I read blogs in English.
I write blogs in English.
Sometimes I forget that
there are entire segments
of the blogosphere
available in different languages.
Bigger segments than the one I play in.
English is not the number one blogging language.
Japanese is, at 37% of the blogosphere,
English is second at 33%.
Know another language?
Consider blogging in it.
A recent study shows
that participants watching Letterman
ate 44% more chips
than those not watching tv.
Participants watching Leno ate 42% more.
Both results proof the theory
of sensory specific satiety.
The more attention you pay
to the food you eat,
the faster you will feel full
and the less you will eat.
It also points out which
show potato chip manufacturers
should advertise on.
The bans against trans fat
has the food industry worried.
So worried that they’ve been
working overtime
trying to find solutions.
The ingredient
CoaVel is being heralded by baking experts
as the solution to completely eliminating trans fat
from commercially sold baked goods.
Was this solution a breeze to find?
Nope.
Along the way, researchers dealt with exploding muffins
and hockey puck cookies.
It took trial and error
to find this now deemed “easy” solution.
Joss Stone hounded Lauryn Hill’s mom
for 2 months to convince the elusive singer
to add her voice to Stone’s new album.
She was ultimately successful.
80% of salespeople quit on their first no.
20% of salespeople make 80% of all sales.
Coincidence?
I don’t think so.
As Stone says “If you want something,
you have to go out and get it.”
Jeff Cornwall reminds would-be entrepreneurs
to ask themselves
3 key questions
before pulling the trigger on a business.
Is there a market?
Is there a margin?
Is this for me?
One test of the third question
is whether or not you can walk away
from the idea with no regrets.
If you can while you’re in the rosy pre-launch stage
then you will likely bail
when the going gets tough…
and it WILL get tough.
Acting coach Robert Carnegie
states bluntly that Ashley Judd
was the worst actress in her class.
She was so bad that everyone,
including the teachers, had bets on
when she’d quit.
She didn’t quit of course
but went on to star in movies like
Kiss The Girls and Double Jeopardy.
Natural talent is all very nice
but nothing beats hard work.
Persistence is a requirement for sales,
both internal and external.
Very few people buy on the first approach.
As Kelley Robertson states
it takes an average of 8 points of contact
before a prospect buys.
But there is a difference between
being persistent and being a pain.
Persistent saleswomen are respectful
of the prospect’s time.
They keep it brief, keep it polite,
and allow the prospect time to respond.
I.e. they don’t leave long voicemails
every five minutes.
It doesn’t often rain in Marrakech
during the month of May.
One of the locals said he couldn’t remember
it raining in May the past 12 years.
It rained this year.
Almost everyone at the breakfast table
was unhappy about this.
Almost everyone.
One smartly dressed businessman
bounced into the room,
exclaiming how wonderful the rain was.
And it was…for him.
The man was a roof installation salesman.
When better to sell roofs
than when it was raining?
Someone profits from every situation.
Marian Salzman points out three major trends,
the growth of brand sluts,
making complex things simple,
and increased isolation
as the average person grows wealthier.*
The third trend I find most interesting.
Salzman points out that as people have more,
they become more paranoid
about keeping what they have.
This drives them to withdraw from others,
seeing them as possible threats.
What does this mean?
More gated communities.
More tables for two.
Less church attendees.
* May 2007 issue of easyJet Inflight
Country star Alan Jackson
had to deal with resistance
when he launched his now loved
but then controversial song
“I’ll Go On Loving You”.
He said “I knew the fans would like it
but didn’t know if we could get it
through all the red tape at the radio
to get it to the fans.”
Every industry has gatekeepers.
These gatekeepers have to be sold on new ideas
before the innovations even have a shot
at being sold to the target market.