Consensus Decision-Making Can Be Overcome

compressed selling time

When Does Compressed Selling Time Matter?

commoditization

How Can You Combat Commoditization?

The Often Overlooked But Critical Difference Between B2C And B2B Branding

There are a lot of branding agencies out there doing brilliant work when it comes to building websites, creating fonts, designing logos, and organizing brand platforms for Business to Consumer (B2C) environments. Many agencies are applying the same expertise and proven approach in Business to Business (B2B) environments. The problem is, in the B2B world, […]

Three Problems With Relationship-Based Business Development

If you talk to enough architects, you’ll quickly realize there’s a belief in the A/E/C world that relationships are the name of the game. Not that long ago, one respected marketing and business development consultant told me that 80% of new commissions come through relationships. I don’t want to discount relationships. They’re important to us […]

A Year in Review: Great year. Did we set ourselves up for failure?

What a year! Congratulations to everyone in a professional services firm that just finished their best year ever. I count myself as blessed because so many of you, so many leaders of firms (whether accountants, or architects, or attorneys, or contractors, or engineers) shared feedback about your firm’s successes and struggles and what you see […]

Finding the Role of SEM in Your Business

The question is often asked by any size of business: “Where should I put my marketing dollars?” At least one of the answers should be SEM. SEM (Search Engine Marketing) in 2019 is almost a default effort that every business needs to employ to be successful in the digital space. That is not to say […]

Take Advantage of the Holidays With Shopping Campaigns

The golden era of Black Friday shopping and sales has passed. Over the past few years, the Black Friday mega sales that have been a staple of brick and mortar businesses for years have dropped precipitously, being replaced by online sales, Cyber Monday, and more and more businesses trying to get a competitive edge in […]

The Top Three Reasons Your Sales Team Struggles to Close Deals

It’s no secret it’s harder than ever to stand out and differentiate from your competition. Today’s sales teams are facing three major obstacles in their path to closing more deals, and ultimately revenue growth. #1 Compressed Selling TimeCompressed Selling Time Technology has enabled people to glean more education and insights without the assistance or guidance […]

Craft Breweries Are Owning Their Why

It’s Octoberfest in Michigan, which happens to have more craft breweries than 46 of the 50 States. You can’t throw a stone here without hitting a brewery. And it’s rare to see anyone picking up a Bud these days. While overall beer consumption has been reported as down, the craft beer industry is booming. It […]

How to Create a Sales Pitch That Closes More Deals

You’ve made it to the short list and now it’s time for the final presentation to a room full of decisions makers. But, the real decision-maker in the room is not a person. You’re really selling to a 3 pound organ called the human  brain. And as complex and amazing as it is, the process […]

blocks that spell agency

Should I Hire an Agency?

Cost Savings Team of Experts Tools and Technologies Industry Experience External Ideas/Opinions Time and Effort 6 Reasons You Should Hire A Marketing Agency You’ve all heard it before, especially those business owners out there. You need to invest in digital marketing, or traditional marketing, or whatever marketing is trending right now. In order for you […]

Google Medic Update

Around August 1, 2018, Google rolled out what it has been calling one of its many core algorithm updates. Initially title the “Medic” update, many SEOs and industry professionals were noting that many healthcare and health-related websites were the most affected by the update. However, looking at some of the indicators and trends, it looks […]

drone, drone technology, age of accelerations, industry, business

Drone Technology – A Sign of the Times

Yes, this photo is real. This sign was posted on a telephone pole that is typically reserved for garage sales and missing pets. But, a missing drone. That’s a new one. I chuckled, and I wondered if this person would actually get their drone back…or if the drone is sitting crushed into pieces in the […]

How to Use Technology and Trust to Prove Your Convincing Advantages

We, as a society don’t trust. According to The General Social Survey, since the 1970s, our trust in other’s has dropped by almost 20%. And it’s not just people we don’t trust. Only 12% of Americans trust the press, only 14% trust banks, and only 14% trust government officials. Heck, we don’t even trust those […]

What is Mobile-First Indexing and Why Should You Care?

Over the past few months, Google has begun to roll out an element of their search that has been a hot topic of discussion: mobile-first indexing. We know that mobile usage is having an effect on every business online, and we know that more users every day are picking up a phone or tablet to […]

Here’s a $250M Reason Your Credit Union Must “Own Your Why”

Is your credit union one of a hundred, or one in a million? Here’s a $250M reason your must Own Your Why. There is a broad effort by Amazon to enter the personal finance space, including person-to-person payments, paying with voice via Alexa enabled vehicles, and in-store payments via a checking account-like option. Amazon already processes […]

What’s the Only Question That Matters?

Everyone that’s considering a purchase – a B2B customer, a B2C consumer, it doesn’t matter – has a really simple question they want to be answered, and it boils down to some variation of: is it going to work? Very often, those being asked think they’re answering it. Sometimes, the one doing the asking thinks so, too. […]

Hey Google, can you tell me how voice search is killing my SEO?

