<head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></head> <body style="margin:0;padding:0;-webkit-font-smoothing:antialiased;-ms-text-size-adjust:100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust:100%"> <div class="email" style="margin-left:18px;margin-right:18px"> <div class="email-header"> <p style="margin:1em 0;font-family:Arial,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,'Helvetica Neue',sans-serif;color:#000e54;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5;text-align:center"><a href="[ARCHIVE URL GOES HERE]" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:#0875c1">Click here to view this email on the web.</a></p> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="border-collapse:separate;mso-table-lspace:0pt;mso-table-rspace:0pt;table-layout:fixed" class="email-image"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="vertical-align:top"><figure style="margin:1em 0;display:block;margin:12px 0;max-width:100%;width:650px"><div style="display:block;max-width:650px"><img src="https://embed.filekitcdn.com/e/o6EDHVZkvJxBS2C5FWzFcw/vtYjxVdZCj4B7adHSJULwq?w=800&amp;fit=max" width="650" style="border:0 none;display:block;height:auto;line-height:100%;outline:none;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;max-width:100%;width:650px;max-width:100%;border-radius:0px"></div> <figcaption style="margin-top:0.4em;font-size:0.8em;text-align:center;display:none"></figcaption></figure></td></tr></tbody></table> <p style="margin:1em 0;font-family:Arial,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,'Helvetica Neue',sans-serif;color:#000e54;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5"></p> </div> <div class="spaced-contents"> <!--[if mso]><style>.button-table { padding: 12px 0 }</style><![endif]--> <p style="margin:1em 0;font-family:Arial,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,'Helvetica Neue',sans-serif;color:#000e54;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5"><em>April 25, 2023: First Issue</em></p> <p style="margin:1em 0;font-family:Arial,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,'Helvetica Neue',sans-serif;color:#000e54;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5"><em>Welcome to Frictionless, a fortnightly newsletter (I looked it up -- that’s every two weeks) that promotes alignment and simplicity as the ultimate friction fighters. You'll build trust and close more deals when you answer (and identify) your customers’ questions, address their pain points, and raise your own visibility. I hope you’ll find at least </em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2k1uOqRb0HU" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:#0875c1"><strong><em>one thing</em></strong></a><em> (video link) in each issue that is SO valuable you’ll want to open my next issue. </em><strong><em><span style="color:#f76900">I subscribe to 80+ newsletters and Google Alerts so you don’t have to.</span></em></strong></p> <p style="margin:1em 0;font-family:Arial,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,'Helvetica Neue',sans-serif;color:#000e54;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5"> </p> <p style="margin:1em 0;font-family:Arial,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,'Helvetica Neue',sans-serif;color:#000e54;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5"><span style="color:#f76900"><strong></strong></span></p> <h2 style="font-weight:bold;font-style:normal;font-size:1em;margin:0;font-size:1.5em;margin:1em 0;font-family:Arial,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,'Helvetica Neue',sans-serif;color:#f76900;line-height:1.5"><span style="color:#f76900"><strong>GOOD QUESTIONS</strong></span></h2> <p style="margin:1em 0;font-family:Arial,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,'Helvetica Neue',sans-serif;color:#000e54;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5">1. <strong>How can I get executives to open up during an interview? </strong>I’m asked this question a lot. I think the best question doesn’t come with a question mark. It’s “Tell Me More” and is asked when the answer leaves you thinking there may be more to the story.</p> <p style="margin:1em 0;font-family:Arial,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,'Helvetica Neue',sans-serif;color:#000e54;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5">2. <strong>Am I the reason I’m not getting better answers to my questions?</strong> I’ve been transcribing my interviews and focusing on how I asked the questions. It’s helped me a lot. <a href="https://barrettsportsmedia.com/2022/06/17/phil-mickelsons-answers-arent-the-problem-the-questions-asked-are/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:#0875c1"><strong>Danny O’Neill from Barrett Sports Media reviewed the questions reporters asked Phil Mickelson at a press conference and learned a lot too.