10,000 feet… There you are cruising comfortably among the clouds when much to your surprise the pilot of your airplane straps on his parachute, urges you to do the same, and then pops the door and jumps! This scenario is not much different than when you find yourself in a small business that has just received news of challenging times ahead. Whether it’s the economy, or staffing issues, or a difficult cash flow situation – there IS a solution! Your parachute is sitting just over there… …click here to read more

When it comes to sales and marketing for your company, YOU are not the best person to be selling for your business. No need to panic; you have a database full of capable sales people. Your existing database is your gold mine to new prospects. If you know anything about panning for gold, you know that you have to sift through a lot of sand before you strike it rich. You’ve already done that. Your database is full of people who have already bought from you. They already like you and trust you – and you’ve set the foundation for creating loyal customers, but you’re not doing enough after the sale. Truly great customer service and loyal customers comes from following up after the sale. You’ve already sifted through all the no’s and found your yes’es. Rather than focus all of your marketing efforts on obtaining new customers and strangers, the smart way to market your business is to train your team to hold onto the customers you already have.

In a typical sales process, once a transaction is complete, the next step is to do a 180-degree turn to find your next sale. It’s exciting to nurture and court your customer when there’s hope of …click here to read more

Over 30 million business pages now exist on Facebook alone, not to mention, the other five dozen or so, social media sites. Most businesses we come across are just hobbyists – hacking away at their computer all day long versus going out and interacting with their potential customers. But there are some successful corporations making a strong impact with their customers. Can your business realistically use to feed your own sales funnel?

The typical sales process includes multiple ways of prospecting that provides you with enough information to contact them later. …click here to read more

Procrastination comes naturally, but if you’re not even prepared for the day, how can you expect to be prepared for your business?

Here are 10 tips to help you plan for tomorrow before finishing today.

1. Pack your briefcase or computer bag for tomorrows appointments. Restock business cards, company literature, writing pens, flashdrives, all the tools you’ll need to handle tomorrow’s tasks.
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The number one obstacle to building your business into a thriving entity may surprise you. In a world predisposed to pointing fingers and making excuses, we, as a general rule, overlook the biggest offender, the main reason for our lackluster sales… to quote author Walt Kelly, “We have met the enemy, and he is us.” …click here to read more

The culture of customer service is becoming more and more extinct. Customer service should be a culture, not just a department. I just left the big, blue, mega-bank lobby near my home. I went inside to make a deposit. I’d like recognize the people who work there and so I take the time to go inside the lobby and create some semblance of personal banking. Today, I did not accomplish any connection, in fact, I left the lobby fuming. I wasn’t fuming because they treated me poorly – it was because I witnessed them treating another customer in such a rude manner, that frankly, I don’t think I can continue to bank there.
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These days, it seems like the only way to bring in a crowd of new customers is to offer something for free. Free is the buzz word that will always grab any consumer’s attention. We all want something for nothing. …click here to read more

As a business professional, you are constantly being enticed by new ways to be successful and create profits. You want a profitable business. You want to offer extreme customer service. You want to improve the quality of your services with less mistakes and create more effective use of your time. It’s easy to make those decisions, when you know how your business flows.
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