Too often, small business owners consider customer service to be a necessary but expensive part of their organization. Using the strategies in this post, convert your customer service team into a revenue-generating profit center. The typical structure in a small business’s sales process might look something like this: Pre-Sale: Sales team runs the show. Sales representatives...
What kind of introduction do you give a man whose client list includes NASA, State Farm and several boards of education on the East Coast? Dr. Alvin Perry is a veritable renaissance man. He’s earned his DBA and his MBA. He also has 10 years of entrepreneurial experience, 20 years of consulting experience and...
The right public relations strategy can be one of the best tools that you have in order to get media attention for your company. The right media coverage can boost your reputation in your industry, lead to increased revenue for your company and help your organization get in front of countless current and potential...
I recently checked out a new sandwich shop downtown called Even Stevens. Oh boy, I thought, another sandwich place. What a unique idea for a small business. I was prepared to be underwhelmed. The shop was lucky it had a good location. Turns out Even Stevens’ strategy completely altered my expectations. For each sandwich you...
Running a small business is one thing. Selling it is something else entirely. Sadly, far too many business owners who are fantastic at running their businesses do a terrible job of selling them when that time comes. And the result is a much lower return on their years of financial, physical, and emotional investment in...
Have you been trying to grow an audience with no success? Has your business plateaued and you have no idea how to reach new customers? Or do you just want to try out a new marketing strategy? There are many publishing platforms that allow you to take advantage of their built-in audience to distribute high-quality...
This article is published in partnership with Insightly, providing CRM and project management solutions for small business owners. Many small businesses today, whether online, brick and mortar, selling products or selling services, rely on email marketing to increase sales. Using different methods, such as lead magnets, promotion and giveaway signups and customer loyalty programs, businesses...
Over the past several years, I've been engaged by leading brands, who want to reach small business owners, to host Twitter chats. Twitter chats can be a great way to: 1) boost your Twitter following 2) build engagement around your brand 3) leverage an influencer's reach and credibility all to connect your brand with small...
Despite the rewards, entrepreneurship comes with inherent risk. Of course, there's the risk of failure, poor investments, or not making enough profit to live on. Those are the fears that keep most people from starting a business. But those risks aren't the ones we're here to discuss. Today, we're talking about the risk of...
Growing a profitable business is tricky. You start out with a great idea but how do you take it from there? In a recent interview, my guest Lisa Hendrickson (founder of Spark City), shed light on some of the many complex decisions small business owners have to make. Her insights will make you take...
