Donna Serdula

Mercer Chamber of Commerce

Donna — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 23:01:37 +0000

I recently conducted a presentation all about LinkedIn at the Mercer County Chamber of Commerce. The presentation was recorded and the Chamber is selling access to the video for 10.00. Here’s the link: LinkedIn Presentation by Donna Serdula

I have some clips of it that I will post soon!

Them’s Ain’t Tactics, honey

Donna — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 20:58:49 +0000

I am finding a proliferation of Websites that won’t let you leave! I’ve landed on the page believing they were providing some type of information I wanted only to find they are selling something. I click on the back button or go to close the tab and a window opens asking me to reconsider! Please don’t go! Don’t leave! Give me another chance to close you… the little window implores.

This is so weaselly. Such cheap tactics! And it cements my disinterest in their product/service. If you are a Website owner, please don’t incorporate a nagging window. Please!

Newsletters

Donna — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 23:51:16 +0000

So many people tell me that one part of their marketing plan is putting out a monthly email newsletter.

“Do you enjoy putting it together?” I almost always ask.

My question is usually met with a roll of their eyes. And then they tell me it’s like pulling teeth to come up with content. They hate writing the articles and sometimes they end up plagiarizing someone else’s work.

Why do they bother?

I get a lot of newsletters. And I rarely read them. Wanna know why?

When you hate putting out a newsletter, your audience will most likely hate reading it.

You gotta write those articles with joy and interest and enthusiasm. Otherwise, stop wasting your time. And mine!

What you could do is instead of throwing out a poor excuse for an email newsletter, you could get on one of those newfangled Social Networking sites. One where your audience might already be. And update when the mood strikes. There’s usually only room for about 140 characters anyway. It shouldn’t be too hard to fill that, right?

And maybe your audience will actually read your updates… because they are only 140 characters and EVERYONE has time to read 140 characters.

Hmmmmm, maybe make that a New Year’s Resolution? Whadaya say?

Chain and Joke Emails, and other SPAM

Donna — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:58:52 +0000

It started almost immediately. It was the mid-1990′s and I signed up with a local Internet Service Provider (Prolog, remember them?) and got myself online. I shared my email with friends and families… the few who knew what email was… and after the crashing sounds of the modem connecting, emails would start piling into Eudora, my old email client. The emails that would crowd my inbox then, just as now, tended to be jokes, silly cartoons, political commentary, old wives tales, or chain emails.

And let me tell you, I’ve been on the ‘net long enough that I have read almost every single joke and I’ve seen every silly cartoon or photograph.

For the longest of time I treated it like SPAM. I’d hightlight it and click the delete button. GONE! ZAP!

I don’t know when I had the epiphany but at some point I realized that… hey, this person is reaching out to me! Yeah, I’ve seen the joke before but this was their first time and I should be more kind. So I changed my ways. Now when I get an email, whether it is a joke or a chain email or whatever, I RESPOND. If only to just write, “Thanks for thinking of me” or “What a hoot!” or “I don’t participate in email chains but thanks for including me anyway!”

What I found is people send me less garbage! They know I am going to respond and they don’t want to bother me with stupid stuff. Plus, the chain emails have stopped almost entirely. I rarely get them anymore. Maybe because I’ve let people know I don’t participate OR they are suddenly wising up to the stupidity of it.

I’ve always lived my life by the motto, “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.” And because of this, it’s important to conduct yourself in cyberspace as you would in meatspace. Imagine if a person came up to you and told you a silly joke. You wouldn’t just walk away, would you? Of course not! So respond! Let them know you are happy to have been included. Let them know you found it interesting. And watch what happens!

Integrating Social Media on your Blog

Donna — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 22:29:30 +0000

I’ve had a number of meetings with area businesses in which I’ve spoken about consolidating social feeds under your Web site. What I mean by this is making sure all the updating and information giving you’re doing on Twitter isn’t limited to just Twitter. Share it with everyone on your Web site! And vice versa too! If you are updating your Web site, make sure you are touting it on Facebook. This afternoon I worked on trying to reflect this suggestion on this here humble little Web site. On the columns flanking the content, you can see my latest YouTube video, a random sampling of my Picasa pics, my latest tweets as well as links to my other social profiles. Now all I need to do is start blogging more!!

And how did I do this? Widgets! WordPress Widgets! Greatest invention since sliced bread!

Social Media

Donna — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:25:20 +0000

You hear so much about Social Media but what is it and what does it mean? This slide show takes you through it and gives you a good run down:

This is a great definition of Social Media!

What the F**K is Social Media: One Year Later

View more documents from Marta Kagan.

I do wish they left out the F**king part– oh well, shock works since it got me to click on it!

The Imperative: Innovation Inventory

Donna — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:22:13 +0000

I was going through my email and I found a link to an article that was sent to me… it’s a great article: The Imperative: Innovation Inventory. It talks all about how companies must innovate or die. Reading this article, I couldn’t help but think of how many companies I have talked to who have said, “We’re fine, everything is working as it always has, we don’t need to change things up.”

Here’s a snippet:

In today’s tough times, companies may feel like they have a choice: focus on innovation or survival. It is a false choice. Innovation has gone from a nicety to a corporate necessity. After all, remember what legendary trial lawyer Clarence Darrow — clearly channeling Charles Darwin — said: “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but rather the one most adaptable to change.”

