Management By Objectives, or How To Win In Fruit Ninja And Business

by Naomi Dunford

Monday, October 17th, 2011

Fruit Ninja is a game for the iPhone and iPad. You are a ninja, and you must slash flying fruit with your sword. More fruit, more points. There are different modes of play, and the objective of the game depends on what mode you’re playing in.

In Classic mode, your goal is simply to survive. If you let three pieces of fruit fall without slashing them, or you accidentally hit a flying bomb, you lose. Completely.

To meet the objective of Classic mode, you must play a very conservative game. Don’t get fancy. Don’t drop fruit. Don’t hit bombs. But if you find yourself in an untenable situation and are forced to choose, drop fruit, because you get three strikes with that. One bomb and you’re done.

Don’t start messing around trying to get combos or pretty stuff because they don’t matter. Survival is the only objective. Everything else is a distraction.

5 Ways To Handle Your Nightmare Client, or Crazy Auntie Vera Comes To Dinner

by Naomi Dunford

Monday, October 10th, 2011

Previously, we talked about your 5 buyer types and how each one responds differently to making repeat purchases from you. We’ve covered Amy, Bob, Carol and Daniel. But there’s one more buyer type we haven’t discussed, and that’s the one who nobody talks about… Crazy Auntie Vera.

Normally we tell you how to sell to these people and, for the purposes of this (still free!) course, how to upsell, upgrade, and cross-sell to them.

But in Vera’s case, that is the absolute worst thing you can do. Ever.

Vera has a dysfunctional relationship with commerce.

She buys – oh, yes, she buys – but she’s really, really screwed up about it.

Your 5 Buyers: How To Sell To Daniel

by Naomi Dunford

Thursday, September 22nd, 2011

Previously, we talked about your 5 buyer types and how each one responds differently to making repeat purchases from you.  We’ve covered Amy, Bob, and Carol,and now we’re going to talk about Daniel (your fourth buyer type) and cover when he’s most likely to buy – and why.

What is Daniel Like?

Daniel generally has a personality type that borders on depressive. He is Eeyore and he knows it, and though he hates that attitude in himself, being Eeyore, he feels like it’s pretty much out of his control.

Financially, his money is not out of control, but he feels like the power over how much money he has (or will get) is completely out of his control. He is convinced that he has no money, regardless of how much he actually has. His house is very likely a mess, and he is almost definitely overweight.

Your 5 Buyers: How To Sell To Carol

by Naomi Dunford

Monday, September 5th, 2011

Previously, we talked about your 5 buyer types and how each one responds differently to making repeat purchases from you.  We’ve covered Amy and Bob, and now we’re going to talk about Carol (your third buyer type) and cover when she’s most likely to buy – and why.

What is Carol Like?

Carol is basically happy and confident like Amy, but scattered, disorganized and emotional like Bob. (She shares virtually nothing in common with Daniel, but interestingly, the likelihood of her ending up married to him is disproportionately high. Go figure. Second likely is Bob. Amy would probably call Carol a trainwreck and run screaming from the room.)

Carol is probably very attractive to members of both sexes. People tend to find her fascinating and dynamic. She tells lively stories, and she’s comfortable being the center of attention. She’s not necessarily extroverted, but she’s probably not shy. She is least likely of the archetypes to be afraid of public speaking, for example, because as far as she’s concerned, she speaks in public every day.

Your 5 Buyers: How To Sell To Bob

by Naomi Dunford

Wednesday, August 24th, 2011

Previously, we talked about your 5 buyer types and how each one responds differently to making repeat purchases from you.  We’ve covered Amy, and now we’re going to talk about Bob (your second buyer type) and cover when he’s most likely to buy – and why.

What Is Bob Like?

Bob is your second most likely repeat buyer, and as such you want to pay close attention to him when you’re planning your upgrade, upsell and cross-sell offers.  He will make you very good money if you keep him safe. Let’s look at what Bob’s thinking in general, and what he’s thinking about when you offer him the option to purchase more from you.

Bob isn’t as confident as Amy.  He’s often not confident at all. He can be happy at times, but he tends towards stress and anxiety and doesn’t feel completely in control of his life at any given moment.  Because he has so much to think about, he’s a pretty logical fellow, but at the end of the day he buys based on the intensity of his current emotional state.