VISABILITY – Being seen in the right way, by the right people, at the right time
It was Thanksgiving, November 24, 1994. My wife and I were hustling around the kitchen preparing to host our families for the holiday. I was assigned to cook my mother’s recipe for ginger broccoli. Not a traditional Thanksgiving dish, but I had made it once for my non-Chinese in-laws and they requested it.
While slicing I was also reading that week’s issue of Billboard Magazine – the bible of current events in the music industry. I was cutting vegetables on the right side of the center island in our small kitchen. The Billboard magazine laid flat on the left side of the island. I’d slice a vegetable and turn a page. Slicing, turning, slicing, turning and all of sudden there it was on page 98.
“Redmond, Wash.-based songwriter Rick Wong’s first children’s album. “The Little Things” (JacquiBob Music Productions), is performed by an aggregation of area musicians called Friends Of The Family, that includes players affiliated with Tim Noah, Tickle Tune Typhoon, and other children’s music luminaries.” Moira McCormick, Billboard Children’s Music Editor
I yelled, “I’M IN BILLBOARD!!!” I scared my wife, but it was so unbelievable that in a second she was back to her task. I said, “Look!” She said, “Yeah, right.” I got a little tense and started stabbing the magazine with my left index finger while yelling, “Look, look, look.” I was so loud that our kids (ages five and six) came running downstairs thinking dad had, yet again, done something stupid.
Once my wife saw it we celebrated, jumping up and down with the kids, even though they had no idea why. This was the start of amazing VISABILITY for my music. I was able to get to radio station managers and music reviewers who previously rejected me. I got one song on the radio across the US. The title track, The Little Things, was on the playlist of most children’s radio stations around the country during the Christmas shopping season.
I had VISABILITY but… now you see it, now you don’t. I didn’t have strong distribution, there was no such thing as iTunes and the radio stations got tired of playing the one song. I was seen in the wrong way and fell off the playlists.
In February 1995, I got a good review in Family Fun Magazine, a top parenting publication. We got more radio play of the title track along with two more songs from the album. I had VISABILITY again!! I was again seen in the right way, by the right people, but it wasn’t the right time. February and March were the worst months for album sales. So… now you see it, now you don’t.
Compounding the challenge – I had just started my career at Microsoft. I was on the Windows 95 launch team and I didn’t have time to play music, let alone promote it. I stopped gigging and sold very few albums.
August 24, 1995 was the Windows 95 launch date, so by June the heavy hours had wound down. The product had released to manufacturing (RTM) and while we were still very busy we got a bit of a breather.
I again started promoting my music and got strong support from my SVP, John Neilson, who was a guitar player and had young children. Looking back, had I not had John’s support I probably wouldn’t have had the freedom to promote the album.
On June 10, 1995, I got a very positive review in USA Today. Their music reporter, Katy Kelly, wrote “Friends of the Family are just the people you want to take along on a long car trip.” This was the day after actor Hugh Grant was arrested with a prostitute. The headline made it a top selling issue in 1995 and it coincided with school summer break.
This led to five songs on national radio, a live radio broadcast at Disneyland, and more gigs. I was seen in the right way, by the right people, at the right time. USA Today and Hugh Grant had given me more VISABILITY than I’d ever expected. But… now you see it, now you don’t.
I didn’t tour and, in 1995, concerts were the primary selling tool for artists. I had my 15 minutes of VISABILITY but I couldn’t sell both music and Microsoft. I stopped selling music.
Today, history is repeating itself. I started my blog in February 2013. My first year was spent learning how to write in a way that didn’t read like a Microsoft email. 2014 has brought more VISABILITY via social media and workshops. I’ve been quoted on other websites such as Software Advice, a company that gives advice to buyers looking to buy new software, in this recent post.
I was also selected by Docurated as one of the Top-50 Must-Read Blogs on Consultative Selling.
I have a little VISABILITY in the sales community, but if I don’t keep selling – it will be fleeting. That’s true for any sales effort. You can earn VISABILITY for 15 minutes, but you have to keep selling to keep it. This time I’m ready to go. I’ll be seen in the right way, by the right people, at the right time. Now you see it.
©2014 Rick Wong – The Five Abilities® LLC
