Marketing Influence and Being Sociable

Article submssion by Andy Valadez/StealthMarketer

Everyone markets something. I enjoy reading posts from my Twitter, Facebook, Plaxo, LinkedIN friends, and fellow bloggers. I try not to be a "lurker," but due to the shear volume of posts it is impossible to reply, "like" or RT all updates. I do enjoy skimming and that is more a less a best practice by some of the best. It's a great way to get a pulse of the emotional climate of the "socialrati" (a word I made up a while back).

If the "new currency" is influence (not really new) then how is that "influence" being marketed? Are you using your influence effectively to impact lives and change the course of business interests for others, positively?How do you process your requests for help or assistance? Do you process or honor your requests well?

A business friend was surprised to hear me say that "Social Media" isn't Marketing, It is Public Relations, a tactical component of Marketing and it is a Market Research loop. Marketers should love feedback from their clients, customers and be prepared to sift through relevant feedback that affects the brand. Social media enables marketers the ability to engage with segments of their market in truly unique ways.

Back to influence. It has been said that "Leadership is using one's influence." So, Market Leadership is about using your company's influence in the marketplace. Here are a few tips that may help.

Strategic Marketes practice and teach their partners, clients and friends the following:

• Use mulitple ways to engage your influence leaders (i.e., phone calls, e-mails, in-person meetings, IMs, RT, thoughtful replies to posts, creative content to position your own personality into the equation, etc). Old school is still the new school.


• Be friendly and responsive to all requests (don't blow people off, get back to them somehow and someway - only applies to direct requests and personal communiques). If you can't do it, then get someone on your team help out.


• Use your influence. Use it or lose it. There are simple things we can do everyday that helps to bring value to others. Don't worry too much about a reputation you may not have (we really aren't that important when it gets down to it, one of us could die today). Helping others is a great reputation to have.


• Make mistakes. Experiment. That is really how we learn.


• Have fun. Don't take yourself too seriously.


• Take a business friend to lunch. The proper ettiquette is that if you invite, you pay.


• Return all of your calls and reply to your e-mails. Too often people miss so many opportunities, simply because they never got back to the person who initiated the dialogue.


• Frequency is good. People need to hear from you more often than not.


• Don't be a pest. Don't stalk someone down to the point that they don't want to deal with you.


• Be persistent. "Persistence is a virtue". Being a pest is a fine line. If you have the right opportunity, your client or contact will appreciate your persistency.


• Don't be passive aggressive. Review all opportunities and reply in a timely fashion. Word gets around and people do talk and that is a reputation that is hard to shake.


• Don't text while driving. It's rampant and people are dying on the roads. Your messages aren't that important.


• It's okay to let some opportunities go if you did your part and the other person never got back to you. Not everyone is responsible as you might be when it comes to new opportunities.


• Dont' get too big for your britches. Success breeds success, but we are never too big to be inconsiderate to others. Be a champion in business and you will inspire others to do the same.


• Learn to love and forgive. That is a great business practice that will never change.

Team Marketing Dynamics is a true strategic marketing firm serving clients and its joint venture teams looking to expand their interests in technology, integrated broadcast, filmmaking, music, publishing, racing, and start-ups. Marketing Dynamics was launched in 1999 by founder Andy Valadez with the goal of championing the benefits of tried and true marketing principles that apply to every business and practice. To learn more about Team Marketing Dynamics please visit http://www.teammarketingdynamics.com/ and http://www.themarketingvortex.com/.

To contact Marketing Dynamics visit: www.TeamMarketingDynamics.com or call 281.463.4560.

Interview with Victoria Martinez Nichols, Casita De Cruzita

I interviewed my mother on CinchCast for EBC Broadcast. She is a "Senior Entrepreneuer" and operates a profitable vacation rental in College Station, Texas. She is retired and in business. Hope you enjoy the interview.



To contact Marketing Dynamics visit: www.TeamMarketingDynamics.com or call 281.463.4560.

Marketing Opportunities Everywhere!

By Andy Valadez, Stealth Marketer

Note: Within an hour or two of this blog posting @JohnCMaxwell followed me on Twitter. That is powerful.

There are days when I have a hard time deciding which opportunities to pursue with our team. Opportunities are everywhere, if you are looking and responding. Certainly, these are tough times, but how we handle them will determine our future success. Tough times require more discipline and endurance.

There is an old saying in the military, "A pint of sweat, will save a gallon of blood".

The challenge is to stretch one's leadership range and breadth while building a team to handle the bandwith. Are we the best leaders we can be? Probably not, we can always improve.

