21 Inspirational Quotations from Guerrilla Marketing Jay Conrad Levinson

Jay Conrad Levinson is the author of the 1984 book, Guerrilla Marketing. Raised in Chicago, he studied Psychology. He joined J. Walter Thompson (now known as JWT) as Senior Vice President. Mr. Levinson taught guerilla marketing at the extension division of USC-Berkeley. He died in 2013 and had his work translated into languages around the world.

Here 21 incredible quotes he left for us.

All by yourself: “Job hunting is a do-it-yourself activity. There is just no way around it.”

Articulate your value: “To get at these opportunities, you need to relearn how to search for opportunities and articulate your value to employers in terms they can understand.”

Better with age: “Instead of saying ‘fifty-five and older,’ say ‘fifty-five and better’.”

Breeding familiarity: “Consistency breeds familiarity, familiarity breeds confidence, and confidence breeds sales.”

Existing customers: “More than half your marketing time should be devoted to your existing customers.”

Exits: “Establish three ‘sales points’ on the way to the exit.”

Groups: “Guerrilla marketing aims its message at individuals or, if it must be a group, the smaller the group, the better.”

Have a goal: “Goal: Turn virtual connections into real meetings.”

Invest energy: “Achieving conventional goals, such as profits and joy, with unconventional methods, such as investing energy instead of money.”

Leveling: “Rank-and-file staff rarely want to hire people more skilled than themselves.”

Make contact: “Marketing is every bit of contact your company has with anyone in the outside world. Every bit of contact. That means a lot of marketing opportunities. It does not mean investing a lot of money.”

Marketing that works: “There are two kinds of marketing: expensive and inexpensive. Expensive marketing is the kind that doesn’t work. Inexpensive marketing is the kind that works—regardless of cost.”

Never-ending: “marketing has a beginning and a middle but not an ending.”

Not today: “Regard every “no” as a ‘not today’ and a step closer to ‘yes’.”

Power on paper: “A focused resume is a powerful resume. A resume that tries to be all things to all people ends up being nothing at all.”

Range your numbers: “Avoid discussing salary—he who gives a number first loses negotiating power. If backed into a corner, give a salary range rather than a finite number. Base your range on competitive data.”

See the obvious: “Guerrillas show their letters to a child because kids can often see the obvious before adults can.”

Testimonials: “To improve your response rate, use testimonials”

Timing is everything: “Answers of less than 30 seconds are generally insufficient, but answers over three minutes are too long.”

Trust and rapport: “In order to sell a product or a service, a company must establish a relationship with the consumer. It must build trust and rapport. It must understand the customer’s needs, and it must provide a product that delivers the promised benefits.”

Unconscious mind: “The unconscious mind controls the internal dialogue.”