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May31
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Fourth in a series:
The Seth Godin interview rolls on, as the best selling author and self-described "agent of change" gives LandingTheDeal some quick thoughts on the future of sales and marketing.
So, what about blogging? How will blogging affect businesses around the nation (and around the world) over the coming years? Seth's answer was short and to the point:
"I think the blogging rewards those that tell an authentic story over time, and ruthlessly punishes those that lie or commit fraud."
Two key phrases in Seth's answer to my question bear some attention:
First, "over time". That means that sales professionals who start writing a blog expecting an overnight change in sales results have a rude awakening in store for them. Blogging is all about developing a trust and relationship ("permission") to talk further with your prospects, and eventually (maybe) earn the right to do business with them.
Secondly, note Seth's observation on what happens to businesses who try to commit fraud and lie about their business practices. Blogs, in many cases, are the great equalizers.
Great observations, Seth, on the impact that blogging is having on the world of business.
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May31
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Third in a series: OK, let's try to make best selling marketing guru Seth Godin squirm a little. Actually, it's not that hard...just make Seth talk about cold calling and telemarketing for a few minutes. If you read his answers...
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Second in a series: We're off and running with our one-on-one conversation with Seth Godin. The next question we posed to Seth can be traced back to the game we all played as kids - Simon Says. When it...
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First in a series: We're off to a fantastic start to our week of expert interviews here at LandingTheDeal.com! In case you missed it earlier in the week, we had a great conversation with best selling sales author Jeffrey...
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The thing that is helping me gererate a lot of "buzz", close more sales more quickly, and is just plain cool? Video e-mail. Check it out...I'm a huge cheerleader for this technology, simply because it has done so much more...
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Final in our ten part series on buzz marketing, and our interview with Buzzoodle's Ron McDaniel: First, a big thank you to Ron McDaniel for participating in Know More Media's "King for a Week" interview series. I really appreciate his...
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Ninth in a series: Ron has built a bunch of successful businesses. Like me, he is what they term a "seriel entrepreneur" (it's a recognized condition...Ron and I will be forming a therapy support group soon, I'm sure). But we...
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Eighth in a series: We're getting towards the end of our ongoing interview with Ron McDaniel from the buzz marketing firm, Buzzoodle. We wanted to know if creating "buzz" during a cold call is even possible. Lots of sales...
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Seventh in a series: So, Ron, what was your worst sales and marketing blunder ever in your entrepreneurial efforts? "Hiring a sales person without setting very clear expectations was one mistake that was costly. Talking after the sale is...
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Sixth in a series: In our ongoing talk with buzz marketing expert Ron McDaniel, founder of the firm with a great name - Buzzoodle - we move on to the subject of how Ron sells his company in his local market...
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Fifth in a series: First, a quick reminder that we just completed a great one-on-one interview series with best selling sales author Jeffrey Gitomer. If you missed them, you can view the first interview post here. OK, back to buzz...
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Fourth in a series: Buzz marketing is on the cutting edge of marketing philosophy when it comes to getting your customer's attention. Kind of like blogs...they're the cutting edge way to sell your product or service, and let your customers...
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May30
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Third in a series: Ron McDaniel is a buzz marketing expert, and is offering some great insights in our one-on-one interview with LandingTheDeal. We move on to the mistakes sales people make when it comes to not incorporating any kind...
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Second in a series: Ron McDaniel at Buzzoodle is talking "buzz marketing" with LandingTheDeal, and how it can impact your sales and marketing efforts. Why is "buzz marketing" so darn effective? Let's ask Ron... Why does "buzz" marketing and selling...
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First in a series: On the heels of our wildly popular interviews with best selling author Jeffrey Gitomer, we move on to a concept that's gained widespread popularity in the sales and marketing world: "Buzz marketing". One of our favorite...
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May29
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We take a short break from our big "interview week" here on KMM and LandingTheDeal and check in with Seth Godin who has a great post on being in sync with your market. How could you open 10 minutes earlier...
