Good Examples

One of the great business stories of all time is also one of the shortest. The tagline/lesson is a classic: You can pay me now… …or pay me later. If you watched television in the 70s, you couldn’t miss those ads for Fram oil filters. The broken car. The expensive repair. The mechanic saying all…

On Tuesday, I shared a video that revealed how to sell more, with greater confidence and clarity, and without feeling like a pest. A subscriber replied: “I just viewed your video. Do you have any suggestions for specific language to use that makes the ‘promotional stuff’ sound like a genuine, non-pushy invitation?” My answer: Don’t sweat the…

Happy National Repeal Day!   If you partake, pop some bubbly, pour yourself a stiff one, or enjoy a cold-frosty. Today’s the day (in 1933) when prohibition in the USA ended… …except in Mississippi which continued to prohibit alcohol until 1966… …which reminds me of the amusing and curious tale of Soggy Sweat. Noah “Soggy” Sweat…

Last night, Melissa and I saw Mavis Staples at the Sheldon Concert Hall in St. Louis. (Holy hall-of-famer, Batman! What a great concert!) “Mavis who?” you say. Mavis Staples… inducted in the Gospel, Blues, and Rock and Roll halls of fame. Four-time Grammy Award winner, including a Lifetime Achievement Award. A Kennedy Center Honoree. And…

I came across this question earlier in an online marketing forum: “What are some of the most effective strategies you’ve used for converting social media followers into loyal customers?” My answer: Offer social media followers a valuable resource in exchange for their email address… …so they’ll be on my email list. A quick story to…

Riddle me this, Batman… …What’s the difference between “easy” and “simple?” I’ve been pondering that since Tuesday when I toured Redirect Health in Phoenix with its CEO, David Berg. Redirect helps companies find and deliver affordable healthcare plans without sacrificing quality coverage. For more than 10 years, the company’s slogan was “Easy and Affordable Healthcare.”…

From 38,000 feet elevation, enroute to Phoenix… I have a sign on my desk, to the left of my computer, where I see and think about it every day. The sign says: You Won’t Profit Unless You Implement My friend Vance Morris sent it to me. Vance is one of my marketing heroes. Vance knows…

I once met with a businessman who wanted my help to grow his financial planning business. I passed… …not just because his services seemed shady… …but also (and primarily) because he kept referring to his prospects and customers as “suckers.” P.T. Barnum often gets the credit (or the rap?) for saying, “There’s a sucker born…

Ripped from the headlines: Pepperidge Farm has temporarily changed the name of its bite-sized cheddar cheese crackers from “Goldfish” to “Chilean Sea Bass.”  WTF!?? This has to be a joke, right? Ummmm…. ….no… …It’s true. They even have a website — scheduled to run through October 30 — where you can buy them. Go to ChileanSeaBassCrackers.com.…

Happy Steve Jobs Day! Yeah, it’s true. There’s an unofficial holiday to celebrate Apple’s co-founder… …and October 16 is the day.   To celebrate the occasion, I have to share my favorite Steve Jobs story — the one about the time he introduced the iPhone. Let’s take the Wayback Machine to January 2007. The Macworld Conference…