In "The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership" there is the first law of leadership, referenced by the author John C. Maxwell (renowned leadership expert), that references "The Law of the Lid". He states "Leadership ability determines a person's level of effectiveness." He also advises, that everyone leads somebody at some level. So, we should all want to raise our leadership lid.

Old Proverb:
"He who thinks he is leading, but has no followers, is only taking a walk".

So, how does one remain focused while expanding their market leadership?

I was commenting to one of my clients/friends this week, a successful comic book creator with over 1.5M copies in circulation and over 8M readers, "That we don't want to be busy (everybody is busy just ask them), we want to make an impact and we want to be available to do the things that inspire us and others. The journey is part of the story. We want to be the 'quiet in the eye of the storm'".

We have killed the word "busy" in our organization. We are making an impact, that sounds better and means so much more. Every call, every e-mail is an opportunty to make an impact. Do it!

We celebrated the journey at a local neighborhod coffee shop restaurant (laptops open on St. Patrick's Day (our lucky day)), focusing on our market research for his movie project that has already gotten the interest of two major Hollywood studios and other key supporters.

The overwhelming excitement? The numbers are very much in his favor! From 2007 thru 2009, 53% of the top 10 movies were comic-based, animation or 3D (we didn't count Avatar). The average movie budget was $161M with box office sales of over $890M in worldwide ticket sales (Source: From compiled research, www.The-Numbers.com). This market research identifies a unique market leadership opportunity for his long-term interests. It's the exact information that we need to relay to the opinion leaders who will make the big decisions in his favor.

This got me motivated to suggest we go share a "green beer" at the local pub. While there, my beautiful wife joined us and my client couldn't contain his excitement on the developments - we are on mission!!

As a business owner, marketer, friend, and community participant, we need to focus on the things that matter. The things that will make a long-term impact and ultimately lead to greater influence and success. That is a journey and we never really arrive, but there are milestones along the way. Take time to celebrate them.

". . .a lizard can be caught by the hand, but can be found in king's palaces."
Proverbs 30:28

Team Marketing Dynamics is a true strategic marketing firm serving clients and its joint venture teams looking to expand their interests in technology, integrated broadcast, filmmaking, music, publishing, racing, and start-ups. Marketing Dynamics was started in 1999 by founder Andy Valadez with the goal of championing the benefits of tried and true marketing principles that apply to every business and practice. To learn more about Team Marketing Dynamics please visit www.TeamMarketingDynamics.com.

To contact Marketing Dynamics visit: www.TeamMarketingDynamics.com or call 281.463.4560.

An Updated Message from the Producers of "Courageous" the Movie

We are big fans of Sherwood Pictures, creators of "Flywheel", "Facing the Giants" and "Fireproof". We are looking forward to viewing "Courageous" the movie and the impact of its message on fathers and their famiies. We hope you like this update from Alex and Stephen Kendrick of Sherwood Pictures.

To contact Marketing Dynamics visit: www.TeamMarketingDynamics.com or call 281.463.4560.

Jodie Goes to Sturgis: The Last Free American (A lifestyle documentary)

Jodie on a 2010 Harley Davidson Softail Deluxe (At Stubbs Cycle - Houston, Texas)

By Andy Valadez, StealthMarketer

"The EZ Rider Story for the Next Generation"

Our marketing company is constantly looking for clients and opportunities with a unique story. Our mission is to showcase great companies that support the free enterprise system, a unique culture that encourages dialogue and creativity, and that make lives dramatically better. We want to know if the opportunity will expand our brand if we support it and if it will help our other clients. Just like the saying in the U.S. Marines, "we are only look for a few good men." In this case, we have uncovered the plight of many good women who have suffered domestic abuse.

Sometimes, one does not have to look very far to find an opportunity. One of our sectors of interest is film and documentaries. Our focus in film is dedicated to championing stories of the Christian faith, Americana, history, redemptive qualities, in animation, support our military, and amazing stories of overcoming adversity.

One such story is the story of Joanne "Jodie" Flores (43). Jodie is an amazing survivor. She left home at the age of 17, pregnant with her first born refusing to abort as was common then. She married a young man only to find that he was not in love with her. She re-married shortly after and traveled with her husband who ahd joined the Army.

She journeyed with her new husband to Germany and found herself in a abusive situation. She suffered the abuse for many years with her first born and later second child in a foreign country. She managed to convince her husband to allow her to pursue her education. The benefit he saw, was the dual income possibility. She chose to study the medical field and excelled in her studies to the point that she was able to break free from that relationship once she got stateside.

