Whatever you are about to do, ask yourself, “If the world were perfect, what would this particular thing look like or be like?” Of course, it can’t be perfect, but too many times we compromise on a compromise, rather than compromising on perfection.
Choose your actions, not for how they affect today, but for where they’ll get you a year or five years from now. What decisions can you make that will get you closer to the place you want to be?
Read More...An Article for Professional Speakers and Consultants on the Origins of The Odd Couple® Seminar and the Value of Collaboration
Would you go into partnership on the spur of the moment with someone you barely knew? I did. And it was one of the best business decisions I ever made.
Of course, we’d met and knew each other by reputation. Alan Weiss (PhD, CSP, CMC, CPAE) is a high-priced corporate consultant, trainer, and speaker who had been president of his local NSA chapter. At the time, I was primarily a keynote speaker, one of the original founders of the NSA Northern California chapter and National President in 1984. Alan and I are opposites in many ways. He is a self-proclaimed introvert, happily married to his high school sweetheart, Maria. His life is well balanced, and he charges top dollar so he doesn’t have to travel more than necessary. I, on the other hand, am an acknowledged extrovert with a very different business policy. I always charge slightly less than I could so I am booked solid. Being single, I can stay on the road much of the year and not feel guilty
It all started with some emails in 1996. I wrote Alan, regretting that I couldn’t attend a seminar he was doing in my hometown of San Francisco because I would be speaking for the Denver NSA chapter that day. “Hey, Fripp,” he shot back, “You certainly seem to speak to a lot of NSA chapters.” I acknowledged that I loved speaking about speaking. “We should do a seminar together,” he replied. On the spot, we arranged to meet and discuss it.
Read More...How you can attract, retain and extend your relationship with customers…
Frippicisms:*
I’m always taken aback when someone asks me how much time I devote to marketing. Every single thing we do is marketing. Talking to strangers at seminars or group meetings or even in elevators or taxis is marketing. Customer service is part of marketing. I am an unabashed, relentless, promoter of my services and products. I get the drive from the love I have for my business. Here are a few suggestions on how you can attract, retain and extend your relationship with customers
Read More...Save fifteen minutes a day, and you’ll gain two extra weeks a year.
How do you find the time to achieve everything you want to achieve? Suppose you were suddenly given the gift of two extra weeks each year to do anything you wanted. How would you spend this time? What would you want to accomplish? Would you increase your efforts on an existing project? Start something new? Or even use it as restorative personal time?
This gift is not a fantasy. Eliminating just fifteen wasted minutes each day adds up to ninety-one extra hours a year, more than two full work weeks. Here are some simple ways to achieve this “miracle.”
Read More...What is a mentor? According to Greek legend, the goddess Athene liked to come down to earth disguised as a man named “Mentor” so she could advise the young son of Ulysses. (The Greek root “men” means remembering, thinking or counseling; we still use it in words like “mental.”) Today, a mentor is an experienced and trusted counselor, anyone who guides and encourages another, especially someone younger.
Mentors come in all shapes and sizes, formal and informal. Usually your mentor is someone who takes a personal interest in your progress, seeing your potential and regarding you as just a bit more capable and talented than you think you are. Not too much more, or you’ll dismiss their opinion as unrealistic. Not any less, or you’ll have nothing to strive toward.
Read More...I spend a fortune on four-color, glossy brochures. When people receive my materials, I want them to know I am a seasoned professional and charge accordingly. If you also deliver a quality product or service, your marketing materials should reflect this.
Your image, reflected by your advertising, should do two things:
Whether you’re at the top, middle, or bottom of the price scale, your image needs to communicate that. If your image isn’t consistent and compatible with your pricing and your level of service, you’re going to confuse and alienate your customers.
David Garfinkel, Coauthor of Guerrilla Marketing for the Imaging Industry, told me about the experiences of a client. This retailer visited a trade show and was attracted to a distinctive and obviously costly booth for a design firm. He asked them to send him some information. When the letter came, it was on shoddy looking stationery, sloppily typed.
Read More...All I’ve ever wanted in business is an ‘unfair advantage.’ Before you raise your eyebrows, let me define the term. An ‘unfair advantage’ is not lying, cheating, or stealing. It’s exactly the opposite. An ‘unfair advantage’ is doing everything just a little bit better than your competition. And even if you’ve been in business for many years and you’re at the top of your profession, in today’s competitive world you also need to do everything just a bit better today than you did it yesterday. That’s your ‘unfair advantage.’ It’s not always easy.
Do you remember the movie STAYING ALIVE, the sequel to SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER? It’s about how the John Travolta character pursues a career as a professional dancer, all the highs and lows (with a little romance thrown in.) The last scene is an incredible dance routine. As my friend Kookie and I danced out of the theater afterwards, I had a revelation: the trouble with life is that it’s just too short to be good at very many things! The dedication and discipline that the Travolta character needed to become a great dancer didn’t leave him much time for anything else. That’s the problem with working and being in business today.
Read More...10 Tips to Make Your Copy Get Results With Killer Copy Tactics
I am frequently asked, “How do I get more business in these challenging times?” or “How do you market yourself Patricia?” Well, the answer is to have an ongoing, consistent, marketing effort that consists of a variety of mediums. Part of my activities include direct mail. I thought I would let you in on a few of my strategies and secrets!! After all, my friend David Garfinkel, the genius copy writer, tells his readers how he helps me develop my business so why not tell you? I hope you enjoy finding out David tell us…
What if you could send a two-page letter to a few thousand customers and it quickly pulled in lucrative new contracts? Here’s the good news: You can get those kinds of results with direct mail. In this article, I will show you a three-person firm actually got those results! Not only that – I’ll also reveal their strategies and show you highlights from the actual letter they sent. Then, I’ll show you how you can get the same kind of results for your business.
Read More...My friend David Garfinkel is a copywriting genius. He is allowing me to share his ideas with you. Enjoy, think and prosper.
—Patricia Fripp
Want a little secret to turn your advertising into an irresistible magnet for customers?
Dale Carnegie knew the secret, and that’s one reason his book How to Win Friends and Influence People has sold more than 15 million copies. In fact, British Airways recently named it “The Business Book of the 20th Century.”
It’s a great book. But if Dale had titled it “How to Remember People’s Names and Curb Your Incessant Urge to Argue”, do you think it would have sold as well? Probably not. There’s great power in good titles. What you may not realize is the words “How to Win Friends and Influence People” are not only the title of the book. Those words were also the headline of a mail-order ad, which sold the book. The ad ran successfully for many years and sold hundreds of thousands of copies.
So what does this have to do with turning your advertising into an irresistible customer magnet?
Read More...
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