If you're able to just snap your fingers and make work appear on command, more power to you. If not, and you ever find yourself having to do some sales, what follows are some musings from a business development department about preparation, organization, getting and staying in touch, and keeping ... more

B2B events are incredibly efficient. Your clients and prospects gather there... in growing numbers. Plus, events like these blend face-to-face selling and broadcast-style marketing, giving you a shot at the best of both worlds. Provided you're smart. And, provided you can overcome the professionals' legendary reluctance to be, well, social. What ... more

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We all know about ADD—Attention Deficit Disorder. The larger problem, in terms of getting response to our communications, is TDD—Time Deficit Disorder. more

Simplicity is probably the most important underlying factor when it comes to the performance of any Web page... whether your homepage, an interior page, a sales page, or a landing page. Here are six ways to keep your pages simple and increase conversions. more

Connecting to the female consumer is not easy, because there is no single magical way to target women. They are a diverse group, and in many ways it is harder to reach them than their male counterparts. As a follow up to part one of this article, here are specific ideas ... more

This week: Many businesses have succeeded in selling products online in the form of e-books, e-reports and other downloadable content. Of course, it's not as simple as posting the product on your Web site and hoping buyers will come. The challenge comes in getting potential customers to your site in ... more

Do members of your company's executive team—along with your peers throughout the organization—see the connection between marketing and the cash flowing into your company's coffers? If not, they probably view you as merely a tactical tool (brochure writer, a trade-show participant, Web site "put-it-upper"), not a true strategic partner. And ... more

B2B marketers who are recognizing the limitations of today's email-marketing and Web-analytics applications for generating qualified sales leads are switching to lead-generation solutions to ensure a continuous stream of qualified leads. Keep these five points in mind to ensure that you make a purchase that meets the needs of your ... more

For many sales professionals, prospecting or qualifying is the least favorite aspect of their job. Often, in the rush to dig into a new account and make a new sale, only a cursory attempt is made at qualifying, and the salesperson ends up spending time with the wrong people. In this ... more

Referrals are one of the most effective ways to gain business. But what's the best vehicle....in-person conversations, email newsletters, blogs, articles? more

Do you remember a time when most restaurant meals were the sit down, full-service, dessert-included variety? Even if all you wanted was a cup of soup or a simple salad, you were offered the blue plate special with everything at one price. Then the culinary folks came up with small ... more

Generating quality leads is a growing challenge for many marketing professionals. More than ever before, legions of marketing materials are competing for the attention of prospects. How can you be sure to stand out from the crowd? more

Every time the tradeshow season rolls around, marketers ask themselves the same old question: how can I tap into the special sales markets without using last year's hats, bags, Frisbees, pens, and other boring gimmicks? The solution is so simple and effective—good old-fashioned books. more

Marketers assume that "Googling" for information is an automatic response the instant a Web surfer opens a browser. And for many Internet users, the theory is true. But for a number of reasons, and with increasing regularity, many people bypass search engines altogether in favor of a technique called direct navigation. ... more

A fundamental question in selling is not why people sell, but why people buy. People buy for their own reasons—not for the seller's. In fact, their motivation to buy may have very little to do with the reasons sellers think they should buy. When it comes down to it, people buy ... more

A customer reference program can have a significant impact on all customer-related functions in an enterprise. To maximize and demonstrate the strategic business benefits of a program, an effective RMS needs—at a minimum—the following capabilities.... more

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The elevator speech is that tightly scripted, 30-second introduction that should pack as much information about a person as possible in an engaging, persuasive, and interesting way, right? Unfortunately, even the "best" elevator speech can be an express trip to oblivion instead of a shining personal marketing moment. more

Your initial contact with a prospective customer leaves little margin for error. The first conversation is the most critical and least forgiving point of the entire sales process. Within the first 20 seconds you must simultaneously establish relevance and credibility—or you will be dismissed as just more marketing noise in ... more

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To design marketing plans that are effective in attracting and selling to more women, you have to know where you are today. In other words: To get the right answers, you must start with the correct questions. As your company focuses on developing appropriate strategies, here are some questions you ... more

For some organizations, there's no business like tradeshow business. But diversifying your marketing efforts leads to better results. So what are the alternatives to tradeshow marketing? more

Make no mistake: Online, your success in converting interest into acquisition depends on your ability to connect with prospects precisely where they are in the buying process. B2B and B2C buyers go through similar stages in that process as they consider their purchasing decision: needs assessment, requirements analysis, evaluation, purchasing. Using ... more

Traditional TV tends to deliver measurable advertising results only for true mass-market products—in part because you need about $15 million to begin even the smallest mainstream TV campaign. Cable TV, on the other hand, is a powerfully viable alternative, delivering much higher ROI on much lower budgets in a national campaign. ... more