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The Competitive Advantage

tag: marketing & sales

July 12, 2016

3 Proven Summer Sales Tactics

summertime sales

Summertime is often a slow time for businesses, in general… and for sales efforts, in particular. Clients and prospects are on vacation, their business is slow so they’re not in the buying mood, there are very few conferences and networking events scheduled this time of year and so on. So, what’s a sales rep to do, especially if they still have sales goals to achieve?

Below are three ideas to help minimize the summer doldrums and stir up some sales action…

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May 17, 2016

Too busy for marketing? I don’t think so.

too busyTwice in the last month and a half, I’ve had the pleasure and privilege of speaking before groups of market researchers – first in Philadelphia, then later in Chicago. With both groups, we discussed all kinds of ways for firms to grow their businesses without a lot of money, outlined a simple way to build a marketing & sales plan and much more. Great fun!

Interestingly, in each of those presentations… I was challenged with the statement, “but Steve, I don’t have time to do that!”

Sorry, but I’m gonna call, “B.S.”

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December 30, 2015

Top 10 Blog Posts & Articles of 2015

Top10As 2015 draws to a close – and we put a wrap on another year of content – I thought it would be interesting to look back at the year and highlight our top 10 blog posts & articles… those that generated the most likes, views and comments.

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December 22, 2015

9 Proven Marketing Tips to Try in 2016

marketing tipsLast week, our blog post contained 9 really great sales ideas to try in 2016. This week, I want to tackle some marketing ideas you might want to try next year. Like the tips last week… they’re all low-cost/no cost, easy to do and – most importantly – have been proven to work…

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December 15, 2015

9 Proven Sales Tips to Try in 2016

sales2One of my favorite sayings of all time is this: “If you keep doin’ what you’re doin’… you’ll keep gettin’ what you’re gettin’!” It applies to your business just as much as it applies to everyday life.

So, unless you’re 100% satisfied with the growth of your business in 2015, now is the time to think about trying something new in 2016. “Like what?,” you ask! Well, here are 9 sales tips to get your creative juices flowing and help you to increase revenue next year…

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November 11, 2015

Get Away, Part 1: 5 Key Lessons Learned at our First Corporate Retreat

corporate retreatI just got back home after two days in the woods… at Harpeth Marketing’s first-ever corporate retreat. Our goal was to think through and discuss the direction for our firm in 2016 and beyond.

OK – in full disclosure – the assembled group was made up of just me! [So, for all of you independent consultants and small shops – you, too, can do this!] And like every other corporate retreat I’ve been involved with, there were flip chart pages taped all over the walls, good ideas, bad ideas, some yelling and arguing (even alone, saying things out loud is really helpful)… and a cold adult beverage (or two) to wrap up the day.

It was a very productive couple of days… and I walked away with a clearer vision and direction for our business. I also walked away with some thoughts about how to get the most out of these kinds of gatherings (especially for smaller firms)…

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October 13, 2015

You can’t be “half-ass” about marketing and sales.

half2I had a conversation last week with a sales prospect… he was the co-founder of a firm with about 20 employees. Actually, it was the last of several phone calls and email exchanges and I was calling to find out if he was going to accept the proposal I had sent to him. He didn’t.

He said that, rather than outsource to us, he was going to have one of his employees “take care of” sales and marketing… in addition to continuing to work with and service clients, which he does now.

I’m gonna let that sink in for a minute.

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October 6, 2015

Integrated Marketing: Getting Maximum Impact from your Marketing Tactics

Imagine you work for a small-to-mid-size firm with a small – but active – marketing program. You have a solid website, you blog weekly, send out a monthly email blast, post to social media daily (LinkedIn and Twitter) and even produce a webinar once each quarter. Pretty good stuff!

But here’s the thing… if all of those tactics are not working together, you might not be achieving the kind of results you could be. For example…

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