The Competitive Advantage

November 26, 2013

It’s OK to say ‘no’ to a sales rep.

We’ve all been there… we submit a bid or proposal for a project and don’t hear back for a few days.  So we check in, only to be told they’ve been wrapped up with another project and haven’t had a chance to look at it yet – but will get back to us in a few days.  Good news.  A few more days pass and we check in again… and this time he hear, “It looks good… but no final decision yet.”  Ahhh… hope!

November 19, 2013

Frequency vs. Quality: The Content Marketing Balancing Act

Guest blogger: Debra Semans, Lead Writer at Harpeth Marketing

Content is King!

Consider*:

• Companies that blog 15 or more times per month get five times more traffic than companies that don’t blog at all.
• Small businesses (1-10 employees) tend to see the biggest gains in traffic when they publish more articles.
• Companies that increase blogging from 3-5 times/month to 6-8 times/month almost double their leads.
• Even B2B companies that blog only 1-2 times/month generate 70% more leads than those that don’t blog at all.

November 13, 2013

Never forget… we are in the “people business.”

“All things being equal, people do business with people they like.  All things not being equal, people still do business with people they like.”

Say what you will about the efficiencies of technology like emails, text messages, social media posts and even the telephone… the best business is still conducted face-to-face.

That was validated and confirmed for me yesterday… when I flew to Pittsburgh to meet with a client to talk about planning for 2014.

November 5, 2013

TMRE takeaway… are the bad things easier to remember?

I was at TMRE in Nashville two weeks ago… beautiful venue, terrific networking events, big exhibit hall, good educational sessions, world-class keynote speakers.

But that’s not what I remember most.

My two big takeaways from the event are both bad… and it’s not just me, I heard numerous people talking/ranting about these.

October 30, 2013

Get it right! You can’t manage what you don’t measure.

I’ve been delivering presentations on marketing and sales to business executives for a long time now. When I first started, I used to say that if you didn’t measure a particular business development tactic, don’t even bother doing it in the first place!

Over the years I’ve softened my stance a little – but not much. Why? Simple: If you’re not measuring your marketing and sales efforts, then how do you know if they’re working? Think about it. If something is not working, then stop doing it… you’re just throwing good money after bad. But if it is working, then you need to be doing more of it.

Makes sense, right?  Then why do so few firms bother to measure their marketing and sales? I think there’s a pretty simple answer here too… because it’s often boring, tedious work.

October 29, 2013

6 Reasons Why You Should Consider Video Marketing

Video, as a marketing tool, has largely gone unused in our industry… and I’m not sure why.

We are very much a TV/video society… it only make sense to communicate in a style that people are used to and that works for them.

October 23, 2013

Hey small business owner! Time to get serious about marketing.

An independent research consultant (in business for 15+ years) reached out to me recently to learn about what we do.  In preparing for our call, I did a little homework on her firm.  Here’s what I found:

• A YAHOO email address
• An old, unattractive, homemade website
• Website text that is all internally focused
• No resources (articles, blog, etc.) available for website visitors
• An incomplete LinkedIn profile… no image, generic LinkedIn address, etc.
• No LinkedIn company profile
• No listing/membership in key association – QRCA
• No Twitter account that I could find

October 15, 2013

Are you a memorable sales rep?

A true story… I was speaking to a friend of mine, Cary, last weekend and he was telling me that he was out visiting some long-standing clients (in the healthcare industry).  During these calls, several of them said to him that they “really missed John (his colleague) and his grapes.”  Grapes?!  Really?!

I had to know more.