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Final in a series: First, our thanks go out to Jeffrey Gitomer and his staff. They honored our request for a quick interview in the middle of their hectic week, and we truly appreciate it. Second, if you want to...
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Fifth in a series: Our interview with sales guru Jeffrey Gitomer wraps-up with a question about dealing with angry customers. Jeffrey does a great job of address this topic, and other topics about customer relationships, in his best-selling business book,...
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Fourth in a series: We shift gears with best-selling author and sales trainer, Jeffrey Gitomer, and get him to talk about a recent topic of discussion here at LandingTheDeal: When is the right time to "fire" a customer who...
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Third in a series: Jeffrey Gitomer is doing exactly what he dreamed of doing: Authoring books, doing seminars, and generally making a name for himself as the foremost sales expert of our time. But what if he had to do...
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Second in a series: Our interview with sales author Jeffrey Gitomer continues with the subject of voicemail. He talks about using voicemail to set up a meeting (read my previous post for the first part of his answer). "If...
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First in a series: Jeffrey Gitomer is, in this author's opinion, the best sales author and trainer in the world. I love reading his books, and I've paid close to $100 several times to hear him train via conference calls. ...
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May28
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This week, May 29th through June 4th, is "King for a Week" on all the blogs here at Know More Media. It's a week where we interview experts in our field - in this blog's case, sales and marketing. You...
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May27
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Ron over at Buzzoodle has a link to an interesting - no, fascinating - study of word of mouth (WOM) advertising. You can link directly to the PDF report, produced by BoldMouth, by clicking here. You should save it,...
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Marshall over at WebMetricsGuru here on KMM has a cool post about Microsoft's Ad Demographic demo tool. Take a look here. Now, step back and think about the online possibilities for sales and marketing folks. To me, it seems...
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May26
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When you connect, its going, going, GONE! Barry Bonds has made a nice little name for himself doing that (the whole steroid thing not withstanding...). CustomerEvalgelists talks about Intuit's award for their employee who "swings for the fences" in...
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It's so strange that Seth Godin blogs about an incorrect use of an apostrophe in a recent post. It bugged him, and it bugs me also. If I see an incorrect use of the English language in a resume...
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I'm a huge believer in permission marketing as taught by Seth Godin, and in author Jeffrey Gitomer's strategy of giving away your expertise before expecting people to become customers. Both strategies have helped me build successful businesses. But... Seth brings...
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When I was a sales manager, one of the toughest parts of the job was finding, interviewing and hiring the right new sales representatives. Talk about pressure! Hire the wrong person, and you may have just put your own...
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May24
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Politically, some accuse me of being slightly to the right of Attilah the Hun. But I'm a big enough person to poke fun at the party I belong to, especially when I can parlay that into an interesting post here...
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Ron from Buzzoodle makes a good observation, and throws out a valid warning, on my post "Firing Your Customer": I agree with you Dan, but do not do it lightly. We have had 3 customers I would say were difficult. ...
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May23
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I used to hate long lay-overs at the airport. HATED IT. Now, its one of the only times I get to browse shops and buy books that I've been meaning to read for months and months. I think airports, in...
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If you're in sales, let me ask you: Have you ever done this? Firing your customer. Admit it, the thought is appealing, isn't it? Sales professionals all have customers that they wish they could fire (or wish they had...
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May22
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Looking to "reinvent" yourself, your product or your service? It starts with you, as Seth Godin points out in his post today. Nothing magic about what Pete did, according to Seth. Good guy, trusted by the locals, hired nice...
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My thanks to Seth Godin today for reminding us all in the value of sticking with something. Applying this concept to your sales career or business venture can mean the difference between success and failure. Sales careers that don't...
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May21
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Did you know that car dealerships used to sell cars door to door? There was an actual car salesman that would knock on your door, and try and sell you a car. True stuff. It really happened...50 years ago....
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When I was in day-to-day outside sales, I always hated going out on sales calls with my manager. I also didn't like taking the new guy out on sales calls with me. And, when I was the new guy, I...
