Selling Your Baby: A Practical Guide to Business Exit
How to put the best face on your company and get the outcomes you’re hoping for.
Boost Sales Conversations and Stop Guessing What Customers Are Thinking
Epley, Steffel, and Eyal studied this. We think we know what somebody is thinking, but we suck at it.
Achieving Branding on the Brain
I’m always going to believe in the power of sound to resonate and provoke a response months and years down the road.
Selling High-End in Hard Times: The Rise of Healthier Bread
It’s the depression and bread costs 10 cents. Pepperidge was fully sold out at 25 cents.
THE WIZARD (bi)WEEKLY
Twice a month we’ll send our best advice, no strings attached.
Let’s grow your business.
No spam. No nonsense.
Social Media Sucks Today
Because they sell reach as an advertising platform, why would they give it for free when they can convince you to pay for it?
The Principle of Scarcity
Should I emphasize limited time or limited quantity? Which is more persuasive? Learn the science on that and more.
Winking in the dark
Speaking to the masses is the only way to have the masses buy your better mousetrap. And it works like any courtship.
Loyalty Grows When Your Company Commits To “Do With, Not For”
How I found the care home my brother deserved, and the magic that made it successful.
Partner Book of the Month
Latest Monday Morning Memo
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Are You Paying for Too Much for the Wrong Keywords?
Cheaper branded keywords not only have higher clicks and conversions, they also have higher average tickets.
Adventures in A.I. – Left, Right and Connected
A chance meeting led to an adventure in A.I. development. The recreation of the human brain?
Brand Building vs Sales Activation
95% of your potential customers are not currently looking for you, but they will someday.
Futuristic Game for the Ad Masters
You can’t rely on the same old tricks to get attention. So what does the future of advertising really look like?
2024: The Year Digital Becomes “Traditional”
Digital marketing is too old for excuses like “the algorithm changed,” and “it’s still new technology.”
Pretend is bad for business
When you communicate real beliefs, customers drink that tall glass of water and keep coming back for more.
How to Get the Most From Sales Training Events
It’s no good to just learn new skills. It’s only good if we apply them.
The Michael Kors Story: Adaptability and Building a Brand
Brave, bankrupt and brilliant. The young model bounced back.
Strategic Giving: A Guide for Local Businesses
If I ask you how many charity dollars you have left, and you don’t know, you are digging a dark hole.
Dominate Your Market Like Rolex — 4 Powerful Branding Lessons
Who are you NOT for? Who do you NOT want as a customer?
Finding Your Blind Spots
We all have a blind spot, and it’s shaped exactly like us. – Junot Diaz
Harnessing the Principles of Influence to Boost Sales
90 percent of what we do is System One thinking, and these 7 principles speak directly to System One.
Poinsettia’s Billion Dollar Rise to Become a Christmas Icon
With free samples and a patent, how a family created a tradition from thin air and held 90% market share.
To Unlock Success Prioritize Effectiveness Over Efficiency
You don’t want a race car built for speed but missing tires — it will just slide around with nowhere to go.
MYTH: Everyone goes to Google first
Empty your bank account and give it all to Google. The click still goes to the known brand 8 out of 10 times.
Military-Grade Persuasion for Your Branding
4 factors of messaging that make rivals clutch their pearls and whine at their inability to effectively counter you.
People Fit and Healthy Attitudes: Hiring Strategies to Avoid Bad Apples
How to avoid hires that make you feel sick and recruit a healthy (and profitable) culture.
Cultivating a Purpose-Driven Sales Team
Dr. Adam Grant’s breakthrough research drastically improved results — repeatedly — and fostered purpose with context.
Offline Marketing for an Online Business: The Angie’s List Strategy
They opened 100 markets in 18 months but users weren’t discovering Angie’s online.
Classical Conditioning: Pavlov’s Dog in Advertising
How to get attention? Simple. Speak to the dog in the language of the dog.
