Today’s Show Recap:
Welcome to this week’s episode of Makin’ It where we talk movie marketing – Harvey Weinstein style – and winning sales strategies with internationally known author Mike Weinberg.
But before we get too far into this, let’s try a little experiment. Check out the Bill Gates Live Money Counter. Click on the link and see how much dough the richest man in the world earns while you read this blog. Let us know your results in the comments!
First up on this week’s show, Harvey Weinstein has been producing movies for over thirty years. Think “Good Will Hunting” (1997), “Lee Daniel’s: The Butler” (2013) “Pulp Fiction” (1994), and the “Scary Movie” series (starting in 2000). Weinstein’s movies win awards and break box office records.
No stranger to controversy (he’s known in certain circles as “Harvey Scissorhands”), Weinstein went head to head with one of the darlings of South Korean cinema, Bong Joon-Ho, about his 2014 sci-fi epic “Snowpiercer.” Seems Weinstein was concerned about how the visionary director’s new film would play in middle America – reportedly that would be you folks in Iowa and Oklahoma. He demanded massive cuts and a re-edit so it would be understandable to American audiences.
Bong wouldn’t budge.
Weinstein wouldn’t budge.
The internet got out their pitchforks, outraged at Weinstein’s complete disregard of an artist’s rights.
But wait…did Harvey Weinstein just call Americans dumb?
We’re pretty sure we’re offended.
Sadly, recent research says Weinstein may not be wrong. Studies rank the U.S. 35th out of 64 countries in math and 27th in science. Ouch. That puts us behind Singapore, Hong Kong, Estonia, Vietnam, Germany, Lichtenstein, and Macao, just to name a few.
So what could have been just a power play between a notoriously stubborn producer and his director actually points to a bigger issue. Why is America lagging so far behind the rest of the world? Are we lazy or are our kids just too buried in their phones and social media to care about their education? More importantly, can we catch back up?
Let us know what you think about the state of America’s educational system, and the movie if you’ve seen it, in the comments. You can check out the Boston Globe article on the “Snowpiercer” debacle here.
Next up, we are thrilled to have Mike Weinberg on this week’s show. If you don’t know Mike, you should. He’s an internationally known author and Forbes named him a Top Sales Influencer. His first book, “New Sales. Simplified: The Essential Handbook for Prospecting and New Business Development” was a #1 Amazon best seller.
He’s also recently published a new book called “Sales Management. Simplified.” You can read about the motivation behind the book here. Seriously, if you only read one book on sales this year, this is the one you want. It’s that powerful.
On the show Mike shares his number one Timeless Truth about top sales producers. To get more of Tommy’s thoughts on this subject, check out this blog.
Mike also talks about the importance of finding your target market. If you’re going to be successful in sales, then you really need to know your audience. You don’t want to target the whole world, just those who can really be helped by your product or service.
In his tips for researching potential clients, Mike recommends LinkedIn and Hoovers Database, so be sure to check those out before you start.
And lastly, you’re going to want to keep up with Mike on his website NewSalesCoach and on Twitter @mike_weinberg.
Thanks for tuning in to Makin’ It. Let us know what you think of the show and if you have questions about your business, send us an email at info@makinitnow.com or leave us a comment below. We love to hear from our listeners and we read comments on the air. We just might choose yours for next week’s show (so don’t forget to tune in!).
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Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs:
Order Tommy’s new book, The Way of the Rich at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, booksamillion.com and buybooksontheweb.com.
Download our 8 Questions to Determine Your Target Market
Check out this article for more Target Market info
Learn about developing Persona Profiles
Research The Demographics of Social Media Users
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