The Competitive Advantage

August 7, 2018

Not blogging yet? Here are 10 reasons why you should!

I was having a conversation about marketing last week with the owner of a small firm… and we covered a broad range of topics. When we got to ‘blogging,’ he asked, “Why should I blog?” When I saw that he wasn’t kidding, it dawned on me that there may be many small business owners in the same boat – questioning the value of a consistent writing program like blogging.

So, for you, Mike – and small business owners everywhere – here are the top 10 reasons why blogging MUST be a part of your marketing mix:

July 31, 2018

Planning for 2019? It’s not too early to start.

While it’s only the beginning of August – and we’re all in the middle of the summer doldrums – now is the perfect time to start planning for 2019 and thinking about your marketing & sales for next year. Five months may seem like plenty of time to get ready… but you’ll get busy this Fall, and January 1^st will be here before you know it.

So, block of a little time RIGHT NOW to start thinking about improving your marketing & sales efforts for next year. And the absolute best way to do that is to make sure you understand all of the things going on in and around your business. What you learn will form the foundation for making smarter marketing & sales decisions next year. To help, here are 6 suggestions to get you started…

July 24, 2018

5 Ways to Say “No thanks” to a Proposal

Twice in the past few years, I’ve written a blog post about the frustration that I (and all people involved in business development) feel when not hearing back from a potential client after submitting a proposal… a proposal that they requested. I wrote about how any answer – even a ‘no’ – is better than being ignored. With a clear answer… at least I’ll know how to move forward.

Sadly, the practice of ‘responding with silence’ from potential clients continues to this day.

So, on behalf of all small business owners who do the selling, seller-doers and professional salespeople everywhere, I’ve taken the liberty of writing out actual email scripts – based on several different scenarios – that you can use when responding to proposals you don’t want to accept. I hope these help: