Patti Drach Fiore Services

No matter the reason for your presentation (sales or otherwise): You can't just “show up and throw up” with a PowerPoint filled with bulleted lists. And, teeny tiny text because you have way too much on the slide. Instead, aim for slides that are visually appealing, use surprising graphics, and include fun and compelling headlines. And, tell a story. Remember, your slides should complement your narrative—not replace it. Focus on broad ideas that spark conversation, rather than cramming in too much text. Effective presentations engage the audience and leave a lasting impression. How do you make your presentations memorable?

Being brave with your content means checking/stopping yourself A LOT. When you: 🔎 Feel like you need to abandon that provocative headline or subject line. 🔎 Want to infuse more of YOU into your buyer-centric content. 🔎 Think you need to soften discussion of your buyer challenges with "maybe," "perhaps," "may," etc. 🔎 Worry that your fun and creative words could be seen as unserious. Point is let it rip! You want to get noticed. And, to show your buyers that you understand their problems and have a perspective. What's so great about safe anyway?

#frankfreelancefriday Everything is better if you give it an overnight to simmer... 💡 Copy 💡SOWs 💡Client communications 💡Any higher-level math that you have to do even a little to plug into Excel or your financial platform 💡LinkedIn posts! 😀 💡Priority lists There is NOT a single thing of substance that I regularly do as a #soloprenuer that doesn't get better from one day to the next. You WILL have rushes--of your own making and because of clients. You SHOULD try to avoid them as much as possible because you don't want to train clients to keep you in a constant state of emergency. But even when you are pressed for time, you should build in an overnight before you hit send.

One mistake you could be making in your content creation is talking too much about yourself. Whether it's fear that your targets might "miss the important stuff" or overcompensating for a perceived lack of visibility or recognition, it's just the wrong move. Because here’s the hard truth: People don’t care about how great you are or think you are. They care about how you can help them. So, your content should serve one main purpose: Showing your audience how you’ll make their lives easier, better, and/or more efficient. Whether it’s through insightful thought leadership or an explainer for solving their pain points, that’s what matters. The more you focus on their needs--and the less on self-promotion--the better chance you have of building trust and delivering value.

"Check the box content" isn't worth it Has this been you? Creating content for campaigns against a checklist: ✔️ A landing page ✔️Some socials ✔️A few emails ✔️A few blog posts ✔️Maybe an asset or 2 If so, your output probably reads like the response to a to-do list that it is. It’s easy to slip into the trap of delivering the least common denominator content. Low effort. Minimal thought. Just ticking boxes and fulfilling requirements... But here’s the thing: If you’re not giving your content some real thought, some creativity, some risk—you’re missing out on the chance to connect. Audiences can see through content that’s simply mailed in. It's true that not every piece of earnest content effort will land. But if you’re just going through the motions, you have zero chance of standing out or moving the needle. So, take the time. Be fearless. Give your content purpose. And, some pizzazz. Or, your audience will quickly tune out.

It occurred to me last night that I have never used LinkedIn to promote something I feel really passionate about: Project management and collaboration platforms for Marketing teams It's like what they say about having 2 QBs... More than 1 communication/workflow stream means you have none. Everyone lives through the inefficiencies and extra work of that, but people still struggle to fully embrace a tool. We can do better. And, achieve a single source of truth and easy hand-offs. It just takes a bit of commitment and discipline. That's top-down. But, the results absolutely bear it out. I always tell teams this: It's not another thing. It's THE thing.

As super marketing strategist and thought leader Jennifer Smith reminds us time and again, brand and demand gen programs are a long game. Your new logo and email nurture series are not going to magically fill your pipeline. But, that does NOT mean your content should read like you have no shot. In fact, every single piece of content you bother to develop and disseminate should follow direct response marketing principles. Give it pizzazz. Make it fun. Bold. Intriguing. Build content that wants to create leads and drive sales and conversions even if the chances of those immediate results are low. Because if the content is really good, people WILL notice. And, some of them WILL engage. Just probably not immediately--or exactly how you want them to.

Q4 starts tomorrow. You've got 2 months and change to push leads through the pipeline. And, you might need some specialized/tailored content to do that. You should be collaborating to identify those opportunities throughout the year. But, it's now or never for 2024! You can call it account based marketing, but I say it's really just Marketing-Sales alignment.

#frankfreelancefriday: Carefully calibrate and plan your week--meaning blocking your time by the day and/or hour. THEN, stick to those blocks. Don't accept or schedule calls when you should be working against a deadline. Your word is your bond, and your quality is your calling card. At the end of each day, review and rearrange accordingly. It's also a good mindset hack to use that info to capture what went well and end on a positive note. And on the rare day when everything goes haywire with a client(s) and/or project (like mine did yesterday), you can quickly and effectively regroup and reset for the next day.

We've all seen it—content that feels like it’s stuck in the '90s: ❌ Filled with passive voice and vague statements ❌ Teeming with features and benefits that everyone else can also claim ❌ Using too many words to convey too little And here’s 1 that I’m truly astonished to still see: "designed to be..." Just say what it does and why that’s good! Why? Because your targets want to know 2 things: 1️⃣ That your product ACTUALLY WORKS the way it was designed 2️⃣ How you are going to help them achieve their goals