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Andrew Rudin

Andrew Rudin
Andrew (Andy) Rudin is Managing Principal of CONTRARY DOMINO, and faculty at George Mason University's School of Engineering and Information Technology. Andy provides comprehensive services to companies for sales governance, risk management, and compliance (GRC). Andy has a BS in marketing and an MS in information technology, both from the University of Virginia. In 2018, he was recognized as a Hall of Fame author on CustomerThink.

Three Reasons Sales Forecasts Don’t Match Results

“Our sales results never match what’s forecast!” As the saying goes, “if I received a dollar every time I heard this complaint, I’d be contentedly…

Announcing 16 New Inductees to the Sales Ethics Hall of Shame

A business scam begins with collision of circumstances. A scheming opportunist crosses paths with a person prone to deception. The extension of trust sparks ignition.…

Fandango’s VIP Club Inspires No Loyalty

I don’t usually blog about my bad buying experiences, but occasionally there’s a debacle that oozes horrible from every pore. When that happens, I take…

Sales Lesson #1: Don’t “Get” Your Customers to Do Anything!

Every so often, an article with a title like How to Get Any Customer to Take Action Immediately, burbles into my newsfeed. There are...

Considering a Career in Sales? Find Something Different!

“Do you know what a sales interview is?” a friend of mine quipped. “It’s one person lying about the future, talking to another lying...

A Future Without Secrets? Why We Need Ethical Data Governance

  Do You Want to Know a Secret?  When the Beatles released this song in 1963, the world was different. Less frantic, and in many...

Hate, Bad Product Placement, and Brand Risk

The author and his dogs on The Lawn at the University of Virginia. The Rotunda appears in the background. What keeps marketing executives up at...

Skepticism: An Antidote for Statistical Malpractice

Michael Shermer, founder of the Skeptics Society, doesn’t suffer fools. He questions assertions that others accept as fact. He challenges claims of “scientifically proven”...

Do Salespeople Lie More Than Other Professionals?

Compared to other professions, are salespeople disproportionately prone to lying? To reveal the answer, I searched online for most dishonest professions, and was rewarded...

Companies That Abuse Customer Privacy Will Feel Their Fury – Again

The company Ashley Madison offers an audacious capability: extramarital affairs.  “Ashley Madison is the most famous name in infidelity and married dating,” proclaimed the...

In the Digital Revolution, Customers Have Nothing to Lose But Their Privacy

“If advances in technology during the industrial revolution swung the balance of power toward the corporation, those of the digital revolution have swung it...

Is Maximizing Shareholder Value Poisonous?

If you grab your favorite marketing book and boil away process diagrams, statistics, and literary fluff, just two words will remain: create value.  Easy-sounding...

Doused Fyre: Does Our Obsession with Audacious Innovation Make Us Suckers for Scams?

What’s the difference between aggressive marketing and a sales scam? The aftermath of the 2017 Fyre Festival  explores this question, and lawyers are debating the...

The Unfinished Business of the Internet

These days, there are a lot of secrets in Washington, and people are struggling to contain them. But I have a good grapevine, and...

Will the Smart Machine Age Make Today’s Sales Skills Obsolete?

In 2015, nearly four million babies were born in the United States.  Today they are toddlers, and many will be asked what they want...

Shaming Customers Drives Conversions, but at What Cost?

Magnolia (not her real opinion) “Don’t put words in someone else’s mouth!” This sage advice from my first-grade teacher has stuck with me. I have...

Why Companies Should Care about How They Earn Revenue

“I don’t care how you make your number, as long as you make it,” my district manager admonished his sales team back in 1993....

Disobedience: A How-to Guide for Managers and Employees

Somewhere, a manager just ordered an employee to take a questionable action. To do something immoral or stupid. Something that causes harm to customers....

The Difference Between Loyalty and Habit – and Why It Matters!

If you ask me to define a word, I usually start by describing what it is, or what it means. “A screwdriver is a...

Personalization: Gateway to Dystopia

Back in the ‘90’s, Robert, a project manager at a systems integrator, asked me for some technical guidance about automated identification. “I want to...

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