If you haven’t followed the story of Alvin Greene, you should. In essence, the story goes like this: Greene filed as a Democratic candidate for DeMint’s seat in the U.S. Senate. He bought no yard signs, he showed up on no TV commercials. He didn’t campaign, stump or otherwise even appear in public. (Although he apparently WAS doing some type of person-to-person meet and greets, thus his felony charge.)

Still, he beat his opponent with 59 percent of the vote.

What does this mean for you? Well, whether you are a large corporation or a small business, it should tell you one thing:

If you aren’t marketing yourself, and marketing yourself well, you could very easily be beat by a nobody.

Okay, so maybe “nobody” is a harsh term here, but the truth is that many businesses eschew a marketing and PR plan because “money’s tight” or “it’s the easiest thing to cut.” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard those — and many other—excuses. Many companies think themselves so far ahead of competition, or maybe even exempt from it, that marketing is the first cut. Advertising? Gone. Strategy? Gone. Social media presence? Takes too much time. Website? We’ll do it later.

Well guess what? While you are fading off into the noise, the general public (who now doesn’t know you from the next guy) is not getting a Top-of-Mind *ping* on your company when they need your product. Nope, they are simply picking up the phone book and dialing the first name on the list.

So, unless your name starts with an “A”, I’d suggest you re-evaluate where you are going.

So, you wanted an iPad, but right now everything is going back into growing your business. That’s okay, we get it—we’re doing the same thing, and we’re not in the business of selling iPads, anyway.

But what if we could help you grow your business AND you could get the newest toy to play with (which some would argue can also grow your business because you’ll be super-mobile…)

Hold your breath, it’s really happening.

From now until May 28, contract a year-long print and web ad package, and we’ll throw in an iPad.

FULL package: $7,680//SPREAD package: $12,480

The fine print:
1. Package includes four full-page print ads and 12 months of web for $7,680. Want spreads instead of full pages? No problem — it’s only $12,480, and we’ll even throw in a $100 gift card for all those cool apps and stuff.
2. Already an advertiser with Black Box? Okay…refer someone who signs one of these cool deals and we’ll get you BOTH an iPad. (Yeah. Totally serious.)
3. BONUS DEAL: Pre-paid contracts will be allowed an additional 10% discount.
4. iPad in play is the 16GB with wi-fi.
5. The iPad will be ordered for you upon receipt of the first quarterly payment.
6. Contract must be signed by May 28, 2010 to qualify. NO exceptions.
7. Offer is limited to the first 20 customers to sign promo contract.

Disclaimer: Quantities may be limited. This offer is dependent on available product from Apple Inc. Business Black Box is not liable for shortage of product. If product is not available, Business Black Box agrees to substitute a $500 gift card to fulfill terms of this agreement.

Interested? Email sales@insideblackbox.com with the subject line: iPad Promo.

Thanks so much to Dan Waldschmidt for his vision with sales and having “edgy” conversations! With a true heart for small business, Dan helps more than 30 companies a year grow their businesses by 300 percent. Wow. He’s not your average sales guy…

We live on the edge, so that we get noticed. If you wanna be noticed, and want your business to grow, you have to explode your business. Living the life on the outer edge of outrageous opportunity is the key. Create moments that take your breath away. YOU have the power to do it. Say to yourself, “I am all I need to change the world.”

Why be edgy in the first place??? The point is to be the thing that gets noticed. Have you ever called someone and said, “Could I have five minutes of your time?” What kind of response do you receive? Most of the time, they don’t have five min. And if they do, they don’t want to give it to you. Couldn’t our five minutes be more effectively spent elsewhere? If you’re not on the edge with your conversation and your business, you’re missing something.

E—Extreme. You can’t act extreme, you ARE extreme. It should be the criteria for how you make decisions. Customer service, creativity, deadlines, effort, passion. Make them extreme. Create your own jargon, create your own facts. If you’re a winner, you’re going to win eventually. Don’t trust other people’s opinions more than your own. Stop living like the last 24 hours is the rest of your life. So what, you lost a customer. Pick your head up and get back on track. Tomorrow, you go back to work. You win everyday.

D-Discipline. Discipline should drive us, not emotion. You need to control your mind. You fail over and over and over again in your life so that you can succeed. You don’t take rejection personally. Stephen King. Jack London. Emily Dickinson. J.K. Rowling. Van Gough. Rejected at first? I’d say so.

