Question: How can our sales professionals use our customer relationship manager (CRM) software more effectively?  Answer: CRM software is only as good as the people using it. Companies often spend tens of thousands of dollars, only to have their sales professionals not input anything. This is a double negative to the person who wrote the check (the owner). Here are some of the reasons why management purchases CRM software: Create…
Quickly, define your target market. Say it in your head … now. OK, how many demographics did you identify in your definition? Did you identify an industry? A role? Gross revenue? Employee count? Gender? Age range? Household income? Identifying demographic characteristics is an easy way to filter and segment your best potential customers based on a combination of assumptions and historical data. However, many of us fall into a mental…
In marketing, we often have blinders on that make us believe the best way to be successful is to get new customers at an ever-increasing rate. But too often, we get caught up in this game of cat and mouse and forget that our best customers are already sitting in our database: existing customers. These people have already been won over once—who’s to say you can’t do it again? And…
Q: My husband and I recently started a company offering chaplain services to employers. Most employers do not provide this service to their employees, do not know it exists or have not set aside a budget for it. Any ideas on how to qualify which companies will find money for our services and not waste time with the ones who won’t?  A: Thank you for your question. I love this unique…
Ever watch one of those nature shows where you see a herd of gazelle that gets spooked by a lion and they all take off running together? In the ensuing chaos, the camera always follows that one gazelle that breaks from the pack. Why do they follow that one gazelle?  The correct answer is “good TV.”  That gazelle is about to meet the business end of the aforementioned lion. Regardless…