Sure, it’s great to have a big contract with a big company. But how do you know when you’re too dependent on that one relationship?
It happens like this: A young, growing business finally gets the call it longs for–a massive company (Wal-Mart, maybe, or Whole Foods, or whoever the dominant company is in the industry) wants their product or service. A lot of it. A big, big contract awaits. Heaven on a stick, right? Continue reading
There’s no doubt that we all need to know how to choose the right marketing people. These could be anyone doing your marketing including marketing coordinators, interns with marketing degrees, sales people, a PR person, your distributor, or your website designer. Continue reading
The most important thing is ideas
The health of a business is not guaranteed forever. Virtually all business owners or managers will face the daunting task of managing the recovery of a faltering business. Continue reading
Research suggests only one in 50 deals are struck at a first meeting, yet many sales people give up after just one or two knock-backs. Perseverance will give you a major edge on competitors.
You can sometimes be so close to your business that you can miss the simple solutions for growing it, where the greatest opportunities often lie. Solutions that are blindingly obvious, once you’re aware of them – but are amongst the best kept secrets on the planet if you’re not.
For example: Only 2% of sales occur at a first meeting
People in business often hope and expect to do business the first time they meet a prospect. Yet studies reveal that only 2% of sales occur when two parties meet for the first time.
The 2% who buy at a first meeting tend to be people who have already looked into the subject matter, and already know what they’re looking for. If they meet someone who ticks all the right boxes and they get on well, then business may well be transacted. But that is far from the norm. The other 98% will only buy once a certain level of trust has been built up. Continue reading