Hive Marketing

We’re Moving!

admin — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 21:35:00 +0000

I hate this phrase:

Pardon Our Progress.

Like, how annoyingly front-row-of-the-class, you-forgot-to-give-us-homework quote-quote clever can you get.

So, I’ll just say that I’m doing some cleaning up, dramatically improving my business website, moving my blog, and just generally renovating my small but mighty internet empire. Ergo, you won’t see any new posts on EntrepreNEW for at least seven days. (Do you find it as amusing as I do that I’m doing this a mere 60 days in?) Please try to hold it together.

In the meantime, I hope you will visit our sister site, The Frugal Hostess, for the same smart-assed-ness on the totally different topic of entertaining at home. I’ll miss you!

Social Media for the Savvy Hotel Salesperson

admin — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:09:00 +0000

My latest for eHotelier….

In this economy, hotel sellers need to use every possible tool in the shed to drive business results. Here are some ideas for using social media to help make your booking goals.

Step One - Get on board; social networking is not a fad.

Get yourself set up on your network of choice. Carve out a rainy Sunday and play around with Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. If you like to take pictures or make videos, add Flickr or YouTube. All of the sites make it easy for you to import your Outlook, Hotmail, Yahoo, or Gmail contacts. You don’t need to be especially technically-savvy to do this, and I promise you can’t break the site or your computer.

Also, don’t feel like you have to do everything at once. It’s better to do a great job of networking on one site than to do a mediocre job on three. Take your time and figure out what you like best.

Step Two - The requisite cautionary note.

Understand that everything you do or say online lives forever. Forever is a long time, so be careful what you say and who you copy. You’ve heard that before about email. Multiply that by infinity, and you’ll get an idea of who can ultimately see what you’ve said or written on the web. Check your company’s policy, and try to get your boss as a follower/friend/connection for a bit of CYA. Your clients are watching, as are your future employers.

Horror story: You whine to your Facebook friends that your boss is a huge pain. One of them comments in sympathy, which shares what you said to all of their friends, many of whom you don’t know. Unbeknownst to you, one of your friend’s friends is married to your boss. Opposite of a brilliant career strategy.

Step Three - Do something! Here are some ideas:

Prospect. Using search.twitter.com, set up a search for “bride,” “wedding planning,” or “engagement” within 15 miles of your ballroom. Reach out to brides in the planning stages. Caution: lighten up on the spam-attacks. Try a low-key approach, like, “Hi, I don’t want to get too spammy, but I see on Twitter that you’re planning your wedding. I work at the Wedding World Hotel. Let me know if you’d like to talk more.” This can work for meetings and other events, as well, if you tweak the search terms.

Promote special events. Having a client event or industry networking happy hour? Use Twitter to get the word out to your local tweeps, and invite people be creating an event on Facebook. This is also a great way to test the waters before you invest. Ask for feedback on possible attendance to see if it’s worth your time.

Establish expertise. Post links to articles that relate to your business niche. If you sell association business, talk about the new badge swipers you saw. If you focus on entertainment business, tweet about concerts coming your way.

Follow key clients and hot prospects. Follow and retweet your customers to build or strengthen strategic partnerships. Set up searches to understand what’s happening in your best account’s industry so that you can match your solutions to their problems, before they even ask you to. Learn your new contact’s likes and dislikes before you meet. Get the real scoop on a competitor’s top client to help build your share-shifting strategy.

Watch the competition. Follow your competitors – both the hotels and the sellers. Not only can you stay on top of what they’re doing, but you may get some great ideas to try. Either way, you’ll know what the playing field looks like from a different perspective.

Make people laugh. In between tweeting great industry-related articles or posting pictures of your ballroom, be sure to be funny. Be non-controversially funny, maybe, but be funny. If you put something good out there, it will spread, and you’ll be known as that funny sales manager at Awesome Inn and Suites.

Memory Lane Monday: Surprise Potty

admin — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:32:00 +0000

The first hotel that hired me was, uh, modest. I mean, to me it was the freaking Plaza, but looking back it wasn’t that fab. Luckily, I knew nothing about hotels at that point, so I was totally convinced that I was selling the best product imaginable. I was like the love child of a crackhead cheerleader and an ADD kid sans Ritalin about that place.

