Many media representatives talk about how many potential customers they reach.  But reach is only the beginning.  Here’s why.  Imagine a messenger sent into battle to deliver a critical message to the commander on the field.  He reaches the person in charge, but says nothing.  Mission accomplished?  Not at all.  Reach matters, but the message…

If your customers see you or your company as a “vendor,” it may be time to re-think your brand – or your customers.  Become a vendor, and price becomes the primary driver in every sales situation.  Sure, quality and reliability will have an impact, but vendor relationships are built on price.  The problem with being…

“He who does not gather with me, scatters.”  (Matt. 12:30)  One of the great dangers of this economy is that it tempts us to believe we can operate in neutral for a time – that we can coast with no real negative consequence.  If you were operating in a vacuum, that might be true.  But…

On a recent episode of Mad Men, the AMC series set in a 1960s ad agency, a copywriter finds inspiration for a campaign in the middle of the night.  Drinking to his own success, he drifts off, and when he’s awakened the next morning, the idea has slipped back into the ether.  Every business needs…

It’s amazing how many business-to-business sales appeals simply present what’s available, then ask if there’s interest.  No offer of true benefit to the prospect.  No solution to the prospect’s problem.  No value added over similar products or services.  Just, “Here it is – want it?”  Worse yet is a sales pitch that focuses on what…

When was the last time you gave customers a nice surprise?  Not a big surprise, or an expensive surprise.  Just a pleasant one.  There are an infinite number of ways to do this, and not one of those choices will be unappreciated by your customers.  Say there’s a new restaurant in town.  Invite them to…

A broad new study shows that the number of internet users clicking on ads has fallen off a cliff.  As of March of this year, only 16% of those online were clicking on ads.  Even more noteworthy, 85% of all ad clicks came from a tiny 8% of those online.  This has a lot of…

It’s easy to get so caught up in new business development, especially when times are tight, that you forget to love the ones you’re with.  Think about it:  if you’re working harder to woo new clients right now, competitors are working harder to woo your existing clients away from you.  So while you work at…

If there’s one problem that stumps most small businesses, it’s how to clearly communicate what makes them different from their competitors.  Here’s one way.  If you treat clients better than anyone else, start treating prospects as if they were clients.  If you send out special invitations to clients, send them to your best prospects as…

Of all the tactics you can employ to make your marketing work harder, probably none has more potential to boost your sales than genuine empathy – being able to put yourself in someone else’s position.  When your sales pitch, your marketing message or the flow of your website demonstrates a real understanding of the prospect’s…