Author Archives: Dave Mastovich

What’s the Big Idea?

Posted on by Dave Mastovich

Ever wonder why those car ads have so much stuff crammed into them that you can barely read the print?

Or wish that a salesperson would stop blabbering about all the features and benefits their product has to offer?

Worse yet, ever sit through a presentation that includes what seems like a hundred PowerPoint slides being read to you by the speaker?

We have all probably been there in some way, shape or form.

The problem arises because the advertiser, salesperson, and speaker all neglected to focus on one big idea.

Instead, they made it about them rather than us…and gave us more information than we wanted or needed. It’s kind of like the casual acquaintance you run into who goes on and on about their kids when you ask how they are doing. All you really wanted was the quick thirty second update…not a breakdown on school, sports, height, weight, friends, favorite food, and so on…

We’re bombarded with messages from the time we wake up until we crash at the end of a long day. We can’t afford to spend more time processing information unless we are sure we need it. We remember creative messages that are memorable and make an emotional impact. We relate to them and they are focused on one main idea.

Think about ads or slogans that you probably couldn’t forget if you wanted to?

Can You Hear Me Now?

Got Milk?

Choose Your Healthcare As If Your Life Depended On It.

Try to remember the last time a salesperson made just the right pitch.

Or you thoroughly enjoyed a presentation or speaker.

The presentation or pitch was focused on you and on one big idea that you still remember today.

The next time you are creating an ad, making a sales pitch, preparing for a presentation, or writing a memo, improve your message by asking yourself:

What’s the Big Idea?

 

David M. Mastovich, MBA, is the president of Massolutions, a Pittsburgh based Integrated Marketing firm that focuses on improving the bottom line for client companies through creative marketing, selling, messaging and customer experience enhancement.

Use the Seinfeld PR Approach to Tell Your Story

Posted on by Dave Mastovich

This is the third in a series of three articles based on content from recent presentations made to college students.

While preparing a speech for a group of college seniors, I focused on the importance of a lifelong thirst for knowledge and achieving positive, incremental change. The end result was a presentation with three key themes:

  • Success, like beauty, should be in the eye of the beholder. You decide what you want to do, how you want to live and what you want to achieve.
  • People will want you on their team if you are organized, efficient and get things done.
  • Potential employers need to know what you are capable of and how you think. Use the Seinfeld PR Approach and tell your story.

The sitcom Seinfeld lasted nine seasons and was named the greatest program of all time by TV Guide. Yet it was described as “a show about nothing.”

While Seinfeld focused on the minutiae of everyday life, its popularity was driven by our ability to relate to and like the key characters. They seemed believable, real and hilarious. We knew someone like them or noticed that some of our own quirks were similar.

When we try to communicate our own message, why not focus on the real stuff that makes us unique? Instead, many people think they need to embellish things or avoid talking about what they see as “nothing.”

Don’t underestimate what you’ve done. What you see as nothing can be interesting to others. Tell your real story in a creative way.

Why is it relevant to members of your target markets? What will help them relate? Why should they care? Break it down to a basic, core theme—What’s in it for Them?

Once you’ve developed your real story, tell it again and again. Use memorable anecdotes, ask questions and listen.

Focus on Less and More: Less talking, more listening, more real stuff. And remember it’s not a story about nothing. It’s a story about you, what you’ve accomplished and what you bring to the table.

 

 

Success, Like Beauty, is in the Eye of the Beholder

Posted on by Dave Mastovich

This is the second in a series of three posts based on content from recent presentations made to college students.

While preparing a speech for a group of college seniors, I focused on the importance of a lifelong thirst for knowledge and achieving positive, incremental change. The end result was a presentation with three key themes:

  • Success, like beauty, should be in the eye of the beholder. You decide what you want to do, how you want to live and what you want to achieve.
  • Potential employers need to know what you are capable of and how you think. Use the Seinfeld PR Approach and tell your story. What you think is nothing can be interesting to others.
  • People will want you on their team if you are organized, efficient and get things done.

When it comes to success, regardless of where we are in our lives, we should ask and answer these success related questions:

What’s your definition of success?

How do you measure it?

Do you believe you can attain it?

Early on, we tend to define success based on what we see and like in others. We compare ourselves and ask if we measure up. The healthier approach is to realize that success, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Take the time to decide what you want to do and how you want to live. Be clear. Put it to paper or computer. Your definition will probably evolve over time as you move through life’s different phases. But if you don’t invest the time into clearly defining your goals and values again and again, you might look back and wonder “What if?”

As for measuring success, you also decide on the metrics. Set specific goals and develop action plans to achieve them. That’s a big part of the measurement. But the biggest part is based on something subjective: happiness. How much do you enjoy what you are doing in your personal and professional life? Are you happy most of the time? If not, make the necessary changes.

