29 Sep I’m Honored to be a #RevGenUtah Nominee, But the Timing Kinda Sucks
Sometimes, timing can be tricky — especially when it comes to sales and marketing efforts.
Case in point, this concept was drilled home once again approximately 10 days ago when I was notified I had been nominated for a RevGenUtah 2014 award. This new program (a brainchild of Dennis Wood, this time in his role at emerging growth venture capital firm, Mercato Partners) is designed to recognize what Mercato and Dennis describe as the Revenue Generators . . . those who are often seen as
- Rainmakers,
- Rockstars,
- Producers (Sales),
- Crazy Ones,
- Misfits, and
- Trouble Makers (Marketing).
That’s cool, I thought, as I read through the notification email.
And then I got into the details and I realized I might be out of luck, timing-wise, when it came to doing what would likely be necessary to nab one of the Top 10 Revenue Generator slots for 2014. Why?
Well, subsequent emails explained that each nominee will be evaluated through a two-step process of “Peer Selection” and “Social Engagement.” Nominees were then invited to
“. . . tap into your knowledge and social reach to demonstrate Interest, and to Educate and Connect with others.”
Additional helpful hints included
- joining a LinkedIn Group and starting discussions there,
- tweeting out using the #DoYouEvenRevGen hashtag, and
- encouraging members of our social networks to endorse us on the Web.
All of which is fine, except about the time the notification email hit my inbox, I was locking down what became a great offer to become the Chief Marketing Officer and a Co-Founder of a Stealth Technology Company operating out of Utah County, Utah. Oh, and this StealthCo just closed on a $5.25 million round of funding from a strategic partner.
And yes, the CMO/Co-Founder offer was extended and I accepted.
So in weighing the various items on my now very full plate, I quickly realized that as much as I like winning awards and being recognized by my peers for being a Rockstar, the reality is that my CMO/Co-Founder responsibilities for transforming this StealthCo into a Billion-Dollar-Plus company are a LOT MORE IMPORTANT than winning an award.
Hence . . . although I’m both honored and flattered to be nominated for a #RevGenUtah 2014 Award, this will be the only action I’m going to take this year around the RevGen program. Not because I don’t care, ’cause I do.
It’s just that I’m too busy doing everything the RevGen program has apparently set out to promote and recognize, stuff like
- Defining, designing and implementing a Brand Strategy(ies);
- Evaluating the competitive landscape via a SWOT Analysis;
- Identifying ideal Target Audience Segments, including Customers, Partners, Employees, Investors and Influencers;
- Crafting the initial Positioning and Messaging protocols;
- Creating and producing Go-to-Market Collaterals ranging from Packaging and Documentation to Brochures and Presentations;
- Updating existing Web/Interactive/Social Media properties at both the strategic and tactical level across all media;
- Unveiling this StealthCo at the best time and in the best manner; and
- Helping Drive Leads and “Capture Sales Opportunities” to help our StealthCo become a $1 billion-plus enterprise.
So yeah — I’m a bit busy.
For the record, I do plan on attending the RevGen party on October 22 with all the other nominees, unless, that is, I’m out of town doing RevGen stuff for my StealthCo. Otherwise, I’ll be there.
But for now, this blog post, along with the requisite and attendant social media distribution will be my only efforts at generating #RevGenUtah and #DoYouEvenRevGen visibility.
I hope my colleagues, the RevGen judges and the folks at Mercato understand.
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