The Personal MBA

Before you criticize someone's work: (1) You should attempt to re-express your target's position so clearly, vividly, and fairly that your target says, "Thanks, I wish I'd thought of putting it that way? (2) You should list any points of agreement, especially if they are not matters of general or widespread agreement. (3) You should mention anything you have learned from your target. (4) Only then are you permitted to say so much as a word of rebuttal or criticism.

The best testimonials don't necessarily contain superlatives: "amazing." "best," "life-changing," and "revolutionary" have been so overused that people expect them and discount their expectations. The most effective testimonials tend to follow this format: "I was interested in this offer, but skeptical. I decided to purchase anyway and I'm very pleased with the result."

The "Dunning-Kruger effect": 1. Incompetent individuals tend to overestimate their own level of skill. 2. Incompetent individuals fail to recognize genuine skill in others. 3. Incompetent individuals fail to recognize the extremity of their inadequacy. 4. If they can be trained to improve their own skill level. these individuals can recognize and acknowledge their own previous lack of skill.

An eponymous law: "Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. If something must be done in a year, it'll be done in a year. If something must be done next week, it'll be done next week. If something must be done tomorrow, it'll be done tomorrow.

Here are a few ways you can add an element of Scarcity to your offer: 1. Limited quantities--inform prospects that you're offering a limited number of units for sale. 2. Price increases inform prospects that the price will go up in the near future. 3. Price decreases-inform prospects that a current discount will end in the near future. 4. Deadlines inform prospects that the offer is only good for a limited period of time.

If you walk into a department store to buy a business suit, you're likely to notice a few expensive options. The store will very rarely sell these suits that's not their purpose, Compared to a $3,000 suit, a $400 suit doesn't seem expensive- -even if the same suit could be purchased at another store for $200.

Coca-Cola's advertisements don't convince soda consumers that Coke is better in some functional respect ("Now with 37 percent more sugar!"), but they do make people feel road whenever they think about Coke. When a customer is standing in the supermarket deciding which soft drink to buy, those feelings make a big difference in each customer's final choice.

The more accurate patterns you've learned, the more options you have when solving new problems. Pattern Matching is one of the primary reasons experienced people tend to make better decisions than inexperienced people--they've learned more accurate patterns via their experience. Having a larger mental database to draw from is what gives experts their expertise.