As a single mom, she oftend had to work two or three jobs to make ends meet. Her ex-husband oftened failed to send child support over the course of months and years. Her boys Edward and Joshua grew under her care. She had to be both father and mother to them.

When Edward became of age, he volunteered to serve in the Army as a tank mechanic and was quickly shipped overseas to fight in the "war on terror." She prayed for her son's safe return and never stopped worrying for him and the others who served in harm's way.

Jodie finally got to a great point in her life, a time of pride and celebration. She had bought a home, had a great job in her chosen profession. She enjoyed caring for her patients, saving lives in emergency care and caring for family and friends at their death bed, many who were dealing with the ravages of cancer.

In 2003, her dream came to an end when a felon with a long record of offenses attacked her and then went for her juvenile son Joshua. She put a stop to the attack and ultimately escpaed the situation. She lived to tell the tale and her culprit almost didn't make it. In an interesting twist of events, the felon pressed charges against her and wanted her to pay his medical bills. Meanwhile, he began to stalk her. Fortunately, she found employment that allowed her to travel the state where she resided. She stopped having to look over her shoulder.

In 2005, Jodie discoverd the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. She trained at Harley Davidson driving school, rented a Harley Davidson motorcycle, loaded a tent, road food and a sleeping bag, and headed for the open highway. She found a new love - motorcycles and the people she met along the way.

She then moved to the great state of Texas to start her life over.

On 8.6.10 we plan to document Jodie's ride to sturgis and plan several surprises for Jodie. We will be asking the people we meet "What does it mean to be an American?"

We want to encourage people to leave their past behind and answer the call of "The last free American!" We believe that no one wants to be the last free American.



Visit: http://www.JodieGoesToSturgisTheMovie.com/

Team Marketing Dynamics is a true strategic marketing firm serving clients and its joint venture teams looking to expand their interests in technology, real estate, racing, filmmaking, entertainment, integrated broadcast, publishing and fashion. Marketing Dynamics was started in 1999 by founder Andy Valadez with the goal of championing the benefits of tried and true marketing principles that apply to every business and practice. To learn more about Team Marketing Dynamics please visit http://www.teammarketingdynamics.com/.

To contact Marketing Dynamics visit: www.TeamMarketingDynamics.com or call 281.463.4560.

Marketing for Bright People and Truth Tellers

By Andy Valadez, StealthMarketer

In a world of dummies and liars, it pays to be bright. A bright person in my book is someone who knows that they need the right advisors/friends/counsel/family member(s) and a team around them to succeed. In a world of competing forces, the truth tellers have a better chance of winning (character in brands does matter). Truth in advertising is a great marketing principle (still a best practice).

The truth is that you could have the greatest product or service, but if the right people don't know about it, in they way they need to know about it, it could fail against a better marketed inferior option.

"It pays to win." - U.S. Navy Seals Motto

There is a lot of chatter in markets about what business owners are demanding from their advertising budgets and that is the problem. Most business people are looking at advertising not marketing (Bright Hint: Take time to learn more about the difference between advertising and marketing, they are not the same).
It is time for enterpreneurs to change their focus from advertising to marketing and get their truth to consumers who need to hear it, see it, taste it and live it. Many business owners and sales managers are adopting much of the web to expand their advertising to increase sales. Although this is good, it is still focused on advertising versus marketing. Sure, many of the providers use terms like "targeted", "demographics", "cost per acquistion", "reporting", "ROI", "position", "content", etc. This isn't new. Marketers have long evaluated their success based on the total comprehensive strategy and media mix to drive their well-thought positioining strategy.

The problem many companies are facing today is that there are very few marketers. Like black belts in martial arts, their are numerous practicitioners, but very few senseis or kanchos or mix martial art champions. Anyone can call themselves a marketer, but the truth is, not everyone is a marketer (they know enough to be dangerous to their client).

There are many specialists in the marketplace; however, they may not be marketers per se. For example, you may have an incredible web company or cutting-edge 20-something programmer leading your on-line marketing efforts while missing new opportunities. Short-term success is not a bad thing, but it can still cost you in the long-run to a better marketed company you may never even see hit your company like a round-house kick to the temple.

Marketers on the other hand are thinking about shifts in consumer demand, political and economic changes, competitor initiatives, distribution stategy and tactics, pricing changes, promotion and sales strategy, public relations, innovation, messages to key buyers, market research and "the mix" of traditional media that should still drive your brand positioning in all spectrums. The truth is that marketing is more important than ever.

