- October 3, 2018 -

It's October and most television series are coming out with their new season episodes.

And you know what that means, people...

Bull is back!

Sorry...but I'm afraid that every once in awhile you're gonna have to put up with some "Bull-isms" that are just too good not to share.

(And hell no, I am NOT a "fanboy" - whoever came up with that weird, unmanly word needs help. But it does channel my inner attorney.)

In episode 2 Dr. Bull has been selected for jury duty and isn't thrilled with it.

Neither is his newest client...a pro bono case where he's defending [...]

- October 2, 2018 -

“If people aren’t talking about you, there’s a reason. You’re boring – your products are boring, your services are boring, your message is boring, your marketing is boring...”

Blame Seth Godin for this nugget of truth.

I get what he's saying...coming from the man whose trademark look is a pair of round yellow glasses on a bald head.

As Jerry Seinfeld has pointed out, for no good reason, folks treat people with glasses as if they’re smarter (and they treat people with hearing aids as if they’re dumb.) Stupid but it’s true.

Maybe that's why I feel smarter at night [...]

- October 1, 2018 -

Ever hear of a "showrunner"?

Newfangled term for me until recently.

Evidently a showrunner is the person who has ultimate creative-control of a TV series.

The showrunner is head writer...

...and executive producer

...and script editor.

Outranking even the director.

When it comes to the making of a TV show, the showrunner is at the top of the food chain...and has quite the impact on whether the show is a "hit" or "miss."

The job is part creative and part management.

Think about that:

First...that's working with two totally different parts of the brain.

Second...it's sorta like being a parent vs being a babysitter.

Suddenly that baby is [...]

- September 27, 2018 -

In the movie Casino (1995), directed by Martin Scorsese, there is a spot-on and hilarious scene about blueberry muffins.

Sam "Ace" Rothstein (played by Robert De Niro) oversees the day-to-day operations of a casino in Las Vegas.

In Vegas, everybody's gotta watch everybody else.

Since the players are looking to beat the casino, the dealers are watching the players.

The box men are watching the dealers.

The floor men are watching the box men.

The pit bosses are watching the floor men.

The shift bosses are watching the pit bosses.

The casino manager is watching the shift bosses.

In the "blueberry scene" Sam explains that [...]

- September 26, 2018 -

About ten years ago, I lost a sh*t load of money online.

I figured if I just took another course...

...bought another piece of software

...went to yet another conference to learn and "network"

...spent more money on Adwords

...re-branded our website

...the list goes on and on

I figured that surely all this "Internet marketing and funnel automation stuff" would give me an immediate ROI.

I bought it all...hook, line, and sinker.

Made the classic mistake that so MANY of my now-clients are making.

I thought simply handing over my credit card would solve the problem...

...that my traffic and conversion problems would magically go away. [...]

- September 24, 2018 -

Monday's can be crazy, right?

You get to the office and usually find one or more of these to be true:

...there's no coffee.

...one or more staff has called in sick. (Too much weekend?)

...your 10am appt didn't show. (Same diagnosis?)

...there are now 269 emails in your inbox that weren't there when you left the house.

...your computer isn't working.

...there's STILL no coffee. (Had there been coffee, the computer would not have been punched and would instead be fully functional.)

Sound familiar at all?

If so, this might be of more help today than my usual contrarian thoughts on business and life [...]

- September 20, 2018 -

Most marketers are concerned with ROI (Return on Investment.)

Not a bad thing.

But if freedom is what you really want...

Freedom to do what you want, when you want, with whom you want.

If freedom is what drove you to start your own business...

Then ROMH (Return on Man Hours) is where you should really focus.

You know I'm all about doing as little as possible to get the biggest, baddest results.

...less (but more qualified) phone calls takin' up my time.

...less (but more qualified) staff to handle what I should not be doing.

...less software doohickies (but more robust) to automate what [...]

- September 19, 2018 -

If I believed in reincarnation, the 1960's would suit me just fine.

The "Mad Men" era.

When advertising was clever and elegant.

And the mastery of words was an art form. True craft.

When Madison Ave ad men like the fictional Don Draper wore great suits.

When David Ogilvy, the Father of Advertising, reigned with quotes that make me smile like this one in particular:

"Many people -- and I think I am one of them -- are more productive when they've had a little to drink. I find if I drink two or three brandies, I'm far better able to write."

Now [...]

- September 17, 2018 -

Alexander the Great...pretty cool dude even if he lived more than 2,000 years ago.

He challenged the status quo.

Wasn't big on following rules.

Liked to play the rebel, a contrarian of his day.

I knew there was a reason why I like him 🙂

Anyway, back in the winter of 333 B.C., general Alexander and his army arrived in Gordium, the capital of Phrygia (modern day Turkey) to stay for the winter.

While there, he heard about the legend of the town’s famous knot, the “Gordian Knot.”

According to Greek and Roman legend...Phrygia was without a king and an oracle (fortune-teller) decreed [...]

- September 12, 2018 -

We're less than three weeks away from the start to Q3.

It's when your prospects who you've been courting for months start to pull back with excuses like: "Let's regroup after the holidays."

And your knee-jerk reaction is to go into belt-tightening mode...finding ways to cut costs and ride out the season.

It's like your brain is living in what it must have been like in the Depression Era. The best of intentions end up being counter-productive.

Impulse 1: Do everything yourself.

Learn that new technology..

Do your own accounting and bookkeeping.

And the tech troubleshooting.

Blogging, podcasting, posting.

Advertising.

Creating, fulfilling, serving, supporting.

(Need a nap [...]