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10 months ago
in Is Akismet down? on Scobleizer
Firstly, great blog… so much of interest and use on it.
And secondly, on to Askimet!! Until about 3 months or so ago Askimet span worked fine for me stopping 90%+ of spam and with what seemed high accuracy. Then over night everything changed. Askimet stopped catching spam and stopped being able to see what was and what was not spam.
I am sure that I do not get that much spam compared to some but comments on other sites such as read your spam comments are not really practical (I get several hundred a day and rising) and totally negate the point of having it in the first place.
Over the last day or two the stats were as follows…
Total comments & spam 359.
Awaiting moderation 174 – Spam 170, legitimate 4.
Askimet spam 185 – Spam 168, legitimate 7.
This would imply that Askimet is guessing and not that well at that. I have emailed Askimet to ask for advice but would be interested if anyone else has experienced a rapid change in fortunes with Askimet, what caused it and what the solution is…
And secondly, on to Askimet!! Until about 3 months or so ago Askimet span worked fine for me stopping 90%+ of spam and with what seemed high accuracy. Then over night everything changed. Askimet stopped catching spam and stopped being able to see what was and what was not spam.
I am sure that I do not get that much spam compared to some but comments on other sites such as read your spam comments are not really practical (I get several hundred a day and rising) and totally negate the point of having it in the first place.
Over the last day or two the stats were as follows…
Total comments & spam 359.
Awaiting moderation 174 – Spam 170, legitimate 4.
Askimet spam 185 – Spam 168, legitimate 7.
This would imply that Askimet is guessing and not that well at that. I have emailed Askimet to ask for advice but would be interested if anyone else has experienced a rapid change in fortunes with Askimet, what caused it and what the solution is…
1 year ago
in Are All Business People Dishonest? on The Michel Fortin Blog
Michel
I'm not going to talk about the "article", just your "rant"...
In short, you're so right!
People who moan and groan about unethical business people and say that things should be free (or cheaper) are the self same whiners who say that they never talk to salespeople even if this means that they end up buying the wrong products and solutions at the wrong prices...
Far too many people spend far too much time finding ways to chuck the blame for their failures at someone else...
... they spend all night watching hours worth of TV rather than going to night school but then blame their upbringing for their lack of education...
... they say that they have a slow metabolic rate yet they never get off their rear end and go to the gym...
I could go on.
One of the first personal development audios that I ever heard was by Jim Rohn. I cannot remember his exact words now but he was talking about prices and he said that most people moaned about things being too expensive. He pointed out that there was nothing they could do about this and said that they ought to face up to the fact that they did not earn enough.
A great lesson.
My belief is that people often have a pop at marketers, business people and salepeople to make up for their own poor decisions and lack of positive action...
On a similar rant at poorly thought through generalisations against business people, I wrote last week about an article in The Evening Standard about salespeople and The (UK) Apprentice show. You can see the whole article and my response, "People Think Salespeople Are Stupid", in the link I have shown to my website...
Gavin
I'm not going to talk about the "article", just your "rant"...
In short, you're so right!
People who moan and groan about unethical business people and say that things should be free (or cheaper) are the self same whiners who say that they never talk to salespeople even if this means that they end up buying the wrong products and solutions at the wrong prices...
Far too many people spend far too much time finding ways to chuck the blame for their failures at someone else...
... they spend all night watching hours worth of TV rather than going to night school but then blame their upbringing for their lack of education...
... they say that they have a slow metabolic rate yet they never get off their rear end and go to the gym...
I could go on.
One of the first personal development audios that I ever heard was by Jim Rohn. I cannot remember his exact words now but he was talking about prices and he said that most people moaned about things being too expensive. He pointed out that there was nothing they could do about this and said that they ought to face up to the fact that they did not earn enough.
A great lesson.
My belief is that people often have a pop at marketers, business people and salepeople to make up for their own poor decisions and lack of positive action...
On a similar rant at poorly thought through generalisations against business people, I wrote last week about an article in The Evening Standard about salespeople and The (UK) Apprentice show. You can see the whole article and my response, "People Think Salespeople Are Stupid", in the link I have shown to my website...
