“Free” is powerful, but is it effective? Bonus offers and free giveaways are effective tools for moving people to act. All of us can think of examples of “free” First-Time Offers being used by businesses. There’s simply no debating the fact that “free” can attract attention to your offerings. But, there’s a less common follow […]

You don’t want to close 100% of your sales pipeline. As a sales guy it hurts me to write this. But the fact is, many people who could buy your services won’t. And in some cases, the best thing that could happen is for them to encumber your competitor’s time and attention. A lot of […]

You walk into a bar. After ordering a drink you head over to an attractive stranger on the other side of the room and ask, “will you marry me?” They gasp in surprise and exclaim “yes absolutely!” and the two of you live happily ever after. That story is, to put it kindly, painfully ridiculous. […]

If you nearly died, would your business associates care? Now I know the answer to this question for myself. On August 10th I walked into the hospital with breathing troubles. It took until November 6th for me to walk back out … actually, I rolled out and am still learning how to walk. My wife […]

We hit a tipping point in February. And customer behavior is already changing. Do you see the signs? More importantly, how is your business responding to this tipping point? I almost missed it. My first response was anger. And that anger almost blinded me from an important insight. It started a couple months ago. While […]

You can’t have it both ways. You must choose. Here’s the typical conversation. Business Executives: “My website isn’t important to my business. It doesn’t do anything to help drive sales.” Me: “OK. You should take down your website and save the money.” Business Executives: “I can’t do that. I need a website.” Do you see […]

It’s hard to believe. But yes, people do read a 900-word Facebook ad on their mobile phone. It’s counterintuitive. We started running long-form Facebook ads in 2018. It resulted in better targeting of the right prospects. It also reduced our Cost Per Acquisition (CPA). Here’s an example. A Value Investor wanted leads for portfolio management. […]

You’re hurting your business. Every time you ask your customer’s opinion, you’re imperiling your business. And science proves it. You’ve probably heard that Steve Jobs hated focus groups. It’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.” – Steve […]

Hundreds of birds clung to the wires. Shoulder-to-shoulder they stand. A few of you know what that means. Nature whispers “a cold front is coming.” The birds hear those whispers and they survive. In fact, they thrive. But I’m not talking about birds. Here are the loud voices that can derail your business goals: A […]

What’s the best way to catch a dog that doesn’t want to be caught? Get the dog’s attention and run away as fast as you can. The dog will catch you. Then you simply grab the collar. What’s the best way to deal with negative news or negative emotions? Address them at the beginning. Run […]