Sales & Marketing

It Starts with Lead Generation

You cannot grow revenue and earn high profits without first becoming great at lead generation. If you aspire to be in the business fast lane, lead generation is your fuel.

What’s the key to lead generation? Every business is unique, so it’s a question you must find the answer to yourself. It’s a challenging task, to be sure, but it’s imperative. For some, a key component is the physical location. The signage and “look” that get the right prospects in the door. For almost all types of businesses, it’s about figuring out which types of campaigns are most effective.

Avoid These Common Website Mistakes

Your “net” has holes in it. It’s a shame. You fish all day. Your catch could be so much greater.
Business today can seem complex, but it’s mainly just different. Heck, it’s even easier in some respects. Learn the rules and how to play the game, and you can find success.

Get Your Story Told!

Every business must create awareness. How else do you get your phone to ring? But doing so is tough. Advertising is E-X-P-E-N-S-I-V-E. Free publicity is the ticket, of course, but how do you get it? Sure, you can hire a PR firm to work its magic, but that’s expensive, too, and results are not guaranteed. How can a business get press coverage without hiring a PR firm?

The Fundamentals of Website Marketing

The fundamentals of football are blocking and tackling. It’s silly for a team to work on other things before it has the blocking and tackling down cold.

The fundamentals of website marketing are architecture, content and incoming links. Spending time or money on anything else is a waste unless and until you do the following.

Consistent Advertising Is Essential, Smart Strategy During a Recession

When sales drop and the economy tanks many business owners automatically cut advertising and marketing expenditures. It’s not necessary, they say. But wait, did you know companies that maintain or increase their advertising budget during recessions averaged significantly higher revenue growth – both during and after the recession – than those businesses that did otherwise? Research from the last 80 years confirms it. Never allow a gap in your marketing efforts. The name of the game is consistent, continuous advertising. You’ll be glad you did.

What Does Your “Phone Door” Look Like?

"People enter your business through two doors," says Brett Bond, owner of Sound Advice. "Your front door and your phone door." The impression at each must be your very best. Today, for many businesses, more people pass through the "phone door" than the "front door."

10 Big Bad Ugly Mistakes in Direct Mail

I've made a ton of mistakes in my long career as a copywriter and direct mail consultant. I still do. But don't tell anyone! You may not be a copywriter. In fact, I'll bet you're not. But you may need to write your own sales letters sometime,unless you can afford to hire me to do them for you! So I've prepared a list to help you avoid the mistakes I've made.

How to Be a Great Radio Guest

10 strategies to being a good radio guest.

The Value of Customer Complaints

Every business loses customers. And the tendency may be, especially for the small businessperson, to shy away from communicating with customers who walk away. But consider what a treasure chest of information lost customers hold.

Survey Customers Without Invading Their Privacy

For many businesses, engaging in customer research can mean walking a fine line between gathering vital information for you and intruding on the customer's privacy. It's a tough nut. You need to know who your customers really are and the reasons behind their buying decisions. But crossing the line to find out too much can be downright perilous.