Gavin
1 year ago
in Phone Calls Can Kill Your Copywriting Business on The Michel Fortin Blog
Michel
What a great article and starting point for a much looked over question.
What rapidly becomes clear from reading these comments is that one size does most definitely not fit all. What catapults one business into the stratosphere could be entirely the wrong strategy for another business.
Ultimately, this comes down to having the right sales process for you and for your business...
And then sticking to it!
Many salespeople and business owners alike blow their chances of making the sale by talking too early and too much. Far from building rapport, exploring needs or checking commitments this approach, more often than not, results in a lot of frustrating tale chasing...
If you fail to qualify your clients you will spend far too much time and effort on clients that were not ever going to buy from you and far too little with those all important hot prospects.
Whether you talk to your prospects in person or not at the start of the process is your decision but the important thing is to have an intelligent and thought through process that works.
You need to know what you will and won't say and how far you are prepared to go on the phone.
In most cases, this will be all about questioning and not about giving advice. Stick to this thought and you will not find yourself dolling out free consultancy...
Most salespeople and business owners have a bad case of premature elaboration... and that's not good!
What a great article and starting point for a much looked over question.
What rapidly becomes clear from reading these comments is that one size does most definitely not fit all. What catapults one business into the stratosphere could be entirely the wrong strategy for another business.
Ultimately, this comes down to having the right sales process for you and for your business...
And then sticking to it!
Many salespeople and business owners alike blow their chances of making the sale by talking too early and too much. Far from building rapport, exploring needs or checking commitments this approach, more often than not, results in a lot of frustrating tale chasing...
If you fail to qualify your clients you will spend far too much time and effort on clients that were not ever going to buy from you and far too little with those all important hot prospects.
Whether you talk to your prospects in person or not at the start of the process is your decision but the important thing is to have an intelligent and thought through process that works.
You need to know what you will and won't say and how far you are prepared to go on the phone.
In most cases, this will be all about questioning and not about giving advice. Stick to this thought and you will not find yourself dolling out free consultancy...
Most salespeople and business owners have a bad case of premature elaboration... and that's not good!
1 year ago
in Paying my Plaxo karmic debt on Duct Tape Marketing
I have always shared your doubts and have built up my own share of karmic debt over the years.
Recently I did reconsider but was put off by several clients expressing their ongoing reservations.
I may well now reconsider...
Recently I did reconsider but was put off by several clients expressing their ongoing reservations.
I may well now reconsider...
1 year ago
in More Exponential Marketing | It’s a System, Not a Gimmick on Free Traffic Tips
Tina, as I always say when running sales seminars, you cannot afford to be a one trick pony. Not only are you losing potential readers and business but you lay yourself open to losing all of your business if for some reason your one approach fails.
1 year ago
in The Gold is In The Picks And Shovels on The Michel Fortin Blog
Nicely said Michel. Facebook is becoming "massive" and this argument is one that will no doubt run and run. Probably right up until the point that Facebook either decides who it wants to appeal to or splits it's offerings up into niches perhaps including a separate "business Facebook" (which would be a shrewd move perhaps?).
As it stands at the moment I am not sure that fending off a zombie, a headbut from a mate and some other mad invention is the best forum for doing business!
There is no denying however the buzz surrounding Facebook at the moment... Go to dinner parties and people are talking about it! Meet your friends and they tell you that they are on it! Go to an internet cafe and kids are logged into it!
Not surprising then that many people are diving in, holding their breath and looking for sunken treasures...
Will they be right or will Facebook lose the wave and the surfers move on elsewhere? Only time will tell.
As it stands at the moment I am not sure that fending off a zombie, a headbut from a mate and some other mad invention is the best forum for doing business!
There is no denying however the buzz surrounding Facebook at the moment... Go to dinner parties and people are talking about it! Meet your friends and they tell you that they are on it! Go to an internet cafe and kids are logged into it!
Not surprising then that many people are diving in, holding their breath and looking for sunken treasures...
Will they be right or will Facebook lose the wave and the surfers move on elsewhere? Only time will tell.
