Well, that’s an intriguing question, isn’t it?

Seth Godin raises the point that if you’re going to speak at a meeting and you really don’t have that much to say, maybe you shouldn’t say anything.

This is almost the opposite of what we read all over the place. Stand up and get noticed. Overcome your fear of public speaking.

Incidentally there are people who fear public speaking more than death. More than death!

My own take on this is that we all have something to communicate. We just sometimes have to do a bit of searching to find out what it is. Preparation is key here.

And if you’re marketing, you have to speak to your customers, preferably regularly. Not face to face, for sure, but it’s still communication. And it’s still important to ask what it is you’re saying. Because vague ideas and lack of structure will hurt your message, every time.

So maybe the real question is not do you have anything to say. Maybe the real question is how can you make what you say even more effective?

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You can read Seth’s original post by clicking here.

Now, how silly is this?

You think a new product is pretty good and you give it suitably positive review.

But you don’t use it yourself?

Wouldn’t that be silly?

Yes, I thought it would too. Which is why I’ve installed the Blog Rush widget on this site. I completely forgot to do it the other day when I wrote my post about it.

You can see it in all its glory to the right – I think it looks pretty good. And while that’s important it’s the content that is useful. Since it shows related content it’s a nice way to explore the blog web and check out some sites you might not have found on your own.

If you have a blog yourself I’d recommend joining up now – you’ll get more visitors to your site and some of them might stick around.

It’s a question that seems easy to answer at face value. But do you really know your customers?

What’s the best day of the weeek for them to buy? Do you know?

How about the price point they prefer? Do you know what that is? Are you sure? Have you tested it to see that you’re right?

I was reminded the other day about how the world’s best salespeople know their customers inside out. If you want to get to yes, you have to know what your customer needs and wants in order to say yes.

I’m not suggesting ways to do that here – there are plenty of articles out there already which give that kind of advice.

What I am suggesting is that it would pay us all to know our customers as well as kids know their parents.

Example?

My daughter said to me the other day, as she was asking me for something, that she knew she’d get it. I asked her how she knew.

Her answer surprised me.

“When you say we’ll see, it means you’re going to say yes. But if you say maybe, it means no. Unless you’re smiling when you say maybe.”

Boy, she’s a good salesperson! But then she does know her customer very well

Tags: customers, salesclosing, children, salespeople

Everyone’s talking about it.

John Reese has come up with a system to give you more traffic to your blog.

And if your blog is monetized (if not, why not?) then it makes sense to get as much traffic as possible – doesn’t it?

The blog widget from Blog Rush is unobtrusive and, to me at least, it looks pretty good. Since it offers links to sites similar to your own it offers your readers a valuable benefit – it saves them time. And wrong as it sounds, having links to what are, effectively, your competitors, is an effective tool.

Why not take a look? It’s free to join.

Tags: blog, blogs, blogging, blogrush, web traffic, widget

It’s true. Making money is great, but you have to have your health too.

I’ve been ill recently and it’s not fun. It takes your eye off the target and demotivates you, so it’s important to remember that if you don’t have good health, all the money in the world won’t make up for it.

And there’s a lot we can all do, without spending a penny. A fresh green salad now and then, some fresh air and, oh, I don’t know, an occasional walk can do so much to improve general health.

To that end I’m starting a plr health niche membership site. My sister will provide the technical input – as a highly qualified nurse with over 20 years’ experience, and registration in the UK and the US she has the knowledge.

I also have a number of simpler sites for people just wanting some basic information.

Feel free to take a look at ways to quits smoking and high cholesterol foods.

They’re simple sites, but they contain some good information.

The membership site for the health niche plr should launch by November and I’ll post a discount coupon for early bird member registrations. It’s an important niche – the world is getting older and facing more health challenges – and it’s a profitable one too.