The Competitive Advantage

October 10, 2023

Busy Q4? DO NOT Stop Marketing!

Here’s why and here’s what to do about it…

The fourth quarter of the year is often a very busy time for our industry as research buyers need to spend their research budgets by December 31^st… or risk losing some of those dollars the following year. And as the firms in our industry (MR agencies, panel companies, etc.) get very busy supporting those buyers, they too often ignore other elements of their business… especially marketing. Big mistake. Big. Huge.

September 19, 2023

3 Steps to Seller-Doer Success

The seller-doer sales model is employed by nearly all small-to midsize firms in our industry. It’s a challenging model that asks non-salespeople to BE salespeople. But often, they don’t want to do it, don’t like to do it or don’t know how to do it. So, what’s the answer?

While there are dozens of things you could do to maximize the results of your seller-doer program, the majority fall into three main categories…

August 29, 2023

Salespeople Welcome!

Disclaimer: This article is going to rub some people the wrong way! And that’s OK… it’s a perspective more people should think about and consider. So here goes…

I’ve read some articles recently saying that 70+ percent of B2B buyers would prefer a salesperson-less buying experience. Why is that? What are you afraid of?

August 22, 2023

I’ve Been Blogging About Sales & Marketing Since 2012… What’s Changed?

I was scrolling through my blog posts last week… and just for fun, I decided to go back to read some of my very first articles (written in 2012) to see how much sales and marketing have changed in the past 11 years. Guess what? Not much!

Sure, technology tools are more pervasive and capable today than in 2012, but the core fundamentals of sales and marketing are pretty much the same… and I can prove it!

August 8, 2023

How To and How NOT To Use LinkedIn for Selling… A True Story!

In the past week, I connected with two people on LinkedIn, each from a different research firm. And I had two very different experiences with them – one that was great and one that was horrible. The contrast between the two provides a really good lesson on how to use LinkedIn effectively to support your sales effort… and how not to!

August 1, 2023

Stop Making the Same Stupid Exhibiting Mistakes

As you saw in last week’s post, I attended Quirks-New York this year – a really good event, by the way, if you’ve never been. Coincidentally, part of my background includes the development, management and marketing of conferences and trade shows all across the United States. And in the 30+ years since I was in that industry, nothing much has changed on the exhibit floor. Exhibitors are still making the same stupid mistakes now that they did back when I produced events! And at all stages of the process…

July 25, 2023

Is ‘In-Person’ Still Relevant?

As I write this, I’m 35,000 feet over Pennsylvania, on my way home from the Quirks New York event… two days of networking, learning, selling and bonding for 1,500+ MR professionals. Well done, Team Quirks! And it’s because of that event that I’m writing this article. So, to answer the question in the headline – Is ‘In-Person’ Still Relevant? – consider this:

June 28, 2023

Lessons Learned After Writing 500+ Blog Posts

This is post number 533 on our blog, and with the exception of two guest posts, they’re all mine. And all of them written since I founded Harpeth Marketing in 2012. In those 11+ years, I’ve learned a few things about blogging and content marketing that I thought might be of value…