While at the park this weekend with my two year old daughter, a little boy a few years older than her asked to play with her in the sandbox. They played together for about 15 minutes. Periodically his father would tell him to quit doing certain things that all the other kids were doing. Soon his mother chimed in and
The biggest mistake businesses make in advertising is saying the same thing everyone else is saying. Before you read any further, I encourage you to do something. Take out the last 3 advertisements you ran for your business, and ask yourself one question: Could my competition put their logo on this piece and call it their own? In over 90% of the
One of the most rewarding parts about business is when all of your marketing efforts pay off and you bring on new customers. One of the most exciting steps after that is when those customers become such raving fans of your products or service that they start to refer their friends and family to you as well. If you’re like the majority
Yesterday I was having a conversation with a colleague. As we were discussing the sales process, I mentioned to him my biggest weakness was “closing the deal”. He immediately knew why. “You’re not asking for the sale,” he said. He was right. While I am well aware of the fundamentals of selling, sometimes I fail to implement all of the
Until I was a mom, I never understood the magic in the outwardly “annoying” things children do. As I was flying to Louisville, Kentucky today from Houston, Texas, two young girls were seated in front of me, their mother situated strategically between them. Having flown now multiple times with a baby, I could appreciate the skill this mother had mastered,
If you were around at the start of the 21st century, you may remember the television game show, The Weakest Link. On the show, if a contestant failed out, the host would say, “You are the weakest link, goodbye.” While those six words are easy to say on a show designed for entertainment and high ratings, mangers and business owners
If there is one word to sum up the fatal flaw in a marketing competitive analysis it would be … Assumptions! Assumptions around what your competition offers can kill your marketing and sales efforts. Here are some of the most common ways people mistake assumptions for truths: Assuming what your sales representatives say about your competition is accurate. Your sales
“You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.” ~Charlie “Tremendous” Jones The above is one of my favorite quotes of all time. I believe it is imperative that we continue reading, pushing ourselves to new limits, and exploring ideas with different people if we
There are multiple sales methods you can implement into your small business marketing plan to ensure you are seeing a steady stream of clients. In the past, we have examined Sales Funnel. Today I want to examine an even simpler method to help you master small business sales and marketing – The ARC Method. The ARC method is a simple
Did you realize there are 5 main functions of any small business, and successful businesses figure out how to grow the five areas sequentially over time. Function 1: Marketing The first function of a business is marketing. It does no good to open the doors to your business if you do not have clients walking through them. Marketing means