The third question is related to whether or not you believe you can achieve your definition of success. Be realistic but aspirational. Planning and putting details into the plan enable you to be realistic. Aspiring to achieve challenging stretch goals ensures you don’t settle.

Whether you are a college student, seasoned veteran, retiree or anywhere in between, you decide your definition of success and whether you are achieving it.

Define it, plan for it, work it, live it.

 

Marketing MAYhem Event Features MASSolutions President

Posted on by Dave Mastovich

 Keynote Speaker David Mastovich asks “What Are You Really Selling?”

DaveMastovich_Photo

MASSolutions’ President Dave Mastovich

MASSolutions President David Mastovich is preparing for an impending brush with mayhem. Actually, Mastovich will be a keynote speaker at the Society for Marketing Professional Services Pittsburgh’s “Marketing MAYhem” event.

Mastovich will deliver a presentation that focuses on answering the question, “What Are You Really Selling?” The SMPS Pittsburgh event will be held on May 14 at the Regional Learning Alliance, 850 Cranberry Woods Drive, Cranberry Township.

     Mastovich will address:

  • What’s the Big Idea?
  • Crafting Your Compelling Story
  • Making It About Them
  • The Importance of Listening…Really Listening!
  • Pre-Call Prep…Every Call, Every Time

A dynamic speaker who utilizes real-life experiences and a touch of humor in his presentation, Mastovich combines specific action items with motivational ideas that change the way attendees look at things, present ideas and interact with internal and external customers.

For more than a decade, Mastovich and Pittsburgh-based MASSolutions have focused on improving the bottom line for clients through integrated marketing.

In his recent book, “Get Where You Want To Go: How to Achieve Personal and Professional Growth Through Marketing, Selling and Story Telling,” Mastovich offers strategies to improve sales and generate new customers; management and leadership approaches; and creative marketing, PR and communications ideas.

Prior to becoming CEO/President of his own company, MASSolutions, Dave Mastovich served in senior management positions with UPMC, Duquesne University and Monongahela Valley Hospital.

SMPS was created in 1973 and the association currently has a membership of more than 6,000 marketing and business development professionals.

For more information on Marketing Mayhem, contact Stantec’s Kimberly Ridenour at 724.477.1218, or via email. Or contact MASSolutions’ Mike Gatti.

 

 

 

6 Things To Do With Emails

Posted on by Dave Mastovich

This is the first in a series of three posts based on content from presentations made to college seniors.

While preparing a speech for a group of college seniors, I focused on the importance of a lifelong thirst for knowledge and achieving positive, incremental change. The end result was a presentation with three key themes:

  •  Success, like beauty, should be in the eye of the beholder. You decide what you want to do, how you want to live and what you want to achieve.
  • Potential employers need to know what you are capable of and how you think. Use the Seinfeld PR Approach and tell your story. What you think is nothing can be interesting to others.
  • People will want you on their team if you are organized, efficient and get things done.

DM IUP ACME

For this post, here are some tips to improve your organizational skills.

6 Things To Do with Emails:

  1. Act–Act on it immediately.  If something can be done in less than 15 minutes, act on the task immediately and complete it.  Then, it’s done and off your ‘to do’ list.
  2. Tickle–If a task requires action within two weeks, place it in your ‘Tickle’ folder along with a due date. Your ‘Tickle’ folder should be reviewed two or three times each week with actions taken based on priority.
  3. To Do–If the item needs acted on within the next week and you can’t work on it immediately, put it in your ‘To Do’ folder.  This folder will contain multiple items  and  must be reviewed every day to stay on top of your main priority items.
  4. Delegate–Delegate or forward the email to someone. Provide specific timelines and action items for the person assigned the responsibility. Follow up as necessary on the progress.
  5. File–If it is important but not actionable immediately, create a folder and file it as soon as possible.  If you can’t file things quickly, at least file multiple items once a week.
  6. Delete–You need to get rid of emails if they are not relevant now or won’t be within six months.  Enjoy deleting. It should be a liberating experience.

The key is to touch the email once and then have a plan for it. Use these 6 Things To Do with Emails to become more productive and gain peace of mind.

Quit Achin’ to Be and Make Something Happen

Posted on by Dave Mastovich

MAS_SocialNet_Logo_500x500Sounds of Marketing
Achin’ to Be—The Replacements

Public speaking ranks as one of our biggest fears. People also dread writing and “putting ideas to paper” or to computer/tablet screen. Creative solutions are put off because of the crisis of the day.

Why do we spend more time worrying about how others will respond to an idea than on the idea itself?

Well she’s kind of like an artist
Sittin’ on the floor
Never finishes, she abandons
Never shows a soul

When we finally begin working on something unique, we are afraid of what others might think. The little voice inside our head convinces us that we’ll bomb. No one will like it. The idea will get shot down. People will laugh.

