It’s not the product itself that provides value, but it is how the recipient uses and perceives it that influences branding and promotional efforts. You can assume that swag is a cheap and expendable marketing tactic, or you can leverage every impression possible and evoke valuable emotions in your customers and clientele by choosing the right…
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All business owners and sales reps know they should have a plan, right? We’ve all heard the saying, “If we fail to plan, then we are planning to fail,” right? There are three types of business plans, and in my next three articles I will address them. The first and most common type of plan…
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A frequently asked question that I get at speaking engagements is, “What is your elevator speech?” Or, I’m asked to help someone craft an elevator speech. Here’s what I don’t like about elevator speeches: They’re canned. They are a one-size-fits-all recitation that’s not going to win anyone any business. It’s not that I’m down on being…
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More than 100 technologists and business leaders will meet next week in San Francisco at the PPAI Technology Summit. This is largest-ever gathering of industry technology leaders. You can view the PPAI Technology Summit agenda here. The summit will include discussions on search engine optimization, security, project management and about a dozen other relevant topics, including industry…
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This weekend marked the start of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. I watched a variety of events and, like the rest of the country, I was in awe of the many young athletes competing their hearts out. The positive energy and sheer desire to win was evident in every competitor—as was the heartbreaking…
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This article is the last in a three-part series about using visualization to achieve your goals. Last time, I mentioned that, during our waking hours, we deal with approximately 8 million bits of information. Our brains filter out the information they’re not aware we need. When we practice visualization by vividly picturing our goals, we…
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Question: I am new to the business. Do you have any advice as to how to price items? Answer: Pricing is complex. On one hand, you want to maximize sales, but if you price items too low, you might end up doing lots of work and making very little profit. Also, if you are known…
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Quit being afraid of the future. That’s where all the good stuff lies. The road to failure is littered by organizations that feared and tried to hold back the future. Just look at Lotus 1-2-3, which owned the database and software business powering PCs in the days before Windows. Or look at Kodak, the company…
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Question: I don’t like to show item numbers to my clients. Is there a way to avoid that in QuickBooks? Answer: Yes. You can customize templates to include only the fields you want and eliminate those you don’t. (And, it is a good idea to not show item numbers on customer forms, as it makes…
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In the Rolling Stones’ famous song, they say, “You can’t always get what you want, but … you get what you need.” We all know that’s wrong. We don’t always get what we need. I believe we get what we see. Getting what you see is the practice of visualization—creating vivid pictures in your mind…
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