</strong></a></p> <p style="margin:1em 0;font-family:Arial,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,'Helvetica Neue',sans-serif;color:#000e54;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5">3. <strong>What’s a great question for a profile or networking encounter to learn more about them?</strong> This will be a recurring question, but let’s start with, “What’s the question you wish more people would ask themselves?”</p> <h2 style="font-weight:bold;font-style:normal;font-size:1em;margin:0;font-size:1.5em;margin:1em 0;font-family:Arial,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,'Helvetica Neue',sans-serif;color:#f76900;line-height:1.5"><span style="color:#f76900"><strong>STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED</strong></span></h2> <p style="margin:1em 0;font-family:Arial,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,'Helvetica Neue',sans-serif;color:#000e54;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5"><strong>1. </strong>How can you make any story better? <a href="https://jayacunzo.com/blog/what-do-you-see-when-you-see-an-elephant-how-to-tell-any-story-your-way" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:#0875c1"><strong>Jay Acunzo uses the story of the Blind Men and the Elephant to explain four ways.</strong></a></p> <p style="margin:1em 0;font-family:Arial,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,'Helvetica Neue',sans-serif;color:#000e54;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5"><strong>2. </strong>Who is the “Master” of the product launch? <a href="https://www.cision.com/2023/02/pr-lessons-from-taylor-swift-master-of-the-product-launch/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:#0875c1"><strong>Cision says it’s Taylor Swift</strong></a>, and as the father and husband of Swifties who will attend her Mother’s Day concert in Philadelphia, I’d say Cision is right. </p> <p style="margin:1em 0;font-family:Arial,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,'Helvetica Neue',sans-serif;color:#000e54;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5"><strong>3. </strong>Are you or your company truly differentiated from the competition? <a href="https://www.davidcbaker.com/the-message-an-undifferentiated-firm-sends" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:#0875c1"><strong>David C. Baker ponders the message you’re sending with your positioning choices</strong></a>.</p> <p style="margin:1em 0;font-family:Arial,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,'Helvetica Neue',sans-serif;color:#000e54;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5"><strong>4. </strong>Who’s your ideal customer? <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/thatjoshspector_an-exercise-to-clarify-your-ideal-customer-activity-7043936214512504832-rrZz?" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:#0875c1"><strong>Josh Spector provides a 10-question exercise</strong></a> to figure it out (LinkedIn post).</p> <p style="margin:1em 0;font-family:Arial,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,'Helvetica Neue',sans-serif;color:#000e54;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5"><strong>5. </strong>Are your emails rude? Do you even know? <a href="https://adamgrant.substack.com/p/if-you-do-this-your-emails-might?" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:#0875c1"><strong>Adam Grant offers nine ways to avoid irritating people. </strong></a><strong> </strong>Based on this, I’m making some changes.</p> <p style="margin:1em 0;font-family:Arial,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,'Helvetica Neue',sans-serif;color:#000e54;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5"><strong>6. </strong>Is there a magic word to get people to do something? <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/brain-wise/201310/the-power-of-the-word-because-to-get-people-to-do-stuff?" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:#0875c1"><strong>Dr. Susan Weinschenk told Psychology Today readers there is.</strong></a></p> <p style="margin:1em 0;font-family:Arial,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,'Helvetica Neue',sans-serif;color:#000e54;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5"><strong>7. </strong>Sick of Twitter? Before you quit the platform, <a href="https://convertkit.com/resources/blog/twitter-to-email?" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:#0875c1"><strong>ConvertKit explains how to move your Twitter followers to your email list</strong></a> or to your LinkedIn connections.