In the marketing world, radio has earned the reputation of being the odd step-cousin. You know the one. No one knows quite what to do with him. Especially at family gatherings when everyone tries hard to avoid sitting with him. (After all, who knows WHAT he'll start talking about.)Much of that reputation comes from radio being tough to track. On one hand, radio does work. Businesses do notice an increase in sales when they add radio to the...more
There has been a lot of talk lately about the "Real Estate Bubble", and a lot of folks are asking the question: "When it is going to burst"? They are saying that the market just can't sustain this level of growth and appreciation much longer, and I heat them say that it is inevitable that it must come crashing down soon. People are worried. They don't think it can last; That whatever goes up, must come down. These folks have been...more
Are you spending more time trying to get new clients than actually working with them? If the answer is yes, then these three simple ideas will help you. First, have you ever asked for something and got something different to what you thought you*d asked for? Or have you ever thought you had asked for something and got a blank expression or worse... just got completely ignored? Or even worse, been half-way through telling someone what you do for a living and had it dawn on you that they have lost interest in you the moment you began to speak. Of course not... that kind of stuff only happens to me... right? A year or so ago if someone asked me what I did, I*d have gone into my ten-second-elevator speech. Some people were interested and said they*d heard about what I did, some dismissed it and occasionally, I picked up a client. More recently I began to define myself more clearly. Then I redefined my coaching practice. Then I found a new way of introducing myself. What I found was the more I honed in one specific purpose of my business the more interested people became in me and in what I did. Here is a quick example for you. A local insurance broker once brokered over 120 policies to...more
It's that time of year again, when all Canadians rush to their mailboxes, their corner stores or their neighbor's houses to read the latest edition of Maclean's Magazine.For those who don't know it, Maclean's is the Canadian equivalent of Time or Newsweek, and the time of year is the annual Top 100 Employers report - the...more
I recently received an e-mail from an Internet marketing colleague. Actually, it was a series of e-mails. Everything started out pleasantly enough, he initially e-mailed me to tell me that he clicked on my ClickBank payment link and it wasn't working properly, which I appreciated and thanked him for. But it didn't end there. He...more
If you think you've seen and heard everything there is to say, The NEW Game of Business brings new distinctions and a fresh perspective to the world of business.This slim, easy-to-read soft cover book is so good that it should be required reading in business schools around the world. Every entrepreneur and every company employee, from the janitor to the CEO should read and reread this book. The author's quote in Chapter Five quite nicely summarizes the topic of this book. Mitchell Axelrod says this "I help you get from where you are, to where you want to be." The new game in town is that of reciprocity and no longer does the businessperson with the most toys win.Consumers are tired of turning on the television every day to more bad news about badly run businesses. Corruption and scandal seem to rule the day and all this negativity takes a toll on the economy and well being of those who sell and those who buy. Mitchell Axelrod advises that thinking outside the box is so outdated that businesses need to throw away the box entirely and begin playing "The NEW Game of Business." This game is inclusive rather than exclusive and it is based upon service. Reading this book will...more
With the plethora of big-business entities jockeying for the money of students on the path to becoming well-to-do responsible consumers with a house, car, and 1.5 children, it's often missed that the US Government is the first place to start...more
There are a great many books and web sites devoted to real estate investing out there, but most of them concentrate on one specific area of investing. It's often hard to find a general description of real estate investing, one that lists the...more
You need to determine what the value of a customer is to your company. Answer the following questions:How much will the average customer spend with you per year?A = _____________If you provide quality service and products, how many years can you...more
ReferralsA substantial part of your business can come from referrals. The key is to provide extraordinary customer service and educate your clients and influencers to this fact. You must actively cultivate referrals; otherwise you're just...more
Client satisfaction starts with meeting or beating the contractual obligations of the relationship. There are also some intangibles that can help you to over deliver to a client. MeetingsIn most organizations it's easy to deliver additional...more
Most consultants I've talked to don't spend any time trying to recover inactive clients and it's a big mistake. We tend to magnify the problem we had or just want to move on, but sometimes a simple apology and offering to make things...more