At a networking event, you exchange business cards with another person. The business card includes an email address. No doubt, it's okay to contact the person by email. But what about including that name in bulk emails? Is that okay... or not? This week's reader collected emails but doesn't have permission ... more

In most of the US, the winter weather outside is frightful, but that's no reason for cold calls to feel the same way. Small business personnel typically do multiple jobs, and sometimes they get stuck doing something that's not comfortable, like cold calling. To address that marketing challenge, readers offer strategies ... more

Business marketers spend more than $20 billion annually on tradeshow marketing, and another $15 billion on proprietary corporate events, such as client conferences and road shows. But most business marketers are unclear about what value they are getting from their investment. The best value results from a combination of careful planning, ... more

When your company is well synchronized with market needs, prospects buy and money flows. Unfortunately, few companies can maintain a constant flow. Salespeople churn out demonstrations, samples and proposals. Marketing departments churn out newsletters, ad copy and brochures. But not enough prospects close. What makes the sales funnel flow faster? more

While a marketing webinar is the most common use of one-to-many Web collaboration services, it is by no means the only way of leveraging Web events. Webinars, which offer a lower cost-structure than live seminars, can be used in diverse ways to cut marketing, sales, and product development costs and ... more

Since its inception, the Do Not Call Registry has had a profound impact on the telemarketing industry, just as it has on individual organizations relying on outbound telemarketing in their marketing strategy. The challenge now facing these businesses is to find creative ways to still make telemarketing work. more

Management wants more leads, but you can't get an increase in your budget. To meet their demands, you have to lower your cost per lead. You have to either increase response rates or cut your cost per contact. There are literally dozens of ways to accomplish those goals. Here are 10. more

Savvy marketing professionals understand that sales and marketing must work together to move prospects through the sales pipeline. This is especially important in the complex sale with long decision making cycles and multiple buyers that need to be influenced. The good news is that Web content drives people through and ... more

OK, you got your prospect to raise his hand and seek out further information about your product or service. Now comes the really hard part: turning him into a buying customer. Here are 10 ways to address the challenge and improve your conversion rates of browser to buyer. more

The way most companies are selling solutions just doesn't work in today's business world. Things have gotten so complex that most customers can't even comprehend what their problems are, let alone distinguish between you and your competitors. The answer is to quit selling your solution as you would sell any other ... more

One way to increase your conversion ratio is to make sure your Web site is easy to navigate and information is easy to find. In other words, ensure its "usability." Often, search engine optimization and marketing principles benefit a site's usability with people as well as search engines. Here are some ... more

Generating leads is easy. There, we've said it. Pick a decent list, say something meaningful, toss in an offer, and plenty of folks will respond. Plenty. If you want more, do it again. But if you want qualified leads—people that can can progress from being prospects to becoming customers and ... more

The truth is that most company interactions with customers take place via phone or email, so a single event may be your one critical shot. It may determine 99% of the perception that a customer or prospect holds about a company. Despite the importance of events, many companies waste ... more

Read your ideas to solve this week's marketing challenge: What's the best way to educate clients about the sales process? Also this week, what strategies do you take to bring a new product to the marketplace? Add your own two cents. more

If there has been one constant in the ever-transient paradigm of marketing on the Internet, it is that "content" is the key to attract a steady stream of the uninitiated as well the converts. Good white papers serve to generate awareness about a product/service/organization, and more importantly, cause people to ... more

If your company sells complex products or services, you may want to take a page from the high-tech marketers' book. Continue to use conventional collateral to differentiate your solution and demonstrate value. Then, see if you can create independent demand for your unique methodology or business processes. Like with white ... more

Most people's concept of advertising is limited to the (sometimes woeful) ads they see on TV, or the billboards they drive past. Seeing these, they automatically assume that effective advertising is out of their reach. This couldn't be farther from the truth. Pound for pound, Google AdWords offers everyone, from ... more

Marketers who choose not to devote significant time and effort to the Hispanic population are missing out on a vital consumer segment that is growing faster than any other minority group in the United States. In fact, businesses should consider implementing new approaches and strategies to target Hispanics. Perhaps the most ... more

The client relationship built on a strong foundation of constant, varied, and sincere communication has less of a chance of being pushed aside when someone new comes along or happens to be the last one in the door. Follow these five guidelines and the chances of your phone ringing the ... more

There are many reasons for not closing a sale. In today's climate of information and work overload, an increasingly common reason is that prospects don't think of you when they are ready to buy. A critical challenge faced by any company marketing in this environment is how to elevate its ... more

Whether distributed via email or printed and snail-mailed, newsletters are a cost-effective way for businesses or organizations to keep in touch with employees, customers, prospects or association members. The trick, however, is to come up with a strategy to keep readers engaged and the publication's production and editorial adjustments in ... more

How much of our company's corporate overview presentation should you include in a demo meeting? The answer: as little as possible! Many salespeople and technical staff feel comfortable opening a demonstration meeting with a "brief" overview of their company. Most customers refer to this as "Death by PowerPoint." Instead, ... more

Clients come to you every single day asking you to give them a choice. A choice between yes and yes. Instead, all you're giving them is a choice between yes and no. Your bank account would see far better days if only you'd step back and use the immense power ... more

Any salesperson worth his or her commission check will tell you that landing worthwhile new business takes a repeated and concerted effort—and lots of contact with the decision maker. This is all the more true with salesmanship in print (or across the airwaves, phone lines and other forms of modern ... more

Sure your Web site looks great, but are you turning enough Web visitors into leads that your sales force can target? Your answer can be the difference between a site that is a moneymaker and one that is nothing more than a glorified brochure. Your Web site can offer your ... more