Resources

When someone sees your ad, your gallery, or hears you answer the phone for the first time, they get a first impression. I recently wrote an article about the value of the first few seconds of an encounter. This one however, is about that seminal moment when a prospect receives the offer you have given them in a “consent marketing” engagement. One inarguable truth about direct marketing is that the “strength of the offer controls the rate of the response.” The brilliance behin

What is a Healthy Sales Diet? It takes discipline, a lot for some of us, to have a good diet. For that matter, good habits are usually things that we train ourselves to do. They seldom come without sacrifice but we learn to do them because the long term results make them worthwhile. It takes a modicum of wisdom to realize that pleasure and happiness are not one and the same. Sometimes it takes discipline to achieve true happiness, and sometimes the short term thinking involve

Does Terminology Matter in the Sales Realm? Words matter. Personal relationships have been both wounded and completely shattered with hurtful and destructive words. Oh that our politicians and leaders would shepherd society back toward civility and an appreciation for literature and the arts. Words have changed the world. Why would it be a good idea to be haphazard or aggressive with your words? Why would anyone think that “cut throat” sales techniques are the path to reputat

How Important are the First 5 Seconds Of a Conversation? All psychologists agree that the first impression is formed within the first second of a visual encounter and the first 3-7 seconds of an auditory one. After that first impression, people subconsciously look for confirmation of the first impression to see if they were right, so reversing it can be a chore. Since I study and write about sales psychology, I process first impressions at a snail's pace. Like a “finish carpe

This appeal is ongoing until we establish a culture among our DirectFlow clients that will give them the results they desire from their investment. This isn’t boardroom fodder. This is the REAL WORLD! This is not being broadcast to anyone outside the DSD family. FACT: Meta’s Andromeda does NOT care if you sell pianos. It cares about one thing: its profitability - which hinges upon people being addicted to and staying on their platform. I’m appealing to you once more today to

synergy /ˈsinərjē/ Synergy is the combined power or interaction of two or more elements, organizations, or individuals that produces a total effect greater than the sum of their individual effects. It is the concept that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts The best way to illustrate the conundrum called “synergy” is with a short story: Travis was very tired of wrenching on his old riding mower. The mower repairman had warned him that the day was coming when getting

Dear Direct Success Digital Dealer Principals, We are initiating to a new policy beginning June 1, 2026. We need to eliminate the collections activities required to keep our ad spend fully funded for the sum total of our customer base. We are especially grateful for those clients who trust us and our efforts on their behalf enough to be on by be on AutoPay. Beginning June 1 your monthly invoice must be satisfied by the tenth of each month to keep your ad series running withou

The Antidote For A Shrunken Industry Survival has become a common goal for the industry, and closest to my heart, the independent dealers who serve the piano needs of their respective communities. The narrative of late has been this question, ”Are you a part of the survivor’s club?” The pie, the whole of the piano sales to be had, has indeed become a ghost of what it was in its heyday. The talk at industry cocktail parties often harkens back to the “good ole days” when the p