August 16, 2006
Back-to-School Sales. Labor Day Sales. Model-Year Clearance Sales.
As sure as you’ll see Christmas trees in department stores by Halloween you can count on being inundated with businesses advertising any number of ‘limited time only’ offers in the days and weeks to come.
Many people wait for just the right price.
However, were you aware there’s a large percentage of the population who doesn’t care if you ever have a sale? Were you aware that same large percentage only wants to do business with those for whom they feel a connection - a shared sense of values?
Were you aware that – time and again – these folks for whom sales hold no thrill will – time and again – provide you higher average orders, higher margins, and increase your repeat and referral business?
That second group (at best) ignores or (at worst) mentally chooses never to shop businesses that run those price/item sale advertisements.
As you consider your marketing budget and media plan for this holiday season and (more importantly) for 2007, please be sure to think about what you’re going to say to that second group.
They’re waiting, too - for someone to say something priceless.
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August 12, 2006
When it matters, have someone else edit your work. If you’re lucky, it’ll be someone who views the world through a different lens than you.
If you’re really lucky, it’ll be Roy H. Williams, as was recently the case when he took a draft I wrote for the Founder of New School Selling, Steve Clark, and he edited the poop out of it.
Steve hired me to craft an invitation to successful sellers interested in becoming sales trainers sans sleaze.
I wrote. And wrote. And wrote. Even edited the heck out of it. Just not the poop. It took another to look at it objectively.
Here’s the original (in Word format)
Here’s the poop-free version.
Once I read the edited version, it quickly became clear what I should have done. Isn’t that always the way?
My partners (and authors of the Wall Street Journal #1 Business Book in America) Jeffrey and Bryan Eisenberg do their best to remind writers that people tend to view the world through one of four such lenses.
My writing wheelhouse is speaking directly to amiables and, to a degree, expressives. Gooder writers don’t let the other personality pitches go by them.
Sometimes it takes a fresh pair of eyes to make you see clearly what to leave out.
(Along the same lines, did you read about the other creepy, wordy guy who reeeeeeeeeeally needs to learn the power of knowing what to leave out?)
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