A longtime friend called me over the weekend and said, 'Man, it feels like I'm stuck in Groundhog Day. Every day is the same.' I can relate. Even though he's retired and I'm not, which means every day is probably the exact same, each day often looks much like the last one. And with tomorrow being the actual Groundhog Day, it's worth mentioning. Of course, the reference to Groundhog Day is the great 1993 movie starring Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell and Chris Elliot and directed by Harold Ramis. It's become a cultural reference to being stuck in the same thing over and over. 

 

A fun interview on this week's vlog-podcast with Orvel Ray Wilson, speaker, author and consultant; also, a short video on the six things your tradeshow visitors want from you, and a post on the signals we send out, especially in a tradeshow booth.

 

Soundtrack for this week's issue: The Greatest of the Guess Who (Spotify link). This Gh album is the only Guess Who album I have - I wasn't into buying their albums when they were popular - but I loved hearing them on the radio, and this collection is full of radio-friendly hits, indeed.

 

Joy

I was sitting on the beach during one of these “do nothing” times and watched a group of children who obviously were at the beach for the first time in their lives. They were literally jumping up and down with excitement as their feet first touched the warm Gulf Stream water.

They had to learn how the ocean worked. The irregular syncopation of the waves. The dynamics of wet sand. The startling feeling of saltwater in their nose. This was a lesson in itself … just watching this joyful, immersive exploration of something new. What a feeling that must be. Why don’t we have that more often as adults?

 

<<<<

 

Jay Baer

 

The Truth and The Consequences

Here’s what I’m telling businesses (including yours and my own) to NOT do in 2021: hunker down and wait for things to get back to normal. 

You can’t step in the same river twice. And many of the changes wrought by the pandemic will persist long after wearing masks becomes a throwback meme. 

You have to fully embrace that there will be a lot of winners in 2021 and quite a few losers as well. Those that win – you, hopefully – will operate and market their businesses like it’s 2021, not like it’s late 2019. 

You have to rearchitect your product and service delivery. 

You have to reeducate your team.

You have to rewire how you communicate with customers and prospects.

And you have to fundamentally understand that the WORST thing you can do is make customers jump through hoops of any kind. 

 

6 Ways to Make a Great First Impression at the Tradeshow. You only get one chance.

 

Simple Exhibits for the Win! Sometimes a return to the basics is the best move.