These are a few of my favorite things…

I have lost business because occasionally I talk too much. Recently during an initial meeting with a potential client, I gave them enough information to start without me.  It has happened before...

I hate when that happens.

But I'll tell you why it happens. It happens because I love what I do and I love sharing with people. And sometimes I can't shut up...

My favorite (business) things to do include reading, writing, thinking and speaking. Each of these works together to help me 1) understand more about this market and 2) provide me venues for sharing what I find. Both of these, in turn, put me in a position to get feedback on what I share.

Each of these also ties into why I started the Government Market Master continuing professional education program.

Since the early 1990s my seminars have been showing up on resumes. I produced my first seminar early in 1991 because no one was offering seminars on marketing to the government. So I did. And I have not stopped in the last 25 years.

As the market evolved and the marketing tactics altered, my seminars adapted to those changes. In the early days the content was PR, events, direct mail and content. Yes, content. I was fascinated by the hardcopy newsletters mailed out by Cullinet Federal, Bohdan Associates and others. These were full of case studies and "how to" articles which everyone found useful.

I was so inspired that I started my own newsletter in 1992. Soon I was writing articles for marketing publications and government trade publications.

By the early 2000s Government Marketing Best Practices (GMBP) was born- the seminar, not the book. In 2005 the book came, but even then every time I offered the session I had to update it as tactics were continuously evolving.

The first "web 2.0" version was in July, 2008. I recorded the session and I'm glad I did, because I predicted that those who did not adopt social media and social networking were doomed.

As the market continued to morph I saw that GMBP was not enough, so I expanded it into several different sessions to offer government marketing professionals a broad range of deep dive workshops:

-         Government Marketing Best Practices

-         LinkedIn for GovCon

-         B2G Content Boot Camp

-         B2G Market Research 101

-         Mastering PR and Company Promotion for Contractors

-         Building the Thought Leader/Subject Matter Expert Platform

And like GMBP, each of these is updated before each session because I want to make sure those who spend their time and money with me get the best value possible.

These sessions are the result of a few of my favorite things: reading, writing, speaking and thinking.

And because I can’t stop talking…

Feel free to call or email for workshop details: mark@federaldirect.net  or 301 854 9493