Clients and employers approach Sales and Marketing professionals wearily because we have a bad reputation. The reputation we’ve acquired has been reinforced by the media. We might remember the stereotypical Hot Shot salesman as the character Alex Baldwin plays in Glengarry Glen Ross, he’s a slick pro who can sell anything to anybody. However, what he does is manipulation not persuasion.

Manipulation – exerting shrewd or devious influence especially for one’s own advantage

Persuasion – the act of influencing the mind by arguments or…

...continue to read "What Kind of Professional…"

We don’t often get a chance to share the success stories of our clients. Many of our clients would prefer to keep what we do for them on the QT, so that their competitors won’t be aware of what they are up to. Nevertheless, Maheesh Jain, VP of Sales & Marketing of Cafepress.com told our story to MarketingSherpa:

How CafePress.com Lowered Its Shopping Cart Abandonment Rate Dramatically

SUMMARY: If you work for an ecommerce site, this Case Study is a must-read.

Learn how…

...continue to read "When Clients Share…"

The following is a recent article from Internet Retailer. The hyperlinks throughout the story were added by yours truly.

INTERNET RETAILER ARTICLE: Content as salesperson: Why it doesn’t sell more

Compared to the number of potential customers that visit retail sites, the number of shoppers who close the deal online is still relatively low – about 3.2%, according to Forrester Research Inc. A new report on “Web content that sells,” sheds some light on one reason content doesn’t sell more: too…

...continue to read "Deja Vu"

Marketers, advertisers, brand consultants, or anyone in the persuasion business, our cover has been blown.

We are no longer going to be able to employ our usual mind control tactics and psychotronic radiation to sell our services and products. The public is on to us.

We all feared this day would come.

So spread the word. Plan B is now in full effect.

I guess it is back to pesuading people the hard way. That is until our Future Now research team find…

...continue to read "Aluminum Foil Deflector Beanie"

Unaided recall has long been a measure marketers use to gauge the strength of a particular brand. Unaided recall demonstrates that someone remembers your brand, the hope being that when the need for your service or product arises the customer recalls YOU. (Please keep in mind, brand recall is not branding. )

In a world of a million brands and thousands of unsolicited messages posturing for our attention on a daily basis, getting noticed, and then getting your brand implanted into…

...continue to read "Branding Online"

I don’t know about you but when some of the best people in the biz of sellin’ stuff online are willing to share how they got to be that way…I pay attention.

Future Now’s Chief Persuasion Officer Bryan Eisenberg writes the following in this week’s ClickZ ROI Marketing article…

We looked at several e-tailers’ approaches to online merchandising last week. One company has pushed the limits of online merchandising and is willing to share some of its best tips. TigerDirect.com is one…

...continue to read "When TigerDirect speaks…"

Do Dumb Blonde Jokes Slow Mental Activity??

BERLIN (Reuters) – Blondes perform intelligence tests more slowly after reading jokes playing on their supposed stupidity, said psychologists in a newly published German study.

Some 80 women of various hair colors were tested on their mental capacity to work quickly and precisely in a series of psychometric tests. Before sitting the tests, half the participants had to read “dumb blonde” jokes, such as:

“Why do blondes open yogurt pots while still at the supermarket? —…

...continue to read "Power Of Suggestion"

***tap-tap-tap microphone feedback***

Ring Announcer: Laaaadeeeeess aand Gentuuuullllmen, welcome to this week’s persuasive copy Smaaaackdoooown!

***Crowd roars!!!!!***

Ring Announcer: Let’s meet today’s fighters…in the blue corner, he’s a lean mean fighting machine, weighing in at under 150 words, it’s SHOOOOOOOOORTTTT COPEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

***Cheers & Jeers***

In the red corner, he’s the giant master of disaster, weighing in at over 200 words, it’s LOOOOOOOOONG COPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

***Jeers***

Booth Announcer #1: Whoa! The people do not seem to like Long Copy, Short Copy is clearly the crowd favorite…

Booth Announcer #2: Well, we live…

...continue to read "Short Copy Vs. Long Copy SMACKDOWN!"

Anil Dash just got added to my list of mini-heros. (I don’t throw around the term ‘hero’ lightly, thus the ‘mini’ addition)

The beloved blogger just won an international search engine placement contest with a single post to his blog.

Sweeeeeeet!

The organizers of an international search engine placement contest crowned their champion Wednesday. In the end, the victor was a popular blogger who got his readers to do his work for him.

Anil Dash won the second, and final, round of the…

...continue to read "Nigritude Ultramarine"

If just ‘closing the sale’ is the alpha and the omega of your business model, you could be needing a drug prescription really soon.

In our world of rampant connectivity, we each possess instant access to a spread of information about almost any product or service we are in the market for today. It is inevitable, the word about your company will get out….. good or bad.

This makes spending too much time worshipping at the Church of Closing the Sale a teensy bit…

...continue to read "Church of Closing The Sale"