Shankapotomus Baby Rocks

One of the most ingenious television commercials of all time teaches people how creative marketing influences other people. The E*TRADE baby commercial, just 32 seconds long, was a smashing success. Does every word count? You bet it does. Just look at the dialogue:

Ah…This is weak man. Frank is trying to not pay me my winnings for the Skins beat down I just issued him just cause his 401K is tanking.

It’s like, dude, you gotta GRAB THE REINS man!

• Get E*TRADE.
• Do some analytics.
• Do some research and TAKE CHARGE so I don’t have to subsidize your lack of golfing skills.

“Nnnna.  Nittel. You moved your ball!”

“Frank. It was on the cart path. Why don’t you try reading the rules. Shankapotomus!”

• Take control with one of the most powerful investing machines there is.
• Join the thousand new accounts a day at E*TRADE.

Dialogue Analysis

The first sentence, “Ah…This is weak man,”  uses a phrase you’ve heard thousands of times so you can easily picture someone saying this.

The second sentence, “Frank is trying to not pay me my winnings for the Skins beat down I just issued him just cause his 401K is tanking,” pulls you in and makes you feel a sense of loss and you identify with times that you have been cheated out of what was coming to you.  It also elevates the authority of the baby which of course is absurd, making it funny.

The reference to the Skins Game is not by accident either. There is a yearly game for professional golfers that is unique, exclusive and rare. The player with the best score at one hole, will win money. Each hole has it’s own monetary value assigned to it, with the 18th hole winner being awarded $200,000.

The third sentence, “It’s like, dude, you gotta GRAB THE REINS man!” gives you a direct call to action. He’s taking charge and telling him what to do. Didn’t we spend the first eighteen years of our lives listening to people telling us what to do? We remember this feeling easily.  This adds to the humor and irony of a reversal of roles i.e.  the baby acting like an adult.

The fourth sentence, “Get E*TRADE. Do some analytics. Do some research and TAKE CHARGE so I don’t have to subsidize your lack of golfing skills,” gives three directives. Three is about the number of things a person can absorb in a short period of time. Remember your mother saying, “I’ll give you to the count of three to stop that. ONE, TWO, THREEEEEE!”  Or how about Goldilocks and the THREE Bears or The THREE Little Pigs? Three was used for a good reason.

It also points out what losses will occur if you don’t follow these simple instructions. Someone will have to help you out because you were so dumb. Who wants that?

In the next few sentences, you hear a dialogue that is commonly heard when kids are fighting with each other. You did this. No you did that! Why you….blankity blank blank!  Whaa Whaa Whaa. Something that happens on an hourly basis in many homes with young children. You remember these exact words coming from your lips. Then a gentle reminder of your complete stupidity with the shameful scolding of “Why don’t you read the rules!”

The name calling then closes the deal with heroic magnitude. You Shankapotomus… is like the frosting on the cake. Now the baby has officially achieved hero status. He creates a new word that no one has ever heard before and conquers the very man that was trying to cheat him out of what he really deserved. All is well in drama land. Triumph!

The next sentence, “Take control with one of the most powerful investing machines there is,” tells you what to do and reminds you how smart the action is because…well, nothing is really better. It’s a Superman statement. So now, you get to be like Superman!

The closing sentence, “Join the thousand new accounts a day at E*TRADE,” tells you that you too can join a crowd of thousands. Now how difficult is that?

Movie Analysis

The two characters in this movie are both extremely lovable. Babies bond with us immediately. They have no set of requirements for loving someone other than you need to be breathing, warm and able to hold them. The older man is on the other side of life. At the completely the opposite stage in anyone’s time line. He is enjoying life by playing golf, which is a sport that has been played by millions since the 15th century.

Using a baby in this campaign makes us feel that if even a baby can do this, it must be pretty simple. Yes. I can do this too!