Happy Happy, Joy, Joy
Whether cartoons or ads, magical things are created when geniuses are given complete creative freedom.
When Good Advertising Advice Conflicts — And How to Reconcile It
Buyers want to hear what’s in it for them. They also need to know “why can I trust you?”
Robots or Eyeballs?
Who to serve first. Is it humans with actual eyeballs? Or do the web-crawling spiders that fuel search algorithms win out?
To Sell or to Serve: Can You Do Both?
The sale is won or lost with genuine questions and listening at the opening in needs analysis. Not through telling.
Wonder Bread: A Case Study in How to Stay Ahead of the Curve
Reimagine and eliminate the friction… What they did over decades to keep Wonder Bread at the top.
The Wooing of Lifelong Customers
Jail time or love? It all depends on if you skip these steps.
Make the Invisible Visible — What Van Halen Can Teach About Branding
Apple earphones are white. Christian Louboutin features red soles. Is your brand that visible?
Don’t Just Trust The Numbers
The numbers never “speak for themselves” and assuming they do sets us up for failure. Here’s how to look at them.
Hear, See, Speak No Advertising
We encounter 5,000 ads on a daily basis. Can you opt out? Or can you rise above the sea of sameness?
How To Quickly and Effectively Convey Your Value
Your team knows their stuff, but it sounds like a sales pitch. Time to update their elevator speech.
Ditch the Rulebook: Why Breaking Best Practices Can Be Powerful
Do you actually want to be a leader in your industry? Copycats never lead the pack.
Why Branding Is the Cheat Code for Long-Term Growth
You’ll eventually reach a point where you can no longer grow based on short-term advertising alone.
Nuclear Family Business Problems
Love & emotion are the fuel for families, but money & reason make the engine run in a business.
Predictability: The Silent Assassin of Storytelling?
In marketing, like any other story, you need the courage to take the risks necessary to create something truly memorable.
Sales Funnel or Production Line? Either Way, it’s NOT a Numbers Game.
If there’s a bottleneck or flaw at any stage of the process, it hampers the entire operation.
Can You Afford to Use Mass Media? Can You Afford Not To?
Here’s how to tell, and where you’ll find the tipping point in most markets.
How Clairol’s Bold Campaign Transformed Norms and Ignited Demand
Nobody wanted to dye their hair and it took 3 years for Good Housekeeping to accept their ads.
Learning the “Yes. And…” Rule
Whether on stage or at work, the best predictor of success in a team setting is the psychological security felt by every member.
The Science Behind Successful Advertising
Many are seeking a perpetual motion machine for generating leads. But that violates Newton’s first law of thermodynamics.
Uncovering the Hidden Barriers to Business Growth
The CLA tool can fix blind spots, avoid stagnation, and boost growth, but it takes vulnerability as a leader. Ryan is a perfect case study.
Supercharging Your Sales Persuasion With Universal Appeals
First agitate. Then when you present the solution, offer it up as an ideal solution for special people, just like your prospect.
How Harry’s Found the Perfect Edge in a Dull Market
They faced Gillette’s 70% monopoly and never blinked. Bought their own factory and marketed direct to consumers.
Farming Versus Fishing
It’s attractive to fish for customers, reeling in a huge catch with flashy sales. But only farmers can create a bumper crop of future revenue.
Taglines vs. Positioning Statements vs. Brandable Chunks
Brandable chunks are refined from average advertising in the same way that hi-octane gas is refined from crude oil.
Will AI outplay SEO? Or Will Humans Come Out On Top?
SEO agencies have often been enticed by the idea of gaming the algorithms by optimizing for the engine over the searcher.
Navigating From the Rear View Mirror
Focusing on business output metrics instead of customer-centric input metrics leaves you with little insight into how to improve and grow.
Chomping at the Bit for Success: The Unlikely Story Behind the Empire
27 years old and bankrupt, Pete had an itch that wouldn’t go away. Hear the story of his $100 million side-hustle.
