This mistake (that wasn’t) almost got me fired!

This mistake (that wasn’t) almost got me fired!

Today, a story of one of the biggest mistakes I made in my early days in marketing… …  And a lesson learned, in hindsight — that would make me try to make the same mistake all the more often. Before I started my own business, I worked in marketing at an IT training...
This is still the most valuable thing of mine you can read…

This is still the most valuable thing of mine you can read…

I wrote this essay quite some time ago… I think I’ve republished it through Breakthrough Marketing Secrets at least twice.  But it’s been a while.  And I’ve been thinking about it a lot recently. I consistently get emails from new readers.  After discovering my site,...
How committed are you to making the sale?

How committed are you to making the sale?

I was on Skype late last night with a client down in Australia… He’s one of the top marketers, in terms of results generated, in all of the Southern Hemisphere. He’s literally made clients well over a billion dollars.  (He’ll hit two billion soon.) And we were...
My most reliable (and fastest-acting) productivity hack

My most reliable (and fastest-acting) productivity hack

Sometimes you just need to crank out the work… Today’s one of those days for me.  I’m working on a deadline for a big project, and I need to get it to the client before my work day is over. It’s a somewhat tricky, complicated project.  And I’ve admittedly allowed a...
How To Write Your Book In A Day

How To Write Your Book In A Day

I’m still convinced a book is the single-best marketing tool there is… There are really three secrets to leading your market.  Even though getting these three things right won’t automatically put you at the top of your market, they are the tools you can use to put...
Pure stupidity at the upper echelons of financial publishing

Pure stupidity at the upper echelons of financial publishing

Today, a rant.  About finances, and economics. But isn’t this supposed to be a marketing and business essay?  Well, yes.  But I’m doing this rant here for a few very important reasons. I happen to have you as a captive audience here, and sometimes I just write about...
The magic power of “counterintuitive selling angles”

The magic power of “counterintuitive selling angles”

I’m always trying to improve my selling and persuasion abilities at least 1% per week… As I’ve covered here numerous times, 1% doesn’t seem like much.  But if you get 1% better every week for years’ the compounding effect is massive.  We’re talking millions-of-percent...
New advice for newbies looking to get clients…

New advice for newbies looking to get clients…

How about a little fresh (and counter-intuitive) advice for those of you who are fairly new — aren’t yet getting consistent clients — and who want to be fully booked? First, it’s Mailbox Monday.  Which means it’s time to answer YOUR questions.  About marketing,...
Should you make clients and customers APPLY to work with you?

Should you make clients and customers APPLY to work with you?

I’ve been working on a top-secret project. This goes above and beyond my normal client work.  It’s also separate from Breakthrough Marketing Secrets, and from the upcoming Story Selling Master Class. It’s something I’ve decided to do, that will be immensely valuable...
This “trick” makes the same stuff worth 28X as much…

This “trick” makes the same stuff worth 28X as much…

Ever heard of the Significant Objects project? It was a social experiment that took place a few years back.  A group of writers got together to answer a simple question. “Can an interesting story about a simple object make it more valuable?” Being writers, their...
Read before deleting: “Help, my email lift notes suck!”

Read before deleting: “Help, my email lift notes suck!”

How important are emails to your marketing efforts? If you’re like the vast majority of direct marketers today, you’re going to say “VERY IMPORTANT!!!”  With three exclamation points! It’s because email drives more online conversions than any other online channel....
4 things high achievers do every minute of every day…

4 things high achievers do every minute of every day…

Let me let you inside my head a little bit — into a dark place… The last few months for me have been — admittedly — a little up and down.  In hindsight, I think I might have some subconscious self-sabotage going on. I’ve been working with incredible clients, on...