In my eagerness and excitement about the (tiny but who knew) bonus I was earning, I volunteered to lead a tour of extremely important people through the hotel. I can’t exactly remember who they were – there were, like, eleven or twelve of them – but I do remember that we planned the tour for weeks. We had meetings involving all the departments, and we staged staff members at every turn of the tour to delight our guests with their cheerful attitudes and helpful happiness. There were special shuttles arranged, delicious foods prepared, and even a champagne toast planned for the end of the experience.

We met them in the lobby and proceeded to our first stop. We saw the restaurant, the lounge, the ballroom, and the five meeting rooms. We visited the pool, the fitness center, the gift shop, and the hair salon. We talked about the jogging trail, the shopping center, and the nearby creek. And finally, finally we headed up to look at guestrooms — our most important commodity, the thing we had planned the best. First we saw a room with two beds – a double/double. Next we looked at a king room. And last, we went to the top floor to our best suite.

I slipped the key card into the lock, chattering all along about the last movie I had seen. I faced the corridor, pushing the door open with my shoulder. My guests were gathered around, hanging on my every word, laughing, thoroughly charmed. I led them in. And there, to our left, with the door wide open, was an Asian man noisily – nay, angrily – dropping every kid in China off at the pool.

photo credit: davefigley via creativecommons

Three Lessons for the Red & Green Ball Skirt Crowd

admin — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 23:20:00 +0000

When I started out in business, I was much younger than most of my colleagues. Rather than take advantage of that by playing it up, asking for help, and thus developing life-long mentors, I just pretended like I knew everything and then worked my a$$ off trying to figure it out. This strategy was flawed for a number of reasons that you can guess, including the fact that I wasted tons of time in my twenties at work, when I should have been having adventures and discovering new hobbies and drinking beer. So that you, Fair Reader, don’t make the same mistake, here are some suggestions:

Let your personality show. I was so nervous about being taken seriously that I acted like a 60-year-old British librarian with a back brace in my first interview. I even wore my hair in a bun. I later found out that I almost didn’t get the job because the woman interviewing me thought I wouldn’t fit in with the light-hearted team. Trust me: no one is fooled into thinking that you are older and more experienced than you are. When you are young, you’re getting hired because you are enthusiastic, smart, and cheap — not because your employer thinks you’re the most seasoned candidate. Go with it.

Correct trumps creative. When it comes to the dress code, that is. So many younger women are fooled by chick lit and Glamour into thinking that their weekend wardrobes can be mixed in with business attire to create funky new looks. Seriously, you are not skilled enough to pull this off. It is much better to have five boring neutral suits that you wear every day and know that you’re OK than it is to try to mix it up and cross your fingers. My favorite example of this was Billie, who worked for me when she was about 23. A selection of her ensembles included: a wrinkled, Oxford-cloth shirt tucked in (tucked IN!) to the bodice of a strapless dress; a satin, red and green plaid ball skirt (which touched the floor!) with a black suit jacket; fuzzy purple knock-off Uggs with a knee-length skirt; and a black leather cheerleader-esque pleated (I know!) skirt. Horrific. Please note, you should totally push the envelope when you are a little more established; just don’t do it before anyone can tell if you have a clue or not.

Don’t leave last. It’s kind of embarrassing to admit, but everyone loves those early work happy hours when you’re getting to know your boss and co-workers. You look forward to them when you’re young because there’s a good chance your boss will both pay for your drinks and spill some juicy gossip. I am a big believer in bonding over booze, but don’t let yourself be the last one to leave. No matter what. Even if you are having SO MUCH FUN!!! and bonding with everyone or even falling in love. Be among the first third of the departures. This ensures that you get the points and cred for being there without any of the scandal and humiliation of being there too long (or leaving with the other last person there – ewww).

photos by hammadty75; Strawberry Holiday; & Michael Saffle

Surprise Bonus Post!

admin — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 23:57:00 +0000

Matthew Crawford is extra smart and cool. I love him. Buy his book!