It’s tough to get started unless there’s a common understanding of the challenge. As such, the first item on the Seizing the Silver Lining Checklist is: Does your organization recognize today’s transformation imperative?

In today’s hyper-competitive world, competitive advantage that takes years to build disappears seemingly overnight. Constant change is the new normal. Companies can’t win through operational excellence alone. They have to master the ability to fundamentally transform what they do and how they do it.

Resellers are good people!

Donna — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 14:08:26 +0000

I can’t tell you how many phone calls I took from people looking for Autodesk software and they viewed me as nothing more than a middleman. Resellers offer a lot of services and value and you should take advantage of what they have to offer!

1. Test Drives. Almost all resellers for both Autodesk and SolidWorks hold Test Drive events. Sometimes they are known as Workshops. This is a great way of getting your feet wet with software that is new to you! You go to the reseller’s office and for a couple hours you get to play with the software while an Application Engineer guides you. It’s kinda like an offsite demo.

2. Technology Briefings, Events, Seminars, etc… These are events that are typically held at a hotel and you get to learn about new features of the software or you get to hear a speech about the industry. These are great ways to learn about what’s going on and network with other firms.

3. Technical Support. This is so important! Please make sure your reseller provides you with Technical Support. And make sure they aren’t just transferring you over to the Autodesk or SolidWorks Technical Team. Why? Because Autodesk and SolidWorks are swamped and you’ll wait forever for an answer. And the other thing here is— USE IT! I can’t tell you how many times I would talk to clients and they’d tell me they spent three hours on different message boards trying to figure out an issue they were having…. NO NO NO! CALL YOUR RESELLER! They will get you up and running in much less time than what it takes for you to figure it out yourself.

4. Account Manager. Your Account Manager is the person you call when you need to buy new seats. This is also the person you should forge a friendship with… and it’s easy because Account Managers are actively trying forge relationships with you! Yeah, they want your business. But this is a good thing. Call them up! Ask about what the other firms are doing in your area. Call and see if there are any good promotions coming up. Ask about events. These people are at the forefront and they can be your greatest ally! These are also the people who can get you to the head of the technical support line when there’s a back up, they will fight for you if Autodesk is acting fussy, and they will go right up the ranks of Autodesk to get you a discount. So be nice to them. They probably spend most of their day cold calling and that ain’t easy!

I can’t stress enough that you must develop a relationship with your reseller. And trust them! Most of the resellers I met– even my competitors– were good people! Resellers have to be good people. There’s enough competition running around that if they don’t treat you 100% you can easily find a replacement…and they know that!

Cold Calling Wars!

Donna — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:39:27 +0000

There have been times in my life where I have been a cold calling MONSTER! But I can tell you I have never experienced anything like this:

Phone rage leads to arrest here for Ohio man

By Matthew Hathaway
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
07/21/2009

An Ohio man, fed up with deceptive junk mail, made the mistake of losing his temper while on the phone with a St. Louis company pitching an extended auto-service contract. Now he finds himself behind bars, where he is charged with making a terrorist threat.
…
According to court documents, Charles W. Papenfus, 43, allegedly told a sales representative during a May 18 telephone call that he would burn down the building and kill the employees and their families. He was indicted for making a terrorist threat, a Class D felony; and he could be sentenced to up to four years in prison if convicted.

More hints at buying from Resellers

Donna — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:07:46 +0000

Having worked for Autodesk and SolidWorks I can tell you there are a few secrets at getting a good price on your software.

1. Know your quarters! Resellers are always trying to finish a quarter strong and so they are more likely to wheel and deal at the end of a quarter. March, June, September, and December are GREAT buying months. Play tough, tell them you need an INCENTIVE to make the deal happen this month and chances are they will find you a sweet discount.

2. Buy in bulk! So many times I have had prospects say to me, “I think I’ll buy one seat now, another seat next month and a third seat the month after that.” NO NO NO NO! Although it’s not advertised, you can usually get volume discounts. All you have to do is ask. And if the reseller says no, ask them to ask their Autodesk or SolidWorks rep. “Well, if you can’t, can you call your Channel rep and ask him/her?” And if the answer is still no, say, “Well I guess I’ll just spread the purchase out over a couple months…” This will usually do the trick.

3. Visit the software company’s Website and look for promotions! You can’t rely on the reseller to tell you about every single promotion out there! Oh, and something to know regarding Autodesk— more often than not, Autodesk has promotions that span the entire year and as the year progresses the discount amount shrinks! It’s better to buy early on with an Autodesk promotion than wait to the bitter end when the discount is just a fraction of what it has been.

And Buyer Beware! If you are getting a too good to be true price…. it probably is. Make sure you are buying the software from a reputable dealer. You very well might be able to get software from your cousin’s friend who went out of business…. but if Autodesk finds out (And they will!) you will be on the hook for a 25K fee! Pirating ain’t pretty!

And lastly, both Autodesk and SolidWorks put out a good product. You are going to make money off the software. Don’t be too cheap! Realize that the reseller is going to spend time and money with you and they deserve to make a profit too. If not, they go out of business and then you’ll have to deal directly with Autodesk and I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy! So be fair and get the most out of this investment!