Category: Selling

Risky Business 

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17 COMMENTS

We were down in Atlanta this past weekend, visiting our son Evan. For reasons we fail to understand, Evan prefers mild winters, friendly inhabitants, and modern airports over whatever the opposite of all that is that we offer here in Massachusetts. As it happens, Evan is in the market for a new living room couch. And so, in between eating a month’s worth of food in a single, three-day period, we visited a few stores to help him decide. When it comes to buying furniture – bed, chair, couch, whatever […] Click to read more…

Presumed Competent

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4 COMMENTS

Long ago, I had a client, a financial planner. One day, while visiting his home office, I noticed a BMW sportscar sitting in his driveway. He had always driven a pickup truck, so I assumed it wasn’t his. But he said no, it was. Except pretty much the only time he drove it was when he was going to meet with a client. As he explained, “If your financial planner shows up in a pickup truck, you assume he’s not very good.” That seemed to make sense. And I guess it […] Click to read more…

I Scream for Ice Cream

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8 COMMENTS

(Listen to this post, here.) Imagine, if you would, that you own an ice cream truck. You know, one of those big vans that drives around town on summer days, selling ice cream to anyone who wants some. You’ve had a busy morning and you only have time to visit one more location before you call it a day. Here are your two options of places to go. Which one would you choose? Option #1: A crowded neighborhood park frequented by parents and their young children. Option #2: A convention center that happens to be […] Click to read more…

Nonobvious Pricing

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9 COMMENTS

(Listen to this post, here.) I’m not a huge coffee drinker: two 12-ounce cups a day. One in the morning; one mid-afternoon. My wife, Linda, doesn’t drink coffee, so I rely on a Black + Decker Brew ‘n Go Personal Coffeemaker (with travel mug) I drink about half a mug with breakfast and the rest on the drive to my office. Recently, however, I’ve encountered a slight problem: the coffee seems reluctant to come out of the mug. I mean, it kind of still works. But lately it requires a bit of an […] Click to read more…

Nobody Buys Process

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8 COMMENTS

(Listen to this post, here.) I bought a brand new car about a year ago. I wasn’t planning on it. My 2013 Ford Focus was running just fine. It only had 117,000 miles (that’s three fortnights and half a stone for those of you in the United Kingdom) and I expected to drive it for many more years. Plus, my stated stance at the time regarding car purchases was that I would never again buy a new one, instead opting for the improved investment value of a used vehicle. But one […] Click to read more…