How to Write Your Business Narrative
Use AI if you want your message to sound exactly like everything else published on the internet last week.
Feeling Spring Sluggish? Tap Into The “Vacation Effect” For Your Business
The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. Or right now. The same applies to crafting your branding & strategy.
Are You The SAFE Choice? Or, How One Weird Trick Boosted Sales by 30%!
The safe, easy choice wins out over the potentially better choice that carries more risk.
How Sun Bum Used Guerilla Marketing to Take Over the Beach
Literally radio stations would be getting calls going, “What is this ape that we keep seeing everywhere?”
10 Magical Words of the Direct Mail Kingdom
Despite the relatively high direct mail cost, the pay-off can be tremendous, and the benefits unrivaled.
Repurpose The Proven
The proven “Mother’s Day macaroni” ads were sappy and flowery, but man, did they work. Right up until they didn’t.
How To Build a Multi $100 Million HVAC and Plumbing Company
80% of executives believe they deliver a “superior experience”. But only 8% of customers agree. How can that be?
Elements of a Perfect Product Page
By carefully integrating all 12, you create a powerful narrative that resonates with visitors, converts, and ranks with Google.
People Don’t Care About You, They Care About Them — Unless…
As a social species, we’re hardwired to care about each other — so long as you (or your brand) are part of their tribe.
Never Stop Framing & Adapting. Marketing Lessons from G.I. Joe
Hasbro invented the term action figure and was the first to advertise toys on TV.
Time Is The Great Validator
A “measure everything!” mentality eventually means nothing matters beyond making the cash register ring within 30 seconds of transmission.
Journalism and Great Ads
Never write ads like a journalist, write like a poet. The best ads build curiosity and engagement while leaving some things unanswered.
Pro Tip: Talk to Your Customers Like Friends
Most owners get this wrong in their preoccupation with delivering factual information. But buying decisions are almost never rational.
How Hot Wheels Beat Matchbox. When Imitation Becomes Innovation.
Why 10 Hot Wheels are sold every second. They saw what was lacking in the competition.
Can You Be Replaced? Why Succession Planning Matters Now
If someone did the administrating, could you find a better use of your time to increase the company’s value?
Beefsteak and T-Bone
Brands can manufacture a nickname or shorthand that sticks through smart placement. But don’t approach it like George Costanza.
Brands Are Small Things — And That’s a Good Thing!
If your ads can be ignored, they will be. Which is a good thing. If your ads are high-impact and your competitors’ aren’t: you win.
She took a gamble and bet on girls. How Barbie defied expectations and won.
Focus group mothers literally would say, “Is this a gift for my daughter or for my husband?”
Ad Fraud: How Much of Today’s Internet Is Fake?
According to one study, 20% of ad impressions served programmatically were fraudulent. And that number is growing.
Your Best Defense Against Employee Turnover: Development
A 90-minute conversation changed everything. A mass exodus was averted and a $2.8M home services company grew to $5.2M.
Search Engines Don’t Pay You, Only Customers Do.
You don’t just need a marketing strategy that attracts traffic, you need the right kind of traffic.
The Two Universal Appeals — Understanding the “Cult” of Cult Branding
1. You are special. 2. It’s not your fault. What is your advertising doing to communicate those appeals to your prospects?
The Birth of the Rubik’s Cube: A Tale of Unexpected Opportunity
Erno created it to visualize 3D space, but people just wanted to solve a puzzle. The magic was in the pivot.
The Importance of Defining Your Business Narrative
You ask, “If we do not physically interact with our customers before doing business with them, how can we differentiate ourselves?”
Calamine Lotion or a Chainsaw?
Silly sales jargon and industry-speak are the sand traps of marketing. Avoid them in your ads if you want to break par.
Ad Relevance: The Secret To an Effectively Working Ad
Relevant ads answer the implicit and often unspoken questions that customers have when seeing your ads.
6 Overlooked Truths For B2B Marketing Success
B2B sales are intensely personal for the main decision-makers in the process. If things blow up, they suffer tremendously.