Team Marketing Dynamics is a true strategic marketing firm serving clients and its joint venture teams looking to expand their interests in technology, real estate, racing, filmmaking, entertainment, integrated broadcast, publishing and fashion. Marketing Dynamics was started in 1999 by founder Andy Valadez with the goal of championing the benefits of tried and true marketing principles that apply to every business and practice. To learn more about Team Marketing Dynamics please visit http://www.teammarketingdynamics.com/.

To contact Marketing Dynamics visit: www.TeamMarketingDynamics.com or call 281.463.4560.

From the Producers of "Facing the Giants" and "Fireproof" - "Courageous"

Sherwood Pictures announces their 4th movie.



To contact Marketing Dynamics visit: www.TeamMarketingDynamics.com or call 281.463.4560.

The Rise of the Marketing Producer

By Andy Valadez, StealthMarketer

Are you paying attention to the times? They are crazy and the old has passed away and the new is a scary course for many. There are more demands placed on Marketing than ever. Unfortunately, there are those in the field who claim to be Marketers, but in fact are something else.

There is a lot more to Marketing than people realize. The chatter about what constitutes Marketing is getting more unclear by the day. Marketing will never change, the way we Market will. The principles of Marketing are tried and true.

As a Stategic Marketer, I have focused my efforts deeper. I have coined a new title in the marketplace called "The Marketing Producer".

I have spent the last three years of my efforts focused on the filmmaking business accumulating a portfolio of $300M in movie projects currently in advanced development. I happen to be a movie buff.

What I have found in this industry is that Producers really are not Marketers and Marketers in tradional industries are not Producers. Producers are cool, they do make the movie making process happen, but Marketing can help that process a lot faster and ultimately transitions into the distribution stategy which also helps.

The standard for today's business is that the Marketer should not only be a Marketer, but he or she needs to also be a Producer. That is - someone who gets the job done.

As a Marketer, I have really focused my attentions on clients who have the potential to grow exponentially in sectors that offer a long term growth potential - sectors like GPS, solar, broadcasting, racing, entertainment, and publishing. In the past four years, my company has accumulated a portfolio of $500M in these sectors as well.

For example, we have a client who is about to get a $50M deal funded very soon in the gaming tech sector. This client had been working to get funded for many years. Through the power of networking and building brand value in the market place, my company Marketing Dynamics was seen as the conduit to this process. We got all parties together, aided preliminary discussions and got the client's confidence and our partner's interest in the opportunity. This process ultimately opened the door for the deal to happen. Now, we are ready to participate in the next phase launch in this billion dollar sector. You will hear more developments it in coming months.

Many of my clients depend on key relationships, funding and sage Marketing advice that can take their long-term growth plans to reality. My team and I enjoy making the connections our clients demand and implementing the effective programs to get our clients over the hump and into the profit zone.

If your Marketing function is not producing the results you are looking for, give us a call. We invite you to do a little research. Visit: www.TeamMarketingDynamics.com and www.TheMarketingVortex.com to review the types of clients we serve. If what you see impresses you, then we advise a conference call to determine how we might help your enterprise. We don't serve everybody, but those we do serve have some very interesting stories to tell.

"Marketing Dynamics, because the Market never stays the same."

E-mail: info@TeamMarketingDynamics.com
Twitter: @StealthMarketer
Phone: 713.560.3348

Coming to EBC Broadcast: "Technology in the News"

We've been busy supporting the formation of The Entrepreneur Broadcasting Company for and about entepreneurs. Here is a sneak preview of one of our shows. We plan to create a major network that champions business owners. Visit: www.EBCbroadcast.com for more information.



To contact Marketing Dynamics visit: www.TeamMarketingDynamics.com or call 281.463.4560.

10/13 EBC Live Cast NSTA "State-of-the-city Technology Report" Mayoral Candidate Luncheon and Expo

Viewers will be able to review top tech companies in the Houston market and hear from prospective mayoral candidates who must lead one of the largest tech oriented cities in America, Houston, Texas.

Date: 10/13/09
Time: 10am to 2:30PM CST
Where: Hyatt Regency Downtown

To attend in person, visit: www.NSTAworld.org


A Invitation from Kirby Lammers, President of EBC Broadcast

View Live Here on 10/13 from 10:00am to 2:30PM CST

Free live streaming by Ustream
To contact Marketing Dynamics visit: www.TeamMarketingDynamics.com or call 281.463.4560.