The Colbert Report

Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Matthew Crawford

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

Mark Sanford

Seven Ways to Tell You’re Ready to Quit Your Job

admin — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:52:00 +0000

1. You start carrying a knife to work in case you have to cut someone.
2. You consider selling your arm on eBay.
3. Your employees tell you that “you seem really laid back lately.”
4. You’ve become a file mule.
5. Metabolife, Amway, and Mormonism all seem like viable career options.
6. You refer to the bottle of Two Buck Chuck in the fridge as “my medicine.”
7. Your work wardrobe includes something you wore to bed last night.

RIP Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson.

Thrifty Thursday: Beauty Products

admin — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:26:00 +0000

Almond oil is a miracle product. It smells good and can be used a bunch of different ways. When you’re self-employed, multi-functional items are oh so important. It’s not cheap, but it is cheaper than most beauty products. When you factor in the environmental costs of using chemicals and plastic tubs versus all-natural almond oil, it comes out the clear winner. Here are some recipes for home-made beauty products using almond oil.

Almond Sugar Scrub:

Put one-third of a cup of sugar in a bowl. Pour almond oil over the sugar, mixing together. In the shower, scoop some out and rub it on your skin. Presto – exfoliating, moisturizing body scrub. You can do the same thing with salt, if that’s what you have.

Almond Mint Shampoo:

Fill a clean jar with a half cup of castile soap (Dr. Bronner’s is the most famous, available at Kroger, Publix, and other fine grocers; and Trader Joe’s makes a store version). Add a tablespoon of almond oil. Sprinkle in a few drops of peppermint essential oil. Shake like hell. Voila, shampoo. The peppermint adds a cooling tingle and refreshing scent, which makes this shampoo my favorite for the sweltering summer heat. Feel free to leave out the mint or substitute another essential oil for a different fragrance.

Bath Oil:

Pour some almond oil into your bath for a moisturizing dip. You can also put it directly on your skin as a moisturizer, which I usually do in the shower during the winter.

Deep Conditioning Treatment:

Wet your hair but don’t wash it. Squeeze out all of the excess water, and pull hair back in a bun or ponytail (or comb back short hair). Starting at the hairline, massage a small amount of almond oil at a time into your scalp, covering the whole head. Then, pour a teaspoon or so into your hands and rub them together. Smooth your oil-covered hands over your hair, paying particular attention to the ends. Wrap in a scarf or towel, and let sit for at least two hours and preferably overnight.

Caution: Keep almond oil in the refrigerator.

Photo by Rune T

My Latest Article for eHotelier

admin — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:42:00 +0000

This article is about how hotels can make their Facebook fan pages more engaging, and it came out today. You can see it in its original format here (including one annoying typo), or read the copied in text below.

10 Ways for Hotels to Engage Facebook Fans

After you’ve set up a Facebook fan page, you still have to have something to say! As you build your community of fans, keep in mind that relentless pitching will get you laughed off the virtual stage. Remember, today’s fans just might turn into tomorrow’s customers, or, even better, your unpaid word-of-mouth sales force. Make sure that you’re talking about what they want to hear.

1. Set up comprehensive Google Alerts to deliver the latest news to your inbox. Try topics like “business travel tips,” or “things to do in [your city.]” Everything you get won’t be wort posting, but you’ll get some tidbits that will interest your fans.

2. Use an aggregator site like AllTop. This site pulls together tons of resources on tons of topics, and it lets you build a page of content feeds that interest you.

3. Encourage fan photos, videos, and stories. It’s often illuminating to see your property through someone else’s eyes, and people love to tell their own stories. Think about a free night for the best photo or story featuring your hotel.

4. Put yourself in your fan’s shoes. Don’t post something that you would be annoyed to read from your least-favorite business, much less your most-favorite. More than a couple of posts per day, and more than a couple of sales pitches per week, and you will get ignored.

5. Schedule 30 minutes a week for content brainstorming. Put it on your calendar, and spend the time writing down as many things as you can come up with to post about. Take notes in your Blackberry when you think of things, and ask your co-workers to help.

6. Use your page for value-added promotions. Don’t just ask your followers to visit your new website; give them an exclusive discount rate code to use for upcoming soft dates. Your fans should benefit from paying attention to you – with first dibs on news, offers, and events.

7. Ask questions. The fans of your hotel want to help you determine your next steps. Ask them to help you choose which charity you’ll support this quarter. Take a poll about what time the pool should close. And, PS, actually care about the answers.