Well she’s kind of like an artist
Who uses paints no more
You never show me what you’re doing
Never show a soul 

But we should consider the consequences of not offering our ideas, not taking a chance. Keeping quiet and playing it safe might seem better in the short term but in the long run?

She closes her mouth to speak
And closes her eyes to see

The promotion went to someone else. The salary isn’t what it should be.  Every day it’s the same old, same old. Frustration mounts and begins to show. Facial expressions paint you in a negative light. Comments are misinterpreted as complaints.

She opens her mouth to speak and 
What comes out’s a mystery

You were hired or promoted for a reason. Someone thought you were the right pick. Now they wonder what might have been. Unrealized potential. Missed opportunities.

Thought about, not understood

Sadly, the downward spiral leads to even lower self esteem.

She’s achin’ to be

You know what you know so put your ideas out there. Be creative and tell your story. Listen to what others say and watch how they respond. Take what makes sense and tweak your ideas. Ignore the rest, believe in yourself and wait. Someone will get it.

Or not.

Either way, taking the chance is better off than just achin’ to be.

Achin’ to Be Video

 

 

 

 

 

But What If It Doesn’t Work?

Posted on by Dave Mastovich

When we have an idea, one of the first things we ask ourselves is “But what if it doesn’t work?”

How many times does this prevent us from trying something new? How often do we accept the status quo even though we think there has to be a better way?

It’s OK to consider what might happen if an idea doesn’t work as long as we ask two other important questions:

“What if it does work?”

“What do we stand to lose by sticking with the current way of doing things?”

We subconsciously fight change. Our self-doubt and negative inner thoughts prevent us from proposing or implementing new ideas. We avoid or ignore problems and make irrational rationalizations like “That’s not my responsibility.”

Whether you are a team member, middle manager or senior leader, you owe it to yourself and your organization to focus on creative solutions that improve your customer experience, operational processes and overall bottom line.

You have to do your part to foster an environment of creativity and innovation. Challenge assumptions. Offer solutions rather than just pointing out problems. Ask questions of peers, bosses, subordinates and customers. Actively listen and think about what you hear.

Try following the 5 W’s Technique used by journalists, police officers and market researchers.  Ask and answer: Who? What? Where? When? Why?

*Who do you want to reach and influence? Clearly define your target markets. Learn how they think. What makes them tick? Why do they say both “yes” and “no?”

*What are you selling? Not just the mission statement or website copy points. What are you really selling?

*Where do we have a competitive advantage? What makes us different? Why do they want and need us?

*When can we maximize our opportunities? When do they (your target audiences) want and need the solution?

*Why aren’t we making it happen?

Instead of convincing yourself a new idea might not work, ask the 5 W’s. The answers will lead to creative solutions that enhance your customer experience.

How to Make March Madness Work for You

Posted on by Dave Mastovich

Solutions to help you grow…

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March Madness.

The phrase rolls off the tongue, triggers memories and signals what’s coming again, like it or not.

But where did the catchy name for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament come from and how did it become a cultural tradition?

The answers make for a case study in how grassroots marketing and creative story telling can build brands, create rituals and influence behavior.

The NCAA tournament celebrates its 75th Anniversary this year.  It wasn’t known as March Madness until 1982 when CBS broadcaster Brent Musberger borrowed the phrase used by The Illinois High School Association for their state basketball tournament since 1939.

But it’s not just a cool name. The NCAA tournament combines talented college players, fan loyalty and a win or go home format with creative messaging from partners like ESPN, CBS and hundreds of sponsors to win our hearts and minds.

How can you learn from March Madness and make your marketing better?

  • Make It About Them (us!): Are you ready to fill out your bracket? If not, you know you’re going to hear about it from someone, somewhere. It’s estimated 30 million people will complete an NCAA bracket. You can watch multiple games at the same time, on your TV, smart phone or desktop. Sponsors offer interactive promotions. Something for everyone.
  • Make an Emotional Impact: Video highlights become works of art with fast paced shots and inspirational music. Stories are told about players, coaches, families, schools and even mascots. The end result is an emotionally charged three-week event featuring Cinderella teams, heart breaking losses and amazing performances.
  • Make It Memorable: The Big Dance. Bracketology. Sweet Sixteen. Elite Eight. The Final Four. Now that’s memorable messaging.
  • Make Social Media Part of Your Marketing Mix: In 2012, more than a billion dollars was spent on marketing related to March Madness, surpassing even the Super Bowl. Social Media continues to take a bigger piece of that pie as sponsors engage customers with promotions like Northwestern Mutual’s Bracket Challenge. The NCAA and ESPN get in on the action with a Facebook page (400,000+ fans) and Tournament of Tweets (3 million).

Enjoy March Madness and make your marketing better.  Count it. Two points for you.