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Sweet marketing music

Tanner Montague came to town from Seattle having never owned his own music venue before. He’s a musician himself, so he has a pretty good sense of good music, but he also wandered into a crowded music scene filled with concert venues large and small.But the owner of Green Room thinks he found a void in the market. It’s lacking, he says, in places serving between 200 and 500 people, a sweet spot he thinks could be a draw for both some national acts not quite big enough yet for arena gigs and local acts looking for a launching pad.“I felt that size would do well in the city to offer more options,” he says. “My goal was to A, bring another option for national acts but then, B, have a great spot for local bands to start.”Right or wrong, something seems to be working, he says. He’s got a full calendar of concerts booked out several months. How did he, as a newcomer to the market in an industry filled with competition, get the attention of the local concertgoer?

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by Andrew Tellijohn
June - July 2006

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Shhhhh


[shhhhh]

Today’s advice for business owners: be quiet and listen. You might learn something to improve your company.

Have you ever noticed how hard it is to take advice? I see this most clearly when I facilitate workshops that bring business owners and expert advisers together. I’ve convened more than 50 of these over the years, in one form or another.

Many times the business owners seek advice and hear the experts. But all too often, the owners are too busy talking to hear what’s being said.

Every suggestion is countered: “We tried that. We’re doing that. The CFO doesn’t like that. That won’t work.” Pretty soon the limited time is up, everyone goes back to the office, and no insights are gained.

Maybe it’s the fault of the elevator pitch advice. We’re all told we need one, a succinct and compelling description of what we do that influences our listeners in the time it takes to move between floors.

Those pitches are important, which you will surely realize if you ever listen to someone who doesn’t have one. (Ten minutes later, and you still have no idea what “solution” the company is providing for what “opportunity.”) But if you fill every available two minutes with your canned pitch, how can a spontaneous conversation take place, perhaps to include a valuable nugget?

Or maybe it’s the fault of constant selling, which business owners must do. They’re convincing their employees, investors, bankers, customers, media, communities, spouses and children to do or not to do something most of the time.

But what if you just listen? Have lunch with your lawyers, and hear their suggestion that companies do better if they form a board of advisers. Talk to your bankers, and listen to their advice that adding top-notch financial expertise to your staff will more than pay for itself.

Don’t comment. Just listen. When you go back to the office you’re free to follow the advice or not, and of course not every piece of advice should be followed. But take the time to listen. And if you hear the same thing again and again, take it to heart.

You could be so busy talking that you drown out the very voice that could help your business.

— Beth Ewen
editor and co-founder
Upsize Minnesota
612.920.0701, ext. 11