8. Don’t be afraid to court controversy. Take an issue that inspires passion – like resort fees or early departure charges – and ask your fans what they think. Create a space where people can debate – just try to keep yourself above the fray.

9. Be funny. Everyone appreciates a mental rest stop. Post occasional links to diversionary sites that you like, or tell crazy stories about the hotel – there’s no shortage. Don’t be afraid to court hoteliers as fans with inside jokes, either; every time a front desk clerk comments on your posts, they get spread to people you might never reach.

10. Don’t fake it. Your fans can tell whether you are sincere about being part of their online community. Social media is at its best when it lifts the curtain to show the human side of a business. Cut the corporate speak, and connect.

Vacations

admin — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 00:50:00 +0000

Holy crap. I have been on three vacations in the last seven weeks. I spent one week in Florida, one very long weekend camping way down upon the Suwanee River, and a week plus in Martha’s Vineyard. Thankfully, the grand total cost of all three trips was less than I used to spend on a single outfit for work, so I’m not tripping toward debtor’s prison yet. What I do owe, though, are some blog posts. Sorry for being slack. It hurts me more than it hurts you, I promise, and I also promise that I’ll get back on track this week. In the meantime, enjoy a sneak preview of my new project: www.frugalhostess.blogspot.com. This hasn’t been officially launched yet, so there’s still time to change the image, color scheme, etc. I would love to get your thoughts, and I’ll be back here with mine soon.

Memory Lane Monday – On Memory

admin — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:30:00 +0000

I have a really good memory. I think it’s because I sleep so much. I can remember what I wore on the first day of school in 1992. I know exactly what the air felt like when my mother shocked the hell out of us by jumping into a swimming pool and doing laps, when we thought she didn’t know how to swim at all. I cannot be beat at 60s-70s-80s music trivia, and almost everything I’ve ever read is lodged firmly in my head and won’t go away (no matter how much I want it to). And most especially, I remember everything embarrassing that has ever happened, including the heat of my cheeks and the dizzying, nails-in-your-palms shame of doing something stupid.
List of Stupid Things I Have Done Regarding Numbers:
1. Celebrated the birthday of someone on my staff on the wrong date, six days prior to her actual birthday. She didn’t want me to feel bad, so she didn’t tell me. I can’t remember how I found out, but I was mortified. And I thought it was hilarious.
2. Printed the wrong zip code on the business cards for the hotel I opened in Arlington.
3. Ordered a cell phone with an area code from the wrong state. Emphatically, as though I absolutely had to have that area code.
4. Printed the wrong phone number on a brochure that was supposedly being distributed to 2,000 people. Interestingly, no one ever noticed it but my boss. I have a feeling that the purported sales calls for which the brochures were printed never took place.
5. Initiated a celebration for a close colleague of the wrong birthday, just a week or so before we opened a hotel. This included involving a group of about 50 people to get her a cake, sing her a song, and just generally make merry in honor of her special day. In my defense, her birthday was wrong on Facebook, and my heart was in the right place – I didn’t want her birthday to get lost in the shuffle of opening madness. Ha.
Designing My Own New Logo

Six weeks ago, when I started my business, I really wanted to design my own new logo. I love graphic design (despite knowing nothing about it, technically-speaking), and I thought creating my logo would be symbolic of what I wanted to do with my business and my life. I drew a sketch and picked out a font, then spent hours trying to figure out how to draw it. Despite downloading many free trials of many software programs, I struggled to iterate what I wanted. Finally, I used autoshapes in Microsoft Word, and I actually came up with something pretty awesome. Or, at least, it was exactly what I wanted. Once the logo was set, I designed business cards and an email signature. I even gave myself a trumped up new title (Queen Bee). So proud and pleased, I set about sending out prospecting emails and trying to drum up business.
I sent every email from May 1 to June 11 with the wrong phone number on my email signature. I sent out probably 40 emails a day, begging people to hire me. Using the phone number of a guy who works as a framer. Proving that, while I will never forget the embarrassment of having done something so incredibly stupid, my memory is clearly not what I think it is. I hope that the framer’s business is booming.

photo credit: gkjarvis via creative commons