Sales and Marketing

Standing in front of a classroom of students — watching the note scribbling, yawns, and occasional spark of passion — can feel a million miles away from the business world.

Effective marketing means yielding a return worth the investment. To maximize the potential for effective marketing, the least amount spent over the highest exposure coverage, has been the leading...

If you’re struggling with directing your salespeople where they need to be, a meaningful points program might be a solution.

One of our problems in building sales methodology is that salespeople and trainers many times define “success” incorrectly. We only look at the immediate step rather than the overall result.

The stigma of mental illness, including casual references to a “bipolar” boss or an “ADD” co-worker, continues to be a barrier to employees seeking support and treatment.

You may have heard the rumor that search engine optimization is dead. Google and the other search engines have made the quest to rank on the front page meaningless. Well, don’t believe it. I’m here to tell you that SEO is alive and well, and should be an important part of your business marketing.

Are you hiring with your head or your gut? When it comes to hiring salespeople, the majority of bad or mistaken hires are caused by hiring with the gut rather than the head.

There are many pitfalls to making a cold call to network – and there’s also a clear path to success. Let’s look at how to do it right.

The number one measure of a saleperson’s effectiveness (or a sales force’s effectiveness) is year-over-year profit dollar gain. This is the result you should be seeking for your team and business.

Too often we ignore changes that will have a great impact on our businesses and our customers. But if you ignore what’s happening on your own radar screen, it may come back to haunt you.

Does poor employee retention create the merry-go-round of hire/train/rehire/retrain in your organization? Perhaps seeds of mistrust, sown early, are the root of the issue.

Far too many sales managers “spend” their time when they think they are “investing” their time. Here’s how to invest your time wisely.

Good intentions and fuzzy policies are not enough to earn and keep your customers. Set up a time to discuss your company’s rules and policies with your entire team.

In the balancing act of developing a business, the feast or famine cycle and other signs may indicate it is time to take the leap and add sales staff.

A good activity management program is within the reach of any company, whether you have one salesperson or 1,000 – and it can be your best friend in developing sales results.

Constantly assess your company’s image and keep your finger on the pulse of the global climate. Missing the makeover or rebrand boat — or choosing the wrong vessel — can be detrimental to your company’s footing and public perception.

A report by the Business Leaders for Michigan says a majority of Michigan’s largest employers project that the Michigan and U.S. economies will remain flat in the next 6 to 18 months.

While selling itself may not be simpler now, most companies’ decision-making processes are. The key is finding who the decision-makers are.

Being a skilled negotiator is an important key to achieving company and personal goals. The business owner who can negotiate effectively is more likely to have a business that can thrive.