Longtime readers of the newsletter know that we have tried different approaches to business development here at Three Point Four Media. Cold outreach, texting old clients, regular calls with random people, adding seemingly interesting people on LinkedIn, and sharing our capabilities deck to see if they click on it (thank you, DocSend). I was recently talking with Three Point Four confidant Brady Donnelly—subscribe to his excellent newsletter about the cross section of branding, marketing, and retail distribution here—about [Seinfeld voice] what is the deal with business development?
We had both come to the realization that it’s very important to bring your personal and professional networks closer, while the instinct is to keep it like church and state. Some folks call this “networking,” I guess? I just like to think of it as “keeping in touch with smart and interesting people who we could work with at some undetermined day down the road” and “regularly talking to friends I’ve worked with over the years.” We’re not selling a software solution where there is a very specific sales funnel—most everything we do is relationship-based.
Inbound work is the best work. But how do you get that? By tapping your personal and professional network of people you trust and know—and ask them to introduce you to people they trust and know.
Onto the links!
An Article (And An Album)
Like many people across America, I can’t stop listening to Zach Bryan’s self-titled record. It came out in August, but I didn’t fall in love with it until December and now it’s in heavy rotation—perhaps in danger of getting overplayed. This paragraph from noted music publication GQ is the most astute piece of writing I’ve seen on the guy from Oklahoma who went from active duty in the Navy to selling out arenas in a few short years:
There is a blueprint for Bryan’s kind of twangy rock and roll—“alternative country” or “y’allternative”—and I have listened to a lot of it in my time, from Gram Parsons and Lucinda Williams to Whiskeytown, Son Volt, the Jayhawks, and Uncle Tupelo. But Bryan’s music, sorrowful with a pinch of bravado, is closer to that of Dashboard Confessional and Bright Eyes than Ryan Adams. I think this element is fueling his crossover. The resurgence of guitar music, combined with nostalgia for the halcyon days of heart-on-sleeve emo, has created the perfect environment for someone like him to thrive.
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A Project
We continue to work with the smart folks at 11VEN. If you’re interested in how to shape the future of sustainability and building a green economy, you can follow along on LinkedIn.
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A Recipe
Extremely into shrimp cocktail these days. It’s a reasonably affordable way to make your kitchen table feel like a steak house. Also recently made the Times’ baked clams (pictured on the left) which was worth the labor.
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A Ski
It is finally winter in Michigan, which means I’ve traded in my running shoes for cross country skis. I always forget how silent the snow is.
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Noah will be back with you in a couple weeks.