My family sold our house recently and moved away from some dear friends. Last night we stopped by our old neighbor’s house to say goodbye. Deb Murphy is a dear friend and saying goodbye was very difficult. Deb is someone hard to leave and much too hard to forget.

I spend a great deal of time in my business helping professionals stand out, raise their visibility and make a lasting impression. Deb Murphy is one of those rare individuals who achieves all those qualities, just by living her life – her way. Deb is always visible (and quite often audible) in the neighborhood. She celebrates life and everyone around her. Her irreverence and self-deprecating nature makes her one of the most hilarious, personable and comfortable people you could ever hope to call friend.

If the desperate housewives in our cul-de-sac needed a girls’ night out, Deb was the one to make it happen - and don’t expect her to be the designated driver! I remember being awaken by the doorbell at 3:00 a.m. one summer evening, only to find Deb Murphy and another neighbor giggling in the porch light looking for a bottle of wine to keep the next door party going. I was happy to oblige. Another time I answered my door mid-afternoon to find her dressed in a full gorilla suit. Suburbia will never be the same.

Her husband John just rolls his eyes and their two adorable kids Katie and Connor think that all kids have a mom like that. No, just the lucky ones.

I think about all the work that goes into crafting a creative, memorable, unique and likeable brand. Deb Murphy makes it all seem effortless. She is all of those things and more.

So last night, we stopped in to say goodbye. I know she could hear us, even though she was unable to respond. We held her hand and told her how much she meant to us and about the wonderful impact she has made on this world and precious legacy she has left with her children. Deb Murphy never met a challenge in her life that she could stare down – except one. The cancer that will take her life in the next few hours will rob so many of us of a good friend and for others, a wonderful wife and mother. But her memory, her impact and her legacy are seared into our heart, minds and memories forever.

A good brand stays with you and makes a lasting impression. A good friend as well. I am forever changed.

Godspeed my dear friend.


David Avrin is known internationally as the Visibility Coach. A speaker, author, publicist, branding consultant and executive coach, David shows professionals how to stand apart and raise their profile in a competitive marketplace. Visit him online at www.visibilitycoach.com

When it comes to building a successful business, your brand is everything – literally. It is everything you do and everything you don’t do. It is the smell of your lobby and the color of your menu. It is the friendliness of your staff and their response problems. It is the quality of your widgets and the cleanliness of your bathrooms.

Too many in today’s business environment think that their brand consists primarily of their logo and their clever tag line. But a brand is so much more. In fact, it is everything. You don’t own your brand. It resides in the mind of your customers. Your brand is what comes to their mind when they hear your name, see you ad, or pass your store. Your brand is what your customers think, remember and feel about your business.

If I was to say the words Wal Mart, Harley Davidson, or Amazon.com, the thoughts that pop into your mind are what comprises their brand. If they’ve done a good job promoting their business, delivering quality goods and services and generally living up to their word, then the images that we all share are likely very similar. Conversely, if a company falls short, in any of those areas, a very different image comes to mind. That gap between a brand’s promise and the consumer’s perception of reality, can translate into a weak brand and big trouble for the business.

For other well-known brands, consistency is only important as it relates to their target market. These companies and organizations don’t try to be all things to all people, but for their core audiences, their brand drives their business. From Playboy, the WB Network, and National Rifle Association, to Greenpeace, Focus on the Family and Marlboro Cigarettes, these organizations know who their audience is and tailors their products and messaging to them.

So, as you look at your business, ask yourself these important questions:
1. Is my product, service, environment, look, feel and smell truly unique?
2. Am I consistent in delivering on the promise - every time?
3. Is my business memorable - for the right reasons?

Craft your brand. Ensure the process is in place to deliver excellence – consistently. Then, and only then, get out there and promote the heck out of it!

David Avrin is known internationally as the Visibility Coach. A speaker, author, publicist, branding consultant and executive coach, David shows professionals how to stand apart and raise their profile in a competitive marketplace. Visit him online at www.visibilitycoach.com

In his books and presentations, Generation Why expert Eric Chester speaks of how impatient this young, emerging workforce tends to be. As a father of three, I certainly know this to be true. But I think that most of us exhibit these tendencies as well as we too are a victim of the new abundance and conveniences that life provides in the 21st century,

It’s amazing how things have changes in just one generation. No longer do we need to visit the neighborhood multiplex or even go the video rental store – our movies are on-demand. Hot food comes pre-packaged and is only a drive through or a microwave oven away. Shopping is 24 hours a day and everything you could ever want is available online with only a click and a credit card. Library research, so common a short few years ago has been rendered obsolete by the internet and phone calls are anytime, anywhere. When was the last time you searched for change to use a payphone?

The down-side is that when we don’t have immediate connection to our office, our loved ones and the things we want to buy, we get frustrated. We’ve come to expect immediate access and anything short of it leaves us angry, impatient and searching for alternatives.

Your customers, clients and prospects are no different. They want what they want, and they want it now. Good things no longer come to those who wait. That’s a dial-up mentality in a high-speed world. And while I don’t claim to be some brilliant prognosticator or highly-touted futurist, I am simply reminding those in business that customers are looking for solutions, products, services and information, and they expect immediate access. Consumers want all their choices, and information about their choices to be on-demand.

The best way for all small businesses to be on-demand is through their web-based resources. No longer is it sufficient to merely have a “web-presence.” On-line brochures are so last-century. The tired admonition that your website must be “entertaining” no longer holds true. Contrary to what high-priced web designers want you to believe, people don’t want to be entertained by flash intros, pulsating music and animated icons.

This may be painful to hear, but even though you spent thousand of dollars on your flashy mini animated movie as an intro to your website, it’s time to throw it away. Nobody is watching it anyway. Intros are always skipped, and uninvited music merely annoys your customers. The same holds true for your ultra creative, edgy homepage with its astounding graphics and one-of-a-kind menu system. Dump it! It’s form over function and it’s hurting your business.

Your new website must be clean, attractive, contemporary and astonishingly easy to navigate. If your customers can’t find what they want quickly, like your television at home, your on-line competition is only a click away.

Some things to consider when re-evaluating your website and online resources:
 Do your visitors know who you are, what you do and who you do it for – in the first five seconds? (Don’t make them read your long text – they won’t.)
 Do you make your prospects call you or visit your location to get prices, information or answers? (they won’t)
 Do you spend money printing and mailing brochures and other promotional materials or are they just a click away?
 If you have a video promo, can people watch it online?
 Can those who are ready to buy, buy from you now…and I mean right now?
 Are you writing letters to your prospects, articles, tip sheets, white papers, market analysis, Blogs, etc. Remember: The broad distribution of your expertise markets your business 24-7, 365.
 Are you capturing information from those interested prospects so that you may reach them with future offers, products, etc.

You can’t personally be available 24 hours a day – but your business must be. No matter the nature of your business, keep the light on, the doors open and your messages flashing in big neon letters – online and on-demand.

David Avrin is known internationally as the Visibility Coach. A noted speaker, author, publicist, branding consultant and executive coach, David shows professionals how to stand apart and raise their profile in a competitive marketplace. Visit him online at www.visibilitycoach.com.

I got a call from a client the other day who was very excited that she had gotten herself booked for an interview on Channel 8. “Channel 8?” I asked. “You mean the community access station?” Indeed it was true. What may surprise my faithful readers is that I said, “Great!”

I told her that many of the smaller public broadcasting or cable community access stations are what I like to call, “Might See TV.” Because you might see it go by as you flip channels looking for something to watch.

The greatest example of good Might See TV was painter Bob Ross. No matter how many times I flipped by, I would invariably flip back to stare – mesmerized by his ability to effortlessly create “happy little trees” and “whatever else lives in your world.”

Unfortunately, most small station appearances fail to garner any real audience. This doesn’t mean that they hold no value for the person being featured. Appearances such as these, while never the heart of a good media relations campaign, can be valuable in a three distinct ways.

1. Practice, practice, practice. Anytime you can have practice responding to, and interacting with a reporter, or interview host is valuable. Hone your message. Watch your physical habits and practice displaying passion and urgency. Nobody’s watching anyway, so be comfortable and experiment.

2. New video footage. I always remind my speaker and consulting clients to record and videotape everything. How many times have we “rocked” on stage only to find that there is no record of our…uh,…rocking. Use TV appearances such as this to get a great new clip for your demo video.

3. You never know who’s watching. That it. You never know. From prospective clients or customers needing help, to meeting planners, investors, potential partners or even Hollywood agents, you never know who’s out there. So get out there.

The same advice holds true for small community newspapers or online-zines. If someone wants to talk to you for insight or expertise, be clear of their angle and audience and then talk until your green in the wallet.

To paraphrase a well-known maxim: There are no small promotional opportunities – just small promoters!

David Avrin is known internationally as the Visibility Coach. A noted speaker, author, publicist, branding consultant and executive coach, David shows professionals how to stand apart and raise their profile in a competitive marketplace. Visit him online at www.visibilitycoach.com.

I see your lips moving, but all I hear is “Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.” I know it’s not what you want to hear, but quite simply, if you are a speaker, author, consultant or other "expert" I see being interviewed by the news media, your expertise just isn’t very interesting. Information is a dime-a-dozen and yours is no different.

