How Brand Values Guide Us During Uncertain Times

Our values define who we are, what we stand for, and how we can help others succeed – and that leads to our own success, as well.

Every night around 2 a.m. I wake up, grab my phone, and check to make sure the world has not completely fallen off the rails. Increasingly, this is also happening at midnight, 4 a.m. and 6 a.m., until my anxiety-induced insomnia gives way to my daily scramble.

Everyone feels some sense of uncertainty and fear regarding what the future holds. As a sales team, we at Investis Digital found ourselves frequently asking each other tough and timely questions:

Is it appropriate to reach out to targets, given all that’s happening?
Should we inform folks of our clients’ successes when so many brands are facing challenging times?
Is it okay to ask for valuable time when prospects are likely dealing with added stresses such as homeschooling, working from home, etc.?
Are we just adding to everyone’s angst?

The protests and disruptions of the last few weeks complicated these discussions further. Eventually, we came to three conclusions that we’re using to guide us through the weeks and months ahead:

1. We will root ourselves in our brand values and let those lead us. By leaning into these principles, we ensure alignment and consistency across teams. We feel empowered and protected – and therefore, more excited about reaching out to a new prospect.
2. Using our brand value lenses, we will remain open to new ideas. We will be agile enough to experiment with new concepts to quickly and continually adopt and adapt.
3. We will have patience. We know we will not be as successful as we have been in the past, and that is okay… for now.

Making the approach

Before we examine our brand values and how they keep our sales team motivated and positive, let’s first look at how we determined which types of organizations we would approach. Who would we be excited to talk to? Which companies would we have something worthwhile to communicate to during these unconventional times?

The sales team at Investis Digital is always excited to talk with prospects with solid values and who are doing something positive and giving back. Of course, our core competencies and experience must be a good match for their needs, objectives, and culture.

However, this has taken on a far more important meaning as we define and approach our targets and prospects during a pandemic and this time of social upheaval. It is increasingly important to support those organizations in which we know we can make an immediate and significant impact.

We also evaluate a company's culture and whether it is having a positive impact on our communities. We ensure they align with our values. While there are many factors in choosing our targets, we must feel we can offer something of value starting with our first conversation. Using these guidelines helps us determine who we will reach out to and gives us a greater sense of purpose.

Now let’s look at the Investis Digital values and how they provide a framework for our sales team to feel positive and motivated.

1. Embrace clarity

We clearly and simply explain to our clients how we solve problems

“When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier.” - Roy Disney

Part of our efforts to embody this first value is to first accept the world as it is now and not as it existed a couple of months ago, and we table our communications, requests and ideas accordingly. This serves as our cornerstone for clear communication, integrity and empathy among coworkers, clients, and especially prospects.

Yes, things seem pretty depressing at the moment, but it’s only this darkness which allows us to see the light and appreciate the better days ahead. It is this inner light we want to let shine with a more personal and humanistic approach to our communications, conversations and solution-based ideas.

2. Bring passion

We are ﬁerce in our belief that what we do is best for our clients

“Passion is so key in leading and creating excellence that I will hire passion over education and talent every time.” - Dave Ramsey

I am no more passionate tagging keywords than the next person. What I am passionate about is helping our clients find solutions and impacting their business positively, so they can go on to heal people, innovate new technologies, educate future generations, and genuinely connect with their customers and prospects. We know that our performance marketing services work, and we can help companies hit their goals and fulfill their mission.

3. Inspire greatness

We aim for mastery, not mediocrity, and inspire our clients to do the same

“We don’t get a chance to do that many things, and everyone should be really excellent. Because this is our life.” - Steve Jobs

Understanding how to inspire someone starts with understanding what inspires you. To be an inspirational salesperson, you don’t need a magnetic personality or tons of charisma. What you do need is the capacity to personalize your solution to your prospect’s individual needs, motivations, and goals.

People are inspired by the things that matter to them personally. Don’t be afraid to get a little personal with your prospects. Ask them questions that help you understand what makes them tick. We all desire a little more human connection, and asking a few personal questions enables you to better understand them and come from a place of authenticity. Not only might you win a long-term customer, but you could also make a new friend.

4. Keep innovating

We push ourselves to be the experts our clients deserve, and develop the products and solutions they need to stay ahead of the competition

“We don’t look backward for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious… and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” - Walt Disney

Investis Digital is always learning from our current clients and prospects. When they share their challenges with us to enlist our help, we get the opportunity to create solutions that improve their overall business.

We have always been educators. We teach our clients and prospects how to be great at digital marketing. We also teach the marketing community how to be better marketers through the books we have written, our webinars, and the workshops we present at conferences. During this training and education, we get asked some excellent questions from our audience. We get to hear the ‘pulse’ of the marketing community and what new challenges they are facing. In turn, this enables us to adapt our content to meet those changing needs.

5. Measure success

We use data-based insights to inform our creative approach, and constantly measure to improve efficiencies

“I never lose. I either win or learn.” - Nelson Mandela

To paraphrase Peter Drucker, a pioneer of modern business management, you can’t improve what you don’t measure. We use data to analyze our efforts and determine what’s working, what’s not, and what can be improved. Not only does this show us where we need to switch course to optimize success, it’s vital to proving a return on investment.

You know your business better than anyone. We work with our clients to determine the right metrics and goals to track – and then we sort through the robust amount of information in Google Analytics to find the most insightful and useful data to improve and build on your success.

Values Matter

We are all recalibrating to adjust to these unprecedented times. Our values give us the clarity we need to better understand the best way to approach our passionsforcrafting solutions that drive success. We keep learning, keep testing, and keep innovating. In the final analysis, our values define who we are, what we stand for, and how we can help others succeed – and that leads to our own success, as well.

Investis Digital is proud to be a values-based organization. To learn how we can help your business grow and succeed, reach out to us today .