Category Archives for "Sales & Marketing"

YES, I want to sign up for the Firestone Institute ninja real estate investor, co-coaching and development manager course. YES, I want to learn how to be a development manager to ensure my projects and those of others I deal with get started as soon as possible and come in on-time and on-budget with as […]

Most people who are looking for a job or trying to get a gig or contract or make a sale start with their CV. A CV tells folks what schools you went to, jobs you’ve done, sports you played, skills you have… This, in my view, misses the mark. What do employers or potential clients […]

I am into naming things (like the elves in Tolkien’s Middle Earth did–they spent their first few tens of thousands of years there naming stuff). I also like creating taglines.  It adds value for both landlord and tenant—it’s like Italian trains of the 1970s—the only difference between 1st and 3rd class was the price you paid. #Seriously […]

I think that all organizations–even NFPs (not for profits), charities and foundations–need an effective way to connect with their marketplace. If it takes too much time or money (or both) to connect with potential clients/donors/sponsors, your organization is doomed to fail. So, what I want is an “easy” button—something you “press” and, presto, clients and […]

[Note: this is an excerpt from Entrepreneurs Handbook II, https://brucemfirestone.com/product/entrepreneurs-handbook-ii/] Here are Firestone’s Three Laws of Power Selling. First, I’ll iterate them and, second, I’ll give some examples that will seek to illustrate how the Three Laws of Power Selling actually work. Most people read these types of things and they nod wisely but really […]

[excerpt from Don’t Back Down, the real story of the founding of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators and why big leagues matter, Bruce M Firestone, 2015, https://brucemfirestone.com/product/dont-back-down/] Ottawa-based tech and real estate billionaire Sir Terence “Terry” Matthews reinforces the following ten “Terryisms” for each startup he has guided to success: 1. Form an early (and lasting) attachment to your […]

What is QSV, quick sale value. There is no generally accepted definition, but here is my attempt at defining it based on experience: QSV, quick sale value, is the price a property put on the market will trade at less seller administrative, legal and accounting charges, realtor fees and closing costs in a liquidation process […]

My wife received a bill from Rogers via snail mail this morning. She groaned when she saw yet another invoice from this firm. So, I asked myself this question: How could I (if I worked at Rogers) make Dawn squeal with delight every time we sent her an invoice?

Engineers say a perfect machine is one with no moving parts. I’d add to that: Complexity is the enemy of success in all endeavors. How could we apply those twin concepts to business modeling? Here’s how: By answering the question–can we reduce the complexity of operating an organization, any business even charity, not-for-profit or foundation, […]

Fifteen minutes outside of Olhão, Portugal, you will find a 30-hectare olive oil plantation that combines sustainable farming practices with agritainment. Most mornings around 10 or 10:30 am, a Monterosa (favorably reviewed on TripAdvisor–62 reviews, five stars) staffer will take a group of around 30 (made up of locals on holiday and tourists) around the […]

We’ve all heard this before, “Selling is telling.” If you want more sales, the thinking goes, tell a better story. That’s a good start, but we can take it a few steps further. Let’s go back in time first. Textbooks tell you marketing is important because it helps build your brand, and a solid brand […]

Best Buy, according to most prognosticators, should be dead by now… bulldozed by Amazon, but it’s not. How did they turn the trick? They changed their business model. If you are in a products business these days, you will want to add services. If you’re in the service biz, you’ll want to consider adding products. […]