I’ve been writing about how to use targeted marketing to attract better clients and clone your best ones. One way to do this is by focusing on a vertical market. To recap, a vertical is simply a specific industry, like photographers. Yet there are different specialties in photography, from wedding photography, to food photography, and…
In my last article, I talked about how setting your sights on “small to medium-sized businesses” was casting your net too wide. That was the problem I faced when I took over our telemarketing department in 2007. I had tons of leads to call, so at the start of a canvass, my team would simply…
I belong to a couple of web-related groups on LinkedIn. While these are a great source for news and information, they are also notorious spam magnets. In the Web Development group, I commonly see postings from web companies offering their services. If you’re advertising (or spamming) your web services in a forum full of other…
In a recent article I wrote for SitePoint, I pointed out the tendency for consultative sales types, particularly web designers, to hide behind a proposal instead of directly asking for the sale … something of which I was equally guilty: But the fact of the matter is, I would do anything to avoid directly asking…
… advertisement is engraved on the memory by the expensive process of mere repetition. It may be a crude and an expensive method, but it seems to be effective. Over 100 years ago, Dr. Walter Dill Scott, pioneer in applied psychology, wrote that in his book, Psychology of Advertising in Theory and Practice. In today’s advertising vernacular, this…
The critical First Step in the sales process is being prepared. … there’s no excuse for not learning as much as you can about the company and their products, services, and customer base beforehand. The most ignorant question you can ask when the two of you first sit down is, “So what exactly is it…
Is the recession officially over? Most economists are saying that the recession ended somewhere between July and September of 2009. Maybe I missed something. Or maybe economists just make good money. How does that saying go…? “It’s a recession when your neighbor loses his job; it’s a depression when you lose yours.” Just in case…
What do you do when your prospect is ready to buy? There’s a logical progression that occurs in every sale, whether it’s a 20-minute cell phone sale or an IT consulting gig that takes 10 months to close. It only makes sense to document that process and use it to your advantage. Read more…
If you think a sales cycle is something you pedal to get to your next client meeting, think again. Having a step-by-step process will help you stay on track and keep control of the sales call. Sales are won and lost on transitions. It’s the number one reason you need a clearly-defined sales process. It…
Don’t be too quick to hop on your sales cycle and pedal over to meet with that “hot prospect.” Understanding the consumer buying process will save you time and energy. Determining exactly where people are in the buying cycle can save you a lot of frustration and grief. It makes no sense to dress yourself in the appropriate…