Advertisement Ideas: Face And Fix Problems!!!

 Sometimes it is in the face of adversity that we can face a huge problem and solve it so that all who are involved are satisfied.  As many of you know I recently had  a situation  with the owner of The Palm Beach Pelicans, a professional basketball team who did not pay me and then instead of making good on his promise to pay kept  making excuses. I had the facts and the back up in my favor so I took to Facebook. He did not like this. I told him he had until a certain time to pay and he did not meet the deadline so I took action.  Another person from another team decided to intervene when it was not their place to do so.  I found out that there was more to the  problems with The Palm Beach Pelicans than not paying me. I was told because of my complaint they lost their venue. My reply is you should have faced and fixed the problem and paid me by the deadline given.  My advice to anyone who is not directly involved in the situation should stay out of the situation.

 My suggestion to anyone who is hiring anyone to do a service make sure you have the money to pay them if you do not have the money then don’t hire the person.  My advice to those offering services make sure you get payment upfront. I have learned in South Florida there are many people who don’t share the idea that they need to pay for services. There are those who will make promises and break those promises such as The Miami Spice, who in 2013 hired me to do 4 games. I booked my schedule and agreed that I would do the games. I did the first game was paid. I was prepared to do game 2 when I received a text message that due to financial issues they would no longer be using my services. They did not reply to my response or did they return my phone calls.  So the two times I have had issues with teams is from start-up basketball programs who may have had good intentions but unfortunately lacked capital and support to take care of me as an announcer.  As a result I now get payment upfront or only work with those who have a proven track record. If you run a business thinking people will just do things for free because of exposure you will fail. I am very good at what I do and I command top dollar. If you are up front with me I will work with you as long as you make good on your promise and pay me. 

 Take ownership of the issue if you created it. Realize your promise to pay secured whatever service you were being provided and that your non-payment causes hardships for all parties involved. At the end of the day you are responsible for your actions.  If you face and fix the problem you will benefit in the long run. Think about it instead of being spoken about negatively here The Palm Beach Pelicans and The Miami Spice could have been guidance from a seasoned sports announcer and media relations person. They would have received good and easily implementable advertisement ideas that helped The Long Island Knights of The United States Basketball League, a team I interned for in college, to go from 300 per game in attendance to over 1,200 per game in attendance. They would have been provided many solid advertising choices that would have led to brand awareness and brand recognition that would have created a buzz and thus generated revenue.

Advertisement Ideas: Facing and Fixing The Problem A Case Study!!!!

 When I was beginning my career as a sports public address announcer I used to do many free gigs understanding that you had to establish yourself and get your voice out to as many people as you could as you never know who may be listening. The donating of my services wasn’t serving me financially and it wasn’t leading to me getting paying gigs so I decided to face and fix the problem. I put a price on my services and decided that FREE would be a very small part of my work. As soon as I did this I began to attract paying clients. I also changed my approach to how I presented my fee when I was asked how much I would charge I answered how much was in their budget if their numbers made sense I booked the gig if not I declined. By walking away from some gigs word got around that I charged for my services. Now I make it point to establish a rate and if I haven’t worked with the person before payment is made up front if payment isn’t made upfront they don’t get my services.

 My attitude now is I am very good at what I do and I deserve to be paid if you are unable to pay me you need to find someone else.  I still do a couple of free gigs as they have led to obtaining some paying gigs.

Advertisement Ideas: Find and Fix The Problem Tools!!!

 You must value yourself or no one else will. You must weigh the reward so that what you agree upon makes sense.  If the problem is attracting people seeking freebies then raise your rate and make sure you are delivering what you promised. Stop making excuses and point the blame at others when it may be you who is part of the problem.  Remember everything you do  is marketing from the way you handle your financial obligations to the way you face and fix problems.

 One of the best tools you can have is your attitude. If you are able to be up front and honest with people you will be able to face and fix the problem. Think about it had the owner of The Palm Beach Pelicans stated on Sunday 3/23/14 that he was having some difficulties I would have said okay I can wait for my money, which in this case was $150. However he said he would pay on Tuesday and didn’t and the Thursday came and no payment and no phone call so I gave him an ultimatum and when he didn’t pay I took the action to face the problem and fix it.  His getting a third-party to intervene didn’t help and now I am out $150 but he is out a lot more. To conclude I have included these Business Tips: