One week ago today (as I write this), I visited the 9/11 Memorial in New York City. To say I was moved would be an understatement. As evidence I'm choked up again after typing a single sentence. Later that same evening, my wife and I grabbed dinner while sitting at a bar in the city of my mother's … [Read more...]
Business lessons learned from a life on the road
Traveling frequently for business (or pleasure) can tax one's patience and often leave you exhausted. This, however, will not be a blog post about my favorite travel tips. Instead let's talk about what I've learned based upon how I've been treated by the various brands I interact with when I do … [Read more...]
Burn it down
One of my favorite musical groups recently released a new single "Burn It Down" (that link will take you to the video on YouTube) that reminded me of a process I go through periodically with my various businesses. Ask yourself this question, what would this business, relationship or situation look … [Read more...]
How to not sell like a sketchy company
Over the weekend, I had a conversation with my Twitter friend Ashley Lauren Perez about the aggressive telemarketing techniques of a service brand I respect and to which I subscribe. Ashley had recently canceled her subscription to the brand in question for reasons unrelated to the quality of the … [Read more...]
How a hobby makes you a better businessperson
Let's begin by defining what a hobby is; and it's going to get tricky right off the bat. Some people consider exercise to be their hobby; but it's not mine. I exercise because I know I have to in order to stay healthy and able to live the life I desire. It's just part of my routine. My hobby - and … [Read more...]
Sales and marketing balance
Finding a balance between the sales and marketing activities of your business can be tricky since many people mistakenly think they are the same thing. Last month, I touched on this topic in The Sales Cycle, which was written after spending six months aggressively marketing my business interests. … [Read more...]
Finding your customers online
In last Monday's post, I said I'd offer up some tips for finding your customers online. Following are three broad suggestions to get you started in your quest to find your customers online. Since the tools each network provides change often, I'll focus less on the how-to and more on why these … [Read more...]
Selling and social networks
There are those who will continue to tell you that social networks are a waste of time when it comes to sales and marketing. I'm not one of those people. The tricky part for many in the sales and marketing profession is understanding that social media is simply a communication tool not … [Read more...]
How creativity can be your balance point to achieve success
Do you possess a healthy desire to succeed? Combined with an entrepreneurial spirit, it can be tricky to balance new ideas for the future with the work that needs to be done in the here and now. Let's get started with a definition of balance. "mental steadiness or emotional stability; habit of calm … [Read more...]
The sales cycle
How does your sales cycle begin? Do you reach out to find clients with traditional marketing methods like direct mail and cold calling on the phone? Or have you built a content marketing engine that brings the leads to you? Either way, that's only one step in the sales cycle and once you've … [Read more...]