The Harvard Business Review ran an excellent article by marketing researchers Matthew Dixon and Ted McKenna about, what they believe is the #1 impediment to closing sales—and it’s not getting past the prospect’s status quo—which is what most sales people tend to think. Rather it’s the prospect’s indecision. In the article, they make a strong case, which goes something like this: · Research by the authors and others shows that indecision has a more powerful grip on the

A half hour meeting that accomplishes exactly what you need is feasible. But it requires smart (not time-consuming) planning; discipline during the meeting (yes, you’ll have to be the heavy sometimes); and a laser focus on achieving results (getting what you need in 30 minutes). Ideally, after the meeting people should be saying two things: Wow, that meeting was rigid. I can’t believe we got all that done in a half hour. The information that follows applies to the most comm

Making small changes significantly reduces the odds of failing. Success expert John Maxwell says there are 6 basic reasons that people fail to achieve what they set out to do. These 6 reasons also apply to business failures in general. Business failure in this context doesn’t mean the end of the business, rather it means failure to complete initiatives and achieve specific goals. These 6 reasons cover almost everything and are about as simple as it gets. Caveat: These are

These tips are written for the benefit of both the journalist and you because the bottom line is that you are each dependent on the other for a successful outcome. You provide the best ingredients and the journalist makes the culinary masterpiece. You and the journalist are not adversaries. This article assumes a phone interview, since that’s the norm. Most journalists no longer interview sources in person unless there is some compelling reason (much of what follows also app

Most organizations are trying to take advantage of the opportunities for positive change in this REALLY unique business environment. It’s not always easy to get everyone onboard, though. Following is some advice for making change as easy as possible for everyone. Most people don’t like change. In fact, most people would rather die than change. Consider this - among post-heart surgery patients who were told that they needed to adopt a healthier lifestyle (exercise and a bett

Many people don’t want to deal with analytics, marketers for small businesses in particular. There are a couple reasons for this: 1. They only run metrics when asked--once a quarter or even once a year. This creates a situation where the damage has been done and the campaign is beyond repair. ​2. They don't know what to do when the metrics aren't good. Running metrics regularly is a great idea, unless you don't know how to turn negative metrics around quickly. Knowing how

Some people will tell you that differentiation is only for rapidly growing sectors. That’s not true. The fact is, you can bring a new product to market profitably in any of the five following industry types: Emerging industries Maturing industries Stagnant or declining industries Fragmented industries Leader - dominated industries And here are some strategy ideas for each industry type . Emerging Industries – they spring up quickly, attracting attention and investmen

Smaller companies usually try to get by with no marketing employee or a 1–2-person marketing team. It works out OK, but many activities necessary to support sales and growth end up falling through the cracks. Here are some common ones: 1. Content Distribution & Repurposing: Even the smallest companies, usually have someone on staff that can write well enough to get by. But it’s not enough to write (even compelling content) if no one sees it. Companies sometimes forget to m

The fact is, there is a co-marketing opportunity available for most marketing campaigns. Consider how you can optimize your partner site pages, build co-op marketing and advertising strategies, and enhance channel partner sales enablement. Partner Content Optimization Your page on a channel partner’s website can be as valuable or more valuable than the homepage on your website. This is especially true if your channel partner has significantly more visibility and name recogni