A couple days ago, I shared with you the first installment of Harry Beckwith’s 40 conclusions about what motivates people. I said, if you liked it I would share more. Well, you sure liked it (I knew you were smart!) so here’s a few more.
Remember, to sign up for Beckwith’s newsletter Invisible Ink (subscribe here) so you don’t miss any more of his observations.
Never take seriously what people say they think, because people are never sure. Trust only action.
The more similar two things appear, the more important their tiny differences. Accentuate the trivial.
Your most valuable salesperson is the person who answers your phones.
You must improve constantly, because people’s expectations rise constantly.
People don’t care how good you are. They care how good you can make them.
The best companies don’t make the fewest mistakes; they make the best corrections.
You cannot convince someone you have a superior product at a low price. Make up your mind.
We call them "premium prices" because a higher price represents insurance that your product will perform.
Despite all the warnings, all people judge books by their covers.
People hear what they see; you must communicate visually.
The more complex our society becomes, the more valuable your brand becomes.
So what do you think? Ring true for you? Had you forgotten some of these truths?
If you have read this blog for any length of time, you know I believe Harry Beckwith to be a modern day prophet. Or at the very least, quite brilliant.
He does it in plain language that everyone can grasp and apply to their business.
In his most recent newsletter, Harry Beckwith's Invisible Ink (subscribe here) Harry talks about his fascination with what motivates people.
He goes on to say that he's come to 40 conclusions surround this question. I thought I'd share some of them with you. And maybe if you like them, I'll share a few more tomorrow.
Your biggest competitor is not a competitor; it's your prospect's indifference.
Your second-biggest competitor is not a competitor; it's your prospect's distrust.
Your biggest obstacle is whatever stereotype your prospect has formed about you and your industry.
Prospects decide in the first five seconds.
Prospects don't try to make the best choice. They try to make the most comfortable choice.
At heart, every prospect is risk-averse, and risks are always more vivid than rewards.
Beware of what you think you know or have experienced; memories fail people constantly.
For the same reason, beware of what others say they know or have experienced.
So what do you think? Ring true for you? Had you forgotten some of these truths?
As we dance our way to my first blogiversary (Saturday the 15th) I want to spend this week honoring some people who have been in front of the line, leading the dance and keeping us on beat. Because I sure didn't get here alone!
Without a doubt, one of the most passionate dancers in my conga line is CK (Christina Kerley).
My blog was about 60 days old when my family headed out for our annual pilgrimage to Disney World. I decided to blog about it and created the Marketing Lessons from Walt series. CK saw the series and did what she did best — celebrated another blogger. In this case, the lucky blogger was me.
In her post, CK suggested I re-package the series as a downloadable PDF and if I did that, she'd don mouse ears to help me promote the PDF. And true to her word, she did. So many new eyes on the blog, so many doors opened. CK sets the example I try to live. Give just because you can.
I have felt her support and encouragement from our very first e-mail exchange. She is the real deal and she has played a huge role in my first year of blogging.
If you've joined in the conga line and notice that we move at a lively clip…you can credit that passionate pace to a woman whose heart is always focused on others first.
My way of thanking CK? I do my best to mirror the love and encouragement she shines onto others and hope she knows she inspires all of us to reach in and give a little more.
Do something together that would eclipse what any of us would do alone
and the biggie — raise money for Variety, the Children's Charity. We set $10,000 as our first target for funds raised.
<60 days later….we have sold 1,274 books and raised $9,997.60. WHO will put us over the top? Can we get to our $10,000 goal before September 16th, the 2 month anniversary of the launch?
Whoever buys a book (e-mail me the receipt) between now and September 16th will be profiled on the Age of Conversation blog and no doubt, will get plenty of link love from the authors.
Mike Sansone of Converstations introduces us to what he calls our blog’s baseball card, a new tool called Xinu that lets you check all your web stats at a glance.
Arun Rajagopal conducted a 10-hour social media tour. Wonder what social media actually means and what it might mean to your life or business? Let Arun take you on a guided tour.
…are already in training. Sure, there’s MySpace and Facebook, but look out because here comes SugarLoot.com.
This teen-driven site hosts contests that encourage the kids to:
Upload videos
Upload photos
Participate on their blog
Create relationships that support mutual votes and “fan” rankings
The traffic numbers are staggering. Not only is this site attracting kids by the boatload, but it is also attracting advertisers. Prizes for the contests come from companies like Petco (cutest pets), Apple, Westin, M&Ms, American Express, JVC, Dell and others.
It’s also being used to hype upcoming movies. The Clique is a book series aimed at teen-aged girls. Through SugarLoot, they are running a contest where the grand prize winners will get to audition for a role in the movie adaptation of the books.
One of the contestants has over 18,000 views of her audition.
We McLellans were late to the party, but in just a couple days, my daughter’s audition has over 100 views. And we hadn’t even e-mailed the grandparents yet!
My point? If you think your business doesn’t need to pay attention to social media – think again. Tomorrow’s customers are learning it today. You’d better do the same.