</p> <h2 style="font-weight:bold;font-style:normal;font-size:1em;margin:0;font-size:1.5em;margin:1em 0;font-family:Arial,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,'Helvetica Neue',sans-serif;color:#f76900;line-height:1.5"><span style="color:#f76900"><strong>WORTH THE TIME</strong></span></h2> <p style="margin:1em 0;font-family:Arial,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,'Helvetica Neue',sans-serif;color:#000e54;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5"><em>Where I link to an article that’s not about being Frictionless, but I’m sharing anyway. </em></p> <p style="margin:1em 0;font-family:Arial,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,'Helvetica Neue',sans-serif;color:#000e54;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5"><a href="https://www.theringer.com/2022/3/3/22956353/fatherhood-cancer-jonathan-tjarks" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:#0875c1"><strong>Does My Son Know You?</strong></a> Here’s an article from March 2022 by Ringer senior staff writer Jonathan Tjarks subtitled Fatherhood, cancer, and what matters most. Tjarks passed away six months after this ran.</p> <h2 style="font-weight:bold;font-style:normal;font-size:1em;margin:0;font-size:1.5em;margin:1em 0;font-family:Arial,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,'Helvetica Neue',sans-serif;color:#f76900;line-height:1.5"><span style="color:#f76900"><strong>BOOK CORNER</strong></span></h2> <p style="margin:1em 0;font-family:Arial,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,'Helvetica Neue',sans-serif;color:#000e54;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5">I just finished <strong>Ask More by Frank Sesno</strong>, and it’s terrific. An Emmy Award-winning journalist and director of strategic initiatives at George Washington University, Sesno breaks down the question process into 11 categories – each with a specific purpose. The stories are great, but the best part is the reference guide at the end. One gem: Ask [diagnostic questions] clearly and persistently…and ask more than once.</p> <h2 style="font-weight:bold;font-style:normal;font-size:1em;margin:0;font-size:1.5em;margin:1em 0;font-family:Arial,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,'Helvetica Neue',sans-serif;color:#f76900;line-height:1.5"><span style="color:#f76900"><strong>GET TO KNOW…</strong></span></h2> <p style="margin:1em 0;font-family:Arial,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,'Helvetica Neue',sans-serif;color:#000e54;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5"><strong>KATELYN BOURGOIN</strong>, whose tagline is “Whoever gets closer to the customer wins” and whose nickname is “The Customer Whisperer.” I love her Why We Buy blog (45,000+ subscribers and named a top marketing newsletter by Forbes).</p> <p style="margin:1em 0;font-family:Arial,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,'Helvetica Neue',sans-serif;color:#000e54;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5">Katelyn is based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. You can <a href="https://customercamp.co/the-trigger-technique/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:#0875c1"><strong>find her here</strong></a> on her Customer Camp website (the link is to her article “The Trigger Technique: Turn Buyer Stories into Smarter Marketing Campaigns.” You can find her here on LinkedIn <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/katebour/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:#0875c1"><strong>here</strong></a> and on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/KateBour" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:#0875c1"><strong>here</strong></a>. She’s worth a Follow.</p> <h2 style="font-weight:bold;font-style:normal;font-size:1em;margin:0;font-size:1.5em;margin:1em 0;font-family:Arial,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,'Helvetica Neue',sans-serif;color:#f76900;line-height:1.5"><span style="color:#f76900"><strong>TWEETS THAT ACTUALLY RULE</strong></span></h2> <p style="margin:1em 0;font-family:Arial,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,'Helvetica Neue',sans-serif;color:#000e54;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5">There are many reasons to leave the Twitter platform, but there are also reasons to stick around – like this one from <a href="https://twitter.com/merriamwebster/status/1649134627867566080" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:#0875c1"><strong>Merriam-Webster soliciting alternate euphemisms</strong></a> for the SpaceX explosion to what the PR team served up. <a href="https://archive.aweber.com/newsletter/totalannarchy/MTg2NzkyMzI=/ta-136-the-ai-revolution-devil-or-angel-plus-newsletter-advice-from-arnold-schwarzenegger.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:#0875c1"><strong>Thanks Ann Handley!</strong></a></p> <h2 style="font-weight:bold;font-style:normal;font-size:1em;margin:0;font-size:1.5em;margin:1em 0;font-family:Arial,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,'Helvetica Neue',sans-serif;color:#f76900;line-height:1.5"><span style="color:#f76900"><strong>SHAMELESS PLUG: A LINK TO A RESOURCE I CREATED</strong></span></h2> <p style="margin:1em 0;font-family:Arial,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,'Helvetica Neue',sans-serif;color:#000e54;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5">A great case study should not be confused with a testimonial. It should focus on the problems you solved for them. <a href="https://frictionfreecommunications.com/s/writing-effective-case-studies.