Sure you have, probably hundreds of them in fact, but you likely don’t remember any of them because you didn’t even stop to look at the ad. An email subject line is basically the same thing as an ad headline. If it’s bad or irrelevant to your offering, your email will get deleted without even being read.

Here’s an example: A cycling clothing company sent me an email today (weeks after I requested removal from their list) with the headline, “Chocolate is so 90′s.” I have no idea how that relates to cycling clothing, and I don’t care. Instant delete. Do not cross my eyes, nor my consciousness. Do not collect a click, nor a sale.

Before you send that latest greatest offering in email or in an advertisement, make sure your headline is relevant to your offering and your customers desires or needs.

How is a bad subject or headline worth negative points? It’s simple: Instead of showing your customers that you are attentive to their wants and needs, you’ve just proven in one single sentence that you don’t understand them. Instead of netting a gain, you net a loss.

Here’s a suggestion: Instead of writing your subject lines and headlines at the last minute before sending, spend some real time — as in hours, not minutes — writing headlines that matter. Remember that a good headline ties in with your visual. If you’re stumped on how to write effective headlines, hire a professional copywriter, who is often worth his/her weight in, well, sales.

You hear it all the time: Super Bowl advertising is a waste of money! Direct mail costs too much and doesn’t work. Banner adverts are annoying and don’t work. Guerrilla marketing is old – Word-of-Mouth is the way to go. Sales letters are old school and cost too much in postage. All of these statements are complete hogwash.

Advertising works, period. There are enough people in virtually every market who are responsive to each type of advertising that nearly all mediums can be effective.

Search marketers poo on direct mail. Mail-order companies shun television. Online retailers say print doesn’t work. Except that it does. They all work exceptionally well. (Word of mouth, by the way, IS guerrilla marketing, and they both work.)

So why do people say an advertising medium (print, web, direct mail, etc.) doesn’t work? It has to do with pride, budgets and effort.

The pride factor: If you tried one medium and it didn’t work, it’s a lot easier to justify it not working and save your pride and reputation by saying that the medium is outdated or ineffective.

It’s far more difficult to admit that perhaps the strategy was off, or the copywriting lacked punch, or the cheap stock photo sucked, or that the whole thing lacked cohesiveness, or the message simply didn’t ring true.

Conversely, if you built your business on one medium, such as direct mail, you will sing its praises and shun other methods where you may have less experience. It’s human nature.

On budgets: Budgets play a key role in advertising effectiveness. Management has long scoffed at advertising because it’s hard to pinpoint the ROI. Without hard numbers, advertising budgets get cut. It’s easy to see that it works though. Just try quitting all advertising and watch how sales drop off. Happens every time.

On the other hand, when you plan and execute a great ad campaign, sales improve. There are many factors that contribute to the success of an ad campaign, including strategy, the message, placement, timing, creative, and execution.

Three things consistently ring true with advertising, regardless of which mediums you use:
1. If you don’t advertise, sales drop.
2. If you do advertise, sales increase.
3. If you span your advertising across multiple mediums, it works far better.

The only thing obsolete in advertising is lack of effort.

2009 marks the fourth year running that Train of Thought has acted as design firm, providing graphic design services and printing management, for the Seattle International Bicycle Expo, a Cascade Bicycle Club event. It is a great source of pride to be able to help the nation’s largest bicycle advocacy organization inspire more people to ride their bikes.

This year we designed the event poster, all print and online advertising, T-shirts and direct mail.

The Bicycle Expo runs from March 14-15, 2009, at Warren G. Magnuson Park, Hanger 30. More info is available at http://cascade.org/expo