Tom Ruwitch
A group of business leaders were talking yesterday about EMPATHY. All of us agreed: Empathy is a critical ingredient to market and sell well. Then the conversation turned to an interesting question: Is empathy an innate trait? Are you born one way or another — empathetic or not? Here’s how Aleasha Bahr answered: All human…
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I read something that made me laugh out loud the other day. It’s in Aleasha Bahr’s new book “Black Sheep Sales.” Page 13: Black Sheep Sales Commandments, #10: “Detach from the sale. It’s about the prospect’s best interests. NO ONE likes commission breath.” Ooooh, that’s hilariously good. Most of us have been on the receiving end…
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I’ve had things go wrong during live presentations. But I’ve never had a client die. So imagine my horror when a blood-thirsty mob went after my client Lynn as she dished out some know-how during my online roundtable last night. Lynn was listing all she does to turn webinar registrants into clients. Long list: And…
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Later this evening, I’m hosting a small-group Roundtable called “Turn Content to Clients Daily.” Here’s a sad-but-true tale that sheds light on why I’m hosting this event (and why you might wish to attend)… A few months ago, I asked clients in my Content Transformation Academy if they had any unreleased work. And all of them said,…
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Welcome to the new-look version of RecomMONDAYtions. I’m experimenting with a stripped-down, image-free version of my Monday-morning newsletter… …to see whether delivery rates improve. The meanies at Microsoft, Gmail, Yahoo (etc.) are constantly changing the rules of the game. So marketers have to adjust if they want to maximize email opens and engagement. Too many…
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I used to work with a guy who bragged about his email open rates and social media likes… …but struggled to grow his business. While his business flirted with failure, he celebrated “success” based on vanity metrics. Email opens and social engagement are swell. They make us feel good. Each open and like strokes our…
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Here’s a sad but true tale about a marketing “expert” whose advice was SO BAD it belongs in the Storytelling Hall of Shame. I stumbled across him on LinkedIn. He had 10,000+ followers so I thought he was credible… …until he said you should NEVER begin a story by saying, in effect, “Here comes a story.” A…
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I heard this story from a business owner named Chris who lost a little money before making a lot. The story begins with paid advertising and a low-cost product. Chris invested in ads to drive cold leads to a page where he sold a low-cost product. The results: For every $1000 he spent on advertising,…
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Happy 140th Birthday Huckleberry Finn (the novel, that is, published on this day in 1885). One of my favorite stories from the novel: the time Huck tried to pass as a girl. He put on a dress. He strolled into town. And he confidently introduced himself as… Sarah Williams. So far, so good. But then he forgot his own…
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Recommended Reading 💡 A Case Study in B2B Storytelling Here’s a fascinating case study in B2B storytelling from Ann Handley that proves how thinking outside the box can transform even the most “boring” products into compelling content. Tennant Company, which sells industrial floor-cleaning equipment, launched a brilliant “Custodians Are Key” contest that invited nominations for outstanding…
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