G—Giving. Stop taking so much and start giving. Give a new perspective. Give a new vision to your industry. Give a new customer experience that is mind-blowing. Give something that is of value to you, and don’t expect to get anything back in return.

Y—Yuman. (Yeah, it’s human, but this is how he pronounces it) You can’t ignore the people. People are what enable you to have explosive results. To be powerful, you have to understand people.

It’s hard to be extreme, it’s hard to be disciplined, and it’s hard to be selfless. You have to prepare and care more than you’ve ever wanted. If it’s hard, it must be good. Want the results? Live on the edge. It starts right now with edgy conversations, and its starts with your opportunity to change the world.

Thanks to Jake Hayes, from InSource Executives, for his eye-opening session on The Greatest Idea Ever and other beliefs that kill business. What an amazing half an hour!

The Greatest Idea Ever. We all have great ideas, but do we have the business to back up our idea? It’s dangerous to have the greatest idea ever, because if you think about it, you don’t need to do market research. It sells itself! It’s the greatest idea ever! Is this realistic?We look around us and all we see is products. iPods. It’s the business that makes these products successful, not the idea itself. Apple took the mundane product of an mp3, and innovation and commitment to their brand lead the iPod to where it is today.

When you have the greatest idea ever, the idea itself is sacred. So…if that’s the case, you can’t innovate. You can’t enhance it. There’s no room for improvement. When you have the greatest idea ever, what’s the right price for it? If you drop the price, what if the quality drops?

Follow your passions. If everyone in the world starting off by pursuing their passion, we’d have a world full of actors, astronauts, and athletes. Passion and talent aren’t necessary linked. Just because we’re passionate about something doesn’t mean we’re good at it. Think about a football game. A stadium is full of fans watching a sport that they are immensely passionate about. If they passionate about football, shouldn’t they be out on the field playing?

We don’t want to tell people to follow their passion. We’re not in a country of finishers. We start things and we don’t finish them. If what you’re doing today is a bad idea, then stop doing it! Finish what you started, absolutely, but know when to quit.

Finish what you have started. When you are starting a business, you can’t afford to throw away your trash. The biggest pieces of wastes we see in small business is our contacts and our needs. If your business can’t provide the services that the customer needs, find out who can, bring them in, and make a difference. Does your trash consist of lost contacts, lost projects, etc.? How you use this trash can make the difference between profitability and just making it.

The competition is your best chance of success. Being there will make us push to improve our business model and our product. There’s room for mutual success, and you just have to find it.

If I only had more money. Money doesn’t solve problems, it’s the universal accelerator. We’re looking at the wrong gages. Accounts receivable is not how much money you’re going to get. Sales are irrelevant if your costs are astronomical.

As we look out at launching Greenville and taking small business to the next rung, we have to sit down and look at our beliefs. We have to know when to use what we know. When is it important to be motivated, and when is it important to be realistic? We have to have a plan, and abandon these beliefs that are killing our business.

Thanks to Trey Pennington for enlightening us on how to change our perspective, and capitalize on our opportunities. And a huge thank you to Enterprise Launch for getting Launch Greenville in motion and making it the success it is today!

LAUNCH Greenville 2010 is underway, and we are so excited to be here (like, really excited!). We have three enticing keynote speakers this morning and then a marketing, sales, and business owner panel this afternoon! The Marketing Pro. The Sales Guru. The Small Business Fanatic. Key Business Connections….We have a lot of stuff to cover. Stick with us, and you’ll be quite amazed at what we’ll show you (And don’t forget to check us out on Twitter, Facebook, and ….)

2009 was tough, right? So how do we move from the struggle of the previous year to making a change in 2010? It’s about changing your perspective. The age of opportunity awaits us, and we have to be optimistic. When we learn that we are in control of our own destiny, then we can move to the next level.

In order to change our perspective, Trey offered these ideas:

1) Having a mentality of just letting things go. We have to natural tendency to build fences around and guard our assets rather than letting them go. Why not let your gurad down, take risks?

2) Maximizing Sales—Purposely giving things away. The purpose of business is to maximize shareholder wealth, not just making money.

3) Pursuing your passion—Be bold to start something, even if you don’t know the end. There’s wisdom in planning, but it restrains us from taking that first step.

4) Listen, and take the message in— What about listening, instead of getting your message out there? It’s transformative, and it could change the way you do business.

