An Excellent Closing Line (It’s A Hammer)

Seth Godin had a good post the other day talking about  stupid question we ask in the course of business – and how they lead to lies. For instance: “How can I help you” [Just looking] or “When do you think you will be ready to invest in this solution?” or “So, tell me, what problems does your company face?” Then he went on to propose improvements. Such as: “Do you want to see what’s on sale?” or “Now that you’ve read our business plan, if you could change one thing about it, what would it be?” This really struck [...]

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Here’s A Way To Get New Leads For Free!

This week we stumbled on a silly little thing – that cost nothing – but got results. I figured this would be helpful for anyone who is scratching their head thinking, “Gosh, I need new clients, but I don’t have any money to market or advertising – and I hate cold calling.”  I hate cold calling, too, by the way. There are a lot of books on this subject. And many people have over complicated this. But in true Jim-and-Travis fashion, we have an idea that is blisteringly simple. Here’s what you do: Go to your chamber of commerce web [...]

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The Perfume Business Is Not What You Think It Is

I was reading something the other day and I came across this quote which I quickly jotted down for future reference. SIDE THOUGHT: You should make it a habit to keep your eyes peeled for great quotes by people who are more famous and more knowledgeable and keep them in a file. These are great nuggets to use as proof in a sales pitch, advertisement or story. Ok, getting back to this quote…it was just awesome and made such a great point that I thought it could really help you understand a major point that we are always trying to [...]

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What Color Are Your Teeth?

Oh my goodness…you wouldn’t believe the difficulty I had choosing a Christmas gift for my Mom. I had chosen her name in our family gift exchange. And I knew she wanted a new Bluetooth wireless headset for your cell phone. The problem was, I don’t know anything about them. That is rarely the case with me and technology – but these gizmos have not captured my interest. So I went shopping. To my dismay, nobody else seemed to know anything either. Frankly, I would gladly just buy the best one on the shelf (it’s for mom after all) but I [...]

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Sometimes It’s All In The Way You Say Things

Last night my wife was thumbing through a restaurant “directory” of sorts – picking out places to eat this weekend. All of a sudden she announced, “Ooohhh…this sounds good: ‘Vintage beer and wine bar with an exciting assortment of European tapas.'” I caught myself nodding in agreement, then I began to grin. Isn’t this just a nice way of saying: “Sorry. Beer & wine only. No dinner available, appetizers only.” It really is. But they sure had my lovely wife hooked and set. It’s a prime example of classic word-smithing. Most people believe you have to be an artistic writer [...]

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