So the two lovable characters then take on qualities that you weren’t expecting. Something surprising occurs. Your predictions of what is possible for a baby have been shaken momentarily and that is what gets your attention. Now you wonder. Getting you to wonder makes you pay attention to the message. It challenges your belief in the way the world works. Now you pay particularly close attention to what on earth the baby could be telling you. You are listening.

Your Challenge -- What can you do with 32 seconds?

No matter what business you are in, you all have potential customers. What exactly are you doing to get their attention? Are you following the Six Principals of Influence that Dr. Cialdini teaches?

• Reciprocation -- Be the first to give
• Scarcity -- Emphasize scarcity and uniqueness
• Authority -- Admit weaknesses first
• Consistency -  Following through with existing commitments
• Liking -- Uncover areas of similarity
• Consensus -- Show responses of others in testimonials

Take action today and do something different with your business strategies. See if you get results with what you have learned from the Shankapotomus E*TRADE baby commercial.

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Developing Strong Leadership Skills

Having good leadership skills does not come easy. It is a long, ongoing process that consists of research and internalizing what was read and learned.  Training an individual to become a leader by learning from past and present leaders is one of the best methods. One can learn from or even acquire the good qualities of those great leaders.

There are several qualities present in a great leader and businessman. An individual running a business must have both in order to become successful. Here are a few tips:

Think and Act Like a Businessman/Businesswoman

In order to be a great businessman or businesswoman for that matter, you must think and act like one. Connect yourself to other individuals that share the same passion as you and those who can motivate you further.

Finances Inside and Out

Understanding how the finances work in the business and how to make the business grow differentiates the entrepreneur from the common employee. If you do not know what profit you made this month, you are in very big trouble.

Ads, Ads, Ads

A great business does not solely rely on the performance of its product alone, but relies heavily in its marketing. Research who the target market for the business is and how to effectively present your product or service to them.

Know Your Enemies

Like in the Art of War, it is also important to know and understand about the existing competition in order to build a successful business.

A Leader with a Mission

Have a clear mission and vision for the business. Motivate your employees to join you in attaining this mission and vision.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

To be able to lead you would need to respect your employees and your clients. Respecting the people around you will be reciprocated with respect as well.

Passion

An exceptional leader is passionate in what he or she does. The best leaders are dedicated to their work and motivate other people to follow them.

Lead by Example

A great leader leads by example and is confident in what he or she does. By knowing every single detail about your business and doing what your employees do will encourage others to put their best efforts as well.

Confidence

The confidence a leader displays during times of uncertainty and doubt affects that of his peers and followers. Great leaders are calm even in disastrous situations and have the ability to direct or redirect attention to follow the key vision for the business.

Team Worker

Exemplary leaders also have the ability to work well with a group. In order to achieve a common goal, a great leader has the capacity and willingness to work with a team. A great leader sets the goal and makes appropriate steps in going towards that goal.

Excellence

Lastly, an excellent leader is dedicated to giving excellence in all aspects of the business. Great leaders do not waiver in terms of values and is passionate in setting the standards in the business higher.

These are some of the most important characteristics demonstrated by outstanding leaders and entrepreneurs. As previously mentioned, these are not often present in every individual and must be constantly learned, improved on and reinforced. Outstanding leaders and entrepreneurs have the capacity and willingness to adapt and learn to be better in their respective roles.

Internet Entrepreneurs Strategic Success Plan

Preparing for success is a process that may take longer than you think. It seems that with any worthwhile endeavor, there are things to accomplish that take you much longer than you had planned for. Some people would have you believe that being an Internet entrepreneur is a simple thing to do and that being successful at it is a cinch.

Let’s use Jay Leno as an example.  Although he is not an Internet entrepreneur, he is a successful business man. After watching his nightly current events monologue you probably felt better about life because you had a few good, perhaps great laughs. That ten-minute television dialogue is something people used to love to hear and would stay up late at night to tune in to.

It was recently revealed in a Wall Street Journal article about Jay Leno’s upcoming television show that the short segment of comedy actually takes quite a bit more preparation time than you or I might think. Apparently there are six hours of preparation time and discussion with twenty experienced writers to produce this short comedic dialogue. Even with all that effort put into the short segment, Jay Leno often runs his monologue by his high school and home town friends to see what they think.

