Sales & Marketing Articles For Entrepreneurs & Small Business OwnersHigh-Achievers In Selling Make More Mistakes Than Average Performers … But They Do So Before They Go To Market!Here is an old saying worth knowing: “There is a profound difference between failing, and being a failure.” This is why the best sales people make the most mistakes – they are constantly creating new ways of communicating with the market, which inevitably means that they always get things wrong…on the way to getting them […] Most Sales People Try To Sell A Drawn Out Recipe … Instead Of A Succinct Menu!In very simple terms, a menu is a promise and a recipe is a process, and although both items have to be sold…the promise must always precede the process. Take a book for example; if the potential customer is not attracted by the ‘title’, then he will not bother to examine the back page ‘details’ […] The Market Sees Sales People As Lurking Wilfully, Or Working WorthilyImagine that the products you have to offer, along with information on your company, are contained and displayed in a form of smart trolley. You now have two choices about how you approach the market: you can either push the trolley in front of you, or pull it behind you. If you choose the pushing […] To Lift Your Sales To New Heights, You Must Learn To Look Down On CustomersI am not advocating the Basil Fawlty approach to business by suggesting that you should look down your nose at customers, so as to get up their noses. Instead, I am recommending the use of a military strategy, which involves seeing a battle zone from an elevated viewpoint, so as to be in a better […] Hypothetically, If You Wrote To The Market About Your Service Promise … Which Of These Two Letters Would Represent The Truth?There are two points we wish to cover in this communication. The first is that if you go to our company’s website we can almost guarantee that you will be impressed with our corporate messages concerning our products, our service…and of course our undying purpose to work with you as partners in producing mutually satisfying […] If Your Attitude And Results Are Falling Behind, Learn To Lead With Your Mouth!The following idea can significantly help individuals in business, at every level, and it can also provide a valuable and unique leadership tool for managers. You may have noticed that people use one of three languages when talking to colleagues and customers: positive, negative and indifferent. Examples of the three ways of talking are as […] Key “Starting Points” In Business That Create Sad Or Happy “Endings”Without realising it, everyone in business, at every level, operates with a range of ‘starting points’…concerning how they think and feel about key issues, such as building relationships and creating sales success. Here is a range of starting points for you to test yourself on… 1. All of your competitors are highly intelligent and hard […] To Succeed In Sales, This Is The Challenge: Design Your Job Well, Learn Your Job Well, Sell Your Job Well … And Do Your Job Well!I can’t imagine that you have ever had a doctor say to you ‘would you like me to check your blood pressure?’…and of course the reason for this is that the doctor knows what his job is and he gets on with it. If you have a job to do and that job is designed […] The Crucial Sales Choice Between “I’m Ready When You Are” … and “I’m Ready! Are You?”The tentative, reactive business attitude of ‘I’m ready when you are’ is one that everyone suffers from, either now and then or virtually all of the time. This weak stance is alive and well in many private accounting practices, where the onus is almost always on clients to ask for ideas and help, and it […] In Hard Times, Cutting Back On Costs Does Not Take Talent … But Moving Forward In Sales Does Involve a Special Gift!As all businesses prepare for a downturn in demand, the corresponding upturn needed in activity and proactive sales action are often difficult to create. Managers and staff are of course capable of lifting their efforts, but people find it difficult to do more work if they are less than confident at ‘creating demand’. A clue […] If You Have Happy Customers … You Could Be Heading For TroubleThe concept of a happy customer seems both virtuous and victorious; after all, this is surely the ultimate service goal of most organizations…and also the best way to stave off attacks from competitors. Not everything is what it seems though, especially when you define what is meant by a happy customer… “A customer that is […] To Improve Sales We Must Stop Up-Selling & Start Down-SellingThe first time I heard the phrase ‘up-selling’ I was repulsed to say the least. Imagine if doctors ‘tried’ to solve our problems by working upwards from one suggestion to the next, ‘hoping’ that we would end up with the right path to health. And yet this is precisely how hordes of businesses have treated […] 6 Steps To A Profitable Marketing PlanNew ideas are almost a dime a dozen. There’s an innovation on almost every street corner. What makes a new idea successful is a well thought out, well developed marketing plan that everyone in the organization can understand, believe in and follow. Without a solid marketing plan it is too easy for an organization to […] How To Use Articles To Promote Your BusinessHave you ever longed for people to knock on your door wanting to do business with you? Um – doesn’t often happen does it? Actually that’s not quite true. There is a way to get people knocking at your door, but it doesn’t just happen by itself. You need to influence this. And how […] Should You Advertise?Advertising is one of those things that just about every small business owner considers at some point. After all, that’s how big companies promote their businesses, right? So, shouldn’t you be doing it as well? Well, while advertising has its place in promotion, it has a number of drawbacks which means it’s often not the […] Does Marketing Work?I was at a networking event the other day, explaining to someone what we did. In response, I received a smile back and the comment “well, marketing doesn’t really work anyway does it?” Interesting question! And I can completely understand why he said that. For a lot of small business owners, that’s exactly what they […] M Is For MarketingIf you’re just starting up in business, marketing is probably the most crucial element for you. Get this wrong and you don’t have a business. Get it right and you could take off like a rocket! So what do you need to know? At this stage, there is no point in me telling you fancy and […] Increasing Street CreditOver the past 20 + years in the PC / CE marketplace we’ve probably learned and relearned our job 40-50 times. Every time the industry changes, every time the communications avenues shift; life / opportunities change. Since the Internet and Web came into their own editorial and promotional outlets / targets have shifted … dramatically. […] The Ascent Of Earned MediaBrands and marketers are rapidly leaving the orbit of “paid media” dominance and entering the gravitational pull of the age of “earned” and “social media.” But, first, a definition, compliments of Wikipedia: Earned media (free media) refers to favorable publicity garnered via efforts other than advertising, as opposed to paid media, which refers to publicity […] Do People Know What You Do?I was with a business contact of mine the other day and mentioned a project that we were working on for a client of ours. To my surprise he said to me, “I didn’t know you did that!” That made me think. Just because YOU know what you do, does that mean other people do? […] |
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