The Four Letter Word that is Killing Your Business

I'd like to start a movement to make the word 'busy' unacceptable in formal speech. Keep it, along with the list of the seven dirty words George Carlin spelled out for us, at your smoke-filled bars, sporting events, and fraternity parties. Don't let it pass through your lips at networking events, business meetings, and especially in front of your mother.

I believe this strongly - not for the definition or sound, but for the usage. It's a crutch. Just like swearing. If you rely on the same word to express yourself, than you aren't being creative or perhaps with this particular offender - truthful.

"Oh, I'm so busy," frequently falls out of the mouths of cocktail-carrying suit-wearing people. Telling someone exactly what you're doing helps them get to know you better, and could help them refer your business. You're also engaging them, telling them that speaking with them is worth your time.

I too am guilty of the busy blow-off, but here's my plan for quitting.

-Make a list of three things I've done recently to replace the usual response. I'll include recent successes, new projects, professional events attended, etc.

-Rather than asking someone, "How are you?" I'm going to ask them specifically if they are working on anything new, or something I should know about. Hopefully, soliciting specific response, will help me remember to do the same.

-Practice.

-When I get it right, I'm going to associate it with something good. An extra dessert, perhaps?

-When I catch b-u-s-y coming out of my mouth, I'm going to follow-up with a sentence or two and explain what exactly I've been doing. 

I'm going to try especially hard not to give my mom the busy treatment. A friend asked me if my mother knew what I did. "Not really," I shrugged. "Don't you think that is important?" he asked narrowing his brow at me. Yes, it is. She deserves a better response. As does everyone else.

Get Press by Leveraging Unofficial Seasons

There will always be 12 months in a year, but the number of seasons is constantly changing. For example, wedged between summer and fall is back to school time. This unofficial season is the impetus for the second busiest shopping event of the year, which draws interest from the media viewers and provides fodder for social media channels. Incorporating your company's message into this time of year, can get you noticed.  In fact, one of my clients received national press from multiple outlets thanks to the story idea we developed for back to school time.

College Planning Authority is a full-service college planning company. In June we began developing tips on how parents of college freshman could save money on back to school shopping. We came up with seven bullet points and began contacting local and national reporters.

Press coverage included interviews in U.S. News & World Report and two television stations in the Dallas/Fort Worth market. Additionally, two other interviews with national publications were completed, and are scheduled to run in the near future. This one of the most successful campaigns I have ever pitched.

Here's our notes on how we got it done.

-Our homework was done ahead of schedule. We planned our media calendar well in advance. We knew what we were going to talk about months before back to school time and had the press release approved weeks ahead of time.

-We started long before the sound of the first bell. I began pitching reporters weeks in advance. Each media outlet has its own planning arm, and even the most timely of stories can be disrupted by breaking news. Starting early allowed us to make concessions for such events (which included the shootings in Colorado and hurricane Isaac).

-We chose our friends wisely and played nice. Each pitch was crafted for every reporter I contacted. Nearly all were interested, but some weren't able to accommodate due to breaking news and newsroom schedules - it turns out journalists go on vacation during the summer, too! Follow-ups were frequent but if told to move along, we did so - graciously.

Other hot media seasons are easily identified. Whether or not it makes sense for you to pitch stories related to holiday shopping in December or weight loss in January depends on your business.