The other day my friend told me how much she likes working in the Canadian field office of the American company she works for. She and others in the field office dream of the call that asks them to report to work in the American head office; not in one of the many America field offices.

I think she’s got the dream wrong for now and that her dream will evolve.

Field and head office people and the required skill sets are quite different. Fundamentally, the head office initiates and orchestrates programs while field the offices execute them. If you’re lucky you'll get a bit of execution leeway because of culture, language or some other barrier that affect average (middle of the bell curve) performance metrics.

Field service people should know and play to their career strengths which are based around (operation or market) program roll-out.

Good field service people will be called upon to manage larger and larger regions.

Great field service people may work out of the Head Office because their field work insights are invaluable to those asked to design effective new programs. In that sense great field service people can save corporations billions of dollars.

They know because they live on the road.

By the time my friend is invited to work out of the head office, odds are that she’ll decline the offer because the routine of going to the same office and desk each day will be too limiting and claustrophobic.

My bet is that she’ll do as my mentor encouraged me to do.

“Stay out on the thin ice.”  

Last week I arranged a mock-interview with a colleague of mine to help my client know what he doesn’t know. I’m posting some of my colleague’s post meeting e-mail comments to my client because the advice she offered him applies to anyone preparing to enter a professional practice today. It’s the same advice I got 35 years ago when I started looking for my first career position.

Enjoy!

“I have taken the liberty of making some notes about what I might consider for a cover letter, were I in your position. However, these letters are personal to the author – but I would like to emphasize that it is a sales job when you apply for a job – you are trying to sell yourself as an asset to a firm. It should never be (a) “to whom it may concern” letter– it makes it look as though this is a mass mailing, not a specific application. It will be ignored. Address each letter individually to someone in the firm (preferably the principal, or someone identified as the managing or hiring partner).

You indicate willingness to relocate in Ontario. The profession is seriously worried about the aging of professionals in the smaller communities where there is a shortage of available new blood coming up in the firms. I hear this complaint from Midland, Belleville, and other towns of that size and smaller: and even more acutely in more distant and smaller locations. Where there is only one professional in town, the community is seriously compromised for all matters that require independent representation. Everyone wants to work in Toronto and Hamilton, in particular. They do not seem to anticipate the rewards of being a significant community member, and a resource, in a smaller community. These communities are wonderful locations to gain experience, jumping off platforms, although I think once in such a community, the benefits become alluringly apparent.

If you belong to their professional association, you have access to not only the job opportunities posted from time to time, but also to the membership directory, which would provide access to the contact information for firms outside Toronto. Those firms on the membership list are those who are on the whole practitioners who wish to contribute; be connected to their colleagues and educational resources; and to keep in touch with legislative change and professional developments.

Lastly, I am disappointed: I trust you will remember to send a brief email to each interviewer, to thank them for their time, and to say just one thing that you appreciated from the experience, and, as appropriate – that you would really appreciate the opportunity to contribute to their firm. This really should be sent out within 24 hours of the interview.”

This is very smart and very cool. My friends at 6P Marketing in Winnipeg are now offering websites (designed by me) that are optimized for use with the new Apple Smart-Watch launching April 24th across Canada. Learn more at 6pmarketing.com

Legions of stupid advertising and marketing experts would have you believe that long copy is dead and that today’s communications are all about clever little sound bits.

Bullshit.

These are the same silly people who would like you to believe that an exciting ad, with-out a decent USP or a powerful unfair advantage, can sell your stuff. Think long and hard before you say yes to their groundless, selfserving selling propositions.

Great ads and great articles shine a light on great products (or services). The facts, not supposition or hyperbole, are the source for the insights which lead to great advertising.

Great ads can’t sustain a lousy product or service because you can’t shine shit with cleverly written little sound-bites.

In the 50’s David Ogilvy adapted a copy line from a 1933 Pierce Arrow ad for Rolls Royce and in doing do created one of his most famous campaigns: “At 60 miles an hour the loudest noise in this new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock”. His ad was laid out and read like a factual and informative news article of the day. The ad featured not one, but thirteen genuine and unique consumer benefits, the f.o.b. price and the contact information. The ad sold the vehicles and the Ad Agency’s capabilities. The 9th benefit read as follows: "By moving a switch on the steering column, you can adjust the shock-absorbers to suit road conditions."

The other day I was reading an article in Popular Mechanics (by Ezra Dyer) when I tripped over this line: “At sixty miles per hour the Stingray can adjust (the suspension) for each inch of road.”

I’m still trying to process the impact of that statement from a mechanical POV and a communications POV.

It’s staggering. It’s an incredible USP.  It’s a genuine consumer advantage.  It has profound bragging rights - here I am blogging about it.  And it has ties into a rich heritage of superior automotive journalism.

Wow.

Long live well written + relevant long copy!