Presentation & Professionalism

Walking the Marketing Tightrope

Author

Circuit Magazine
March 19, 2022

Are you allergic to the idea of selling? Do words like marketing and branding make you grimace? Do you hope to create a successful business or enhance your standing in the industry? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then this week's issue of On the Circuit is for you.

We hear from networking guru Craig McKim on how protectors can reframe their distrust of the 'sales process' and find ways to enhance their business branding without compromising their professional integrity.

Elsewhere, we all know how impulsive and mindless posting to social media can damage your brand and professional standing but what can you do to protect your business from employees tarnishing it? We've got the answers in this week's edition of On the Circuit.

Let's get into it.

The Circuit Magazine Podcast

Has the balance between remaining a 'grey professional' and succeeding in your career ever been so blurred?

Selling should NOT be a dirty word in EP; your work depends on it. This is the view of networking maestro Craig McKim, who we welcome back for the second time on the Circuit Magazine Podcast. He's going to help us find tangible solutions to improving our branding and networking both as an operator and as a business.

Join us as we talk to Craig to discuss:

  • How do EP businesses damage themselves on social media and how to avoid it?

  • What is the difference between networking as an employee and as a business owner?

  • How can EP businesses use 'pre-suasion' to create strategic partnerships?

  • When starting a new business how can you develop the necessary marketing skills even if you have no background in it?

If you enjoy listening to the Circuit Podcast and can spare a minute, please rate/review us. Your rating will help us to rank higher making it easier for others to find the podcast.

The Need to Know

On the floor of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH128 lies a man who moments earlier tried to enter the cockpit of the commercial passenger jet high above Melbourne armed with what he told passengers and crew was a bomb.

As unmanned aircraft are becoming more prevalent in our airspace, they are taking an increasingly important role in complex military missions. Many nations, including Turkey, are preparing to bridge technological gaps by increasing local manufacturing.

Armed assassins on a mission to ambush South African Deputy Mayor were stopped in their tracks by bodyguards. Realising that their murder plan had been foiled, the hitmen opened fire at the bodyguards who retaliated, injuring one of the suspects.

Vladimir Putin has ordered around 500 Western-owned planes to remain in Russia, rather than being returned – in effect stealing them from the leasing firms that own them.

The U.S. military will supply F-15s to Egyptian forces, according to a senior U.S. general. Although the US is still the world’s largest arms exporter, the majority of Egypt’s military purchases are being made through Russia (41%), France (21%), and Italy (15%).

Google Maps has gone down, leaving users looking at a blank space. While the website loaded almost as usual, the actual maps seem to have disappeared. It left only a blank world, and meant that the maps were practically useless.

For more timely global updates like this, get the Circuit Daily Briefing delivered to your inbox... daily! Get on the list >

From the Pages of the Circuit Magazine

Anyone who works for you and has their work title/position linked to your company represents your brand and is responsible for your reputation. They can also be a liability for you and may become the weak link of your company and their online activities are such that your competitors can use it against you.

In this article, Denida Grow explains how an unhappy security operative who takes to social media to vent about their working conditions can badly tarnish your company's reputation and standing. So what can you do to protect your brand and image?

If you enjoyed this article and want more great content from across the industry then sign up for the Circuit Magazine >

Circuit Magazine - Latest Issue

What is your protector mindset? • Penetrating a CP Team • Tactical Medicine • Demystifying Combatives • Intelligence Gathering • Learning Cyber • Tactical Considerations • + Much more inside

Situation Report by RANE

While it remains remote, the risk of a major war breaking out between Israel and Iran is slowly growing as the two rivals continue to trade tit-for-tat tactical escalations. On March 13, Iran claimed responsibility for a dozen ballistic missile strikes targeting a secret Israeli intelligence base in the Iraqi Kurdistan capital of Erbil. The following day, Israel's National Cyber Directorate declared a state of emergency after most government websites were temporarily taken offline in a large distributive denial of service (DDoS) cyberattack that Israeli media has since blamed on Iran.

Regardless of the outcome of the West's negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program, Iran and Israel will continue to tactically escalate their covert campaigns against one another.

While both Israel and Iran will seek to avoid a major regional war, the exchange of tactically escalated strikes between the two still carries an inherent risk of triggering unplanned cycles of violence, including in states or regions friendly to Israel.

Special Offer for On the Circuit Readers

Be the smartest person in the room with this exclusive offer from RANE.

From the Community

Eric Zemmour, a far-right candidate for the French election 2022, has become the latest victim in a series of high profile, public egg attacks! What lessons can be learned from this unfortunate incident?

Ask questions, get advice, and find industry resources from an active and thriving community of professional, working operators:

🇺🇸 NABA Protector >

🇬🇧 BBA Connect >

On the Circuit Merch

To any industry insider, being 'On the Circuit' means being operationally active in the world of international protection. To anyone else, it's just three words. Those who know, know!

Upcoming Events

Hosted by Craig Mckim and open to protectors at any and all levels! Protectors, law enforcement and military are all welcome! Come along for a night of great conversations and connections with protectors from the DFW area, throughout Texas and beyond!

Meanwhile, in Mexico

Each time Maria Martinez leaves home, she fears it will be the last. Only her bodyguards prevent her from joining the eight journalists murdered already this year in Mexico.

The two retired special forces members in civilian clothes watch for any approaching vehicle or person, and when Martinez walks outside, they follow close behind.

"I owe them my life. Without them I wouldn't be alive anymore," she said.

Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for members of the press.

Around 150 journalists have been murdered in Mexico since 2000, and only a fraction of the crimes have resulted in convictions.

Most crime reporters "depend on the number of stories or photos they sell to pay their rent, so they prioritize production over safety,"

What We're Reading

A Carnegie Foundation report discovered that 85% of a person’s job success is a product of interpersonal skills and that only 15% of success is the result of technical knowledge. (1)

This is a fundamental truth; the most efficient way to make someone do what you want is to make them want to do it. If your principal likes you they are far more likely to trust you and will be compelled to follow your instructions. If you place yourself at odds with them on a personal level they will be inclined to question everything you say.

For this symbiotic relationship to work the principal must both like and respect the members of his or her team. It may surprise some that tiny details of etiquette are massively degrading to this relationship.

A butler is frequently the first point of call to hear about what the client does not like.

In his latest newsletter, Simeon Rosset, friend of the podcast, shares his thoughts and insights on this important dynamic.

Final Thought

Until next week...

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