At the end of the day, it’s all about whether people are buying. So here are three key elements prospects are looking for before taking the final step:
1. The Know-Like-and-Trust Factor–When looking for professional services, the Know-Like-and-Trust Factor (KLT) rules the roost. This is why referrals, networking and public speaking can be such powerful tools [...]

They certainly are if you’re speaking your language instead of your prospects’. You live and breathe what you do every day, so you don’t even realize you’re using jargon and other professional gobbledygook that flies right over their head. But that lack of awareness may be costing you sales.
We’re not just about talking technical jargon. [...]

Since my laptop is not my primary computer, a regular part of my last-minute preparations for every trip used to be desperately trying to make sure my jump drive had every possible document I could possibly need to look at while I’m gone. But inevitably, I would still get an email during the trip asking [...]

With recession clouds looming overhead, many entrepreneurs will be celebrating National Small Business Week next week by looking for ways to trim their marketing costs. Stepping up your PR program is a great strategy, as long as you aren’t sending out snore-inducing press releases that have no hopes of getting covered. So here are five [...]

If there is one industry I hate, it’s pharmaceuticals. I know, its an expensive business–developing drugs that may or may not actually ever see the light of pharmacist’s shelves. And the drugs themselves can sometimes do a lot of good. But I have trouble feeling sympathy for pharma management crying over declining earnings when the [...]

Storytelling is one of the most powerful ways to communicate, and I’m not talking about fairy tales here.  It pervades (or should) all aspects of our business communications and marketing because it makes our messages memorable and connects your listener/reader on a more emotional level. As they say, facts tell but emotion sells.
Want to know [...]

If you’re like me and a little overwhelmed by all the social media marketing oppotunities out there, an article I came across in Marketing News may help you figure out what’s the best use of your time because it talks about the 6 different profiles of social media participants.
Based on a new book called Groundswell, [...]

One reason I think some people just dread writing is that they think it’s supposed to be big words and long, complex sentences using a semi-colon, like many of us were taught in school. But that’s not good writing, that’s academic writing or consultant-ese. (And we were actually taught a lot of dumb things in [...]

If someone asked me to name my business idol it would have to be Sara Blakely of Spanx. One inspiration has become a $250 billion business that has turned the women’s undergarment world on its head and revolutionized a dishwater dull product category with personality and spunk. Once something no one discussed, now celebrities [...]

While you probably can’t see the connection to marketing (yet, it IS there!), every small business owner should sign up for this free call (even if you can’t make it, you can get mp3s of this one and her previous ones) on “The 4 Mistakes Small Business Owners Make With Their Cash Flow” with simple [...]