The Right Font

A article by Hyunjin Song and Norbert Schwarz
explains that
the easier a font is to read,
the more likely a person is to make a decision.

Novemsky’s study in 2007 showed
that 41 percent of participants
delayed making a choice of cordless phone
when the font was difficult to read
vs
17 per cent of participants
when the font was easy to read.

In another study,
when participants were presented instructions
in Arial, an easy-to-read print font,
they estimated that
the exercise would take 8.2 minutes to complete.
When the instructions were presented
in a difficult-to-read print font,
the estimate was 15.1 minutes,
nearly twice as long.

Do you want your prospect to take action?
Present your proposal or sales letter
in an easy-to-read font.

Leave the fancy fonts
to businesses not needing the sales.

Published
Categorized as Marketing

Leaders As Pressure Valves

One of the things
that define leaders
is how much shit they pass along.

Terrible leaders pass along everything.
When they are dumped on
by their leaders,
they transfer the full load
to their staff.

That’s a bad idea
because one of the reasons
they supposedly are in a leadership position
is because they can take more shit
than the people they’re leading.

Great leaders consciously decide
how much shit to pass along.
They know that too little
and the team doesn’t improve,
too much
and the team is flattened,
all life squeezed out of them.

The shit also flows upward.
Again, great leaders consciously decide
what to pass along
and what to keep to themselves.

Terry Starbucker has a great post
on this subject.

Make A Product People Want

It sounds like a no-brainer
but how many entrepreneurs
try to force prospects
to buy a product
they THINK prospects
should want?

I know I’ve done this.

For the past few years,
I’ve been selling a product no one wanted.
I worked my ass off marketing and selling it.
No one bought it
because no one wanted it.

Recently I switched to another product,
a product prospects want.
No selling necessary,
no marketing necessary.
It sells itself.

Guess what?

It is A LOT easier.
Any decrease in
‘making the world a better place’ feelings
is more than offset
by being wanted.

Make a product people want.
If you have other goals,
try to incorporate those
into this product.
But start with a product
people want.

Eternal Urgency

The first day on a new contract
I ask the same question –
‘What needs to be done TODAY?’

There always is something.
In my current contract,
the urgent thing
was supposed to have been done
days ago.
Every additional day
meant additional steep penalties.

If you are an entrepreneur
or a project person,
odds are…
there is something that needs to be completed
as soon as possible
every single day.

There will be panic moments
but it is important that you not panic
especially as this will be a daily event.

Chris Laibe, founder of Schedulist.com,
puts it best
“Learn to live with the fact that,
most of the time,
something needed to be finished yesterday.”

If You Have To, Volunteer

The company was doing
a system roll over on Friday.
I knew that someone
from our group
would have
to come in to verify
it was completed correctly.
I also knew it would
likely be me.

I stated the hours
I was available
and volunteered.
My time frame ended up
being the time frame
for the rest of the team.

A group of authors
are presenting to the library.
Each of us
has responsibility
for a portion of the educational component.
No one wants to do this,
including myself,
but when the breakdown of components
was sent,
I volunteered for the most interesting one.
I was the only ‘volunteer’
and I did get that component.

If you have to eventually do something,
you might as well immediately volunteer.
That will give you more control
over that dreaded task.

Playing Pretend

One of my buddies
was developing a toy
for a five year old boy.

Knowing that
the average 5 year old American boy
is 3 Foot 7 Inches tall,
he would visit toy stores
and then crouch to that height.
The view from that height
was vastly different
from the view from his own.

I often hear
that playing pretend
is a necessary part of
every child’s learning experience.

What you don’t hear
and is equally true
is that playing pretend
is a necessary part of
every successful entrepreneur’s learning experience.

Putting yourself in your target market’s shoes
is often easier
if you pretend to walk in those shoes.

Published
Categorized as Marketing

A Business Is Not A Job

Jory Des Jardins
has a great article
on the wrong reasons
to become an entrepreneur.

The first one
is because you need a job.

A business is not a job
unless your job has you working 24/7,
charges you to work there
for months or even years,
and
requires you to fill every role.

If what you truly wish
is more control over your assignments,
flexibility with when you work,
and quick cash,
consider a contract position.

Leave the business building
for when you have an idea
to make the world a better place.

Give A Little

A company I was working for
wanted to extend my contract
for four months.

I didn’t have a problem with that.
The project wasn’t yet complete.
I needed to continue.
I gave them my word I’d be there
for the four months.
What I wanted, though,
was two extensions of two months.
That way I could tell future companies
I had two extensions
rather than one.

The company absolutely refused.
They said four months or nothing.
My rate was fixed for a year.
The refusal wasn’t about price or length.
It was my manager not wanting
to sign two contracts rather than one.

If they wanted to play that way,
fine,
I could play that way also.
I completed the project
but gave them not a single freebie.
They weren’t willing to give to me.
I wasn’t willing to give to them.

If you think
by sticking to your guns,
you’re giving up nothing in negotiations,
you’re wrong.
The other party will always
work out a way to even the exchange.