Comments on: That’s it. You’re on a time out.

By: Michelle Angel

Michelle Angel — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 02:27:43 +0000

LOL. I think we share the same clients. Sometimes, those clients need a professional push back. If they fire you…are these really the type of clients you’re trying to attract? Weed them out and get rid of them early on.

By: Will

Will — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 23:25:36 +0000

OH MY GOD GET OUT OF MY BRAIN!
Is it possible to deal with every one of those points in a single day from a single person? I believe so! Your post has you solidly in my favorites list, congratulations and thank you.

By: Christian

Christian — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 13:57:47 +0000

Kudos! Believe it or not, this is what needs to get said on occasion. It’s not over the line; it’s honest and to the point, while humorous at the same time. If they fire you over this, they would have fired you anyway.

By: Kian Ann, Blogopreneur.com

Kian Ann, Blogopreneur.com — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 00:50:11 +0000

Woooo hoooooo Ian!
THANK YOU! Your rant does really makes me feel better about my work.

By: Miguel Salcido

Miguel Salcido — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:25:56 +0000

Ian, this is great! You said what we all think on a daily basis. This is why finding and keeping great Project Managers is one of the most difficult things to do for an Internet marketing company. This is also why Project Management is THE single toughest position at any marketing company! But you and I have been through this before in conversations and I know that you agree.

By: Rob Taylor

Rob Taylor — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:09:04 +0000

#1 for the one phrase, man that one gets me. I had a client with a pet phrase that they were convinced would dramatically increase sales if they had top rank for.
I showed the client that w/ PPC ads in the top three for their phrase and some organic traffic coming from a #11 rank for the same phrase that the traffic was not converting as well as a dozen other phrases that we were working with.
No matter, they still wanted to pursue “their” phrase. Thousands of dollars in PPC and SEO later they finally ranked organically #3 for the phrase. This resulted lots of traffic and almost zero sales. Other, more specific, terms were converting well.
If a client is using search engine rank as a measurement of success then they need a time out to realize that ROI is the better measurement for most campaigns.

By: Matt

Matt — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 10:22:12 +0000

I’ve always liked balloon animals…
Maybe you ought to try that Ian. :-)
Seriously though, totally understandable frustration.

By: Mark Havenner

Mark Havenner — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 10:01:20 +0000

It’s posts like this that keep me coming back to your site. Hilarious and important to say.

By: Ricardo Figueiredo

Ricardo Figueiredo — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 09:32:12 +0000

Wow, I’m printing this out and taping it to my wall.
Thank you for addressing what many of us go through, not every day, but often :)

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 08:54:46 +0000

Whoa. Have you been snooping around our office? LOL. What an accurate picture of how a sales driven business forgets that everything must start with market research. It sounds to me like the powers that be are looking to you to be thier savior in making their numbers next quarter. My guess is this is mostly coming from the sales department. Am I right?
I feel your frustration Ian. Heck, I’m not even the marketing expert where I work (Design Manager). Just try to relate everything back to business-value and hopefully they’ll get the connection.