“Will this marketing approach be worth my while?” It’s a question independent professionals often ask. But there’s a related question that, unfortunately, they ask much less often: “How much will it cost compared to what it brings in?” Surprisingly few professionals know the answer to this crucial question, and many admit it had simply never occurred to them. Read more

One of the biggest challenges in marketing is getting people to respond to unsolicited calls and emails. When prospects enter your marketing pipeline as the result of your cold call, their casual visit to your website, or your finding their name on a list, you are essentially a stranger. Read more

For years, I heard that if you want to get something done, ask a busy person to do it. Implication: busy people are successful. I’m sure some people still subscribe to this philosophy. I don’t any more, especially when it comes to successful business ownership. Read more

Recently, a client of mine complained, “I’m really good at what I do. I shouldn’t have to market myself.” In fact, he is quite good at his profession, but the problem is that not enough prospective clients know about him. Like many professionals, he is reluctant to talk about his accomplishments. Read more

If you’ve been networking for a while, you most likely have a long list of people you want to connect with on a regular basis. There’s the initial follow-up you do after you first meet someone, but what are you doing to ensure that people will remember you months or even years from now Read more

Why is it that some people seem to be naturals at selling, while others struggle to close every sale or even fail completely in a role that requires them to sell? In 1982, psychologist Martin Seligman, PhD, set out to answer that question for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. Seligman had been studying optimism and pessimism in the laboratory for almost 20 years when Met Life heard about his research. Could Seligman help them learn how to hire more effective salespeople, they asked? Read more

Have you ever attended a networking meeting and met someone you really liked and were sure you could help? When they found out about your services and learned how you help people like them they said, “You’ve got just what I’ve been looking for. Read more

It’s a common problem for ezine publishers to have their ezines blocked by ISP’s, email providers, corporate firewalls, or personal spam filters installed by the subscriber. If your subscribers “whitelist” your publication, you’ll stand a better chance of it being delivered. But how can you get more subscribers to do this? Read more

Selling professional services can often be a challenge because of their intangibility. When a client hires you to deliver a service such as accounting or web design, they can’t see the outcome in advance. They have to trust that your work will produce a result they will like, Read more

We talk quite a bit in sales and marketing about, well, talking. We examine how to get our message across, what to say to potential clients, how to present our businesses, etc. But sometimes, listening can be considerably more productive than talking. Here are five ways you just might be able to get more clients by listening. Read more