Getting Started On Your Catalog
“Either dance well or quit the ballroom.” – Greek proverb Yesterday, I introduced you to the lucrative world of catalog marketing. And I gave you some information to help you decide if and when the time has come for you to do your catalog. Ready? Lets look at what it…
READ MOREEventually Every Good Businessperson Does A Catalog
“A ship in port is safe, but thats not what ships are for.” – Admiral Grace Hopper (1906-1992) Sooner or later if you are successful in business you will consider mailing a catalog. Catalogs are alluring sales vehicles, because they are relatively inexpensive (on a per-item basis), are…
READ MOREHow To Make Friends In High Places
“Shallow men believe in luck . . . . Strong men believe in cause and effect.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Conduct of Life Today, I am going to open a little door into your future. First, answer this question: Who in your industry would you like to know? Whose…
READ MOREHow To Build A Lasting Business By Loving Your Clients
“Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me. They possess and enjoy early, and it does something to them, makes them soft where we are hard, and cynical where we are trustful.” – Francis Scott Fitzgerald, The Rich Boy Several years ago, I…
READ MOREFree Sampling – When It Pays, When It Doesn’t
“The truth shall make you free.” – American proverb The Post-it note which today comes in more than 50 colors, shapes, and sizes began as a failed idea at 3M 20 years ago. It is surprising to think of it now, but when the little (at that time)…
READ MOREDelivering Bad News: When To Write, Phone, Have Lunch
“Surely human affairs would be far happier if the power in men to be silent were the same as that to speak.” – Benedict Spinoza (1632-1677) Someone once told me that you should always deliver bad news in person. I didnt think much of it at the time, but over…
READ MOREHow To Double Your Profits By Giving Customers What They Want
“The difference between selling and service is inversely proportional to the quality of the product.” – MMF Last week I met with a travel agency that has been struggling to bring its fledgling business into profitability. In the period of time Ive worked with this agency, it has made a…
READ MOREHow To Make Your Business Immeasurably Better
“Small leaks sink the big ships.” – American proverb One of the ideas Im going to come back to over and over again is what I call the theory of incremental degradation that you can eventually ruin your business by making many very small downgrades in the quality of…
READ MOREIntroduction To Writing Space Ads That Boost Your Business
“We promise according to our hopes, and perform according to our fears.” – La Rouchefoucault, MaximsSpace ads are the advertisements you see in newspapers and magazines. For professional copywriters, space ads are great because they are limited in scope and still demand high fees (and sometimes royalties). For the entrepreneur…
READ MOREGetting Yourself Addicted To Success, Step 1
“Want is a growing giant whom the coat of Have was never large enough to cover.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Conduct of Life A few weeks ago, I talked about what I call the junkies secret power. I said Ive always marveled at the ingenuity and assertiveness of the…
READ MOREHow Much Should You Pay Yourself?
”Self-Esteem: An erroneous appraisement” – Ambrose Bierce, The Devils Dictionary Recently, Fortune Small Business magazine did a story on executive compensation. It cited the case of two San Diego entrepreneurs who started a high-end home-furnishings business (the Richard Fischer Collection) with the long-term goal of getting wealthy. But getting there…
READ MOREWhere Should You Be Doing Business?
A famous business publication interviewed me once and asked me this question: “If every one of your marketing concepts but one was taken away, which would you hold on to at any price?” I didn’t need a second to think about the question. I immediately answered that I’d never give…
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