Imitation Is Not Just a Form of Flattery, It’s Good Business
To Mark Pincus, a 37-year-old Silicon Valley entrepreneur profiled in a recent issue of Forbes Small Business, being a copycat can be a virtue. As the magazine puts it, Pincus has made a lucrative career out of “lurking behind the leaders in the hot high-tech sector.” Though a few of…
READ MOREHow to Impress the Heck Out of Potential Clients
In Message #1109, I told the story of a friend of mine who, in my opinion, blew her chance to promote her self-published book (which was not available in most bookstores) on Oprah’s show. She didn’t sell any books as a result of her appearance, because she never checked to…
READ MORESuccessful Business Meetings Begin Long Before They Are Scheduled
“One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation.” – Arthur Ashe Like it or not, every business meeting is a forced performance. You are on stage. The people you are meeting with are your audience. What you do, how you act, what you…
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Lessons from a Millionaire Taxi Driver
While visiting Australia about six years ago, I received a surprising lesson on the ETR principle of “Living Rich” from my taxi driver.
READ MORESelling Is Simple – Keeping It Simple Is Hard
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” – Leonardo da Vinci I’m having an ongoing e-mail argument with two colleagues about selling homes in our beautiful seaside community on the Pacific Ocean in Nicaragua. It began with a letter written for prospective customers that described a near drowning in the surf. This…
READ MOREThe Easiest Way to Immediately Advance Your Career
Dear ETR Reader, Today, I’d like to tell you about the easiest way to immediately advance your career–no matter what field you work in. In fact, you could add anywhere from $25,000 to $50,000 to even $100,000 a year to your salary right now – and it wouldn’t involve changing…
READ MOREHow to Get the Most Out of ALL Your Employees
This is the four-step model I use to motivate my employees — everyone from the top on down — and maximize the productivity of the entire group: 1. Invest in your top performers. Spend time, money, and educational resources to locate, hire, train, and supply superstar employees. Don’t leave this…
READ MOREChoose Your Friends and Business Associates Wisely
In a short article in Message #1045, I said this about the importance of the way you spend your time: “Remember, what you do most of in life is what you become — whether you like it or not.” And when Porter read that, it reminded him of the summer…
READ MOREPromote Your Business in Subtle Ways When You Make A Presentation
Whenever you give a talk at an association meeting or a meeting of any other business group, your presentation should be 100% useful information — with not one word of self-promotion. “But then how do I get business if I don’t talk about my product or service?” you may…
READ MOREThe Secret of Transubstantiation, Part 1
“No idea is so outlandish that it should not be considered with a searching but at the same time a steady eye.” If you take the time to “get” the marketing secret I’m going to tell you about today — the way I got it years ago — it could…
READ MOREMake Your Mission Statement Simple, Straightforward, And Easy To Understand
Does your company’s mission statement look something like this?: “We work toward harnessing niches and strategizing our effort-intensive infomediaries.” Or this?: “Our obligation is to work to revolutionize our solutions and tirelessly embrace synergies to enable us skillfully aggregate supply-chains.” These gobbledygook examples come to us courtesy of nonsense.sourceforge.net, the…
READ MOREWhat My Dad Taught Me About Advertising
Here’s one advertising technique that may work for you. Ironically, I learned it from my dad. I say “ironically” because my father had no interest in advertising or marketing. His expertise was insurance. He was an insurance agent, and he knew the technical aspects of insurance inside and out. He…
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