How Maker’s Mark Turned “Expensive” Into “Exclusive”
How do you sell a new product for twice the price? Bourbon is lowbrow. Demand is down. Marjorie’s solution got her into the hall of fame.
Empowering Employees: The Surprising Solution to Stagnant Business Growth
After Sam stopped micromanaging, revenues grew 81% and turnover rate fell from 47% to 0.
Outrunning The Bear
They’re going to buy from someone. It’s just a matter of getting them to prefer you. And some connection beats no connection.
Show, Don’t Tell
At best, hard data gets used to justify an action that is taken because of emotional instincts. First you need storytelling and bonding.
How Smirnoff saved itself with a Polaroid camera and a Moscow Mule
There were lots of companies before the internet who used influencers to build their brand.
Say It The “Non-Traditional” Way
Advertisers are so focused on where the ads will be seen, and who will see them, that they forget what matters most.
How Flexible Workspace Strategies Can Benefit Your Business
Work from home? Cubicle? Open office? Here’s what to consider when you’re making those plans.
Is Your Sales Team Falling Victim to the False Consensus Bias?
Your people may overestimate the extent to which others share their beliefs and behaviors, which creates blind spots.
The Right SEQUENCE for Brand Building Success
What Aristotle and lawyers both know about persuasive sequencing that you don’t.
Singer Built a Better Sewing Machine But Nobody Bought It Until…
They couldn’t sell it. The industry was very conservative. Singer realized he needed to do something different.
Sales Today or Salience Tomorrow? Yes.
Let’s resolve the tug-of-war between the zealots of “WE MUST SELL STUFF NOW” and the stoics who say “we must brand for tomorrow”.
Building Business Resilience: The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Maintaining a Positive Mindset
Resilience isn’t about avoiding failure; it’s about bouncing back from it.
How to Sequence Your Branding Campaign Part 1
The right recipe comes down to three ingredients: bonding, differentiation, and distinctiveness.
Paradise Won’t Be Found By Your Dashboard’s Light
What are you monitoring and why? Because you can only monitor the outputs, but you CAN control the inputs.
The Magic of Belonging – How Spotify Kickstarted Patreon
When Spotify interrupted his revenue stream, Jack Conte found a way to to help all creators.
The Power of Value Stacking: Mastering Pricing Conversations to Boost Sales
You can create a transparent, personalized sales experience that sets you apart from the competition.
Taming The A.P.E. (Advertising Performance Equation)
Any business can plot four key variables into a series of algebraic formulas to predict their marketing results.
From Cristiano Ronaldo To the Other Kind Of Advertising
Entrepreneurs live in the grand illusion of advertising. Let’s break down 12 aspects so you know what works and why.
Never Train On The Nerve
Leave some in the tank. All that extra “messaging” you want to stuff in the ad ends up trying the patience and goodwill of your audience.
Project Management 101 For Businesses: Don’t Solve Problems. Prevent Them.
Project management is all about making obstacles have less impact on your ability to deliver results.
Thinking Outside the Jar: Peanut Butter’s Surprising Origin Story For Two Top Brands
Lightning strikes twice. Rosefield invents one new product & TWO top brands.
Unleashing the Power of YouTube FAQs: Cultivating Customer Loyalty
Optimized YouTube videos rank higher in search results, attracting new customers seeking answers you have.
Five Hacks for Powerful Lead-Generating Guarantees
If a guarantee is supposed to place risk on your business, but it doesn’t feel risky… Then it’s not doing its job.
Ryan’s 2024 Predictions for Residential Home Services
Last year, I predicted 3 things that all came true. Now let’s talk about obstacles and opportunities in 2024.
What to do When Google LSA Stops Giving You Leads
Sudden drops often have identifiable causes, and with the right approach, you can get those leads flowing again.
Finding, And Using, Unleveraged Assets
An unleveraged asset may seem insignificant to you, but for potential customers it can be a tipping point.