INsight: The Godfather and Business Wisdom,by Bill Simmel (Part II)

Part II “He’s thinking of going to the mattresses.” — Clemenza to Paulie and Rocco, referring to Sonny’s plan for an all-out war requiring his “button men” to sleep in makeshift warehouses and safe houses (GF I) Rule #6: Seize the Moment Your competitor is winning the battle of perceptions. You’re losing mindshare. What do you do? Buy more advertising time? Sponsor a big event? Hold a news conference? Hire a celebrity spokesperson? What if your budget is anemic…then what? Regardless of the scale of your marketing, the important thing is to take a stand, and then take action. Sonny Corleone was not known for his painstaking market research. […]

2023-12-18T15:17:37-05:00Comments Off on INsight: The Godfather and Business Wisdom,by Bill Simmel (Part II)
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INsight: The Godfather and Business Wisdom,by Bill Simmel (Part I)

This article focuses on business lessons that embody the wisdom of The Godfather — rules that all competitive marketers and branding strategists should heed and follow. Each rule provides insight and direction designed to help you align your message, strengthen your position, and expand your brand. The rules are gleaned from actual quotes found in each Godfather movie, including The Godfather: Part III (1990) which, although not as critically acclaimed as the first two, deftly plays out the saga of Michael’s dashed dreams, operatic self-destruction, and ignominious defeat. In some cases, the same or similar quote appears in more than one film – giving it added dramatic importance. […]

2020-10-24T11:29:14-04:00Comments Off on INsight: The Godfather and Business Wisdom,by Bill Simmel (Part I)
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INsight: Guerilla Marketing, the Truthsby Bill Simmel

stop monkeying around in your business. . . If you look up the definition, “Guerrilla Marketing, is an unconventional way of performing promotional activities on a very low-budget.” While this is accurate, I’m not buying it. Why would anyone or any company prefer to market their business like a primate? The great guerrillas like Che or Mao had something more going for them than being “unconventional and cheap.” Their battles became legend because they were thinking beyond the next quarter. That’s why here I’m going in search of that “something more.” As usual, I’m not claiming wisdom, so if you find omissions or flaws in my Mini version of Sun Tzu on the Art of Guerrilla Marketing, don’t hesitate to hit me. Besides I am finishing my book on Guerrilla marketing, but enough shameful promoting. […]

2020-10-06T11:34:19-04:00Comments Off on INsight: Guerilla Marketing, the Truthsby Bill Simmel
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INsight: You Need to “Forget What the Customer Wants!” by Bill Simmel

strategic marketing is about finding the BEST solution In 1998, Bill Gates {Internet Explorer without question the dominant player in the online world} stated, “The Internet will be a great place for people . . . once we can figure out what they want .”  Memo to Bill, someone did, Google, iTunes, Facebook, and Amazon. Explorer tried to adapt, as did Tower Records, MySpace and Barnes & Noble; unfortunately, they were too late. In fact, Microsoft has suffered great setbacks based on the Core 4, then most of the other businesses could sustain. […]

2020-10-11T03:06:46-04:00Comments Off on INsight: You Need to “Forget What the Customer Wants!” by Bill Simmel
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INsights: The Pirate-preneur By: Bill Simmel

what does being a pirate have to do we being an entrepreneur? plenty. . . yo ho yo ho an entrepreneurs life for me.I love pirate tales and the lore and “glamour” of the 18th century “businesses” they ran. For some reason I cannot get enough information on these sea faring “businessman” (oh yes, there were also a few pirate business women). All were adventurous entrepreneurs who undertook their livelihood with a certain flare or as people call it today “swagger”. Many of them built their enterprises from the “sea up”, no E-Myth Reality for these guys- No SWOT Analyst- simply, ready aim fire, and many times the didn’t consider the “ready-aim”concept, just fire! […]

2020-10-11T08:53:56-04:00Comments Off on INsights: The Pirate-preneur By: Bill Simmel
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INsight: Weather Advisory, Storm Alert by Bill Simmel

good advice is easy to come by when you have a “weather” advisory board. . . ad•vi•so•ry adjective ədˈvīzərē/ having or consisting in the power to make recommendations but not to take action enforcing them. Sometimes it is sunny for your business other times there is a storm on the horizon. You listen and many time look for weather advisories when a storm is on the horizon. Why would you not look for an advisory on the “weather” affecting your business climate. […]

2020-10-11T08:57:19-04:00Comments Off on INsight: Weather Advisory, Storm Alert by Bill Simmel
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INsight: Marketing Mistakes & Recoveryby Bill Simmel

mistakes happen, it’s what takes place after . . . When marketing efforts are not successful, many companies wonder why… They sent out a ton of direct mail, improved / refreshed their website, initiated Google Adwords, or attended a trade show, but are left disappointed and frustrated with languishing sales and underused resources. Why isn’t the phone ringing? What went wrong? […]

2020-10-11T09:01:30-04:00Comments Off on INsight: Marketing Mistakes & Recoveryby Bill Simmel
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INsights: Are You Entrepreneur Material? by Bill Simmel

Who are these creatures? Why do these persistent people never know whe n to give up? Much academic research has been conducted to define the characteristics of an entrepreneur. Like an animal in the zoo they have been studied at length by economists, anthropologists, management academics, psychologists, sociologists, historians, finance experts and organisational scholars. Here is a closer look at the entrepreneur. […]

2020-10-06T11:48:27-04:00Comments Off on INsights: Are You Entrepreneur Material? by Bill Simmel
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INsight: Can You Hit the Curve Ball by Bill Simmel

in business & baseball someone always throws a curve. . . I have been a baseball fan my entire  life. Now, having just watched one of the best World Series of all times, it got me thinking about the curve ball and how it can affect things beyond the pitcher and hitter. How an untimed, well thrown, erractic, and movement driven curve ball can affect your business and even test every managerial and entrepreneurial skill you possess. Just like a Hall of Fame hitter, a well-executed curve ball can decrease your batting average and at times hit you with the big K,a strikeout. Worse, if it is thrown at you with a 3-2 count in the bottom of the 9th it could mean “game over”. Let’s face it […]

2020-10-11T09:04:03-04:00Comments Off on INsight: Can You Hit the Curve Ball by Bill Simmel
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INsight: Pricing Your Products & Servicesby Bill Simmel

developing your pricing, a basic primer When you’re setting the price for physical goods, particularly commodity goods, you may not have a great deal of flexibility. However, if you are selling something less tangible—like a service, a subscription, a seminar or downloadable report or book—the range of prices you can charge is very broad, and often surprising. […]

2020-10-11T09:06:56-04:00Comments Off on INsight: Pricing Your Products & Servicesby Bill Simmel
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