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May20
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Want to meet one of the most skeptical, cautious, assume-the-worst-in-people individuals in the world? Walk into any small business, and shake hands with the owner. They've been lied to. Cheated. Tricked. Ripped-off. You name it, they've seen it. For...
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First, lets start with your business and how you sell it. More than likely, you're doing it with brochures, radio and TV advertising, sales reps or direct mail. All very expensive. And, as you may have found out in...
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Huh? Lionel Richie, the pop star. Baghdad, capitol of Iraq. Believe it or not, the two go together perfectly. At least judging by the musical taste of Iraqis. The story of Baghdad's obsession with Richie is reported this weekend, although...
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In response to my original post on not overlooking a prospect because you think they're building is beautiful, they're too new, etc., Sean Woodruff replies with this valuable story from his sales career. 10 years ago, as a sales manager...
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One thing you have to remember when you are out selling to a small business owner is that he or she has limited time available to speak with you, and that they are always on the run. That doesn't mean...
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May19
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Seth Godin reveals a "spam" e-mail he received recently. Trouble is, I don't think Seth got this one right. It's not spam. Is Seth secretly developing a side business of Ostrich farming? No. But, enter in "seth godin ostrich...
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May18
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OK, maybe you should skip this building the next time you're making sales calls... But, sales professionals who judge the value of a prospect by the part of the city they do business in, the look of the building...
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I must have a target on my back. What a week with telemarketers! This call was pretty short, due in large part to the unbelievably audacious approach that the rep took with me when I answered the phone. In short,...
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Seth Godin speaks of flexibility in whatever you build. His basic point is that its better to build in (and plan for) change into whatever you are planning. Your business, your project...and your sales career. Here's the thing about...
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The guys over at SalesTeamTools have two great posts on setting appointments that is very much worth the read. Part one is here. Their follow-up is over there. One of the most difficult parts of selling is getting in...
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In my never-ending quest for pathetic but true sales and marketing stories for all of you, I had the chance to field a cold call from a "technology" outfit who wanted me to do business with them. Since setting...
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Citibank and their Citi card has an interesting TV promo. What are they advertising? When you call their toll free number as a customer, you get to talk to a real live person. Isn't that amazing? "Big" had become so...
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May17
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Stan DeVaughn at BrandingPost does us all a favor with a witty, insightful "commencement speech" for sales and marketing types like us. Since it's that time of year, take a few minutes and listen to Stan set us all off...
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Ask.com is one of about a zillion companies taking aim at Google and trying to chip away at some of their business. I still use Google, but I was impressed with a TV sales commercial featuring a father and genius...
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Forgive me for the little rant a moment ago in talking about Seth and Michael's observations about trade shows. But indulge me for a moment while I add a little bit of advice to the conversation when it comes to...
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Did I say junk? I meant crap. I'm talking about Seth Godin's second to last point in his post, courtesy of Michael Cader, on trade shows. There are some good question posed by Cader, but it was the point...
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May16
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Seth does an excellent job addressing this subject, and he hits the nail right on the head. The "excellence" brand is being put on everything from grocery stores to realtors to cars. Cars. A friend and I were commenting...
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May15
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Let me re-phrase that. "Paris Hilton as her own sales spokesperson???" A new video game for mobile phones was introduced late last week, featuring Paris Hilton. The problem was, she forgot the name of her own game while trying...
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It strikes me how ineffective President Bush and his administration have been in selling their plan and defending their policies as of late. Politics, just like every other aspect of life, requires effective sales skills. Right now, for whatever...
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What people are saying about your business directly affects your wallet (or, as one old sales manager referred to it, "Hip National Bank"). Actually getting good word of mouth...now there's the hard part. I present the evidence, courtesy of...
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Sales professionals would do well to observe what Seth and Church of the Customer have to say about "your 1%" of customers that you might want to focus on. 1% sounds like such a small, insignificant number, doesn't it? But...
