I recently read Steal Like an Artist which inspired me to start a Swipe File, where I write down random observations on people that I might find useful later. Some of these are my own, others come from the many books I’ve read this year.
Loss aversion: People would rather avoid pain than reap a reward.
Selling: Tell a story that matches the worldview of the buyer.
Fairness: People act irrationally when they deem they have been treated unfairly.
Momentum: If you want someone to take action, take the first two steps for them. This worked with a punch-card at a gas station.
Momentum pt 2: Change blindness causes us to ignore major changes. People are much more likely to pay attention to something in motion.
Telling a story: Stories work better than facts because people like to place themselves in the story and imagine they’re a part of it. You can’t imagine you’re a part of facts.
Marketing Products: The product is the marketing. Marketing needs to be in charge of what is made.
Learning from others: When learning from someone successful, do not copy their tactics – copy their strategy.
The Purpose of the Internet: The Internet is a connection tool, not organized as a commerce machine or promotional engine.
Being Successful Online: The secret of the web: patience. Google was a good search engine for 2 years before anyone started using it.
Ubiquity: Sales increased when the message changed to “If all operators are busy, please try again.” Acting bigger than you are can work.
Labeling: People often fulfill the prophecy labeled to them. Steve Jobs’ reality distortion field is a great example of this.
Disruption: It is much easier to beat competitors when they are motivated to flee instead of fight.
Competition on Disruption: If you create and attempt to sell a better product into an established market in order to capture the best established customers, the competition will be motivated to fight instead of flee.
On Growth: Be patient for growth. Impatient for profit.
Personal Proclamations: The more vocal someone is about an action, the less likely they’ll actually do it. When I worked as a valet, 95% of people who said “I’ll tip you on the way out” never did.
On Feedback: Always start feedback with “It works because…” or “It doesn’t work because…” Feedback of “I like it” isn’t helpful.
Connect with me on Twitter: @BenNesvig and read my book.
