Dec
29
In response to last week’s post about walking away from unqualified sales prospects, my dear friend and expert marketer Stuart Baum shared his three-step qualification criteria with me. It’s snappy, just like Stuart, and I think you’ll appreciate his perspective. Background Stuart is the founder and president of strategic marketing agency LargerPond Marketing and the [...]
Dec
28
If you’re like me and have both a smartphone and a Twitter account, chances are you’re tweeting on-the-go. Twitter recently reported that the number of users accessing the site from their mobile devices has grown more than 60 percent since mid-April. While more than three out of four people are still accessing the site online, [...]
Dec
16
“We’re qualifying out.” When I worked for a global software company some years ago, those three words would bring tears to my eyes. Three little words. We’re qualifying out. Devastating. Now that I run my own business, however, I’m learning the importance of qualifying out. As the head of North American marketing I managed a [...]
Dec
8
Parlay Communications is delighted to feature guest blogger Andy Donovan, President of Donovan Group, Inc. A couple of years ago I wrote a blog post about the importance of small businesses having a good public relations strategy. In the two plus years since writing the post, I have had many discussions with small business owners [...]
Nov
30
If you are a regular reader of this blog then you know a little something about my Sway Factor™ system for social networking. When I train business owners, sales teams or professional service “rainmakers” I spend a great deal of time on LinkedIn “profile optimization.” In short, optimizing your profile means taking advantage of every [...]
Nov
23
Social media has no doubt changed the marketing game, but it is in fact just a channel… a route to market, if you will. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, a social media strategy cannot fix bad marketing or fill the void if you have no content at all. For a humorous [...]
Nov
5
I work with a great number of people in professional services who earn their living by referral. Instead of mass marketing, direct mail or PR, these rainmakers rely on their network to generate leads. How do they do it? By owning their ellipsis… Do you know anybody who… How many times have you asked someone [...]
Nov
2
Don’t even ask. You know I can’t tell you, but yes, it’s true. I’ve been a secret shopper for nearly a year now. I have just one assignment each month, provide my feedback online and submit my expenses by email. How simple is that? Secret shoppers can be a powerful tool for small business owners. [...]
Oct
26
If you’re not a fan of the comic FoxTrot by Bill Amend, or in case you missed it, I just had to share: I caved to Shiny New Object Syndrome last week and bought the new iPhone 4. Hey it’s not a toy, it’s a productivity tool right? FoxTrot.com
Oct
22
The typical professional networking event goes something like this: You introduce yourself, exchange business cards, and spend a few minutes explaining your business, chatting about mutual connections, and in an ideal world, exploring ways to help each other. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. It’s time consuming and resource-draining but nothing replaces the value of face-to-face networking. The [...]