Give Them a Reason to Say Yes.

I photographed Lady Gaga at Revolution Live.

My interview work included Aerosmith, The Crystal Method, Less Than Jake, and The Wailers. Those were some of the memorable parts of building The Barcode Magazine.

They weren't the parts that kept the business running.

I also had to secure funding, earn access, sell advertising, manage a team, and get more than 30,000 copies of the finished publication into distribution across South Florida.

Every one of those responsibilities depended on someone making a decision and my job was to give them a reason to say yes.

Putting money behind the idea

I secured upfront capital to help fund The Barcode Magazine. Then I had to turn the idea into something people could understand, support, advertise in, and ultimately read. I developed the business plan and brand, created sales materials, worked across the website and magazine layout, and helped shape pricing and the advertising strategy.

The publication also included a dining and nightlife directory, connecting the editorial product with businesses operating in the same South Florida entertainment arena.

A reader needed a reason to pick up the magazine.

An advertiser needed a reason to pay for space in it.

An investor needed confidence that there was a business behind the idea.

Those were all different decisions.

Finding the person who could move things forward

Securing interviews meant building relationships with talent agents and understanding who actually controlled access. I knew the artist with a recognizable name would be the eventual story, but my first conversation was often with someone else.

That taught me to look beyond the person or company I ultimately wanted to reach and identify who actually had the ability to move the opportunity forward.

The same principle applied to business development.

An artist's agent was deciding whether an interview made sense.

A restaurant or nightlife owner was deciding whether the magazine deserved part of their marketing budget.

My enthusiasm for Barcode couldn't answer those questions for them. I had to understand the decision from their side.

Someone still had to buy the advertising

I secured advertising from local dining and nightlife businesses.

That meant sitting across from business owners and asking them to spend money on something I had helped create. They could like the magazine and still say no. To earn the business, I had to connect the publication, its audience, and its distribution to something that mattered to the advertiser.

Barcode covered entertainment, nightlife, restaurants, and the places associated with going out in South Florida. Its advertisers operated in that same world.

That alignment gave me the basis for the conversation.

But it didn't close the sale by itself.

I still had to make the case.

Then we had to deliver

I managed designers, writers, sales staff, and production support while helping coordinate distribution of more than 30,000 copies from Miami to Boca Raton.

The publication also extended into event photography, email marketing, social media, and developing an online presence.

The work was interconnected.

Editorial had to be finished.

Advertisers needed the space they had purchased.

The magazine had to make its print deadline.

Distribution had to happen.

Getting someone to agree was only the beginning. Once we had their commitment, we had to deliver what made that commitment worthwhile.

What this experience brings to CTG

Barcode put me in the position of asking people to commit something valuable.

Sometimes it was access.

Sometimes it was capital.

Sometimes it was part of a business owner's marketing budget.

That experience still influences how we think about websites at CTG.

We start by understanding the decision the customer is being asked to make.

What are they committing?

What do they need to understand first?

What evidence will help them feel confident?

What questions could stop them from moving forward?

Then we look at what happens after they say yes.

An inquiry, appointment, purchase, or signed agreement creates an expectation. The experience that follows has to justify the confidence that got them there.

Barcode taught me that getting attention can open a door and getting the yes creates an obligation to deliver what made it worth giving.

Does your website give people enough reason to say yes—and enough confidence to follow through?