The Competitive Advantage

September 10, 2014

Your sales rep not working out? Maybe it’s not their fault… look in the mirror!

I’ve worked with a number of firms in the market research industry where the one (or first) sales rep they hired didn’t work out… didn’t hit their goals… didn’t meet the expectations of the firm’s owner(s) – and so was let go.

It happens… sometime the rep is just not the right fit with the organization.

But just as often (or maybe more often), the inability of the company to effectively manage that sales rep is just as much to blame. It works something like this…

August 27, 2014

Are there any GREAT Marketers in Market Research? Let’s recognize them!

I spend a lot of time writing about what’s wrong with marketing in the market research industry… and how to fix it.

Lousy websites. Ineffective email marketing. A lack of content marketing. No strategy or planning. Cheesy social media marketing. Way-too-wordy print ads. And so on… and so on…

But not all MR firms do bad marketing all the time. In fact, I’d like to ask for your help in recognizing those firms in our industry (research firms, fieldwork & recruiting firms, technology shops and panel providers) that do exceptional work when it comes to their marketing.

July 2, 2014

Great business quotes #5 – on taking charge of your business.

Thanks so much for all the positive feedback on the first four posts in this series on great business sayings… I appreciate all of the comments and ‘likes.’

Here’s a quick recap of the first four great sayings:

• “Activity breeds results.”
• “All things being equal… people do business with people they like. All things NOT being equal, people STILL do business with people they like.”
• “Sales prospects don’t care about what you can do… they care about what you can do FOR THEM.”
• “What gets measured gets done.”

Our fifth – and final – saying is…

Hope is not strategy.

June 18, 2014

Great business quotes #3 – on ‘what’s in it for me?’

See if this describes your capabilities presentation… Slides 1 and 2 are a history of the firm. Slides 3, 4 and 5 are the bios of senior staff members. And slides 6 through 15 are all the “great” things you do.

Want to know a little secret? The sales prospects sitting around the table DON’T CARE! Well, they do… but they don’t. They’ve been to your website… they’ve asked around… they already know all of that. What they’re sitting there asking themselves is, “What’s in it for me?”

In this series on great business quotes, our third one is…

Sales prospects don’t care about what you can do… they care about what you can do FOR THEM.

June 4, 2014

Great business quotes #1 – on sales

When you’ve been around as long as I have, you tend to accumulate things. For me, one of those things is a collection of sayings/adages/quotes that – while seemingly a little ‘trite’ – actually contain some time-tested words of wisdom. This week’s blog post is the first in a multi-week series that looks at some of the most popular business sayings and how they apply to today’s business world. This week…

“Activity breeds results.”

May 21, 2014

Exhibiting at a conference this Fall? This eBook can help you succeed.

Harpeth Marketing is pleased to announce the release of our 6th eBook, Marketing & Sales for the Market Research Firm: The Exhibitor’s Workbook.

Done right, exhibiting can be an outstanding marketing vehicle that helps you to generate highly-qualified sales leads, launch a new product or service, generate market awareness and support your association.

However, with the cost of the exhibit space, travel and lodging, your booth, shipping, event marketing, etc., your firm’s presence at an event could very well be the single largest marketing expense you have all year. Exhibiting is one of those things you must do really well to see a return on your investment. And this eBook can help…

The Exhibitor’s Workbook delves into:

• Effectively preparing for an event
• Promoting your presence as an exhibitor
• Guidelines for “working the booth”
• The best way to capture sales lead information
• How to follow-up for maximum ROI

Click Here to download your free copy now.

April 30, 2014

Stop making excuses about your [lack of] marketing & sales, Part 3

Do you know the phrase, “Ignorance of the law is no excuse?” Of course, we all do.

Coincidentally, the same rule applies to your business… that is, just because you might not know how to do marketing & sales doesn’t mean you can just ignore them. And you know you can’t. But you’re smart… you run or manage a business… so you have to figure it out – and that’s what this post is about.

April 24, 2014

Stop making excuses about your [lack of] marketing & sales, Part 2

Last week we started a 3-part series on the excuses business owners and managers use to “explain away” their lack of marketing & sales activity (and success). In it, we addressed the most common excuse for not embracing marketing & sales in an organization – “no time.”

Following closely on the heels of that is “no money!”

#2…NO MONEY!

“I don’t have the money!” is really code for one of the real excuses:

• “We’re too small to spend anything on marketing & sales.”
• “Business is bad/declining and we really don’t have any money to spend on business development.”
• “I might spend some money… but I don’t know what works and what doesn’t.”
• “All marketing is expensive, isn’t it?”