Are You Guilty of “Executive Blah Blah”?
“An empowered organization is one in which individuals have the knowledge, skill, desire, and opportunity to personally succeed in a way that leads to collective organizational success.” – Stephen R. Covey “Blah blah” refers to words that have little meaning. When we talk to a dog, the dog responds to…
READ MORESell First. Ask Questions Later.
“The first blow is half the battle.” – Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774), She Stoops to Conquer Two separate start-up ventures recently profiled in Success magazine illustrate the importance of what I will pompously dub MMFs First Rule of Business: Sell first. Ask questions later. What I am about to say applies…
READ MOREThe Emotion to Pocketbook Connection
“When dealing with people, let us remember we are not dealing with creatures of logic. We are dealing with creatures of emotion, creatures bustling with prejudices and motivated by pride and vanity.” – Dale Carnegie To be a successful businessperson, you need to understand the emotions that move people…
READ MOREHow to Quintuple Response Rates with the Reciprocity Rule
“The soil in return for her service / keeps the tree tied to her, / the sky asks nothing and leaves it free.” – Rabindranath Tagore (“Fireflies,” 1928) In “The Psychology of Persuasion”, Robert Cialdini tells the story of a university professor who was interested in how deeply people feel…
READ MOREHow I Plan to Beat the Stock Market Safely
“No one tests the depth of a river with both feet.” – Ashanti proverb I’ve been talking to people I trust and have recommended to you — and they’ve convinced me that right now there are still two good options for conservative investors like me. First, I am going…
READ MORETapping the Hidden Profit Center in Your Company: The “Business Within Your Business”
Your first business is your main one — the one you know you are in. Your second business is the one you automatically qualify to be in as a result of the knowledge you have to possess in order to deliver your main product or service. You can tap…
READ MOREAppeal to Your Customers Heart and Brain in the Right Order
“Man is a mixture of desires that extend beyond his knowledge and often result in action conflicting with rationality.” – Charles A. Lindbergh (“Atlantis,” Autobiography of Values, 1978) The following story illustrates a million-dollar business secret. RP was unsure about whether he should buy another standard SUV or upgrade…
READ MOREAlways Overestimate The Time It Will Take To Complete A Project
Life is always more complicated than it seems like it should be. No matter how sure you are that you can get that report done by next Tuesday, something (or more likely, several things) will intervene to make Monday night a nightmare for you. Be smart. If you have the…
READ MOREWhen You Want Customers to Buy, Tell Them They Cant
“What the eye sees not, the heart craves not.” – Dutch proverb A few years ago, I came across a brochure promoting the services of an independent consultant named Sommers White. It was written entirely in a question-and-answer format — and the first Q & A in the lead…
READ MORECan You Help This Man Straighten Out His Life?
A recent issue of People magazine on the growing world of the unemployed in the United States (something we’ve been talking about in ETR) profiled Larry Schenone. “Eighteen months after losing his job as an engineering manager for a St. Louis defense contractor,” the magazine says, “Schenone has recovered from…
READ MOREWhy You Can’t Really “Attract” Success and Happiness — and How to Get Them Both
Michael J. Losier sees a relationship between the subatomic world, in which electrons in atoms always orbit the nuclei in prescribed ways, and human experience, in which positive and negative experiences seem to follow prescribed patterns. “Have you noticed,” he asks, “that sometimes what you need just falls into place…
READ MOREHow To Find Customers Who Are 5x More Likely to Purchase
“Seize opportunity by the beard, for it is bald behind.” – Bulgarian proverb You have already cultivated a relationship with your customers — you have put in the time and money to get their attention, establish credibility, and close that first sale. That’s by far the most difficult part…
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