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May14
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This guy was, trying to be unusually nice and creating an awkward situation in the process. But those types of situations aren't exclusive to restaurant help. You, the sales professional, can also be viewed as "creepy". Crossing professional and...
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Flying solo as an entreprenuer or sales professional? LoneWolfTracks has a great list of things to do if you're a small business owner looking to make an impact in your community and increase sales. But you know what? The...
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I should clarify: I don't know if U.S. Submarine is hiring, and I'm not sure what your working conditions would be if you were their submarine salesperson, but I do know for a fact that they are selling submarines...
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Finally! A subject that I can relate too! College sports marketing and sales (click here). Great post and analysis by Stan DeVaughn over at BrandingPost about the attempted reinvention of Stanford football. You know its never a good sign when...
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Remember what TV ads used to look like? They seem silly now. Well, we might look back at how TV ads used to be bought and think that the whole process was equally as silly. For example, what if...
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They total hundreds of thousands - if not millions - of dollars. And by God, they were glorious. I had the receptionist in the palm of my hand...I wowed the assistant to the assistant to the Vice President of...
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It's taken years - decades, even - but we've really finally done it. We've trained our customers to go into debt, over and over again, and buy "payment" vs. buying "price". Seth Godin uses the example of car buying: When...
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May12
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Nationwide Insurance is embarking on a unique selling campaign that is about as non-insurancy as you can get (yes, I just made up the word "insurancy"). It revolves around submitting pictures to their contest website, and having the chance to...
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Overheard over at Branding Post... One of the biggest mistakes is succumbing to the temptation to be everybody’s everything. A cult brand is, by definition, politically incorrect. The fact that they’re not for everybody means that, for somebody, they...
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I'm on a roll with customer service lessons today! Following my trip to the bank and their non-working-customer-service-phone-that's-really-a-direct-connection-with-the-local-police-department story, I placed a call to a major Las Vegas hotel inquiring about meeting space for an upcoming conference I'm putting together. The...
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First, if you need to read my previous post for this to make any sense (and even then, its a 50/50 proposition). So scroll down and read it quickly. Scrolling is lots of fun, and good exercise for your fingers....
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May11
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Went to my local Bank of America today to make a deposit. Its a smaller branch, so the special merchant's window is usually empty, which I like. As the teller does her thing, I glance to my right and...
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Is your customer about to switch to the competition? Getting that uneasy feeling when you leave a voicemail and it doesn't get returned? Your customer may be getting ready to ditch you and your company, and start doing business...
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May10
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I just posted a story over at TopLeadGenerators about a simple yet effective way someone in my town is getting sales leads. I am sending better e-mails to my prospects and customers in a much simpler, much more effective way. I...
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If I'm being honest, I've been "formal" and "snarky" more than a few times during my sales and marketing career. And Seth Godin's post got me asking myself "why"? Why is it that sales professionals feel compelled to change...
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May 9
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There's a short, but great, point made over at CallCenterScript regarding incoming phone calls from customers who have problems that need to be solved. Isn't it amazing at how much time, effort and money has been spent coming up with...
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According to Jeffrey Gitomer, a sales author and speaker I love, that's the minimum level of availability that sales professionals need to adhere to with their customers. Great article, which I recommend reading. Of his 6.5 tips on the subject, I like #1...
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May 8
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It's simple. They don't make sure ALL the parties are present when a proposal is made, and then when they ask for the sale. How many times have you heard, "Sounds great, let me just run this by so-and-so..."...
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What is it about food that completely changes the dynamics of a sales call? I'm becoming more and more of a believer in selling over lunch or breakfast. The results just seem to be a lot better. My thoughts...
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...you still have to make sure you cover the basics during the sales call. Minor stuff, really. Like making sure I can even use the service! I handle franchising for a unique mobile billboard company (if you're looking for a...
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May 6
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I often check to see how readers find my blog, which we're able to do as a Know More Media author. Someone landed on my blog after doing a Google search. What did they type in as their search term? ...
