What kind of marketing is the most effective?

sneezr.ca Have you ever asked yourself that question? I did. In fact, many years ago I spent countless hours trying to figure it out.
The answer turned out to be quite simple: word of mouth marketing. Or as I call it: the art of cultivating recommendations.

Surprised? Probably not. With recommendations, there is no sales pressure and no credibility issues. When your friends, family members or trusted co-workers recommend something or someone to you, they are genuinely trying to help you. That means a lot, which is why you usually remember it for a long time. But here is the catch: recommendations must be earned. How do you do that? Where do you start? How do you give people a reason to talk about your products/services? How do you nudge your story into every day conversations? I launched sneezr.ca to help you answer those questions.

This just in: hand-me-down furniture is an unusual suspect.

A lot of people would love to see their businesses SHINE. So what’s stopping them?

My 2¢:
Imagine for a moment a “mental apartment” continue reading

If you want your idea to live on, choose its parents carefully

Storytelling is likely the most powerful way to put ideas into the world.
Why? The short answer: Because stories make ideas tangible and human scale.

Jun 30, 2013

What are we looking for?

Our eyes are the portals to our minds.
And what do we mostly do with our eyes? For the most part, we’re looking for stories we continue reading

What’s so great about being typical?

Probably 98% of people who read my stories make no changes afterwards.
Testimonials like this one represent the very small percentage of those who HAVE made changes.

Jun 24, 2013

Do you deliver what you promise? Be honest.

A few days ago I received an email from a reader I’d never interacted with before.
This person had a question for me, one of those ‘just continue reading

This just in

Things change. An average business person? Not so much.

Don’t be a crocodile

Many people walk into customer meetings with pre-canned presentations without engaging the customer in a discussion. You know what those people are continue reading

A good ad is like…

A good ad is like a good shish kebab: a string of simple yet delicious treats.

How to find out what’s essential

How do you find out what’s essential to the decision-making process of your potential customers?
Here’s one freebie: by entering the conversation continue reading

What can the story about Stanley & Iris teach us about life?

 In the movie “Stanley & Iris,” Robert De Niro gives a quietly-effective performance (one of his best) as Stanley Cox, an unassuming continue reading