Have you tried to launch a blog?

It’s a great lesson in continuous execution.

You plan the blog. Launch your website. Develop your content strategy.

Then, you hit publish on your first post.

Crickets. Nothing happens.

But, that’s to be expected.

Now, you might be able to buy traffic, but organically, nothing is going to happen.

After you publish a few posts and webpages, and you continue to have zero traffic, you might think, is my strategy working?

It’s likely your strategy is just fine.

What needs to happen, is continuing to execute for a long period.

I’d say 12-18 months.

Come up with your idea. Build your strategy. Then, hunker down and write your blog posts for 12-18 months.

And just like that, it took 18 months for your blog to become an overnight success.

This might true for more than just a blog.

“Life is uncertain…Eat dessert first.”

That’s the Tucker’s Ice Cream motto.

Since the 1940s, Tucker’s is an ice cream shop serving Alameda, CA.

If you head over on a Friday or Saturday night, the line loops out the back door.

It’s the ice cream you eat in Alameda.

It helps that they serve – probably – the best vanilla ice cream I’ve ever had.

Everything else is great too.

While the ice cream shop has changed owners, they’ve stayed true to their ice cream.

Old fashioned. Creamy. The way ice cream should be.

They’re located on the main downtown street in an old brick building. The smell of buttermilk waffle cones when you walk in. The aesthetic tells you old fashioned ice cream is served here.

With pictures throughout of the local youth sports teams they support, you can tell they’re active in the Alameda community.

Maintaining a great product. Being involved with the community you serve. It’s the Tucker’s way.

And that’s why Alameda lines up every Friday and Saturday night.

Now, more than ever, we know life is uncertain.

So, let’s do like Tucker’s. Support your community. Eat dessert first.

I got a cold email from a sales rep Friday afternoon.

It was the first cold email and I booked a meeting.

I didn’t book the meeting because the email was particularly well written.

Subject line was generic. Content was generic.

But, it was effective, because I booked the meeting.

Why did I?

I booked the meeting because my colleagues have been speaking about them internally.

Mostly just, “it would be nice to give company x a try”. Really, the comments have been in passing.

Then, the sales reps email lands in my inbox.

I said yes. Off the 1^st email.

This is a great example of outbound sales efforts complimenting marketing.

I’ve seen this company’s advertising. I’ve read their blog content. My colleagues spoke about them. Then, I get hit with the cold email.

That’s how B2B deals get started.

Multiple people are involved.

It’s about creating a swell within a company. Getting colleagues to talk. Then, they’re interested enough to chat.

There is nothing creative in this example. It is just building a sales and marketing system, that works together to consistently book meetings and close sales.

It’s as simple as that.

I won’t be the end decision maker, but I will have a use case for the product.