What’s your 30 second commercial – your elevator commercial? This is the number one question I here from networking group gurus. You’ve all been to these little gatherings, sometimes organized by the chamber of commerce, sometimes by private organizations. Yet is this approach really in your best interest? Are you really interested in identifying yourself solely by a pitch of what you sell for a living? And is the pitch really the best way to start a relationship? Continued…
Living in the Cloud
Being part of Web 2.0 may meet migrating to the cloud. To create business, communicate with customers, track changes, and so on, I find myself migrating to the internet. I’m not talking about building stuff on my computer and posting it, I mean actually using applications like this WordPress blog to get business done. I guess I’m still using software on my machine to interact with all these wonderful web applications, but FireFox doesn’t have a big foot print. Continued…
Posted in Marketing.
– September 25, 2009
Does Your Sales Training Lose Its Flavor?
How often have you seen this scenario? A company sends a top employee to training, then expects that employee to come back and train the rest of the team for success. Does it work? For low-end skills, like running the cash register or using a new e-mail application, sure it works. For high-end skills that involve attribute and attitude changes, it often falls short. Continued…
Posted in Sales.
– September 17, 2009
Your Untapped Viral Marketing Power Tool
Many companies think of marketing communications as mere advertising, mass, direct, or otherwise. Public relations seems to also be a well-tapped channel among larger companies. Marketing communication, however, reaches way beyond the confines of advertising and public relations. Companies need to look at and engage all the communications avenues open to them, even ones currently buried in the back corner of engineering. Continued…
Posted in Marketing.
– September 1, 2009
Generating Business Leads that Matter
If you don’t need any new business leads, stop reading. Or better yet, comment on this post and tell me what business you’re in. The truth in business today is that most of us need leads. We network for them, we market for them, heck, sometimes we’ll even beg for them. But, the secret about leads is in the old Billy Joel song – it’s a matter of trust. When you are trusted, you are referred.
Posted in Sales.
– August 27, 2009
Stop Putting All the Sales Focus on Product
So much of business is built around things. A company banks its future on a hot new product. Product management is the hub of manufacturing, distribution, and retail. Large companies drive out small companies with the promise of saving money. Advertising links happiness to cars, houses, and things to fill up our houses and empty our wallets.
Product Centricis
– July 23, 2009
Marketing & Sales on the Cutting Edge?
Marketing and sales have always been on the cutting edge of business. In other words, when something needs to be cut, first goes marketing, then goes sales. These two related fields are responsible for the company top line. When the revenue falters, heads roll. How do you turn that around? How do you move sales from the cutting edge to the leading edge?
The whale can live without those ... for a while.
– July 9, 2009
