Comment by Cheri

January 8, 2007 @ 3:37 pm

Hey Terri,

My first “scrappy” act of 2007 was mailing out 100 postcards to a hot new market.

They left my hands on Saturday. Now I’m just keeping myself busy so I don’t “obsess” over how to handle the many phone calls I’m going to get! : )

Cheri

Comment by Sherry

January 8, 2007 @ 4:08 pm

Terri,

Wonderful food for thought in the first week of a new year–especially to someone like me who will be making the move into a new career. I didn’t see The Apprentice, but there is a lesson to be learned here. If you don’t demonstrate how you have that extra bit of drive and talent, the competition will leave you in the dust.

Sherry

Comment by Jay

January 8, 2007 @ 4:19 pm

Hey Terri,

Well, “The Donald” didn’t become successful without having a bit of scrappiness himself. It makes sense he would appreciate it in the people he hires.

Plus the controversial ones make for great T.V.

It would be easy in my current situation to whine and complain. But I prefer to accept the circumstances head-on and work to change it for the better.

As for me “getting scrappy”. The challenges I have taken on by learning from Shaune and starting my own business are pretty darn scrappy for me. Not to mention the commitment it takes, on top of the commitment I am already in. It is quit the juggling act. However, I would not be doing it if I did not believe that it would lead me and my wife to our betterment.

Thanks for the post. It certainly rings true.

Comment by Sherry

January 9, 2007 @ 1:09 pm

Terri,

I got to thinking more about your post this morning. I realized I didn’t actually answer the question: How have I gotten scrappy this year? Well, I guess investing in a copywriting course with the intent to leave behind my 20-year teaching career counts as being scrappy. Though certainly not a lucrative career, teaching has provided job security. Therefore, I will need a different mindset in what I hope will be my new career. I look forward to needing to be scrappy…it will provide challenge. It will mean nothing is certain. That excites me.

Sherry

Comment by Terri

January 10, 2007 @ 9:32 pm

Sherry,

Just hang around and watch Shaune for a while. You’ll see the epitome of “scrappy”!

Also, I think being able to keep your sanity intact after teaching for 20 years requires a great degree of scrappiness.

-Terri

Comment by Shaune

January 11, 2007 @ 9:02 pm

First here’s the link to the last 3 1/2 minutes of the Apprentice — That’s Powerful TV!

http://www.nbc.com/The_Apprentice_6/

Great stuff Terri,

Your best point and, to me, the epitome of Gettin’ Scrappy is when you said…

“We need to create our own opportunites.”

Everyone who has been in my coaching program knows how I’m very big on honing the skill of “looking for opportunities.”

It is so important for so many reasons including securing clients.

Just today I got an email back from a prospective client when I sent her an email that said…

Hi ________, (Name removed for privacy purposes)

I’ve been on your list for some time.

You are a dynamic entrepreneur.

May I sincerely tell you…

You’re leaving money on the table.

Whoa…

Here you are with the chutzpah to have a $5,000 coaching program — very cool — yet your copy is NOT doing you justice.

Please go to…

http://www.DynamicResponseMarketing.com

and

http://www.NewCopySecrets.com

And let me know if you agree.

I’d love to work with you. Let’s see about working something out.

Thanks,
Shaune

Comment by Kathy

January 11, 2007 @ 9:25 pm

Here are three ideas I try to keep in mind as much as possible:

1. There’s no time like the present
2. Just do it
3. Question: what do you have to lose? Answer: (in most cases) nothing.

I have a particular idea I’m pursuing that I’ve already discussed with the fabulous Shaune Clarke. Someone else who impresses me a great deal is Bob Bly. So I decided to send him an email and ask his advice as well. He whipped me back a quick email, then shocked the heck out of me by actually calling me to chat. We did so for about 10 minutes and he was incredibly gracious.

The moral of the story: contact anyone, be a sponge, make connections. Who knows where it will lead?

Comment by Sherry

January 11, 2007 @ 10:00 pm

I just watched the last part of the show. I think I need to watch the whole thing this weekend. I’ve never seen it before, but now I can see what attracts people to it. It is definitely a different atmosphere than what I’m used to as a teacher (except for the occasional hostile teachers’ meeting.:) Anyway, the “nitty gritty” that Trump talks about grabs my attention. It’s becoming quite clear to me that a copywriting career is going to require my being quick on my feet and on the ready to prove how I can best write for the client. Terri, you’re right, I’ve needed to be a certain kind of “scrappy” as a teacher. Now I need to convert that energy into “copywriting scrappy”.

Comment by JP

January 11, 2007 @ 10:49 pm

CONTROVERSY SELLS…

Make no mistake, Trump knows this.

And, there’s a lesson there for every entrepreneur, copywriter, marketer, salesperson, etc.

Find a way to “rub against the grain.” Think, act, and do things differently.

Challenge status quo!

THEN… you’ll be known, memorable, respected.

Someone said — maybe it was Dan Kennedy — that if you’re not making some people mad, you’re probably not very successful. (or something like that)

The fool tries to please everyone!

