Doing It "All"
I’ve been thinking how baseball relates to my work. (Bear with me if you are not a fan.) There are some hitters known for their HOME RUN prowess. Get enough balls over the fence in a career and they’ll build you a statue. There are some players, equally as talented, who get hits at a higher percentage than the Homerun Kings. These hitters have a high BATTING AVERAGE. Rarely do you find someone who can lead the league in both categories. (It’s been done twice in the last 50 years!)
Marketing and donor development requires success EVERY DAY, to “do it all” regardless of how many people are on our team. How can we? Like professionals in sports, it takes focus, determination, training, and practice – lots of practice.
To win at marketing and donor development long-ball, AND small-ball, you must excel at...
- Public Speaking: You don’t have to be a sought-after after-dinner speaker, but you must be able to handle announcements, introductions, and presentations calmly and confidently.
- Making Connections: Interacting with a person in a relatable way breaks down barriers quickly.
- Info Gathering: Become good at tirelessly squeezing every bit of customer or donor data out of events, sign-ups, ads, social media interactions, and more.
- Mass Appeals: Learn the principles and tactics that accompany messaging that reach lots of people at the same time.
- Growing Those Around Us: This includes sharing the credit!
- Fishing: We must always search out and develop new ideas.
- One-to-One: We are called to be engaging, sincere, open AND persuasive.
Baseball hitters at any skill level take batting practice before a game. They don’t rely solely on “muscle memory” for success. They also spend most of their practice time working on areas where they need improvement! We all need improvement in something. The good news? All these skills can be honed with training and practice.
You can do it all.
Growing up, we didn’t really have a budget—we had a father. Requests for frivolous items or fleeting joys (no matter how much I begged for candy) were met with a sympathetic smile and a gentle pat on the head. Looking back, I realize dad was teaching me the value of deferred gratification and the art of managing resources wisely. Perhaps that’s also where I learned the importance of investing in what truly matters. In today’s world, content is king, and creating impactful content requires the same discipline my father had: focusing on what’s essential and resisting the temptation to let distractions drain time and money. To clarify, I define “content” as any media that communicates a message. This includes blogs (like this one), podcasts, social media posts, websites, videos, and ads. The best content reveals something genuine about its creator, leaving the audience feeling like they know them better after engaging with it. Great content is relevant, original, authentic, engaging, and actionable. It should inspire the audience to act while resonating with their needs and interests. Informative blog posts, entertaining videos, or engaging podcasts can be developed with creativity and expertise, capturing attention and driving action. Importantly, you don’t need an extravagant budget to create meaningful content. By using cost-effective distribution channels and repurposing content across multiple platforms, you can amplify your message and maximize your reach without overspending. It’s a great mentor/parent lesson: prioritize what matters most, focus your efforts, and invest wisely. Whether in managing a family’s finances or creating communications content, the principle remains the same.
Successful companies do. Successful companies typically allocate a growing percentage of their total revenue towards marketing and advertising expenses. Is that self-serving advice? YES, if you hire marketing professionals! Is it true? YES, as backed up by experience and research (below)! Of course, this percentage can vary based on the industry, business size, and specific marketing goals. By industry, here are some reported average expenditure percentages. 1 INDUSTRY MARKETING BUDGET (% OF COMPANY REVENUE) Banking/finance/insurance - 9.49% Communications/media - 14.27% Consumer packaged goods - 25.19% Consumer services -11.74% Education - 11.50% Healthcare - 6.80% Manufacturing - 3.75% Pharma/biotech - 12.83% Professional services - 7.08% Real estate - 10.61% Retail wholesale - 14.52% Service consulting - 21.00% Tech software/platform - 11.80% By devoting a significant portion of their operating budget to marketing and advertising, successful organizations can continuously drive brand awareness, maintain customer and donor loyalty, and drive growth. Are you? 1 Marketing Budget: How Much Should Your Team Spend in 2024? [By Industry ]; June 17, 2024; The CMO Survey , Statista, September 2023 release date, 316 respondents https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/marketing-budget-percentage#marketing-budget-percentage ;
Dear Friends and Clients, Today, I have exciting news to share about the future of 1Vision and a heartfelt milestone for me and for Dani. After 40+ incredible years of advancing products, organizations, and relationships and doing battle with the fearsome Oxford comma, I (Blake) will be retiring from 1Vision’s day-to-day responsibilities as of Feb. 28, 2025. This transition to Dani’s workload has been years in the making and some of you even noticed! 😊 While I will continue as CEO, my focus will shift to retirement and new challenges. "It’s with humble gratitude for the grace of so many that I am at this happy point in my life. It’s been a wonderful ride! ‘They’ say, ‘The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is today.’ So, I plan to get busy digging." If you’d like to send me any well-wishes, or instructions concerning a shovel, I’d enjoy hearing from you. Please email me at this address . I have no doubt that 1Vision will continue to thrive under the exceptional leadership and ownership of Dani Gordon, who has proven her ability over the last three years to promote brands and deliver outstanding results. Dani will become President with my retirement and assume all client contact moving forward. Her purchase of the company demonstrates her commitment to our clients and serving their future communication needs. I’m excited to see her grow her vision, gather a team of professionals, and help solve client obstacles. As evidence of the renewed energy and emphasis, take a look at our new site here . Send her congratulations here . Thank you for being part of this journey with us. Raise a glass to an exciting new chapter for Blake, Dani, and the entire 1Vision team. Wishing you all the best and God’s blessing, Blake Conover For the team at 1Vision Communications P.S. This is a good time to update your email records.You can delete Blake’s work email address effective at the end of the month. To reach Dani, use dani@with1vision.com . Thank you!
