You may know Joe Sugarman from his infomercials or his QVC appearances for Blu-Blockers.

But he was also a mail-order pioneer hawking the world's 1st pocket calculator, cordless phones, and digital watches to the public via his direct sales  and marketing genius.

I was listening to a recording one of Joe's speeches the other day and he said, "One good path to success is to learn all the proven rules and meticulously follow them. Another path is to occasionally break all the rules, because breakthroughs come only from breaking rules."

Resonates with me - I've always been more maverick than not. On the [...]

Walter Bergeron, Dan Kennedy's 2012 Marketer of the Year, tells the story about speaking to a crowd of over 1,000 well-dressed entrepreneurs in big old Texas.

He was describing his "shock and awe" campaign that resulted in an unheard of 70% conversion rate.

When he got to the end of his presentation and unveiled the grand finale, there was a mob of questions about the cool techy toy that capped off a brilliant multi-step, multi-media campaign that took him months to put together.

They were all obsessed with the shiny object - not the research and work that went into finding the perfect [...]

Test and grow rich.

Doesn't have quite the same ring as 'Think And Grow Rich' does it?

"Testing" isn't a very sexy topic - but it will be when you it makes you a boatload of moolah!

Why? Because testing variables in direct mail campaigns, phone scripts, sales presentations, and landing pages requires discipline, diligence and patience...in other works WORK.

To get it right, you can only test one variable at a time. This means that if you change a headline, you can't change anything else. Plus you have to make sure all other variables remain the same - like the mailing day if [...]

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It seems the virtual assistant industry is a hot commodity these days!

We've had several clients lately ask whether we can recommend a good virtual assistant...and how to know if hiring a VA is the most cost effective way to find help.

So we went to our good friend Jessica Maes to shed some light on this popular topic. Having been a VA herself before starting her own consulting business, she's an authority on the topic and cuts right to the chase.

As a small business owner for nearly a decade and a Virtual Assistant (VA) for over half of [...]

A few weeks ago, I woke up and my right arm was throbbing. My right hand was completely numb. And after checking, it didn't appear that I'd slept on my hand.

So like 90% of the human race I Googled "my hand is numb."

Apparently, I could have a spinal cord injury, Lyme disease, carpal tunnel syndrome, type 2 diabetes, cervical spondylosis and syphilis. Great!

So maybe I should have gone to the doctor after attempting to pull out a deer tick from my stomach and leaving half of it there.

Seeing as I haven't had a regular checkup in 10 years, I call [...]

When I found out that Quibb was getting a 50%-70% open rate on their daily email...

I had to find out what they were doing to get those kinds of results.

I mean that's unheard of.

If you've never heard of Quibb, it's a exclusive online community where professionals from the tech and start-up industries are invited...and their acceptance rate for new members is currently 36%.

OK - I'm intrigued.

Then I read that their goal is to revolutionize the business news industry and create a modern version of The Wall Street Journal.

Now I'm borderline obsessed with what they're up to.

So here's how their membership [...]

"I want my new website to look exactly like Brendon Burchard's."

There was a time where in the course of a year -- I'll bet a round of golf -- we heard that request at least a dozen times when starting a new web design project for a client.

They say that imitation is the highest form of flattery - and I'm sure Burchard was sincerely flattered.

At the same time, most likely he politely (because he's a genuinely nice guy) shook his head and thought "They just don't get it."

Now on the other hand...if I heard this I'd literally drop to the ground [...]

The #1 success robber is boredom.

As entrepreneurs, we make up 10% of the world who lead rather than follow. We are the sole providers for ourselves, our families, and our staff. That’s a lot of responsibility on our shoulders.

We all chose the life of a business owner because of the high we get from being completely independent. No boss telling us what we can and cannot do. The fruits of our labor go to us alone...because we earned it.

It’s easy to get amnesia and forget why we got into business – and boredom is the trigger.

When you’re bored, all your [...]

Oprah has it. Steve Jobs, Bill Clinton, Tony Robbins, and George Clooney have it.

Adolf Hitler had it.

"It" is that elusive charm that engages, captivates and influences.

And when used for good has the power to make people's lives exponentially better.

Most would call "it" charisma.

The best salespeople are charismatic. You meet them. You like them. You buy from them.

Even when they don't have the best product or offer the best prices.

And the salesmen who don't have "it" grudgingly say of those who do, "Pffh...well, they were born with it." In other words, they must have the sales gene - lucky bums.

Sounds like [...]