The Competitive Advantage

October 11, 2016

The Secret to Sales & Marketing Success? It’s Right in Front of You.

Maximize revenue growth by leveraging your sales database.

There are two kinds of sales prospects – those you know (and who know you) and those you have yet to meet. However, too many sales & marketing initiatives focus on trying to uncover more of the latter.

I submit, however, that the opposite (focusing on those you know) is a more efficient and more effective way to grow revenue.

Think of it this way… you’ve spent a ton of time, money and effort trying to increase the number of contacts in your sales database. Now it’s time to leverage all of that work.

October 2, 2016

Should you ever walk away from revenue?

Yes, unfortunately. In fact, there are two circumstances under which you should ‘fire’ a client… and two when you should walk away from the opportunity in the first place.

Recently, I was chatting with a senior-level contact at a mid-sized research firm located in the Northeast. We were just getting caught up with each other and talking about business in general. During the conversation, he said that his business was off a bit this year and that one of the reasons for it was that he had to walk away from one of his largest clients (i.e. he ‘fired’ them). He said the stress on his staff of working with them just wasn’t worth it any more.

Which got me to thinking about those times in our industry when – as much as you hate to – you have to walk away from the revenue because it’s the right thing to do for your firm…

September 27, 2016

Innovation for Innovation’s Sake?

Early last year, I wrote a post about a blue-tooth frying pan that notifies you when it’s time to flip your pancakes. Silly!

Well… the “innovators” are at it again! In the October 2016 issue of Fast Company, there’s a small article on Nike’s new self-tying shoes! Whuut?!

Now, if these were being developed to help frail seniors or those with physical disabilities… I kind of get it. But they weren’t. They seem to have a somewhat less noble purpose, according to a Nike engineer, “You can feel it tighten, hear the motor run, and see the laces [move]. It’s a shoe that ignites the senses.” Seriously?!

September 21, 2016

Don’t ignore your ex-clients!

This week, I’m heading to Cincinnati to work with a new client for a couple of days. It’s a really nice shop and I’m excited by the opportunity. But they are not the only firm I’m visiting there. I’m making a sales call on a new prospect and reconnecting with an ex-client.

The good news about ex-clients is that they know you (and you know them) and there is an existing level of trust and credibility… something you don’t have with new sales prospects and an awfully good starting point for re-connecting (assuming the relationship didn’t end badly).

September 14, 2016

I have a stalker… and that’s good news!

True story… I received an email last week that began with, “Steve, I’ve been following you for a while now…” I didn’t know whether to be flattered… or scared!

As it turned out, it wasn’t me, exactly, that she was following (whew!)… it was my writing – my blog posts, articles and eBooks.

And over time, it grew the perception in her mind – and provided the proof – that I knew what I was talking about and that I might be able to help her. Guess what? That is exactly how content marketing is supposed to work for a professional services firm. (I love it when a plan comes together!)

September 3, 2016

Get Ready for 2017 with these 6 Marketing & Sales Activities

By the time you read this article, calendar year 2016 will be more than 2/3 over. How has it gone for you so far? Have you started thinking about 2017?

Before the year ends and you start scrambling for 2017, now is the time to do a little prep work… a little planning… and a little thinking. To help you get next year off to a strong marketing & sales start, consider implementing these 6 activities…

August 30, 2016

They’re not just clients… they’re people!

Think about each of your top 4 or 5 clients. Collectively, they’re likely worth 50-60-70% of your firm’s revenue…. or more!  And I’ll bet you could tell me how much revenue each generates, which services or products they’re buying from you and some details about each of their last few projects. That’s good.

Now think about your key contact at each of those clients – what details do you know about them? No, not their title or their biggest challenges at the office – though those are important. But… are they married or not? What about kids? Their hobbies or favorite sports team? Where they went on vacation last week? And so on… and so on.

Don’t think knowing that kind of thing is important? You’d be wrong!

August 16, 2016

Listen up salespeople… “Your voice mail messages are AWFUL!”

Last Wednesday, I came back to the office to find a voice mail message on my office phone. It was one left by a sales rep (and I use that term loosely) who wanted to connect with me. Without giving away the firm, here’s the message…

After introducing herself, she said, “We have a lot of experience working with firms like yours. I’d appreciate the opportunity to have a short conversation to see if we might be of service to you.” Then she left her phone number and hoped I would call back. That was it.

We can debate the value of leaving phone messages, but here’s what happened (or didn’t happen)…