Barriers to changing your perspective: FEAR of the unknown—You have to be willing to make a choice that you’re ok with uncertainty, and that you’re ok with being totally responsible for the outcome. Pursue your passion, put yourself out there, and ignite those passions towards the goal.

Eight Be attitudes to seize these opportunities:
1. Be alert
2. Be quiet
3. Be available
4. Be responsive
5. Be visible
6. Be generous
7. Be helpful
8. Be quiet (humility).

At the end of the day, what’s that point? It’s about creating value for other people. We need to create value for our customer, and not worry about making a buck today. The joy we can obtain from creating joy for other people is endless. Choose to act.

(Yeah, we said GIVEAWAY!)

Business Black Box is giving away FOUR free tickets to this weekend’s Launch Greenville event, at the Carolina First Center!!!

If you don’t know about the event, visit www.launchgreenville.com.(But you’re also in trouble, because it means you haven’t been reading your emails!)

Here’s how you can win:
1. Send us an email at jordana@insideblackbox.com.

2. Put CONTEST in the subject line. (This is important! You don’t want to get overlooked!)

3.Then, give us one reason why you need to go to Launch Greenville. Is it because you need a better sales process? Need to know about marketing yourself? Or you’re just a start-up or small business and need to figure out what you’re doing in the first place?

4.Include your Name, Company, Title, Phone number and Email address. This info MUST be present to win!!

Listen, now, this is important: Deadline is 8 a.m. TOMORROW, Wednesday, April 14. No exceptions! We’ll take the best responses and pick four to attend.

Yes, it’s that simple. So send us an email NOW to get a free ticket ($149 value!)

See you there!

The NextStart community is looking for innovative entrepreneurs dedicated to creating a successful business but lack the experience, connections, and money necessary to start their venture. The NextStart program offers participants the advantage of seed money combined with intense entrepreneurially focused workshops and work space in a unique community rich with innovative spirit and experienced business leaders.

The NextStart program is designed to provide founders of new ventures the tools necessary to start and grow a successful business. Selected companies will be given up to $10,000 in seed capital and participate in our twelve-week program that encompasses mentoring in addition to various learning opportunities, resources, and assistance. The program will provide participants with housing and office space in the vibrantly entrepreneurial community of Greenville, SC. This community has a multitude of both small and international business enterprises, a technology oriented and entrepreneurial focused research university, and a pool of retired CEOs and young executives giving participants the opportunity to create a valuable network of experienced mentors from which they can draw knowledge. Upon graduating the program, participants are expected to use these lessons and their newly expanded network to advance their business plans.

NextStart will also provide participants the opportunity to pitch their company to an audience of qualified investors for additional funding at the end of the program. Applications are due April 15.

Candidates may apply online. Please click here for an application. For more information concerning the NextStart program, please visit www.nextstart.org or contact Jessica Blair.

If you’ve been following Business Black Box at all lately, you know how we feel about this event.

Maybe it’s because it will focus on three areas that are so key to businesses these days: Sales (because we don’t know anyone who isn’t looking to increase their bottom line); Marketing (because, who doesn’t need to increase awareness of their product or services?); and the Small Business/Start Up (because in this economy, they will be the bread and butter of the business world!)

But then again, maybe it’s because there are a lot of cool people involved. The keynotes are all local gurus in their own right: Dan Waldschmidt, Trey Pennington and Jake Hayes. Then, there are panels filled with local entreprenurs, self-starters or other really cool titles who can tell you all about how they made it work. Or how they blew everything up one day and started over.

Maybe it’s because we’ll be among hundreds of our best friends. (Or, at least, people who think the same way we do about the Upstate business community.) But then again, maybe it’s because we’ll get to meet hundreds more.

Whatever the reason we are going, it’s no where close to the many reasons you should go. And to that end, we’re gonna spell it out real simple for you here.

When: Saturday, April 17, 2010, from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. (Yes, we said Saturday. Yes, we know a typical work week ends on Friday. But this isn’t a typical business event and it’s no typical work week.)

Where: Carolina First Center, 1 Exposition Drive, Greenville, SC

Who: The event was organized by the same people who organized Enterprise Launch. If you don’t know them, they’re pretty cool and so is their company. But Launch Greenville is also hosted and sponsored by a bunch of neat people—WORD 106.3 FM, Hubspot, Infusion, Webfilings, Bit Tyrant, Nimlok, Edward Jones, Marks Family Services, IntroMojo, the Greenville Chamber, Immedion, Franchise Mart and Upstate Town Planner. Oh, and us. Business Black Box. We’ll be there, too.

