How do you accomplish anything worthwhile? Simple: commitment, perseverance… and a consistent routine. Routine: doing the right things the same way every time until they become habitual and streamlined. But what eats up a salesperson’s time and energy, getting in the way of productivity and killing sales? Doing the WRONG things over and over and […]
Referrals. Word-of Mouth-advertising. This is the foundation that every successful business is built upon. And it’s never been more vital than now. After all, social media is just the latest rendition of referral marketing. If you can do just two things – 1) get consistent referral sales and 2) manage your overhead and costs effectively […]
If you knew every dollar you spent on marketing would ultimately return you $1.25, then you’d happily invest until you reached your sales or production capacity. The problem is that most companies don’t measure the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns, and so continually bemoan every dollar spent as a “necessary evil” — a cost. There […]
Customer Relationship Management systems (CRM) are nothing new; they predate the Internet and computers, going all the way back to handwritten ledgers (remember Rolodex?) But today, CRM systems are being touted as the end-all to increasing sales. The fact is, they aren’t. Don’t get me wrong, you absolutely must have a CRM system to compete […]
“Because the purpose of business is to create a customer, the business enterprise has two — and only two — basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs. Marketing is the distinguishing, unique function of the business.” — Peter Drucker Marketing, which is the act of attracting and […]
This morning I helped another retailer install and implement an automated CRM system. They did so begrudgingly; with the thought right up until we turned it on that what they had been doing was working “just fine”. Whether you realize it or not, your business is made up of a series of processes — things […]