Colleagues of mine call it the “Krishna Principle.” I’ve also heard it called the “Rule of Reciprocity.” The idea is that, by giving something or offering to give something, you open up the customer to give you something in return. Does it work? All the time. Take these examples from Robert Cialdini’s famous must-read marketing book… Continue Reading
An interviewer asked Woody Allen how to write a joke. Here’s what Allen said: “It depends on where I want it to take me. First, I figure out where I want to end up. Then I start asking questions so I can work backward to a beginning…” Continue Reading
Quick — what do testosterone, estrogen, dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, oxytocin, and vasopressin all have in common? They’re the chemicals of “true love.” Yep, some jerk has reduced romance to a science… Continue Reading
Sometime back, I read the book “Fast Food Nation.” In many places, the book is the anti-junk diatribe I expected. And it also takes pain to reveal secret histories of two American icons, McDonald’s and Disney, that are none too flattering.
However, the part where we learn how both Walt Disney and Ray Kroc found their footing in the American mindset actually left me a little more impressed than it did disgusted… Continue Reading
Over the years, have I written my share of crotchety emails to product managers, traffic managers, legal assistants, publishers, and graphic designers? I confess — I have. A tiny handful have even made it past the “send” button… most, after sitting in my… Continue Reading
In a YouTube video decades before there was YouTube… David Ogilvy sets the record straight on what really works in advertising. Are his insights antiquated? Hardly. Rather, they’re more on target than ever. Take a look and see for yourself… Continue Reading
Somebody wrote this, somewhere. But as far as I can tell, he or she never got around to signing it. So how about we just run the following under the byline “anonymous”… Continue Reading
Seriously, I don’t much believe in writer’s block. Oh, there have been times I don’t know what to write. And even times I’ve felt a little desperate about that. But I’ve never been afraid or unaware of how to plow right through it. Why? Because I don’t think blocked writing is where the problem originates… Continue Reading
I’m not unveiling any big secret by telling you that a lot of what you’ll do when selling is all about emotion. And it has to be that way. Why? Because we humans — the thinking animal — are perversely… Continue Reading
Does sex really sell? Not necessarily. In a poll that showed up on BizReport.com, the older the prospect you’re targeting, the more likely they are to dislike s*xy ads. I say that, by the way, thinking it’s more complicated than… Continue Reading