7 Lost Secrets of Success: Million Dollar Ideas of Bruce Barton, America's Forgotten Genius

A new book overview. It seems to me very interesting:

This is a guide to the wisdom of 1920s marketing guru Bruce Barton, cofounder of BBDO. "The Seven Lost Secrets of Success" is the completely updated revision of Joe Vitale's 1992 self published book of the same name. This was the world's first book on the marketing and advertising secrets of Bruce Barton, 1920s celebrity and cofounder of the famous BBDO ad agency. Reprinted 11 times, "The Seven Lost Secrets of Success" has an underground following who consider it an inspirational bible. Besides the seven secrets revealed in the book, it also contains a 1925 sales letter that pulled a 100 percent response rate, as well as rare ads by Bruce Barton.

Author: Joe Vitale
ISBN: 9780470108109
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Make Your Millions

Making a million is a milestone–the defining moment of success for many entrepreneurs and an attainable goal for those tapped into today’s hottest trends.

Entrepreneurs are keeping their fingers on the pulse of what’s hot in today’s marketplace. They are the trendsetters, the pioneers, the ones to watch as they lead the pack, followed closely by franchisors poised to capitalize on winning ideas and spread concepts nationwide.

1. Fountain of Youth

With the first baby boomers starting to hit 60, America is fighting tooth and nail to stave off the signs of time. In 2004, Americans spent about $44.6 billion on anti-aging products and services, according to Business Communications Co. Inc., an information resource company. But that’s nothing compared to the $72 billion market it’s expected to mature into by 2009.

2. The Sweet Life

The nation’s sweet tooth is becoming more insatiable, driving everything from the franchising industry, where cookies and ice cream concepts are growing categories, to the fine-dining industry, where diners are staying more often for the grand finale.

3. Coffee

Starbucks revolutionized the coffee industry by transforming the beverage into the most necessary of luxuries, but numerous independents and ambitious franchisors have profited from coffee’s popularity and are riding on their own caffeine high.

4. Seniors

While the industry to preserve vitality and youth among baby boomers is thriving, so are the businesses one generation ahead in the senior-care industry.

5. Tech

Calling all geeks: Have you got a mind for technology and a passion for business? This could be the industry for you.

6. Pampered Pets

If you’re a pet lover, consider getting into the fast-growing pet products and services industry.

7. Marketing and Advertising

Companies always need new clients, so if you’ve got a knack for getting customers to buy, think about starting a marketing and advertising business.

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Million Dollar Ideas

Treat every customer's ideas as if they are lottery tickets, scratch below the surface and see if you can find a million dollars.

So a customer sends you an idea for your product. Apparently this customer wants to use the product for something that it wasn't designed to do. In fact, you don't like the idea at all.

You want to be polite and the last thing you want to do is tick off the customer by rejecting her idea. You respond; "Thank you for your idea, we will review your idea with our product development team and consider it for a future version of the product"... Knowing full well that you have no intentions of further review, much-less implementing that idea.

I hope the paragraph above is not the way you actually handle customer ideas. Not only is that the easy way of avoiding conflict, it is downright gutless and doesn't help you or the customers.

Let's consider the customer first. She was trying to tell you something about your product. Perhaps it was not meeting her needs adequately, or maybe she really likes your product and would like to expand it's use. At some point she is going to wonder; "what ever happened to my idea?". What if she asks you that question after a few months? Are you going to make up another lie? "I submitted your idea to our product development team, but no decision as been made yet.." , blah, blah, blah... Who is in charge here anyway? You are losing credibility. Can't get anything done. Can't even get a status update on a simple suggestion.

From your company's perspective, maybe you should dig a little deeper. Even with bad ideas. If you just ask, "Why is that important?", you might be able to reveal an underlying problem with your product that all customers are suffering from. Or better yet, you might find that there is a whole new market for your product. Sometimes the original idea leads you to a better understanding of customer needs, and then you find an inexpensive solution that this priceless in value to the customers. Treat your pool of ideas as if there is a "million dollar idea" hidden in the stack, you just have to find it. There could be more than one; its kind-of like lottery tickets, the more you have, the better your chances of winning.

Treat every customers' ideas as if they are lottery tickets, scratch below the surface and see if you can find a million dollars. Whatever you do, don't just throw them away!