So in this age of round-the-clock, on-demand, blue tooth, on line, high def., Wi-Fi, via satellite, news junky, at your fingertips world of information, what separates those messages that break through the clutter and the vast majority of expertise that goes un-tapped? The answer is very simple: It’s the delivery!

Information, delivered by experts in a straightforward fashion, is too often reminiscent of a classroom lecture – Boring! However that same content, deliver with passion, purpose, urgency, spirit and conviction can move people to action and move you to the top of the news media’s first call list.

The information stored in your brain is merely the entry fee. Your credentials to deliver that content is only the prerequisite. But your crusade is what truly makes you interesting. Your passion for the message is what makes you believable and its timely connection to some current or personal challenge is what makes it relevant.

Watch any national morning show, or cable news talk show and note who has the lion’s share of camera time. In television news, the one who most deftly steers the conversation, wins. But all too often, experts who are invited to sit on the television set to comment on a story of national interest, merely answers the questions posed to them and provides informed analysis. They are graciously thanked for their time, but rarely asked back. Why? Because most media opportunities are a test in disguise. And most experts unknowingly fail the test.

But think for a moment about the experts that have been featured time and time again in the national news – some even being rewarded with their own show. What is the common denominator? Above all else, it is that they are fiercely opinionated. They know what they want to say and aren’t afraid to say it. I’m not suggesting that you have to be a jerk to be newsworthy, only that you have to have the conviction that personifies a true thought leader.

Good radio talk show hosts, for example, don’t bring up a topic and ask for your opinions. Instead they tell you what they think and invite you to agree or disagree. Who among us is inspired to follow, or be moved to action by a credible, yet straightforward, or “dry” expert offering his or her expertise on a story of national or industry-specific interest?

To build your business, to attract clients or customer, to inspire others to hire you or buy your books or products, to engender loyalty and inspire true change, you must move beyond the realm of simply being smart and good at what you do. You must truly inspire.

And while we are all made up of the same composite materials, we are all wired a little differently. Being overly expressive and delivering content on the edge of your seat can be challenging for some, but it must be done. In working with the news media, we are playing in their sandbox and we must play by their rules, or we won’t be asked to play again.

For any kind of high-profile sustainability, you’ve got to provide what television journalists call “Good TV.” New, innovative, or provocative solutions to long-standing problems can be good TV. Either healthy exchanges or outright conflict among guests can both be good TV. Good TV means nothing more than being interesting and not blending in. Unfortunately, experts tend to be so immersed in their content that they believe it is the information that is interesting. In reality, it is the passion that brings about “Good TV.”

The biggest misperception in working with the press is the false notion that when a reporter asks a question, it’s because they want to know the answer. Unless it’s some sort of news investigation, the purpose of their questions is in most cases, simply to give you a launch pad for your ideas, your input and perspective. I’m not suggesting that you don’t answer the question, just use the answer as the springboard for your crusade.

Most reporters don’t know the subject nearly as well as the guest and you can easily move past the often irrelevant, or less important question by simply employing transitional phrases such as: “While I certainly agree, it’s also important to remember that...,” “That may be true, but the issue that really concerns me is..,” “While that issue is making headlines, we can’t forget that….,” “people sometimes fail to recognize that…,” “I find it fascinating that…” Then say what you came there to say, and do it with passion – regardless of the questions asked. Despite conventional wisdom, the reporter or interviewer will be very appreciative of your media savvy.

As most on-air interviews last no more than 90 seconds, I advised my clients to be crystal clear in their mind what they want to say, what they HAVE to say, what is crucial for them to impart to their audience for them to be successful in their business. Then they must make a solemn pledge to themselves (and to me) that they will not get out of that chair until they say it!

It’s the quid pro quo of working with the press: We help them fill up their newspapers and newscasts with content, and in return, we get a platform to relay our ideas. Use it. Don’t waste it. Don’t be boring. Be opinionated. Be passionate, relevant, provocative, believable, timely, different, memorable and news-worthy.

This article is more than just my opinion and my expertise – it is my crusade. If I had begun this article with a simple admonition to be more animated in your interviews, do you think you’d still be reading? Or would you have turned the page long ago? Remember, there are hundreds of millions of TV remote controls and page-turning fingers out there. Don’t be boring and they’ll likely stick with you, turn to you and hopefully come back to you.

David Avrin is known internationally as the Visibility Coach. A noted speaker, author, publicist, branding consultant and executive coach, David shows professionals how to stand apart and raise their profile in a competitive marketplace. Visit him online at www.visibilitycoach.com.