Posts by Pinky

The Importance of Presence

Posted by Pinky on Jun 8, 2011 in Blog | 6 comments

I have attended 11 “strategy” meetings in the past 7 days. The topics have ranged from sales and business development to product and personnel, but there has been a common theme through every single one.

Presence matters.

I learned this lesson during my time with echomusic but am amazed at how relevant it still is during these trying times.

In our prime, we had nearly 300 clients, some of which you’ve heard of and some of which you never will. But as we began to grow, many of our early clients began to feel that the service they had come to expect was falling short. We were no longer reaching out with new ideas or suggestions. We were no longer giving our smaller clients the attention they really needed. They felt abandoned. In some cases they felt betrayed. And worst of all, they began expressing their discontent with others. “Others” including big-time accounts that we may well have missed out on as a result. This is a very.small.town.

Reputation is all that matters in this business or any other. Apple can charge more for its products because we believe in the brand. Luxury cars, clothing… even medication cost more based solely on the expectation their customers have for the name.

We are who we employ

At their core, all of those meetings revolved around gaining or keeping new customers. There is an active discussion about whether or not companies outside of Nashville should have someone representing them here in town. In Portland, it’s about what to do with “legacy” accounts – those that don’t pay as well as new customers on a more efficient platform. In all cases, it boils down to how these decisions will affect the way these companies are perceived. My recommendations are these:

DO hire someone that knows the local market as you expand into new areas. It’s much easier for a potential client to trust a business they “know.” If they know your staff, they know your business.

Build an “internal outreach” program into your sales efforts. If your current clients don’t know about new services or products, they certainly won’t be buying them, but you should be in contact with them long before you’re shaking them down for more money.

Sometimes it’s appropriate to part ways with past clients, but doing so with grace and dignity is the name of the game. CALL THEM. Then send an email. Give them time to make alternative plans, and suggest other service providers. Nobody likes a break-up, but new relationships can be just what the doctor ordered, on both sides.

Above all, be PRESENT for your clients. Make them feel important. Hire people with more than money on their minds. Be kind and considerate. And do good work.

Sometimes the most obvious advice is the easiest to miss.

How LinkedIn Changed My Life

Posted by Pinky on May 31, 2011 in Blog | 0 comments

Spoiler alert! LinkedIn.com didn’t actually change my life. I changed my life, using LinkedIn. This is the story of how I moved 2,200 miles across the country without missing a beat.

As I mentioned in this post back in January, my wife and I decided to move from Nashville, TN to Portland, OR to be closer to family by this Summer. That’s all well and good, but the practical realities of moving across the country are daunting, to say the least. It takes a lot of patience and tenacity just to deal with housing choices, let alone transportation and the logistics of getting from Point A to Point B. But as many people can attest, those are merely details to work through as long as you know that you’ll be gainfully employed once you get there. And THAT is where most people stumble. Without a guaranteed source of income on the other side, most people can’t afford to move in the first place. And landing a job in a city 2,000 miles away can seem like an impossible task. Thanks to LinkedIn, that was actually the easiest part of the entire process for me, and I’m going to tell you how.

Know Your Industry

It may go without saying, but unless you know what you’re looking for, it can be awfully difficult to find it. In my case, I went in search of small-to-mid-sized businesses with an entrepreneurial flare, programming, creative and marketing services to compliment my skillset, and the courage to hire a Southern transplant with a stupid name like “Pinky Gonzales” to top it all off. Portland is full of web design shops, major ad agencies and boasts one of the highest percentages of entrepreneurs per capita in the Nation. But those are just stats. Connecting with real people in those places is the name of the game. So where did I find them?

Blogs

Anyone worth their salt in my space is an avid reader of blogs. TechCrunch is one of the more popular destinations, and most importantly, includes a comprehensive database of all of the companies they have ever mentioned, available online at CrunchBase.com. This was square-one in my search. Their “advanced search” feature allowed me sort and display only companies in the Portland area, which returned an initial list of about 90 companies. I widdled this list down to about 20 that fit my criteria, and then began researching each one in-depth.

Enter LinkedIn

It’s easy to get a sense of the size and vibe of a company by viewing founder and employee profiles on the site. Is there a long list of “former” employees? Too many “new hires?” Are the founders well-connected and actively updating their profiles? It doesn’t take long before the have’s and the have-not’s sort themselves out, and in the end I was left with about 10 that I felt were worth reaching out-to.

