Month: October 2015

Kids are back to school
in many parts of
North America.

Thousands of keen
college and university students
are filling their brains
with knowledge,
with new ways of doing things.
They’re also learning old sh*t,
the sh*t you and I already know.

What does this mean?
By focusing on learning
the new sh*t,
we could easily be
as up to date
as a new grad.

We’ll also have experience
and real world knowledge.

Stay current.
Read a business book.
Take a course.
Watch a video.

A well known romance writer
declared that she worked her a$$ off
for her success,
doing everything herself.
Her bestseller status
was due to her efforts
and her efforts alone.

Not only was this bullsh*t
but it also ticked off
reviewers, book bloggers,
readers.

No one succeeds
on her own.
To sell a product,
someone has to buy a product.

When people buy products,
they also tend to form
personal attachments
to that product,
sharing in its success or failure.
Our successes become
their successes.

It costs nothing
to be grateful
and might earn you fans for life.

Acknowledge your customers
when you achieve success.

Both Sharknado and
the latest Fantastic Four
are terrible movies.

Sharknado
has become a pop culture phenomenon.
Viewers see it as being campy and fun.

Fantastic Four is shrouded
with bitterness.
Viewers are angry about it.

Why do viewers perceive
these two bad movies
so differently?

One reason
is because
the teams surrounding the movies
have vastly different attitudes.

The stars of Sharknado
embraced the badness of the movie.
They joked about it,
made it a selling point,
rather than a downfall.

They framed it as fun
and viewers perceived it
the same way.

Some of the stars
of Fantastic Four
haven’t even seen
their film.
Kate Mara called it
“a shit movie.”

They framed it as awful
and viewers perceived it
the same way.

How we view our own products
matter.
It influences how prospects
and customers
perceive them.

Is your team viewing your products
the way you wish them to?

One of the biggest trends
in romance novels
is the curvaceous,
plus sized heroine.

Why?

Because 67% of U.S. women
are plus sized
(sizes 14 and up).

If you sell to women,
take a look around you.

Are the aisles in your store wide?
Are your guest chairs spacious?
Are your promo T-shirts
available in larger sizes?
Heck, does your STAFF
reflect your customer?

I’m a plus-sized woman
and, when I’m greeted
by a plus-sized woman
at reception,
I feel much more comfortable,
much more at ease,
ready to buy.

My husband does also
because he’s in love
with a plus-sized woman.

Plus sized is no longer a niche.
It is the majority.
Build your business around that reality.

I was chatting in a writing group
about blurbs
(the marketing copy
for books).
Many of the experienced, successful writers
were discussing how challenging
it was
to write a great blurb.

A less successful writer
came into the conversation,
telling everyone that she must be unusual
because she liked writing blurbs.
They were easy.

No.
No. They’re not.

This writer thinks they’re easy
because she’s doing a sh*tty job
at writing them.
(which we can verify
by her equally sh*tty sales)

When asked about the basics
of writing great copy
(key words, length of sentences,
themes, etc),
she didn’t have a clue.

If a professional says a task is tough
and you, as a newer entry,
think it is easy,
ask her WHY it is tough.
Odds are…
you’re missing some key points.

During the Blind Auditions
of The Voice,
many of the singers
seek the four chair turn.
They want all of the judges
to want them.

That isn’t necessary
to win the contest.
All singers need
is one chair to turn,
one judge to want them.

It isn’t necessary
for everyone,
every partner,
every customer,
to like you or your company
either.

You don’t need
a four chair turn
to be successful.
Focus on that one chair.