So what does that teach Internet entrepreneurs about becoming successful?

A lot can be learned from this revelation about the preparation time it takes to be successful. Preparing for success can take more than the 30 minutes you might have planned. In fact even after you have had years of Internet training, successful projects may take a tremendous amount of time to arrive in the winner’s circle.

When you think you are prepared, ask yourself what kind of effort you put into your current entrepreneurial project. Did you converse with anyone else about the feasibility of your Internet entrepreneurial project?  What kind of expert advice did you receive and did you take that advice?  Will people benefit from what you have prepared and how will they benefit?

To be successful as an Internet entrepreneur, you are going to need a good plan and a realistic prediction of the time it will take to accomplish your plan, You are going to need to discuss it with other successful Internet entrepreneurs and perhaps your old friends from long ago. You will need to plan for your project to benefit others and the degree to which that will occur will be the degree to which you are successful.

Leo Babauta Blogging Entrepreneur

Leo Babauta, author of ZenHabits, a Technorati Top 50 blog with an Alexa rank of 65,645, may not think of himself as an entrepreneur however he is making a living from blogging and that makes him the ultimate blogging entrepreneur.

Background history

Leo Babauta, a native of Guam, earned a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and English.  He put his writing skills to work and eventually became a successful speech-writer for the governor of Guam.  His unquestionably remarkable talent and writing style has contributed to his current success in the blogosphere.

His life however was not always the peaceful, happy life he is now living. According to an article in Psychology Today, February 2009, he used to struggle with many personal problems.  His addiction to nicotine was on his list of challenges.  His Internet research on changing bad habits and dedication to success helped him to not only conquer that deadly habit, but to share with millions of people how they too can change their lives.

Two years ago Leo Babauta was $30,000 in debt, had maxed out his credit cards and personal loans and was struggling from paycheck to paycheck. He even appears on CNN.com with an article about how he cut up his credit cards and worked on getting himself out of debt.

What contributes to his success?

Today, Leo Babauta runs a blog, ZenHabits,  which has 85,500 readers. In his blog, he writes about achieving goals, productivity, being organized, motivation, eliminating debt, saving, exercising, eating healthy, simplifying, living frugally, parenting and happiness. He achieved this success by being engaging, honest and laying his heart bare for the world to pick apart.

By listening to my readers, and having a conversation with them, I was able to figure out what they really wanted, what kinds of posts would be most interesting and useful to them, and to give Zen Habits a character that was not just mine but theirs as well.

What is the key to happiness?

Achieving goals is the key to happiness. Reach them by daily practice of good habits. True happiness can be found when you clarify what is important to you and spend your time doing only those things. Simplifying life reduces stress and focuses on that which you hold dear.

How does Leo Babauta help others become  better bloggers?
 
At Writetodone.com , another one of his blogs, he helps people learn how to develop their own unique writing style.

… by reading many different writers, and really engaging in their ideas, you enhance your critical thinking skills as well as your imaginative firepower, both of which enable you to develop a richer personality, which is what you really want to shine through in your writing anyway.

Where can I find out more about Leo Babauta?

Articles on the net you may be interested in reading:

• Top 10 Blogs For Writers
• Interview with Leo
• Top 50 Most Influencial Bloggers

Leo Babauta is the ultimate blogging entrepreneur. He inspires people daily and give them hope that they can improve their lives through simple changes. He is an inspiration to us all.

What inspires you about Leo Babauta?

Entrepreneur Profit Maker

Salt Lake City, Utah was the host to a large Gem and Jewelry show where hundreds of entrepreneurs gathered to sell their jewelry and gems to eager crowds.

I interviewed one entrepreneur profit maker, Pradeep Pradhan and asked him what he liked about selling his jewelry at the Salt Lake Gem and Jewelry show. In the amatuerish video (I will get better at this), Pradeep tells us about his best money maker.
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