Certified Marketing Professional University Hires Implementation Director

CMP University is delighted to have hired Jennifer McKinney as the new Implementation Director (that means she helps to get important stuff done). She is a smart cookie with the skills and experience to improve the quality and offerings of CMP. She has enrolled in the CMP course so make sure to say hi. Welcome aboard Jen!

First CMP University Graduate

Congratulations to the first Certified Marketing Professional and graduate of the month, Rhett Oldham. Rhett is the owner or Olympic Mortgage and used the course to hone his marketing Plan. Way to go Rhett, we look forward to seeing you dominate the market with your enhanced marketing skills!

CMP Week One

I'm a little concerned about the MIA students who have not logged in or done any work yet. It can be tough to catch up. It is not hard to do, but people figure they are behind and procrastinate even more instead of working to get back into it. I guess it is all part of the experiment. I will know better what to look for with future applicants.

Overall things are clicking along. It seems like no one liked the pre-test for one reason or another. But now people are interacting, sharing and helping each other with their ideas which is awesome. A few folks are in session 2 which is right on target and about 17 have taken the pre-test.

It's cool to see people learning and doing this tough foundational stuff for their business. This was the biggest obstacle as a consultant- clients did not want to take the time. These folks are going to see huge dividends in their business by asking some tough questions and getting their product focused.

Initial Feedback

I have my first few responses about the course. Most of it is corrections of spelling and grammar or confusion about how to navigate the site. I feel a little discouraged by all of the negative feedback. I did have one person say he thought the material was good so that made me feel better.

I have felt the same way about teaching my online courses at the university. In 5 years I have had only 2 questions about the material in the course. Every question is about how to navigate the site or technical problems. I guess I should have expected this. I am frustrated because I can not (or do not know how) to control many of the things people are asking for. I'm a teacher, not an IT guy. For the university I refer people to the help desk, but I am not able to do that with CMPU, at least not yet.

On the other hand, it is nice to have some more people looking at things. They give me a different perspective on what it is like to see the site (or any educational site) for the first time. I am so used to using this type of software and have to figure things out on my own that I take it for granted that others will do the same.

I love this course software! It is so much better than what I use at the university. There are some awesome administrative tools and I love the way the discussion forums are set up. For my university course I have to log into the site (a 4 step process) and then check each discussion area to see if anyone has posted something new. In this course you have the option to subscribe to discussion forums and you get an html email with the post that allows you to reply or go to the site. That is cool!

Even though there are some questions about how the site is set up, I know it is better than anything else on the market I have used. As long as people are getting something from the material this should be a hit!

Einstein University

You may not be a particle physcicist, but you can become a marketing genius through CMP University. Then there is no need to fudge on your resume.

The Old Man is Gone

OK- he was not that old, because I am about the same age. I just felt weird when I looked at the home page and he was staring at me like "should you really be looking at this site?" I replaced his mug with an enlarged CMP logo. Since most of the page is a template that is really the only branding I have so I pumped it up a bit. Besides the header on this page is huge.

So above you see a typical thought process for me. I will spend hours or days agonizing over the smallest details of how the site looks. The truth is that no one really cares. Unless the site is really crappy, people are just looking for the info they need. Two lessons here:

1. Don't get in the way of your viewers. They are more interested in finding relevant information quickly than looking at your web design or reading about your company history.

2. Don't spend all your time on low leverage activities in the name of "perfectionism." Trying to be perfect is impossible, and is usually an excuse not to move forward due to fear. At least that has been my history.

When I prayed about launching CMP the only thing I heard God say to me was "launch it before it is perfect." Not how many people to recruit, how to design the logo, or what hosting company to use. It was a brilliant statement- especially for me. I have been tinkiering with creating an online class for over 8 years! My MBA thesis back in 1999 was the creation of an online class. I had everything written out including the lessons, but I never felt it was the right time to do it.

What is holding you back? If you are like me, it is yourself. My negativity took the form of being perfect and making everything just right. This time- with God's advice, I set a date of July 1st to have the site done and July 7th to launch to the public. Amazingly in about 30 days I created what I could not do in 8 years by saying I am doing it no matter what- even if it is not perfect.

I hope that you can learn from my mistakes and move forward with your dreams. If you are in CMP University please do not write a plan you never use. Use your plan to set a goal, and then start to make it happen. Be like my friend Catherine (Fisher & Company Real Estate 314-771-6235) who set her sights high and now owns her own realty company. She not only supports her family, she employs other people and helps them provide for their families too.

The Old Man is gone- but it is not the guy from the website, it's me!

CMP University is Here!

As I write this, Silvana is enrolling the Beta team and I am tweaking some last minute items on the site. Nate at Borderland Consulting put together the site and posted the new template this morning. I don't really like the mean looking old man, so he is the first to go. I hope to get his sour puss off the home page lickety split. Take a look and let me know what you think.

Finishing Touches

It's almost ready! The domain now links to the new site and I am frantically trying to get the last minute items in place. I thought I would take just a second to write this blog entry for posterity. We will be registering students tonight and launching tomorrow. Hurray!

Why CMP?

In 1997 I decided I wanted to do an online course. At the time I was working at Hope International University coordinating the online MBA program. Everything was done by email. There were no graphics, chat rooms or formal papers. I had students across the globe from Uganda to the Ukraine, from Palo Alto to the Phillipines. It was great!

In 2000 I started teaching marketing courses at Concordia University in Irvine, CA. The students were great and we had a lot of fun. One thing I did not like was the overpriced and out of date 500 page text book. Marketing has some key principles (I have identified 7), but it is more of an art than a science. It is constantly changing as people, products and markets change.

I wrote my own book to use in my class called The Seven Keys to Marketing Genius: The Complete Guide to Increasing Your Marketing IQ. It is a practical guide for marketing professionals and novices alike. Many people have commented that they like how the material is accessible and practical.

Since writing the book I have been looking around the web and have found some great marketing materials, seminars and information. Most of this stuff could be very useful to entrepreneurs and business people trying to gain an edge. The only problem is that the data is so random. Most of it focuses on the promotional aspects of marketing- things like websites, ads, brochures. Without a sound strategy behind your promotions you are wasting money.

Since I have an academic background and have been teaching on line for several years I decided to create an alternative to the traditional degree program and the scattered bits of information available on the web. The alternative is a course that credentials you as a Certified Marketing Professional (CMP).



CMP University takes you through the Seven Keys book and then has you apply the material by answering questions and participating in discussions. CMP also coaches you through the process of creating your own marketing plan that you can implement for your business right away.

Are you looking for a way to take your business to the next level? Check out CMP University and take the marketing IQ test to see if you are a marketing genius.

CMP University Beta Launch on July 7th

I am stoked by the response I have received for the Beta test for CMP University. I have about 25 great people signed up and ready to get started. The goal was 13, but there were so many good candidates we expanded the offering. I'm working on the last few details to get the site up and running. One of those is to create this CMPU blog.