As fresh faces leap into the blogging waters faster than we can count them, it occurred to me that it's in everyone's best interest (and just good manners) to offer a helping hand to the neophytes. We're helping clients launch blogs on a regular basis and for many of them, these is new territory.
But I need your help. Someone helped you…now it's our turn!
Act as a living lab on how to write compelling blog posts
Demonstrate how to build a community
Teach marketing tools
Are welcome wagons – bloggers who spotlight newbies
The toolbox will now have a permanent home here at Drew's Marketing Minute. Watch for a button along my sidebar.
Feel free grab the button and share it with your readers as well. Hopefully, the toolbox will be a resource that bloggers new and old can find value in for a long time.
Special thanks to the contributors. If I missed anyone, please let me know and I will add your contributions.
Here in the United States, we gather every November to give thanks. Each year we sit at a table filled with turkey, dressing, pumpkin pie and of course, some post dinner football. Why?
Behold the power of persistence.
We all know the story of the pilgrims of 1621. But many don't know that while there was an occasional day of thanks after 1621, it typically happened in June and then would go many years before the next celebration. President Jefferson actually scoffed at the idea of a day of thanks.
We would be at work on that 4th Thursday in November and cranberry jelly free, if it were not for Sarah Josepha Hale, a magazine editor who wrote editorials, and letters to governors and presidents. Hale felt so strongly that our country should observe a day of thanks that she maintained her campaign for 40 years until in 1863 President Lincoln finally declared the last Thursday in November a national day of thanks.
Imagine if she had written just one editorial or letter and then given up.
And yet that's what marketers do every day. They try something once or twice and then throw in the towel. If you know you have a good idea – don't let fear, time or pressure wear you down. If you truly believe you are the right fit for a potential client…don't accept no.
Keep lobbying for a chance to tell the story. Even if it takes 40 years.
Good news for us, so did Josh Hinds. He went one step beyond wondering. He asked. His blog, Business Networking Advice.com is a treasure trove of brief interviews with a who's who of the business world. Each interview explores the person's viewpoint on networking, asks for some pointers and success stories.
None of them are a long read, but they are all good reads. Josh kindly decided to include me in his series. You can read more about my take on networking, if you'd like.
I decided to turn the tables on Josh and posed a few questions of my own.
Q. When did you start your interview series and what prompted it?
Josh Hinds: One of the topics that I speak to groups and companies on is networking –creating win, win relationships — both personally and professionally. Initially I was going to use the site to feature mostly my own articles on the topic, but then the idea struck me that it would be a whole lot more interesting to reach out to others who were getting the whole "effective networking" thing right — so I decided that in addition to my own articles on the topic I'd feature the short interviews. I actually started BusinessNetworkingAdvice.com in August of 2006. When it comes to personal development I've always held to the belief that you have to really stay plugged in and learning on going — doing the interviews have helped me a great deal and of course I always learn something useful with each one as well — even if it's just another take, or validation for something that I already believed to be true.
Q. Are there any themes you see among the answers that really resonate with you?
Josh Hinds: That's a great question. Within about the first several interviews I'd done a pattern began to show up and continues — that is givers gain — but you can't go into a situation where you just met someone and expect to get something from that person right off the bat. It's all about building rapport with the other person. Creating value in their eyes first, then as time goes by there's a better than average chance that you'll be in a position where that person will help you if they are able to. Again, the key is that you don't come from a point of what can I get from this other person — but rather, what can I do to serve this person I've just met (or the people who are in my "network").
Q. Who is the one person you'd like to interview but haven't snagged yet?
Josh Hinds: I'm not sure I have enough space to list everyone I'd love to interview 🙂 Two that come to mind though would be Zig Ziglar and Jack Welch (former CEO of GE). Zig Ziglar has a quote which I absolutely adore and try to live my life around — it goes like this: You can have everything in life you want, if you'll only help enough other people get what they want" — talk about a philosophy that would serve anyone well. I think it would be particularly fascinating to get Jack Welch's take on networking — to have risen to the level he did as CEO of GE I suspect he could teach us all quite a bit about networking and building professional connections.
Thanks to Josh for being the interviewee for a change and for inviting me to be a part of his stellar series.
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkPrivacy policy
A couple days ago, I shared with you the first installment of Harry Beckwith’s 40 conclusions about what motivates people. I said, if you liked it I would share more. Well, you sure liked it (I knew you were smart!) so here’s a few more.![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=65adcb76-2724-4c83-a75f-c12934fa7c8f)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=6a02072e-98d6-4391-96d4-55747cd80768)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=9e3e429f-011d-430e-a398-6b30b4220359)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=c0cadb16-15b2-4f9b-8b82-8ab80d4f7dbb)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=38b65cd0-9a27-4455-8324-459e204d6315)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=73915235-ee4f-43cd-9ec9-6430db180208)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=e18f5384-5fd3-4569-a5ea-504feb7a58c4)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=5b906ae9-bba6-4180-a3d6-7a41725f2c62)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=9e331b73-1859-4f63-954f-cb5ae60eabd4)