Differentiating Your Company’s IT Services Menu
It seems every week we talk to just another IT services shop trying to kick-start their marketing and sales process. We sit down with the founder and ask the same question: “so how are you different from all the other firms out there?” When we ask that question, we get the same answer: we have [...]
Scripted corporate social media and social media gurus are starting to bug me
Back in April, Sir Martin Sorrell, head of WPP, the world’s largest marketing and communications group, voiced doubts about corporations using social networks…“…social media sites are less commercial phenomena, they are more personal phenomena, more similar to writing letters to our mothers than watching television. Invading these media with commercial messages might not be the [...]
A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week
General George S. Patton said it best, “A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.” Paul McCord’s new book “Bust Your Slump” takes General Patton’s advice and applies it to getting your sales back on track fast. His ideas aren’t new but this call to action makes huge [...]
Marketing and sales freaks unite
The Grateful Dead were light years ahead of the concept of lead nurturing. In one of their early albums, they inserted the following message: “DEAD FREAKS UNITE. Who are you? Where are you? How are you? Send us your name and address and we’ll keep you informed.” The street address of the band’s office in [...]
Marketing and Sales freaks unite
The Grateful Dead were light years ahead of the concept of lead nurturing. In one of their early albums, they inserted the following message: “DEAD FREAKS UNITE. Who are you? Where are you? How are you? Send us your name and address and we’ll keep you informed.” The street address of the band’s office in San Rafael, [...]
Using Social Media to Enhance Your Sales Effort
The great minds at the CMO Council published a nice piece on the role of social media in the sales effort. It is a worthwhile read. This article quotes the Aberdeen Group – one of their latest research reports, called Sales 2.0 — Social Media for Knowledge Management and Sales Collaboration, discusses how social media [...]
Does anyone know this joke?
A pig and a chicken are walking down a road. The Chicken looks at the pig and says “Hey, why don’t we open a restaurant?” The pig looks back at the chicken and says “Good idea, what do you want to call it?” The chicken thinks about it and says “Why don’t we call it [...]
Book review – Making the Number
After reviewing Making the Number, there are a number of points about sales benchmarking that apply to our own theories about marketing. The scoreboard for sales professional is and always has been the pay stub – this is the crudest form of sales benchmarking. For marketing, it has always been a bit stickier and [...]
Thinking about the agency model
What companies want most from their marketing agencies is more sales. Yet agencies are not set up to do this. In fact, clients aren’t set up for this either. Agencies earn their fees by trading time for dollars and some earn commissions on media spend or printing. Marketing departments manage their vendors as cost [...]
The sales funnel is flawed
http://www.bnet.com/2422-13723_23-201008.html?tag=nl.e808 Mark Sellers, author of “The Funnel Principle,” explains how the traditional sales funnel is flawed and should be flipped on its head as the Buyer’s Funnel. Starting with problem recognition (and an economic cost to the problem) and a commitment to doing something about the problem. Everything in the funnel requires a commitment by the customer. [...]
