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News & Articles
You've Got To Interrupt Them At Some Point
There has been some talk on a forum that I frequent that most of the Web 2.0 tactics are a “tremendous waste of time.” That viewpoint is not one that I share.
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Chicken or Egg - Money or Marketing?
Over many years, I’ve heard that the number one reason for a new company’s failure is lack of capital. I’m not sure I agree with that based on my experience.
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Thirty Sales Questions To Consider
1. What is the purpose of your company? (One sentence please)
2. What are three words that describe the company?
3. What are some companies that you would like to emulate?
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Listen First - Sell Later ®
I was working on my book the other night when a visual photograph of how I learned the value of relationships in business came flooding back into my mind. I couldn't help but smile all over again and I thought I'd briefly share it with you here.
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The Value Must Outweigh the Investment
Every time you or I decide to buy a service or a product, somewhere in the back of our minds a dialogue takes place. Most of the time if the purchase is small or a commodity we often buy, we don’t even recognize the "self talk" that is going on.
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How to Create a Brand and Outsell Everyone!
I am always amazed (but not surprised) at how many companies I work with don’t have a clue of what is their Unique Selling Proposition. Without one (or without knowing it) you become just another commodity company and you might as well make plans on selling out or closing up. That’s how important your USP is to you and your company.
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The Greatest Life Insurance Salesman in the World
I grew up in a small town on the Ohio River called East Liverpool. It is located in Ohio at the junction of Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. When I was growing up it had a population of about 22,000. Today the population has dropped to just over 13,000. However, some very unique and notable people have come from my town.
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Small Business Land Mines
I have been working with small businesses and entrepreneurial start-ups for much of my life. There are some wonderful rewards and benefits in seeing something grow. There are also some potential land mines that too many small, family owned businesses run into that lead to problems, lost revenues and, sometimes, lost companies.
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Email Management
I responded to a request the other day from a writer with the New York Times for some tips on "How to Manage Your Email." I don’t know if she liked my answers because in this age of being more and more "plugged in" 24 x 7, I’m all in favor of pulling the plug a lot more often than most people.
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The Smartest Man I Know
I am always reminding my readers that sales and marketing is all about relationships and communications. I learned most of what I know about people and relationships from a master.
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Woe Is Us!
The mortgage crisis, foreclosures, Iraq & Iran, etc. seem to have quite a few people in a panic these days. Many are seeing the glass half empty and some are hunkering down, pulling back from spending on their businesses and generally waiting for the sky to fall. I agree there are signs that could signal a recession and I think the spending of our government is out of control.
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Marketing Magic Man
I received a phone call the other day from an old friend in Pittsburgh who has been a fantastic resource for my company over the last 15 years. His name is Paul Gertner. You may not be familiar with his name but I would hazard a guess that there are hundreds of thousands of business people who are familiar with his brand of corporate magic.
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The Ups and Downs of Extraordinary Customer Service
Let’s assume for one moment that you are the President of one of the largest financial services companies east of the Mississippi. And, let’s assume that you’ve been under the gun because your company has lost its roots and forgot it is in the banking business. And, let’s also assume that your company has never been identified with exceptional customer service…maybe not even good service. Do you think if you got a letter that started out something like this you might take notice?
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