Agenda: If you want breakfast, show up at 7 a.m. to get registered and grab a bite. From 8 until lunch, hear keynote speakers talking about all the same stuff you’re dealing with and how to handle it. During and after lunch, you’ll start meeting panels of local business men and women who are making it all happen. At 4 p.m. you’ll get a chance to meet the speakers and network with everyone else who’s hanging out.

Other news: If you’re on Twitter, follow the #launchgvl stream. If you’re on Facebook, join in the conversation by following us or Enterprise Launch.

Tickets: $149 by visiting the Launch Greenville site. (Pssst…..enter in code “BlackBox” at registration and get $50 off!)

All the info and more is on the Launch Greenville website (in case you missed all those cool hyperlinks above!) Can’t wait to see you there!

Thanks to Jon Evans (@bigjonevans) and Glenn Bourquin (@DDMotors) for throwing this info out into the universe for us to soak up. And thanks to Greer Chamber for holding the Community Commerce Convention, and giving these two guys a place to launch the ideas from.

We are at the Greer Community Commerce Convention, and just finished our first session: Tweet Your Marketing with Social Networking. Jon Evans and Glenn Bourquin enlightened us on social media and how we should use it. So what is social media? Its building those connections and communicating through social networks and media like Facebook, LinkedIn, Youtube, Twitter, etc. Sharing conversation and content to build communities, engage your consumer, build credibility, educate, inform, and be found (yes, Googleable is a word!) Social media is biggest shift since the industrial revolution. Here’s what Jon had to say, and did he begin with some shocking statistics:

- Facebook added 100 million users in less than 9 months when it first began, currently has over 400 million.
- Wikipedia is more accurate than Britannica
- There are 200 million blogs online.
- 78 percent of consumers trust peer recommendations while only 14 percent of consumers trust advertisements.

So now that you know how important social media is, why should you use it?

1. Branding—branding yourself and your product to move ahead of your competitors. Creating a buzz about your product—finding a way to excite people about what you do.
2. Online reputation management—see what others are saying about you, and control what is said.
3. To establish yourself as an expert—use forums and blogs to establish yourself, get your name out there, and showcase your skills.
4. To build relationships, and become more personal—This one is a no brainer. Social media allows you build relationships and move forward with your business—and it’s cheap!

Things to avoid
Creating profiles everywhere!
—Pick 1 or 2 to actively be a part of and be consistent with it. People will give you one chance, and if its not intriguing, they’re done.

Selling to everyone immediately
—Your initial goal is to build relationships. Too much sales will turn people off. You don’t want to take it from a personal thing to a television commercial.

A few notes:
Define your target market, your objective, your capabilities, and your policy on who can edit, respond, and interact with your social media channels. Answer questions that are asked of you and turn negative posts and comments into something positive. Measure your results, and refine your strategy to create the most value for your customer.

Social media isn’t the magic bullet but it provides a world of opportunities. People go online for two reasons: to be entertained and to find information. TiVo and things like Pandora and satellite radio has eliminated commercials. Traditional advertising is more push push push; social media is push, and then pull in. Social media is there for you to captivate your consumer. Keep it relevant. Listen. Have a goal. Make it personal!

Thanks to Harry King (harryking30@gmail.com) for teaching us how to develop a value statement, as part of the Greer Chamber Community Commerce Convention.

How to Design your value statement

First, create three columns:
1. Things I do well (in business)
2. Processes I use
3. Things my clients need

- Take a few minutes to list a few of those things in each column. Be throrough. Don’t skip the processes!

“If you can demonstrate to me that you have a process to help me solve my problem, I have a whole lot more confidence that you’ll help me solve it right,” says Harry King. “You can only do so much with your skills and work ethic. The next level is process.”

After you have your value statement, try it out:
- Come up with your target audience.
- List the opportunities you can help them realize.
- List the processes you use to help them

A sample value statement:
“My name is Harry King, and I’m a professional Sherpa. I help guide people up their mountains. What is the toughest mountain you will climb today?” (the open “follow-up” question leads into conversation.)

The Dos and Don’ts of a good value statement
- Be sincere
- Be respectful of your audience
- Have a compelling hook
- Write and re-write your statement. It may take months or years to come up with the perfect statement, but you want it to come across naturally.
- Ask the question: “What’s in it for them?”
- Don’t wing it. Have a well-planned statement.
- Prepare several follow up questions.