Who would have thought a 6″x 4″ speaker would change your life? Whether it’s Google Home or Alexa – sidenote, at 70%, Alexa currently dominates the US speaker market – smart speakers are moving into homes and businesses at a rapid pace. According to research from NPR and Edison Research, 1 in 6 Americans owns […]

That Time When a Powerpoint Presentation Was the Best SEO Strategy

A while back, a prospect came to us looking for help. Their search traffic had all but disappeared. Leads from the website were halved, and the president of the company had suddenly become embroiled in the details of SEO. “We only got 13 links last month, and only posted 8 articles about our main keyword. […]

Top Three Reasons We Are Still Blogging in 2018

“There are millions of blog posts published daily, will ours even get read?” “Blogging is so 2010.” “What could we have to say that isn’t already out there.” Blogging isn’t new. It’s been around since the mid-1990s. We’re not about to present to you a marketing breakthrough or some magnificent new way to do things. […]

Three Must Haves For Your Convincing Advantages

Convincing advantages will help you stand out and position you to win. Note:  I recently wrote about messaging vs. convincing advantages (read it here) and launching your competitive advantages (read it here). Here are three must haves for your convincing advantages. Simple – must be easy to remember – easy to connect to real and […]

Kill Messaging. Launch Your Convincing Advantages.

Messaging doesn’t work any more in sales situations (read the earlier blog post here.) The Convincing Advantages approach works much better. With tens of thousands of competing messages hitting your prospects on a daily basis, it’s important that your communication is clear, convincing and focused solely on how you solve your prospect’s pain. (Because that’s […]

Messaging Vs. Convincing Advantages

There are too many instances of “messaging” hitting your prospects. Consider using the convincing advantages approach to stand out from the crowd. As you’re out competing to keep existing customers and gain new ones, the importance of messaging becomes evident very quickly. It’s purpose is to drive a clear and differentiating buying advantage for you […]

5 Critical Components of B2B Marketing

There are five critical components of B2B marketing— neuro-science based claims development and messaging, content, website traffic, a website, and, of course, conversion. These are ultimately the only five that really matter and yet the B2B marketing landscape is like a field of broken dreams. I originally wrote in the context of social media marketing […]

Do You Have A Stand-out Offer That Your Customers Can’t Resist? Or Are You Regularly Left Standing Out In The Cold, While They Wait To Make Their Minds Up?

Increased product and service offer commoditizationCommoditization Absence of any perceived value, making it so that price becomes the only determining factor. Whether there is real differentiation or not, if the prospect’s brain cannot or will not distinguish this differentiation, it doesn’t matter. and customer indecision are severely reducing the effectiveness of the sales operation, says […]

Identity Crisis. If They Don’t Know Who You Are, Maybe It’s Because YOU Don’t Know Either?

You can’t expect customers to come to your door if they’re uncertain who you are or what benefits you can bring them, argues Bryan Gray of Revenue Path Group. Lack of a Strong Message – AKA a unique, compelling and consistent value proposition – is one of the Five Great ThreatsThreats What the primitive brain will act on. Whether real or perceived, the brain prioritizes acting on threats above and beyond any other action. This hurts sellers who are unable to connect the real impact of their product/service to a prospect’s threats. to revenue growth through […]

“The Long Goodbye” AKA The Extended Sales Cycle

Extended sales cycles are NOT an indicator of positively developing relationships, argues Bryan Gray of Revenue Path Group. Quite the opposite. They are one of the Five Great ThreatsThreats What the primitive brain will act on. Whether real or perceived, the brain prioritizes acting on threats above and beyond any other action. This hurts sellers who are unable to connect the real impact of their product/service to a prospect’s threats. to revenue growth through effective selling. Don’t Let Yourself Get Sold on the Long Sales Cycle Let’s be honest. There can’t be many of us who […]

“Silent Super-Salesman”? Or “Turnoff Time Bomb”? Make YOUR Website Make (the right) Noise!

Stop thinking of your corporate website as a “thing”. Start looking at it as your lead sales person, says Bryan Gray of Revenue Path Group. Is this a person you like? Or even respect? Are they effective or just also-rans? Keeping a website on the team that can’t do the job is one of the […]

Is Your Sales Pipeline A True Business Lifeline? Or Does It Risk Going Flatline?

Even a regular flow of orders is NOT the same as a true pipeline, argues Bryan Gray of Revenue Path Group. A pipeline that in reality is only at best a dotted line – with serious underlying business health issues – is one of the Five Great ThreatsThreats What the primitive brain will act on. Whether real or perceived, the brain prioritizes acting on threats above and beyond any other action. This hurts sellers who are unable to connect the real impact of their product/service to a prospect’s threats. to revenue growth through effective selling. Don’t […]

Five Great Threats to Revenue Growth Today

Have you read this blog post? Seven Great Reasons To Do Three Things You Never Thought Of To Achieve One Guaranteed Result: NOTHING! Blogging lists suck hard, usually being no more than a way to peddle a tool, technique or service. But there are key themes worth thinking about if you want your business to succeed. […]