Q: I have been a sales producer for the past year and will likely have some additional responsibilities in sales management in the next few months. What competencies will I need for that role versus my current one?  A: You are wise to give this thought before the change occurs, rather than after.  It’s unusual to find someone who is an excellent sales producer and equally competent as a sales…
You’re selling your house. You do all the improvement projects you put off for years. The grass is as green as it has ever been, and the inside as spotless as can be. Maybe you even leave out fresh-baked cookies before an open house to make a lasting impression. You want to present your home in the best light possible. Ready for prime time. Because appearances matter. With that in…
How often do you talk about “quality” at your organization? What about “customer service”? How many times do you talk about the importance of “trust,” “technology” or “value”? All important things. I bet many of you have these words in your mission statement, your core values and in your sales and marketing communications. But there’s a problem with things like quality, customer service, trust, technology and value: THEY DON’T EXIST….
Candle-lit dinners, long walks on the beach, social media marketing strategies … what do these three things have in common?  Well, on the surface, not much. But when you start getting into the nitty-gritty of dating and marketing, you begin to realize they’re pretty similar: Both are all about getting someone to choose you (pick you, love you — Grey’s Anatomy, anyone?) over the rest of the fish in the…
How do you determine when a site, campaign, product or idea is good for your brand? Well, first off, you can’t recognize good until you know what makes something good. That’s not some twisting statement meant to confuse while sounding philosophical. “Good” is an ambiguous term. It means different things to different people, and different things to the same people in different contexts. What makes a meal good? What makes…