"Who is that hot babe in the picture?" isn't the type of reply an interviewer expects to hear when he or she invites you to ask questions near the end of an interview. In fact, the way you approach the Q&A session will have a direct impact on the interviewer's perception of you. Based on the questions you ask, a judgment will be made in regard to how interested you seem to be in working for the company. For this reason, when you are...more
Growing up, we all had a mental picture of the perfect life partner The person we thought would be our happily-ever-after -- a person with a perfect smile, beautiful eyes, and an adorable button nose. Fast forward to reality and who did you wind up with?Chances are that if your partner of choice happens to be male, you ended up with a guy who is shorter than you expected, has less hair than you anticipated, but overall is a pretty neat fellow....more
Business, non-profit and association managers are in a stronger position to succeed when they use their public relations resources in a way that alters individual perception leading to changed external stakeholder behavior. A mouthful, but true. Here's the obvious core of this approach: persuade your most important outside audiences with the greatest impacts on your organization to your way of thinking. Then move them to take actions that help your department, division or subsidiary prevail. The right action plan - the right blueprint - helps you to achieve that kind of success. And it does so by getting everyone working towards the same external audience behaviors. For example: 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 behaviors affect the organization the most, the public relations mission is accomplished. And look at what might happen. A nice jumpup in show room traffic; local thoughtleaders seeking your opinion on key local issues; newly interested prospects...more
Everyone dreams of working at home. No sitting in traffic breathing car exhaust. Wake up and start work when ever you choose. Work in your pajamas. Do only interesting tasks that you enjoy. Take a break whenever you feel like it. Sounds too good to be true. The reality is that the first thing many people who work at home want is to earn enough...more
Here's a legitimate looking advertisement found in the classified section of a local newspaper. "Our Company will pay you up to $5 per envelope stuffed! Hurry this opportunity will not last long!" Most work at home envelope stuffing scams look legitimate. A perfect way to make fast cash! Now the hard cold facts: It's practically...more
I don't even like saying the word d---------g. I have literally obliterated it from my dictionary with a black marking pen. I'll bite my tongue until it bleeds, before I say the word.Earlier this week Bernadette, my wife, and I went shopping . . . something I love to do. Just kidding! We were looking for a 3-piece plant stand for our deck. We found one in a catalog and went to the store to check it out.Bernadette always asks the sales person if he can do better on his price. You'd be surprised how much you can save just by asking.Sidebar! The word ASK is the most powerful word in a sales person's vocabulary.Back to what happened. We debated over two different pieces and made a decision. The piece we didn't select had a 30% discount tag on it.According to the sales person the 3-piece set we decided on was not on sale. Our sad faces didn't seem to move him. He said he could get into trouble for giving us a discount.Another sidebar. The GNP of the United States would increase by a staggering amount (Probably hundreds of billions) if all salespeople got into trouble with their organizations for giving discounts.Back to the store. The salesman said the...more
Sometimes the best inspiration comes from hearing about the deconstruction of other company's names. For you, I am happy to share how I came up with "Slice A Day :: your slice on marketing"...First the purpose and vision of my site was to have...more
Business, non-profit and association managers committing their public relations resources to (1) doing something about the behaviors of those important outside audiences that most affect their operation, (2) creating the kind of external stakeholder...more
I won't say I have a vast array of knowledge as a consultant...collectively I've only been doing it about 8 years. However, there are some things that I have observed that I think will be helpful to those of you who are new to the...more
How often have you either referred to or considered the expression, "Success is a journey and not a Destination?" Probably many times, yet often being in a hurry to get there, we forget that success is not an end unto itself, but is instead an...more
If you want to become a real estate investor, find a "fixer-upper" owned by an anxious seller. Finding distressed houses at bargain prices, fixing them up, and then selling them on a consistent basis can make you a millionaire.Why Sellers Sell At a...more
What's the one thing starting today that you could start doing, stop doing, or change that would have a dramatic impact on your client relationships? It's an excellent question and I hope you'll take a moment to consider your response....more