The X and Y of Buy (aka: Sex, Sales and Stereotypes)

Author: Elizabeth Pace

Science has confirmed that men and women use different parts of their brains and thus behave differently in a host of situations, including the way we shop, buy and consume products and services. 

As a sales, advertising or marketing professional understanding these differences is the key to your success.

The strength of the X and Y of Buy strategy is simple: whether you are designing a product, advertising a new service, or making the most critical sales presentation of your life, you want your audience to make a choice. The decision maker is either male or female or, at times, the ultimate decision is made by...  ...more...

Community Service Might Improve Your Business

Steve Wike

Suppose you could provide a wonderful service to the community – by appointment only – that would also be good for your business.

Wilmington Plastic Surgery has found a terrific combination. During the week of June 8, 2009, they will provide free skin cancer treatments – by appointment only...

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Expert Advice? Free? No Gimmicks? Right.

Steve Wike

We’ve been trained to believe that if “it sounds too good to be true, it probably is….” But we were also taught that “the best things in life are free….”

So which is it? “There’s no such thing as a free lunch,” or “you can’t buy happiness”?

Well, yesterday morning I was given a free breakfast. And it was truly “priceless...”  ...more...

Crazy Ideas That Just Might Work

Steve Wike

I have a folder in my desk with a tab labeled “Crazy Ideas That Just Might Work”. It’s been there for years. Every once in a while I think of something that seems way outside the box, or I hear something from a friend or colleague, and think, “Wow, what a crazy idea! …It’s so crazy it just might work!” ...and I write it down and stick it in the "Crazy Idea" folder.

I’ve tried many of them. Some worked… and some didn’t. Fortunately, most of the time I stuck to what worked… so I had more successes than failures, and grew my previous business over 20 years, before selling it.

The other day, while visiting with AJ Aliah at Land Rover Cape Fear, I heard another crazy idea that just might work. It’s a unique “value add” for AJ’s Land Rover customers...

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"Do You Cower, Or Do You Live Free?"

Steve Wike

That’s an exact quote from a promotional email message I received over the weekend. It was from Carolina Coast Harley-Davidson, announcing the May 10-17 grand opening of their new Beach House dealership in Shallotte.

That’s right. In the midst of all the economic doom-and-gloom we consistently hear in news reports, Carolina Coast H-D is opening a brand new dealership...  ...more...