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:#0875c1"><strong>Here’s an ungated link to a template that will help you ask the right questions to write more effective case studies</strong></a>. Or you could call someone like me with experience interviewing business leaders and asking the right questions.</p> <p style="margin:1em 0;font-family:Arial,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,'Helvetica Neue',sans-serif;color:#000e54;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5"></p> <p style="margin:1em 0;font-family:Arial,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,'Helvetica Neue',sans-serif;color:#000e54;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5">I welcome your comments or suggestions for future issues. <a href="mailto:peter@frictionfreecommunications.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:#0875c1"><strong>Drop me a note here</strong></a>.</p> <p style="margin:1em 0;font-family:Arial,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,'Helvetica Neue',sans-serif;color:#000e54;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5"></p> <!--[if !mso]>--><table width="100%" style="border-collapse:separate;mso-table-lspace:0pt;mso-table-rspace:0pt"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="vertical-align:top"><a class="email-button" href="https://frictionfreecommunications.ck.page/mailing-list" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:#0875c1;border:0 none;margin-bottom:0.5em;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5;background-color:#f76900;color:#ffffff;border-radius:38px;border-width:1px;border-color:#f76900;background-color:#f76900;box-sizing:border-box;border-radius:4px;border-style:solid;color:#ffffff;display:inline-block;width:auto;text-align:center;text-decoration:none;padding:12px 20px;margin:8px 0;font-size:16px">Subscribe Here</a></td></tr></tbody></table> <!--<![endif]--><!--[if mso]><table class="button-table" width="100%" border="0" cellSpacing="0" cellPadding="0" style="margin:8px 0"><tr><td align="center"><table border="0" cellSpacing="0" cellPadding="0" width="auto"><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#f76900" style="background-color:#f76900;border-radius:4px;overflow:hidden;padding:12px 20px"><a class="email-button" href="https://frictionfreecommunications.ck.page/mailing-list" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="background-color:inherit;display:inline-block;text-decoration:none;border-width:1px;border-style:solid;margin:0;color:#ffffff;border-color:#f76900;font-size:16px">Subscribe Here</a></td></tr></table></td></tr></table><![endif]--><p style="margin:1em 0;font-family:Arial,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,'Helvetica Neue',sans-serif;color:#000e54;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5"></p> </div> <div class="email-footer"><p style="margin:1em 0;font-family:Arial,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,'Helvetica Neue',sans-serif;color:#000e54;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5;text-align:right"><a href="https://preview.convertkit-mail2.com/unsubscribe" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:#0875c1"><span style="font-size:12">Unsubscribe</span></a><span style="font-size:12"> | </span><a href="https://preview.convertkit-mail2.com/preferences" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:#0875c1"><span style="font-size:12">Update your profile</span></a><span style="font-size:12"> | Lincoln University, PA 19352</span></p></div> <div class="built-with" style="display:block;text-align:left;margin-top:30px"><a href="https://convertkit.com/features/email-marketing?utm_campaign=poweredby&utm_content=email&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=dynamic" target="_blank" rel="noopener" style="color:#0875c1;display:inline-block;text-decoration:none"><img src="https://cdn.convertkit.com/assets/light-built-with-badge.png" alt="Built with ConvertKit" style="display:block;height:auto;line-height:100%;outline:none;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;max-width:100%;border:0 none;width:190px;height:36px" width="190" height="36"></a></div> </div> <!-- --> <img src="https://preview.convertkit-mail2.com/open" alt="" style="border:0 none;display:block;height:auto;line-height:100%;outline:none;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;max-width:100%"> </body> </html> " width="100%" style="height: 2653px;"> Introduce your brand Take a minute to write an introduction that is short, sweet, and to the point. 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