I outdid myself today explaining to a potential sponsor that the format for John Sumser’s Atlanta Recruiting Roadshow was modeled after the increasingly popular “unconference” format to which my would-be benefactor replied, “Unconference? Wha? Huh?”
Having confused the issue by contrasting a traditional conference where sponsors expect something in return for their “investment” with sponsorship for this event — more like to making a donation — I tried to explain that sponsorship dollars should be given expecting nothing in return, at best in anticipation of a boomerang effect.
I tried to rebut “What the hell are you talking about?” by referencing the network economy — “No, no, no! Not Kelly Services!” — and abundance theory. After going at it non-stop for 30-minutes my patron-in-waiting was ready to give it up for Atlanta. Phew!
The discussion turned to money. Oh, dear.
Read More »
With just 15 days to go before the Atlanta Recruiting Roadshow we have a few more promotional emails that are scheduled to go out. As simple as that sounds there are a few niggly problems…
Problem One: It is difficult to balance the value of directly communicating with the very people who should be marking off September 25th to join our event on the campus of Georgia Tech with impersonal and potentially annoying mail that assumes someone else knows what’s best for you or that you are even in town on that day.
Problem Two: I haven’t worked out how to remove the people who have already signed-up for the Atlanta Recruiting Roadshow from the emails that are still going out. I know that doesn’t say much for yours truly but in my own defense this “campaign” has been cobbled together using paperclips, Post-it notes and our sponsors’ goodwill. After all, it is an “unconference” don’t you know!
So, some of you have signed-up and are wondering why we are still insisting you should come. Now you know. Sorry.
Problem Three: Unsolicited email is hardly consistent with the spirit of the thing or the concept of networking and community building. Those assume shared trust, mutual interests, professional respect and personal understanding which mass mail and indiscriminate marketing — however targeted by geography and job title your list might be — fail to do. That approach is so not what the Recruiting Roadshow is about. The other stuff is!
Oh well, no matter. There is an easy solution!
Read More »
No Comment
Even though the system is set to accept comments on any post without you having to login first for some reason you do have to login before you can join in the conversation. Aaaargh! I am working on fixing that glitch so please bear with me!
In the meantime, if you have a WordPress account you should be able to comment simply by logging into your account. If you don’t a WordPress account it only takes a minute to set one up. If you would rather, you can email your comments and I’ll post them for you in the meantime.
Sorry for the bother.