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If you're a sales professional, here's a good lesson in how far a little extra consideration will take you when it comes to making a big impact with your customer. I had some documents printed and bound at Office...
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Selling something and then not providing OUTSTANDING, unique, Seth-worthy customer service is business suicide. Matthew Grant over at PurchaseRealm tells the story of a vendor that sold his company something, but then dropped out of sight...no way to get a...
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Get ready for a sales showdown between two online behemoths: Google and Microsoft. Microsoft is getting into the online ad business, hoping to rival Google's lucrative Google Ads monopoly. George Parker over at AdHurl here on KMM has some...
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May 5
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I like, and recommend, Sales Team Tools. They have some great tips for sales professionals. One of their recent posts got me thinking. It suggested that you change the way you act, work and think for 10 minutes out...
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I spent 30 minutes going over a proposal with someone today in my office. I was on the fence about buying what they were selling, but would have probably done it.... If... THEY JUST WOULD HAVE ASKED FOR THE SALE! ...
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A good selling lesson is available this weekend at the Kentucky Derby, courtesy of a $1,000 cocktail. The first 50 people willing to pay up may enjoy a $1,000 mint julep. What makes it worth the price? It will...
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May 4
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By pure chance, two minutes after I ranted about lame campaign ads in an effort to sell voters, I popped over to Buzzoodle and see that they just got done with a campaign project. And their side won! Congrats to...
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Political ads. Yes, its that time of year...at least here in California. We have a Governor's race going on. Two Democrats are vying for the chance to go up against Arnold in the November general election. Phil Angelides and Steve...
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May 3
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A marvelous question posed at Re:Focus. The answer to the question? Well, we probably already know it instinctively. How should sales professionals take this question? Well, first of all, don't whine about your company "not spending enough money advertising"...
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Is that term an oxymoron? It shouldn't be. Especially if you're in sales, where you are your company, your product and your brand. Your customers and prospects equate "you" with whatever it is you're selling. Seth Godin knocks this one...
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My thanks to Sean Woodruff for telling me about his dentist, Dr. Martin. He's come close to the kind of doctor's office that I was talking about in my earlier post. Click here to see a video (Real player required)...
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If you're a sales professional, and you're not getting any respect from a customer, you have two choices: 1. Put up with them. 2. Walk away from them. This is an answer to a question I got from a...
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This topic came to me yesterday, during a two hour visit to my wife's gynecologist (I was there with my wife who is pregnant...I don't usually go to see her gynocologist on my own...just wanted to clarify that). It struck...
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May 2
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This past weekend, I ranted about bad restaurant service and how it can instantly taint a restaurant with otherwise wonderful food and atmosphere. Don't you just hate bad service at a restaurant? The folks at WaiterBell.com don't. They wouldn't...
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I never pass up an opportunity to watch David Blaine perform his unique brand of street magic. Now, Blaine is spending several days underwater - ending the stunt by attempting to hold his breath for nine minutes. He's insane....
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I give Chevy credit. They've scored big with their OnStar product on their fleet of Chevy and GM cars. It answers a fundamental fear that all of us have when we're driving: What if something happens? What if I'm...
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May 1
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Got a call late this afternoon from someone (can't remember her name) from a company (the name escapes me) who wanted me to consider having our franchisees use their print and mailing services. What struck me about this particular...
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Seth Godin says video is the next big thing in marketing and sales. I agree. If you're a sales pro, act like one and start being different in how you present yourself to your customers and prospects....
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The sales person cares about making sure the form gets to where it needs to go. Attaching a commission to a solved problem would probably do the trick. The sales person at the cell phone store is capable of...
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Went to the optomitrist today. It was the first time back to get my eyes examined since I was 9, so I figured it was something to do every 30 years or so. Some quick observations from the visit,...
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Sales professionals should do it more often. But, most are scared out of their pants at the very thought. For some reason, when people begin a sales career, you lose your nerve to do the things that really make sense. ...
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