That is the problem I hear most often from companies I talk with. Building a steady stream of leads to fill the sales pipeline requires discipline and strategy. Here’s what’s wrong with traditional marketing strategies. Companies define their Typical Customer Lifecycle. The Typical Customer Lifecycle has a few huge problems: You spend time and money to drive people to your … Read More
Sales and Marketing Beats Features and Functions
I’ve trained hundreds of sales engineers on how to effectively demonstrate software. I highly recommend “Demonstrating to Win!” by Robert Riefstahl if your job requires demonstrating products. One key concept I’d emphasize was the question “so what?” Before you show any product feature, ask yourself, “so what?” If you can’t put the feature into the context of why it is … Read More
Selling to Everyone = Selling to No One. How to Get More of Your Ideal Clients
Here’s the question: how do you dramatically increase sales when all your business comes from referrals? Experience has taught me that unless you know who your ideal clients are, the answer to that question is, “very, very painfully.” The essence of good marketing is delivering the right message to the right person at the right time. If you don’t know … Read More
6 B2B Marketing Strategies
When it comes to marketing, building solid relationships with customers and clients is the key to success. The problem is, most advice related to building relationships doesn’t focus on the unique needs and strategies required to build strong relationships in the B2B market. You’ve likely heard “Customers don’t buy from companies, they buy from people” – but what happens when … Read More
Reduce Client No-Shows with Scheduling Automation
If you run a service based business, there is a good chance that your biggest headache is missed appointments. Your client then has to reschedule and you are stuck with unbooked time. Everyone is unhappy. You could have your receptionist call or email everyone with an upcoming appointment, but that is labor intensive and may fall by the wayside during … Read More
How Do I Set Up “Google My Business”?
If you are a small or medium-sized business, setting up a Google My Business account is one of the most effective ways to get found by your customers online. With over a billion users, Google is by far the most popular search engine in the US. In fact, 70% of online searches are performed on Google, as compared to Bing … Read More
What is “Google My Business” & Why Should My Company Use it?
If you are a small or medium sized business, there is a good chance one of your main goals is to show up in a Google search when your customers are looking for your product or service. From dentists and daycares to leatherworkers and construction contractors, showing up in Google search can be an extremely effective way to grow your business. … Read More
Your 2017 Marketing Tactics Won’t Plan Themselves
It is the end of the year and as a small business owner, you are overwhelmed. You need to wrap up Q4 numbers, handle higher holiday sales (sometimes with less staff!), and somehow make sure customer service doesn’t get put on the back burner. You don’t have time to worry about 2017 yet, right? Wrong. A goal without a plan … Read More
5 Simple Customer Appreciation Gift Ideas
For small business owners, building a dedicated customer base is all about building relationships with people. Even just a simple thank you can go a long way in showing your customers how much their business means to you. As the holidays approach, showing that appreciation is even more important – but it can be difficult to know what to offer. … Read More
How to Measure Your ROB – “Return on Blog”
While video marketing and multimedia messaging is more popular than ever right now, there is still a very important place in the inbound marketing spectrum for blog content. That’s because by and large, people still want to read simple and digest-able content that informs and entertains. While the rules and industry standards for things like how long a blog post needs … Read More