Congratulations to the 2016 #Online18! Each year I do this list, I find it more and more difficult to identify the top influencers. Each year, Klout and other online scoring tools factor less and less in the final ranking. Still useful, these online tools can’t measure the impact a person has and often mistakes activity…
Read MoreCategory: Promo Products
If You Aren’t Reinventing the Future, the Future Will Reinvent You
Where will you be when things settle down? A great number of marginal performers will be gone. Those who have not innovated will be gone. Those who have not created value for their clients will be gone. But a lot of us will be standing, and will be better, stronger and more equipped for success.…
Read MoreCheck Out the Merch Table
I listen to a lot of music, and I’ve been to more shows than I can count (many of which were in basements and certainly broke fire codes). Because of this, I have my fair share of concert and band tees. Recently, we reported a few stories about music merchandise—a new app lets music fans…
Read MoreRainmaker Sales
So, you want to be a rainmaker? Doesn’t everyone in sales? While rainmakers make it look easy, it is not. Rainmakerdom does not come without laying solid groundwork and building trust and relationships. Sometimes this groundwork is many years in the making. Below are solid tips to consider in your hunt for the coveted title…
Read More17-second Sales Pitch at Expo East
I joined thousands of suppliers and distributors last week at Promotional Products Association International (PPAI) Expo East. This was my first chance to experience Expo East combined with the Imprinted Sportswear Show (ISS). Quite a few Geiger colleagues, as well as a few other PPAI board members, joined me. I saw several vendors that I…
Read MoreSkate to Where the Puck Is—Lessons from ‘The Great One’
It’s up to you to create your future. Tough times require tough performances. Tough times bring out champions. The greatest hockey player in the history of the game—”The Great One,” Wayne Gretzky—was deemed too small, too wiry and too slow to be a force in the NHL by the so-called “experts.” But, he has a…
Read MoreMy Ideas for NCAA Basketball Tournament Promotions
The 2016 NCAA Basketball Tournament starts this week, and I just filled out the perfect bracket. A lot of people don’t have Temple winning the whole thing, but I sure do. (OK, I picked Michigan State. But I’ll still cheer for the Owls.) When people fill out their brackets, they can create any possible outcome…
Read MoreSupernova Success Equals Organizational Skills
Time to spill a few more sales secrets, kids! And these secrets are organizational in nature … This past week, I once again sat down with a multi-million-dollar producer and interviewed her, trying to uncover attributes, work habits and her secrets of success. Just call me Bernstein from The Washington Post. Wait, maybe I should…
Read MoreShooting at the Wrong Basket
When I was 12 or 13, I was on the basketball team. My school was small, so everyone made the team. Somehow I was still third string. When…
Read More11 Keys to Great Success in Life and Business: Key 11: Know Your ‘Big Why’
Most industry folks want to focus on the “how.” How do I sell more? How can I make more money? How? I believe with all my heart that “how” doesn’t matter until you know “why.” The truth is that most folks reading this already know “how” to double their sales and incomes. The reason they…
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