Why a little tough love is the best thing for you
“I can’t read cursive.” That was the shamefaced confession spoken by a restaurant hostess when she couldn’t find our name on the reservation list. Even looking at it upside down, I had no trouble spotting “Jillian” in the looping longhand of this poor young lady’s devilish co-host. But we’re not here to talk about the […]
Two revealing questions you should ask every customer
No time for pleasantries today. I’ll tell you why in a second. But for now … If you want to know every step of your prospect’s buying journey, simply have your current customers describe it to you. Among the most important questions you should ask are: “Why did you buy our product now?” and … […]
The secret to getting your prospects to pre-sell themselves
You know what the expression “foot in the door” means, don’t you? Good. Now, imagine yourself confronted with an old-timey door-to-door salesman, literally putting his foot in your doorway to prevent you from closing it on his pitch. Madness, right? But there was a time that technique moved gazillions of dollars in vacuum cleaners, encyclopedias, […]
Why you’ll do your best thinking in these overlooked places
A friend of mine made fun of me for wearing wired earbuds the other day. He said it slowly, too, as if I’d been cryogenically frozen since 2001 and was still getting my bearings. What he didn’t know was that I stream high-definition music that requires a wired connection to handle the file size. This […]
Why some testimonials fail (no matter how high the praise)
Have you seen these horrendous Chick-fil-A commercials on TV? If not, the whole spot is a close-up of one of their disappointing sandwiches with a voice-over that begins with something like … “Hey, this is Cody. And a little thing I love about the Chick-fil-A grilled spicy deluxe sandwich is …” Then Cody launches into […]
The 92-word email that converts your on-the-fence prospects
I just bought an online course minutes before the deadline was about to expire for its introductory price. (After that, the price was going up by 50%.) It wasn’t because I’m a procrastinator. Or that I was late to the party and snagged the deal before the doors slammed shut. The truth is, I’d known […]
How this weekly exercise can help you sell more customers
How were your holidays? A distant memory? Mine too. But here’s something that happened that’ll be forever burned into my dome … It was the bewildered look on a woman’s face at a party when she learned I used to be in the automotive diagnostic and repair business. The truth is most people have trouble associating […]
Why you should start acting like a baby at work
I grabbed a half day last week so I could assist my electrician John with some work around the house. And by “assist,” I mean handing him the wrong tools and pacing nervously until he says it might be better if I went into the other room. But John perked up when I told him […]
How Warren Buffett’s sisters can give your marketing a more personal touch
You wouldn’t believe who I sat next to on my flight to Atlanta … EVA LONGORIA!! … No, I didn’t. But I once got Jillian to believe it for a few seconds before confessing that it wasn’t true. As always, she didn’t think my childish game was as funny as I did. And she became […]
Why your natural desire to think logically can tank your sales
Think your customers buy for logical, rational reasons? Think again. Here’s how to get to the real “why” behind the buying decision.
