The Competitive Advantage

May 8, 2024

“It’s always feast-or-famine around here!“

If ‘feast-or-famine’ is not the top complaint I hear from business owners, it’s certainly in the top three. And to be honest, it’s their own fault!

Think about it… when you’re busy (the feast), you focus on your clients’ projects. But when they slow down (the famine), it’s only then that you decide to spend some effort on sales and marketing. When that has an impact, business picks up (the next feast)… until it doesn’t any more (the next famine).

And so it goes… an endless cycle of revenue ups and downs, which makes your business difficult to manage and extremely stressful.

April 22, 2024

Stop Relying on Others for Your Success… Take Charge of Your Business

Creating a Revenue Growth Plan for Independent Consultants and Small Businesses

It’s an interesting dilemma. Most people become independent consultants, or start small shops, so they can focus on research and on doing great work for their clients. They certainly didn’t start their businesses so they could spend their time doing sales and marketing.

And yet—as small-business owners—they absolutely have to do that. If they don’t, who will?

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.

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…

December 21, 2022

Are You Prepared for Sales and Marketing in 2023?

As 2022 winds down, and you start looking at your sales and marketing efforts for 2023, there’s one question you’re probably asking yourself – like we all are – and that is, “How do we grow [more] next year?”

Before I try to answer that question, let me share one of my favorite business philosophies… “If you keep doin’ what you’re doin’, you’ll keep gettin’ what you’re gettin’.” The fact is, if you want to grow in 2023 – or grow more than you did in 2022 – you’ll have to try something new. Or maybe several somethings. Maybe this is the year you test LinkedIn advertising, create some videos or employ SEO in your marketing. Or finally pull the trigger on hiring your first full-time sales rep.

Whatever it is… you need to embrace it. If not, then the best that you can hope for in 2023 is exactly what happened to you this year.

January 11, 2022

8 Last-Minute Ideas For Your 2022 Sales & Marketing Plan

Is your 2022 sales & marketing plan done? If your firm is like a lot of others, you might still be wrapping it up. And even if it is done, it’s supposed to be a living document… to be updated/changed as the year progresses. In either case, I wanted to share a few last-minute tactical ideas for you to consider adding to your plan.

September 14, 2021

Too busy for sales and marketing? Stop lying to yourself!

Most every firm I’ve spoken with of late is doing pretty well – business picked up in Q4 of last year and continues to be strong. And while some experienced a bit of the traditional summer slowdown this year, nearly all are expecting a very strong fourth quarter again. And that’s great! We should all enjoy and benefit from a strong business environment.

But there will be a downturn in business at some point… no one is sure when… but it’s coming. It always does. Are you preparing for it now?

July 28, 2020

12 Things to Do When Launching a New Service or Product

Congratulations! With the extra time you’ve had on your hands recently, you and your colleagues decided the time was right to launch a new service. Not just a small upgrade to what you’re already doing… but something entirely new. That’s terrific news.

Probably.