‘Add To Your Network’

Many people fail to use LinkedIn to its fullest potential because they think you need to be a “premium subscriber” to send messages to people you don’t know. While it’s true that paid members can do so, the real trick is to introduce yourself in a meaningful way while asking strangers to join your network. This is an example of the messages I sent to people that I was interested in meeting:

“Dear soandso,
My name is Pinky Gonzales and I found you in a round-about way through CrunchBase.com. I too am a brand marketing guy, and my wife and I will be relocating to Portland this Summer, so thought I would reach out and introduce myself. Hope you’re off to a great week!”

The thing about using this method is that your messages have to be brief – just 300 characters total. This forces you to get to the point while still being pleasant and inviting. If they accept your invite, you are then free to write them a long-form message, which I did. When the time was right, I would mention that I was looking for a great professional fit as I made plans to start this new life. Because I did not limit my search to “help wanted” ads, I had no idea if they were even hiring! But I figured that if they liked me enough, they could potentially open something just for me, or at least refer me to others that may be on the hunt.

And that’s exactly what happened. Of the 90 companies I started with, 20 looked pretty good, 10 looked great, and one of them was a direct hit. I will be making a formal announcement about my new position on July 1st, but it’s a good one, with a great group, and I couldn’t be more excited. What’s important to know is that they had no intention of hiring someone like me. It simply made sense once we all got together.

I did end up flying out to meet with them once during this process, which also gave me a chance to do some house-hunting and trip planning, but I hadn’t even purchased a plane ticket before there was a strong line of communication going and everyone felt that it would be a good use of the time and money.

I’ve got a few more LinkedIn tricks up my sleeve, but at 1,000 words, this post is already a lot to take in. The takeaways for today are these…

When moving to a new city:

Search for companies that fit your needs first. You may find blogs, databases, “Best Places to Work in…” sites – you name it. Make a list.
Find employees of those companies on LinkedIn and take note of the apparent culture. Big? Small? Fun? Corporate? The way an employee describes their position says a lot about the company itself.
Reach out using the “Add To Your Network” button. Make your introduction friendly but brief, giving context to the invite itself.
Once you’re connected, provide more detail about who you are and why you’re connecting. It’s ok to mention that you are seeking opportunities in the area, but approach it from a position of, “I would love your advice about local companies that may be interested in someone with my skillset,” rather than simply, “I want a job… Are you hiring… etc.”

And finally, stay at it until you land your dream job. Or at least your next job. It’s often said that job hunting IS a job, and I completely agree. I don’t know how many hours I spent on this endeavor, but it gave me a chance to learn about my new home town, and now I’m connected to a few dozen people that I have every intention of taking out for a beer, without any need or expectation for a job. We all share common interests and live in the same small city, so my professional network had already begun to expand before I even made the move.

Happy hunting!

Portland Bound

Posted by Pinky on Jan 25, 2011 in Blog | 17 comments

The year was 2000. I was 23 at the time and had little idea where my life was headed, except to Nashville, TN. What had begun in San Francisco had taken me through Los Angeles and on to Music City, where I hoped I would find my true place in this world.

And so I did. I worked hard. I took risks. I drank a lot of beer. (A LOT of beer.) And in time I developed some of the closest friendships I have ever had. I have built or been a part of building 9 businesses, invested-in, cheered-on and consulted-with many others, and have seen more highs and lows in the last eleven years than I can count.

And I am sad to be saying goodbye to the only place I have truly called “home” since I was a kid.

This past Christmas I got lost in the snow-covered mountains of Washington state. My mind was erased by towering redwoods, glacial rivers and the joy of spending quality time with my niece and four nephews. In a word, I remembered. This is what life is about.

My bride and I knew at the same time, while driving through Astoria, Oregon, that this was where we wanted to be. We had always talked about moving to the Pacific-Northwest someday, we just didn’t expect for someday to be “today.” It’s a bitter-sweet feeling to know that great adventure lies ahead, while the sadness of missing our friends has already crept in.

How lucky we are though, to live in a time when everyone’s online, seemingly all of the time. Heck, I’ve got quite a few “Nashville friends” that haven’t lived here for years! I’m glad to have a blog that will allow me to catalog the experience, and business partners that trust that they are still in good hands, even though it means working from afar.

This will surely be the first post of many, but know this, Nashville… These have been the best days of our lives and we’ll be back to visit often.

And LOOK OUT, Portland! A fresh blast of awesome is headed your way.

Long Lost Pinky

Posted by Pinky on Jan 15, 2011 in Blog | 0 comments

Hello good people of the Internets! I have just returned from a winter hiatus, achieved my goal of gaining 5 pounds over the holidays and got to catch up on some much-needed sleep. There are some major things in the works this year that I’m looking forward to being able to share publicly, but in the meantime, I just wanted to wish you all a happy new year! Thanks for stopping by and keep an eye on the site as I crawl out of hibernation mode. Hope you’re off to a fabulous 2011.