Do you know why your customers buy?

I attended a business seminar recently and the featured speaker was Patrick Renvoise, founder of SalesBrain and author of the book “Neuromarketing.” It turns out that we are very predictable when it comes to buying decisions.  The best marketers and advertisers have become experts on how our brains work and what “buttons” push that make us buy things.

Patrick calls it our “old brain.” You may have heard of it as the reptilian brain, the part of our brain with the basic fight of flight instincts.  Successful marketing appeals to that part of our brain and Renvoise say there are six stimuli we need to incorporate into our marketing to compel our customers to buy.

The concepts are simple, however the ability to execute successfully are a little more complex.   For more about Patrick’s neuormarketing approach, click here to visit his website

It’s a sad day in Seattle, and it’s a sad day for newspaper fans around the country. I realize we are a vanishing breed. The tsunami of technology is not really what’s bothering me. The big concern is the difficulty figuring out a new economic model that will fund quality journalism, something we must have in a democracy.

It’s great that we have so many sources of information available on the internet. I want to know how great writers, reporters, prize-winning cartoonists, analysts, and investigative journalists are going to be able to make a living doing what they do? And if there’s no long term viable way to support themselves and their families, why would anyone go into the field?

I hope we figure it out soon!

I’ve been a fan of The Daily Show for the last few years, mainly because Jon Stewart has made me laugh when there has been precious little to laugh about in our country. As I tuned out most of the traditional TV news sources, I knew that if something important was happening, I would see it on the show and I could learn more about it on my own.

This past week Stewart once again showed his smarts and his ability to tap into our collective angst and be a voice for those of us who feel so powerless in all this economic turmoil.

His now infamous interview with CNBC’s Jim Cramer will be remembered and analyzed for a lot of reasons. Pundits and commentators are posing questions like “Was it fair?” “Was it really journalism?” “Is Stewart the new Edward R. Murrow or Jonathan Swift?” “Will it have any long term impact on financial news coverage?”

All those are great questions for discussion. For me, I just want to say thank you, Jon Stewart, for voicing our collective anger and frustration. It was so satisfying to see your intelligent and laser-like rant. You are our national safety valve!

Last Friday my investment broker, Nikki Chicotel, sent out a message to her clients with the headline “Please Turn Off the News!” Nikki, who is also my brilliant sister, was off to a great start. The rest of her message detailed how she is protecting her clients by keeping most of their holdings in cash positions until the market starts sending “buy” signals through her long term proven tracking methods.

So I say to you, please turn off the news, at least all the gloom and doom part…which is most of it! The steady diet of negativity is creating it’s own life and is making it very difficult to change our national psyche.

Find something to appreciate, connect with a friend, take a nap,take a walk, read a good book. Do something else besides plugging into the incessant stream of negative conversation.

And if you still are jonesing for a little news fix, try KJR FM 95.7 in the mornings. They have committed to broadcast only good news! They feature companies that are hiring, good works happening in the community, etc. So for those of us who want good news, support KJR so they will know we want more of that!!! Maybe others will get the message soon.

And shameless family promotion…if you would like to find out more about Nikki and her services at Private Capital Management click here.

Peter Baker of the New York Times has written an article about President Obama’s use of the teleprompter. Some critics say Obama risks his credibility by being so scripted and tied to the machine. Others say he’s very precise with his words and why fool around with the success he’s had.

I’ve had clients ask about using a teleprompter and my response is a based on the event, the speaker, and the audience. Using a prompter sets a tone of formality and it can be misinterpreted as a sign of pretentiousness in the wrong setting. And if a speaker has an informal approach in most circumstances, I would stick with what works with their personality. That said, it’s not a bad idea to know how to use a teleprompter, especially if you plan on doing a lot of public speaking. You never when you might be asked to address a stadium full of people!

First of all I’d like to thank two people for helping me get started in the blogosphere. One is Patrick Williams, The Selling Sherpa! Patrick is a great resource for sales and marketing help and who doesn’t need that in this climate! I attended his workshop last Saturday and he gave me the confidence to get out here! You can check him out by clicking here.

The next person is my very smart and patient web guy David Wiseman. He answers all my questions and gives me all the widgets I desire. If you need web expertise connect with David at david.w.wiseman@gmail.com!