Sales & Marketing Articles For Entrepreneurs & Small Business OwnersGo Ahead, Get Emotional!Did Harley Davidson create the desire for rebellion and the feeling of freedom that comes from conquering the open road? Did Starbucks create the desire for a sense of sophistication or for people to feel like they are part of a community? Of course not! Harley Davidson and Starbucks simply found wonderfully resonant ways to […] Why Don’t We Like Talking About Ourselves When Marketing?Have you ever had the experience of having to promote someone else’s products and services? I don’t know about you, but I always find this much easier than promoting my own business. May be it’s because we’re not as close to someone else’s business as we are to our own and so if people say […] You Have Earned The RightYou have done an excellent job prospecting. You have qualified the prospect. You have spent time sending news letters, making information gathering appointments, developing a first class financial plan that fits their needs perfectly. This is the time to present and close! Then, just as you have finished presenting the plan, you realize that you […] Sales Lessons From The Presidential RaceNo matter what side you were on, here are a few observations, affirmations and truths, post-election, with respect to selling: Strategy and tactics are equally important. The purpose of executing tactics in a sales campaign is to drive a well-founded strategy. Tactics without a strategy is like playing darts with your eyes closed. Message! Not […] Selling Your Business? How To Increase Your Selling PriceAre you thinking about selling your business? Maybe you are ready to retire to Hawaii and play golf. Maybe you want to sell your current business and invest those profits in a new for-profit or non-profit venture. There are many reasons to sell your business, however the primary goal of most sellers is to sell […] Back to BasicsWhen was the last time you were asked to prepare an East-West Seafood Bisque with Gosling’s Aioli & Shrimp-Garlic Chive Dumpling* ? I don’t think I ever have been. But if I were to be asked to, I’d invest the time necessary – but no more – to figure out how to do it, so […] Get Inside Your Prospects HeadDo you ever shake your head and wonder why so many prospects fail to pull the trigger when you’ve clearly made a compelling case for them to do so? To those of us in Sales, it makes no sense – it’s clear as day that they should. But for some reason we can’t fathom, it […] Change The Way You Promote Your Business, Or ElseOver the past several decades, the marketing function has undergone evolutionary change. During the 1950’s and 1960’s, marketing was fairly simple. There were fewer product categories and fewer products. There were few media vehicles: television was just coming of age, there were only a few major weekly magazines, and FM radio had yet to be […] Ad Spending In A RecessionIn a soft economy, shortsighted executives will panic and bolster their next quarterly earnings report by cutting the ad budget. It’s a quick fix. But it is a costly one! Here are five good reasons NOT to trim your advertising and promotion budget in an economic downturn. Using Ad Specialties in Your Promotion MixThey’re called gimcracks, gewgaws, doodads, and chotchkies. They’re ad specialties. Those pens, notebooks, key fobs, coffee mugs, and sports accessories brandishing your company’s name and logo. And they’re one of the most cost-effective marketing weapons in your arsenal. Your company logo or imprinted message gets lasting exposure. Statistically, more than a third are still being […] Telling is not SellingI know you have heard that before, and probably understand it at some level. I’ve heard plenty of people use that phrase, and then in the next breath say, “sell the benefits not the features” – which shows that they truly do not have a full understanding of the concept. I think it might be helpful […] The Best Advice I Ever GotThis little incident happened about 30 years ago at an industry conference I was attending. I was in the real estate business and the industry was going through some difficult times. I was young and thought I knew a lot more than I did. I thought I was fairly smart. But I learned a valuable […] Putting the Marketing Basics in Place Part 2This week is part 2 of my guide on getting your marketing basics in place. Last week, we covered why it was important to know who your customers are; decide on what you actually do and know why your customers buy from you. But, there are three other things that you need to get in […] In Prosperous Periods Promote Tactically, In Down Times Promote StrategicallyEconomists are unanimous that regardless of what governments do it will take time, a lot of time, to rebuild faith in financial institutions and rejuvenate the economy. The sudden realization that the emperor had no clothes and magnitude of the financial crisis is only now being fully addressed. In a knee jerk reaction management is […] The Top 5 Small Business Marketing Tips for Budget-Minded Business OwnersWhen it comes to running a successful business, marketing is essential. For a small business, marketing often seems like a daunting task – especially when it comes to marketing your business on the web. Many times, budget-minded business owners fear that small business marketing needs to be expensive in order to be effective. Fortunately – […] The Three Reasons Your Small Business Needs a BlogJust a few short years ago hardly anyone knew what a blog was, but now, because they are so easy to set up and maintain, their popularity has blossomed beyond all expectations. Blogs are not just for ordinary people who wish to expound on their hobby or area of special interest. Blogs are for the […] How to Get Your E-Mail Marketing Past Spam Filters and Firewalls and Into Your Customer’s InboxE-mail marketing is a tremendously valuable tool for small and large companies that do business online. However, some companies find that there are a number of challenges that get in the way of their e-mail marketing campaigns. In part, this is because many of your customers and prospects take advantage of Spam filters that have […] Are You Making These 5 Common Pay-Per-Click Advertising Mistakes?Because of the ability to specifically target your unique prospects based on interest as well as geography, the ability to tightly control your ad spend and to precisely measure results, Pay-Per-Click (PPC) is probably the greatest breakthrough to come along in advertising since the launch of television. And, because of those same benefits, it’s much […] Putting the Marketing Basics in Place Part 1The other day, I was working with a client and talking about their marketing. All the questions that I asked, they were able to answer and I realised that they had all the marketing basics in place and they were ready to move onto the next level. That gave me an interesting thought – THEY […] Premium Sales and Service, On Rye. Hold the Baloney.At a party I started chatting with a nice guy, late 20’s or so, neatly dressed, with bright, intense eyes. We talked weather, current events, the usual stuff, and then I popped the question. “So, what do you do?” He smiled. He said he recently bought a route in his area selling cold cuts and […] |
|
