3 key business skills, part 2: Marketing

It is also essential to let the world know about your business. Your marketing should do more than just announce your presence. It should “attract” customers.  It’s about finding your market and being there, building strong and long-lasting relationships.  Take your marketing in 3 stages.  They need to know they need you Start by making…

Read More

The 5 best ways to alienate your clients

Learn from your mistakes, examine your failures, and begin with your blunders.  We all know the importance of doing things incorrectly, as a way to learn to do them correctly. Thomas Edison is credited with saying: “I didn’t fail. I just found 2,000 ways not to make a lightbulb”.  Let’s embrace the value of finding…

Read More

Three things you don’t do, but keep talking about

There are good ways to talk about your business, and there are bad ways to talk about your business.  The good ways make people understand what you do and want to work with you.  The bad ways leave people confused, uninformed, or bored.  The following are three bad ways to talk about your business: while…

Read More

Do your employees understand what you are saying?

Businesses spend time and resources learning how to speak to clients.  You do this through your copywriters, website designers, and messaging experts, all to make sure that your message is truly connecting.  Now look inward: are you also connecting with your employees? Are they hearing the things you truly want them to hear? The good…

Read More

Why your clients will choose you again next time

Your clients have options.  They don’t have to buy from you. They don’t have to choose you. They don’t have to call you.  There are plenty of other people and businesses that will gladly take their calls.  What can you do to make sure you are their first phone call time after time after time…

Read More

The three pillars of a sustainable business

When you search for images of an ancient Greek temple, most of what you see will have at least a foundation and columns remaining.  This image springs to mind when I think of a sustainable business.  The foundation is the mission.  The columns are the business pillars of happy employees, loyal clients, and business goals. …

Read More

This one is all about you

Let’s talk about you.  “Best of the year” lists can sometimes seem a little self-indulgent. But really: when I am looking at the content you consumed the most this year, it is telling me something about you: what you are interested in, and what you are working on in your business.  So let’s get down…

Read More

Don’t tell me: show me

Raise your hand if you do not sell a quality service.  Hmm, it doesn’t look like anybody is participating. I suppose everybody here does offer a high-quality service.  And that’s exactly the problem.  If it is true for everybody, then it means nothing to anybody.  There is no such thing as quality Because if it…

Read More

Contact forms: a story in three parts

“Contact us” “Click here to connect with us” “Request a demo” “Schedule a call” And all the other calls to action that we put on our websites.  That might be where the website journey ends for our visitors.  But it is only the beginning of our story together.  Lead generation is more than a click…

Read More

It’s easy to find out what your clients value

Value is a highly subjective attribute.  It is about significance, worth, and usefulness. And each person makes these determinations in their way.  When you are writing your value proposition, and are deciding what your clients want to accomplish, don’t forget to consider their personal needs.  Personal Value When I train clients on writing their value…

Read More