Gary Siegel

In my experience, the more concise and clear you are, the better result you will get. Sounds easy...not so much. A lot of us tend to talk more than we should in meetings. The key to be concise and clear is to listen and ask questions. Once you have done this effectively, it puts you in a much better position to share your thoughts in a concise and clear manner. You will also be in a better position to speak to the specific points you learned about by listening and asking questions. This is a skill that can be learned and improved over time...and is extremely important on your path to success.

One of the most effective things I have found in building your brand's identity is to align all departments on the same goals. You need to be sure your website people are talking to your marketing collateral people. You need to be sure your events people are talking to your merchandising and packaging people, etc... The most effective and well known brands show amazing consistency across all channels. Their audience has a clear understanding of who they are, no matter if they see a commercial on TV, or run into them at a trade show. Consistent messaging is the number one priority.

In my experience, your visual identity includes everything you are presenting to the market across all marketing channels. It is a combination of your logo, imagery, typography, color scheme, etc... It's imperative that your visual identity remains consistent in everything you do, from your website, to your print collateral, to the way you write emails, and everything in between. Your visual identity should also align with your brand voice and tone. This is a powerful combination when building your brand identity.

My belief is that a corporate logo and name should be created simultaneously. They should be able to feed off each other and eventually be able to live alone and send the same message, whatever that message is. For example, seeing the swoosh and hearing the name Nike should give you the same feelings. They should not try to capture a trend or something relevant to "today." Company names and logos should be timeless, and give your audience a sense of who you are and what you represent, not necessarily what you do.

Communicating clearly and respectfully is such an important part of a successful partnership. If there is not a mutual level of respect, a partnership will deteriorate quickly. I like to refer to vendors as partners, as they are a key contributor to the desired outcome of any project. The best relationships I have with clients are the ones who recognize the importance of collaboration and operate as a partner. I have very good relationships with my partners (vendors) as I understand they play a key role in the success of my clients...and being kind and respectful is simply the right thing to do.

Researching and comparing vendors is a massive part of the process. There is no reason to get into all the reasons why it's so important, so I'll give you a tip that I don't think enough people utilize...call the referrals they provide you with. Ask all the obvious questions about the potential vendors capabilities. However, the most important thing you can ask about is...how do they handle adversity and difficult situations? Do they try to fix them behind the scenes? Do they bring it to your attention right away? Do they care about the solution the way that the buyer cares? Ideally things always go right, but in every business and partnership, things happen, and there needs to be a collaborative approach to find the solution.