I decided to put up this challenge that I'm personally going through right now. I think it's one of the best ways to get additional business, find new opportunities, making more sales, whatever your goal is right now. It's geared toward getting you lots of connections and making more money in under 30 days, and it doesn't require any real "work". The only work that is required is contacting people that you don't know or don't know well. Here's how it works. Step 1: Pick 50 target … [Read more...]
Why You Should Never Listen to Your Customers
January 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment
I was reading an interesting article recently by Mark Cuban (owner of the Dallas Maverick, multi-billionaire internet entrepreneur) and I was quite intrigued by his thoughts on NOT listening to your customers and I couldn't agree more. If you think about the following, it makes a lot of sense. Why would you want to listen to your customers thoughts on what features they want to see in your product/service and then implement those? Your competitors might be out there inventing the future that … [Read more...]
Having problems standing out from your competition? Read this
December 22, 2011 By 1 Comment
I was asked the other day something that I get asked very frequently, in fact it might be the most commonly asked question from clients. This scenario is repeated over and over with many companies that I've helped over years and years, across many industries and niches and the answer is virtually always the same. The main key to successfully standing out from your competition is far less complicated than many people make it out to be. The main problem is that we have been taught from years … [Read more...]
Marketing lessons from Mitt and the $10,000 Bet
December 15, 2011 By 1 Comment
The big social media takeaway from last weekend’s Republican debate in Iowa was Mitt Romney offering Rick Perry a $10,000 bet on a policy position. But the moment also provides 3 great lessons for marketers. Context is critically important. One of the first lessons we learn is the importance of context – there is a time and place for every message. Anyone caught passing a note to the cute girl in the front row in first grade and facing the embarrassment of having the note read aloud … [Read more...]
Limitations are the death of marketers
November 24, 2011 By 2 Comments
When I got into marketing years and years ago, I did it because I was trying to prove someone wrong and prove something to myself. One of my college professors told me that I needed to master their way of "marketing" and that would be only way that I would ever amount to anything in the marketing business. The professor had very good information for the time and I can't knock them for teaching what has traditionally worked, however he was almost entirely wrong. What we know as modern … [Read more...]
Why Loyalty In Business Is Important
November 2, 2011 By 1 Comment
I think loyalty in business is extremely important. A while back ran into a celebrity in Los Angeles, whom I won't name, whom attributed almost all of his success due to the fact that he wasn't selfish and was constantly loyal to his crew, even though that crew was largely successful because of him... he was largely success because of that crew. This chance encounter put things into an interesting perspective for me. It's not necessarily about individual business partners, because … [Read more...]
What I’ve Learned From Consulting
October 29, 2011 By 6 Comments
I've learned a lot over the years of consulting with various companies. I've decided to share some generalities now that some of my earlier non-disclosures have passed. I'm still not going to mention any specific companies or industries. We'll keep this on a general level, because I don't believe in sharing any private information even after an NDA has passed. Let's start from the very beginning of the process of working with a new client. This is actually one of the most important parts … [Read more...]
Brand Value – When all things are equal, what makes the difference?
October 17, 2011 By 2 Comments
When all things are equal, what makes the difference? Why do you drive the kind of car you drive? Why did you select a particular type of computer? Something in your experience, even if it was as simple as reading a recommendation, prompted you to make one choice over another. Apple is one of the all time great brands, built around excellent design and an “it just works” brand promise. I am always amazed when I walk into one of their retail stores – how many places are you told … [Read more...]
How To Increase Your Productivity From Batching
September 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Batching is one of my most favorite techniques to increase my productivity. Batching is literally as it sounds. If you make a bunch of cookies at once, you made a batch, essentially you were batching by making a lot at once (instead of 1 at a time.) The cookie example makes a lot of sense, but here's what doesn't make a lot of sense... A lot of Internet and Affiliate Marketers, don't use batching at all and it's a total productivity killer. This means you are making 1 cookie at a time rather … [Read more...]
Marketing Tactic: The Image Uplifter
September 6, 2011 By 3 Comments
The Image Uplifter is an age old marketing tactic thats been used for hundreds (maybe thousands) of years. The concept is simple yet very specific. It works like this: if someone uses your product or service, their image is going to improve. That's what you want to portray in your marketing. That can be in many forms, the simplest way to understand is to think of a social hierarchy, and if your customers use your service they are going to raise in that social hierarchy. That's what you want … [Read more...]
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