Sarah is a young woman who attended one of my sales negotiation training programs shortly after taking a new job. When I asked her how she did with her salary negotiation, she replied, "Well, I didn't negotiate. I was offered $44,000 and I took it. "Why didn't you negotiate?" I asked. "Because I didn't want to start off my new job on the wrong foot" she replied.Donald works for a small weekly newspaper. He likes his job and his employer, Jeanne....more
You've heard marketing and advertising gurus quip, "Sell the sizzle, not the steak." Advertising initiatives best reach their target audience with benefits and the "wow" effect, not the value or features of their product or service. This may work well to get customers in the door. But once they're in, you better have some substance. How can you ensure you uphold the integrity of your business and still maintain the "Wow Effect"? It just takes...more
Sure, as tactics usually presented to business, non-profit and association managers, special events, brochures and news releases are fine. But they're not the high-octane PR firepower you need to deliver growth results like new proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures; accelerating prospect contacts; rising membership applications; customers making repeat purchases; rebounds in showroom visits, or capital givers and specifying sources looking your way. As you add such firepower, you should see stronger relationships with educational, labor, financial and healthcare interests; new community service and sponsorship opportunities; improved relations with government agencies and legislative bodies; enhanced activist group relations, and expanded feedback channels, not to mention new thoughtleader and special event contacts. And here's the key that can unlock such a bonanza, the underlying premise of public relations: people act on their own perception of the facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which something can be done. When we create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-action the very people whose...more
I went to my barber a few days ago. We talked about his hobby, which is playing poker, and his nephew who is a boxer, and about my job and my kids, etc., etc. I told him where my son, a high school senior, wants to go to college. It is a rather expensive private school in the city where we live. Jerry, my barber, said he knows several people...more
Today, good credit is the one constant necessity needed to succeed in any endeavor, from starting a new business venture to purchasing a home. Without having established prior good credit and maintaining this status, re-establishing decent credit can be a very difficult task. The need for credit and a good credit history is further enhanced by the...more
Ever since I created Unlock The Game, one of the first questions people always ask me is, 'Does Unlock The Game apply to online selling?' I've been holding off on answering that question because I wanted to get enough experience under my belt with my own online business so I could answer this from an authoritative position. My answer is, 'For the most part, yes -- but with some differences.' Those of you who fully understand the philosophy behind Unlock The Game are well aware that the core of everything I teach is based on the elimination of all sales pressure from the selling process. You also know that the single most powerful way of eliminating sales pressure is through authentic language -- in other words, replacing traditional sales language with the most natural dialogue possible, which creates almost instant trust between two strangers. This is exactly where online selling differs from person-to-person 'offline' selling. In selling online, you don't have the opportunity for that natural two-way dialogue. People come to your site and are exposed to a one-way reading of your message, which can feel impersonal. Check it out for yourself. If you look at 9 out of 10...more
Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. But, when it comes to yellow page display ads, you better know who you're imitating and why! A yellow page ad is supposed to do one primary thing: get people to call your business. If it's a really good...more
According to Pricewaterhouse Coopers, investment by institutional venture capitalists in startups grew from less than $3.0 billion at the beginning of the 1990's to over $106 billion in 2000. Although venture capital volume has retreated...more
You can meet your goals for your business this year. Consider these resolutions as ten steps to your success in 2005.1. Develop a business plan or strategic plan. You won't get where you're going unless you know where you want to be and let your...more
You have a head spinning with business ideas but you encounter difficulties in financing? Or you have recently started your great potential business but are not yet turning profit? A fundamental aspect for your business, financing is usually the most...more
IntroductionOne of the easiest "things" that can happen in life is the ratcheting up of a large credit card debt. For whatever reason, making purchases with credit cards seems easier than spending cash to obtain a product or service.Maintaining high...more
Almost everything you have ever been told about the world's stock markets is probably wrong. Almost everything you have ever assumed about the world's stock markets is also probably wrong. You probably believe that share prices go up and down due to...more