How Well Are Your Customers Being Treated?
“A thousand things advance; nine hundred and ninety-nine retreat: That is progress.” – Henri Frederic Amiel As a general rule, customer service today stinks. Little businesses tend to be sloppy and forgetful. Big businesses and organizations are even worse. They seem to have policies specifically designed to infuriate you. Trying…
READ MOREThe Myth of the Limited Market
A request I received this morning reminded me of a little-understood but immensely important principle of advertising. I call it the “infinite-universe” principle. If you know this principle and apply it to your business, you can make a lot more money and avoid a lot of needless bickering. The particular…
READ MOREWhat New Freelancers Can Learn From Tiger Woods
“Gather in your resources, rally all your faculties, marshal all your energies, focus all your capacities upon mastery of at least one field of endeavor.” – John Haggai Remember when Tiger Woods won his first Masters Tournament? A lot of people figured he won simply because of his outstanding talent.…
READ MORESix Myths About How to Manage People
“I have come to the conclusion that my subjective account of my motivation is largely mythical on almost all occasions. I don’t know why I do things.” – J.D.S. Haldane There are six major myths about the “people dimension” of management — all of which ignore the “it-all-depends” aspect of…
READ MOREHow to Pick a Financial Adviser You Can Trust
“The people I distrust most are those who want to improve our lives but have only one course of action.” – Frank Herbert Not all financial planners are bad. But many are bad for your wealth. Financial planners can screw things up for many reasons: Conflicted interest and just…
READ MOREThe Magic of a Dollar
“You can stroke people with words.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald It’s common knowledge that the word “free” is the most powerful word in the sales-and-marketing lexicon — and that the free offer is almost always irresistible. But experienced marketers know that, at times, charging a dollar can be more effective…
READ MOREHow to Judge a Learning Program
How many piano/guitar/you-name-the-instrument courses have a 90% success rate? Answer: none. How many language programs? Same answer. How many colleges or graduate schools or technical schools end up seeing 90% of their students graduate and then use the knowledge the attained in their careers? Again, the answer is zero ……
READ MOREHow to Use Mainstream Magazines to Guide Your Investment Decisions
“Contradiction is not a sign of falsity, nor the lack of contradiction a sign of truth.” – Blaise Pascal Is it possible to use Time magazine (or any other major mainstream magazine) as a guide when you’re looking for investment guidance? It’s not only possible but actually makes good sense,…
READ MORETwo Things You Must Do to Make Sure Your Good Business Doesn’t Fall Apart
One of the first things I did upon taking on AP as a client, many years ago, was to revamp the customer-service department. Employing models of other customer-service systems I’d established in the past, I replaced most of the staff with better-educated, more articulate, and more conscientious workers … I…
READ MOREReal Estate: Be a Sharp Investor First, A Sharp Borrower Second
“Genius is the ability to put into effect what is in your mind.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald (“The Note-Books,” The Crack-Up, 1945) Forbes published its first list of America’s Richest People in 1982. At the top of that list was a man named Daniel Ludwig. You’ve probably never heard of…
READ MOREHow Much Do You Want to Make? Here’s How to Do It
I’ve said many times that to become wealthy you need to learn and practice a financially valuable skill — and most such skills have something to do with helping a business make money. There is virtually no limit to the amount of money you can make if you become skillful…
READ MOREKill Your Customers With Kindness
“Sow good services; sweet remembrances will grow them.” – Madame de Stael Killing his customers with kindness has been the policy of PM, a restaurateur in my neighborhood, who has used it to develop a chain of eight or 10 businesses that are very profitable. Sometimes, he sells them and…
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