Comment by Shaune

January 12, 2007 @ 11:27 am

No question JP…

It’s a form of “Segmenting the Market” - connecting with some — your ideal customer — and disconneting with others — those not likely to buy from you anyway.

That said…

Although Trump is great at creating controversy — IE : With Rosie O’Donnelll — this choice was, in my opinion, a prudent business decision.

Martin, as Trumps daughter said, Just doesn’t fit. Frank has passion and, albeit in need of polish, a valuable skillset.

For the sake of “Good TV,” did they play it up and create anticipation?

Absolutely!

But at the end of the day, to me…

Not a controversial decision at all!

I think that 3 1/2 minutes really tells the tale.

http://www.nbc.com/The_Apprentice_6/

Shaune

Comment by Rosie O'Donnell

January 12, 2007 @ 4:46 pm

I eat pieces of turd like Trump for breakfast… and lunch… and dinner… and midnight snack!

Comment by Pam Gitta

January 12, 2007 @ 7:28 pm

As long as we’re talkin’ TV here…does anyone watch “The Office?”

If you don’t, most of the main characters are salespeople. And most of the time, they’re absolute doofuses. But in last night’s episode, we got to see them in action and learned that most of them are, in fact, rather gifted salespeople.

I say this to add to JP’s comment about challenging the status quo: after you’ve been provocative and have everyone’s attention, you’d better be able to deliver the goods.

Comment by Bruce

January 20, 2007 @ 2:52 pm

Pam, I LOVE “The Office”…one of the best comedies on tv…Between the boss “Michael” and “Dwight” the top sales dog, it’s absolutlely hysterical. ..and I agree, the episode recently when they went on a sales call and Dwight called a competitor WHILE IN HIS PROSPECTS office was great.Actually was a very convincing tactic to close the sale…..also agree if you make a bold claim you better be able to back it up.

Comment by Jay

February 17, 2007 @ 1:49 pm

Hey Terri,

After we spoke on the phone the other day and you mentioned that I was “getting scrappy”, it led me to thinking. When I embarked on this copywriting journey, I was a little apprehensive, but I knew that if I put the time in, it could become very successful.

Now that I have sent out my first mailing, there is no looking back–and I wouldn’t want to.

In some ways, since I signed up to learn from Shaune back at the end of September, I have been getting scrappy ever since. Unlike most of his students, I don’t have near as much time to devote to learning the craft. I have been juggling my current job and the responsibilities of it with, what I am working towards, my new career. For those of you who know, my current job is anything but regimented in a routine.

Ad to that my recent marriage and moving half way across the U.S. You get the idea. Not exactly the most ideal lifestyle to learn a whole new career!

However, I must say that I have learned that if you can do it yourself, then you should. Yes, some things are better left to skilled hands, but I found that I was able to design a better postcard and have it printed for a lower price then leaving it to a designer. Yes, I will need a web designer for larger projects, but not for everything.

Lesson learned. But perhaps it was just as well.

Now that I have begun the postcard campaign, and have received a nice response rate, I am proactively pursuing these leads, returning phone calls, send follow up letters (thanks for that one) and e-mails. I will be sending more out to a larger metropolitan area and I will just as eagerly pursue any of those prospective clients who respond.

To me, this is getting scrappy. But I am motivate to do so. I am motivated because I desperately want to be self-employed. I want to make our (Wife and I) lives better. I want to be respected by my peers in this business.

The way Shaune talks about those he respects is the way I want him, and others, to speak of me.

I believe I have come a long way in these last four or so months…a lot further then if I had stuck with the original way I was trying to learn copywriting/marketing.

I owe you a great debt of thanks for deciding to send that e-mail to me way back when. You could have chosen anyone from the forum board. The irony is that I usually don’t post on forum boards because I think that they can be some what of a waste of time. Obviously, that is not the case.

So yes, in my mind I have been getting scrappy, I expect I will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

Comment by Tony

April 13, 2007 @ 7:33 am

Hi, I live in the UK and work for a US company. I have heard the term “scrappy” used for the first time in the company and then came across this term on this blog. I have to admit to being somewhat confused about it’s meaning. According to my thesaurus, scrappy means: “disjointed”, “inconsistent”, “lacking continuity”. I am sure that this is not the way in which this word is being used on this blog. Can anyone enlighten me?

Comment by Tony

April 13, 2007 @ 9:33 am

Having done a bit more investigation and the online Mirriam-Webster dictionary, I think I’ve worked it out: Scrappy: Having an aggressive and determined spirit. So all the posts above now make much more sense and I can understand what our CEO meant when he said ‘we should all adopt a culture of being “scrappy”‘.

Comment by Terri

April 15, 2007 @ 10:51 am

Tony,

Welcome to something other than the “Queen’s English”! When I was in the UK, I had no idea what “bangers” or “mashers” were.

I had the opportunity to take a look at some copy written for a UK business, and it was an eye-opener. As copywriters, we need to be careful in keeping with the correct vernacular.

So Tony, what would be a similar term to “Scrappy” in the UK?