Book Review: “I Can See You Naked,” Part 2

““Oratory is just like prostitution; you must have little tricks.”” – Vittorio Emanuele Orlando In “I Can See You Naked,” Ron Hoff’s key insight about public speaking is this: You are being asked to speak because someone believes you have something valuable to say to the audience, something that will help them. You have to…

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Dressing Your Direct Mail (And Internet Contacts) For Success

““People exercise an unconscious selection in being influenced.”” – T.S. Eliot I recently attended a seminar given by Alan Rosenspan, a direct-marketing pro who worked for legendary ad man David Ogilvy before forming his own agency, Alan Rosenspan & Associates ( www.alanrosenspan.com). He’s a very bright guy who knows a lot about marketing. I got…

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How My Friend BM Became Rich And Famous

““Business is a good game – lots of competition and a minimum of rules. You keep score with money.”” -Nolan Bushnell (Atari founder) I wish you could know my friend BM. He might inspire you. He certainly inspires me. I’m sure you would like him. He’s very nice, very self-effacing. If you met him in…

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Creating A Master Plan For Your Business

“”Plans get you into things, but you got to work your way out.”” – Will Rogers SB came back from visiting FSP, raving about how well the company worked. In particular, she was impressed with the commitment of the employees, their dedication and loyalty, and the very positive esprit de corps that exists in AGP’s…

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The Secret Power Of Information Marketing

““A billion here, a billion there – pretty soon it adds up to real money.”” – Senator Everett DirksenSilicon Valley has produced a whole generation of billionaires. There are the hardware billionaires, including the Hewlett-Packard families (whose $10 billion family fortune now exceeds that of the Ford Foundation), the Intel fortune billionaires (Gordon Gates alone…

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The Importance of Making Contacts

“I get by with a little help from my friends.” -John Lennon We have talked about how much faster you will accomplish your career goals if you put yourself out in the marketplace and meet prospective partners/employers/proteges/vendors. One of the best ways to get out there is to attend trade shows and seminars. The problem…

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Whining About Favors

I recently intercepted a memo from a partner of mine that asked a business associate for a favor. It was a nothing-much memo regarding a not-all-that-important request – but I intervened because I thought it could hurt business. Mutual back scratching, as I’ve often said, is a big part of good business. All the successful…

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10 Things You Should Know About E-Mail Marketing

““If people don’t want to come out to the ball park, nobody’s going to stop them.”” – Yogi Berra Of all the opportunities the Internet offers individual wealth seekers, e-mail marketing is my personal favorite. (By e-mail marketing, I mean sending e-mail sales messages to customers or potential customers.) My preference reflects my prejudice –…

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TV Commercials – What You (And Only You) Can Do

“”Advertising in the final analysis should be news. If it is not news it is worthless.”” – Adolph S. Ochs One of the biggest mistakes you can make when it comes to TV or video advertising is to rely on the “experts” to figure out how to market your product. If you have been selling…

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How To Pull Ahead Of Your Competitors Through Cooperation

““Competition is the offspring of fear; cooperation, the child of confidence.”” – Mark Morgan Ford If you remember the movie Wall Street, you may recollect the character Gordon Gecko (played by Michael Douglas) – a viciously ambitious stockbroker who broke every ethical rule and took advantage of every relationship to further his career. (KY reminds…

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How To Make Friends In High Places

““Shallow men believe in luck . . . . Strong men believe in cause and effect.”” – Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Conduct of Life Today, I am going to open a little door into your future. First, answer this question: Who in your industry would you like to know? Whose trust or confidence would you…

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How To Build A Lasting Business By Loving Your Clients

““Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me. They possess and enjoy early, and it does something to them, makes them soft where we are hard, and cynical where we are trustful.”” – Francis Scott Fitzgerald, The Rich Boy Several years ago, I arranged a conference call between…

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