Picture this. A retired dentist in his 70s likes to go to Florida in his large motor home. He goes to a new town each year. And when he arrives, the first thing he does is… find the name and addresses of all the local dentists. Then, he sits down and he writes a letter … Read more
Gary Bencivenga, the world’s greatest living copywriter, wrote a superb newsletter called “Bencivenga Bullets”. Gary began that newsletter by sharing what he called “The Credo Technique”, which is Latin for “I believe”. The Credo Technique is when you express your most strongly held values and beliefs. When you do this, it helps you attract and bond … Read more
At the turn of the twentieth century, a Canadian company called Liquozone set out to conquer the US. Their product was good… but their advertising failed… and Liquozone fell into heavy debt. In a last-ditch attempt to avoid bankruptcy, the company’s owner met with every leading advertising agent in Chicago. When he asked for the … Read more
Marketers tend to make a lot of mistakes. I know I used to. In fact, many times I thought I was doing the right thing… only to find out I was making my situation a lot worse! Below are some of the biggie mistakes. Make sure you aren’t doing them: Modeling the competition Lots of … Read more
Does this sound familiar? You sit down, wheel your chair towards the desk, and turn on your computer. You open Word, stare at the screen, and scroll up and down the page. Maybe you have a quick look at your emails… … and return to the document half an hour later. Then you tell yourself … Read more
Harry Redknapp is a former football (soccer) manager. And he’s one hell of a character. A case in point… There’s a great video of Big ‘Arry (as he’s affectionately known) giving a media interview at his team’s training ground. He was talking to the reporter… when… a ball smashed into his back. On camera, ‘Arry … Read more
Imagine two different salesmen walking down the street. One goes from door to door and talks to people, makes his pitch, and asks for an order. If what he’s doing is working, his pockets will be stuffed full of cash and orders by the end of the day. If not, his pockets will be bare … Read more
One of my favorite business books is The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber. At one point, Gerber recalls a former Professor talking about “burnt child syndrome”. This is when a child is simultaneously rewarded and punished for the same behavior. As a result, they have no idea what to expect or how to act. Gerber’s … Read more
Have you ever seen the TV program, Suits? In the episode I watched this morning, Mike and Robert Zane tried to persuade a lady called Emma to join a lawsuit. The case was against a company responsible for her husband’s death… but… she was resistant. You see, the last time Mike and Robert visited Emma, … Read more
Herein lie 7 books you won’t find on many “what I’m reading” lists of marketing gurus. And actually, they’re not even the best business, marketing or copywriting books, per se. They’re just the books I’ve stumbled across and thought to myself, “why has nobody told me about this before?” And which I think should be … Read more