How to Keep Your Promises
You put together a team of people to help you with preparations. And you interview a dozen more before choosing “Jeff” to handle all the event details. He makes a very compelling pitch. He knows the best audio-visual teams in town. He has contacts with the best caterers. And he knows the perfect designer to create your banners and signs and brochures.
READ MOREA Market This Ruthless Requires Attention
I’ve never seen the market so ruthless and so volatile at the same time. Wall Street is pouncing on weaknesses in sectors and companies. And because of the huge swings the market is making on a daily basis, when it attacks it really ATTACKS. Companies that had been fairly stable are going down 5-10 percent in one day… 30-50 percent in one week.
READ MOREKeep Yourself in Trades by Widening Your Stance
In golf, when you are putting in the wind, you have to widen your stance.
In volatile markets, this rule can be adapted to apply to trading as well. It may seem like strange advice, but in times of extreme volatility, you need to widen your stop-loss points. Most people think you have to do the opposite and tighten them.
READ MOREThe Other Big Three
When you hear investment people talk about the big three, they are usually talking about GM, Ford, and Chrysler. But what about the other big three?
As children, most of us dreamed of having three things when we grew up: a nice house, a nice car, and a nice job. Right now, the outlook for this big three is about as optimistic as the outlook for GM, Ford, and Chrysler.
READ MOREThe 5 Faces of Your Customer
One of the most profound business books I ever read was Permission Marketing by Seth Godin.
The ideas in the book were very innovative at the time. The Internet and e-mail marketing were still young, and, like the Wild Wild West, most marketers and business owners were still trying to “wrangle it in” and figure out how to leverage the Web’s possibilities… and, more important, turn those possibilities into profits.
READ MOREHow to Build an Instant Business
If you read the advice of many “small-business experts,” you’ll be told that you should expect to wait at least a year – possibly more – before your start-up can begin to see a profit. That’s what I was taught when I studied business administration in college – and it turns off a lot of aspiring entrepreneurs. “I can’t afford to wait that long,” they think. “I need to make money NOW.”
READ MOREThe Worst Way to Make Marketing Decisions
“Why do marketers like ETR and AWAI send me 16-page direct-mail sales letters when the copywriter could have said the same thing in 1 to 2 pages?” Betty writes. “The prospect might even buy out of gratitude for not having to wade through those 16 pages, and breathe a sigh of relief instead of snarl a nasty expletive.”
READ MOREGetting Rid of Credit Card Loans
My sister-in-law is starting her own business. Using her home as collateral (it’s paid off), she got a business loan. But before she started to spend that money, she called up several of the credit card companies she held cards with. This is what she told them: “I’m starting a new business. I’m going to be spending a lot of money. I can’t guarantee how much longer I’ll be able to make my monthly payments. But I have some money right now. And I’m willing to pay off 80 percent of what I owe you today if you’ll cancel my card in return.”
READ MORERescue Me?
Have you ever been in the middle of an online purchase and, for whatever reason – pre-buyer’s remorse, second thoughts – decided not to continue with it and backed out of the sales page? If you did, I’m sure you’ve seen those little windows that magically appear on your computer…
READ MOREMy Unexpected Bootcamp “Takeaway”
When you’re marketing your products and services, it’s critical to establish trust with your prospective customer. That was one of my biggest “takeaways” from ETR’s Info Marketing Bootcamp this year.
READ MORESticking With It
A few months ago, I wrote that, despite all the doom and gloom, I thought the domestic automakers would survive. Unfortunately, things have gotten even worse. Just recently, a Deutsche Bank AG analyst said that GM shares will likely be worthless in a year.
READ MORE10 Questions You NEED to Ask If Your Site Isn’t Making Any Sales
If you recently launched a website and aren’t getting the results you expected, you need to ask yourself every single question on the list below, starting with number one. Once you can answer “yes” to all 10 questions, I guarantee the sales will come rolling in.
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