Megan Tonzi says, “Bad sales emails are like gum stuck to the bottom of your shoe: You think you’ve scraped it all off … until the next day, when you realize your shoe is still sticky. It just doesn’t go away, and neither do poor sales emails — they seem especially endless this time of the year. The other week, I received a sales email in the morning. The first line asked if I was the correct person to speak with, the second line was their sales pitch, and the third was, “Hey, let’s schedule a time to chat. And if you’re not the right person, who is?” It was a typical... [...]

Jeremiah Owyang says, “When you think of the “collaborative economy,” chances are, you picture people sharing their cars, homes, and money. But that’s not the only thing people are sharing. Now, more and more people are sharing their time. They’re sharing their time to do small projects like deliveries, or they’re helping other businesses online as contractors, or using their time to create physical goods in the maker movement. The result is this: The crowd is becoming like a company — and enterprising marketers are learning to take advantage of this trend. At the moment,... [...]

Heidi Cohen says, “Content curation taps into the power of existing owned, social, and third-party media to enhance and extend your content marketing resources. This does NOT mean content curation is free. Rather, it’s more cost-effective than brand-spanking-new content and maximizes the full potential of your existing content. To ensure we’re on the same page, here’s my definition: Content curation assembles, selects, categorizes, comments on, and presents the most relevant, highest quality information to meet your audience’s needs on a specific subject. Curated content is neither... [...]

Neil Patel says, “Emotion is a major force in online sales. As much as we tend to disparage “emotion” in purchasing decisions, the fact is everyone thinks and makes choices based on emotion. We can’t prevent this. Emotional decision-making is hardwired into our brain’s functionality. In fact, without guidance from our emotions, decision-making would be nearly impossible. Not only is it appropriate to use emotion in your landing page, but it’s essential for the decision-making process. That being said, you don’t want to go overboard. In this post, I want to show you is... [...]

Emma Snider says, “Sales is definitely part science, but it’s not rocket science. If reps adopt effective processes, it becomes much easier to prospect, qualify, and sign new buyers. Closing sometimes seems like the most mysterious of all sales activities. Some reps are great at it, and others … not so much. But just like anything else, a large portion of the fear can be dissipated with a solid procedure. This infographic from Refresh presents a five-step approach to closing sales leads, complete with data on why each action is necessary and effective. The next time you... [...]

Dr. Veit Schenk has developed, and has just released, a new WordPress template, especially designed to help non-technical people get their site running quickly. He calls it A1 Pro Theme. Pre-installed in the theme are niche sites for: • Real Estate • Medical • Law • Consulting • Food • Internet Marketing • Corporate • Sports. Select one of these, if appropriate for you or your client, and the system automatically builds a site in that niche. You don’t have to use one of these, though. You can add your own site design if you like. Then, all you have to do is fill in contact... [...]

Emma Snider says, “Social selling is part activity, part reputation. If you’re writing insightful comments on your prospects’ blogs, responding to their tweets, and liking their shared content, you’ve got the activity bit down pat. But if your LinkedIn profile doesn’t include your three jobs and features a cropped picture of you from prom, you can’t really call yourself a social seller. If you’d like to start a social selling initiative in earnest, then begin by revamping your LinkedIn profile. Just as you’re researching potential buyers on LinkedIn... [...]

Neil Patel says, “Emotion is a major force in online sales. As much as we tend to disparage “emotion” in purchasing decisions, the fact is everyone thinks and makes choices based on emotion. We can’t prevent this. Emotional decision-making is hardwired into our brain’s functionality. In fact, without guidance from our emotions, decision-making would be nearly impossible. Not only is it appropriate to use emotion in your landing page, but it’s essential for the decision-making process. That being said, you don’t want to go overboard. In this post, I want to show you is... [...]

Jami Oetting says, “Great creative briefs have one primary function — to inspire your creative team to come up with the most brilliant and effective communications response to solve a particular problem. Its secondary function is to confirm back to the client that you “get” her problem, strategy for solving it, and the objective you must achieve. So what makes a “great” brief? Clarity. Brevity. Inspirational language (which may include slang and swear words). The creative brief isn’t being published online to the masses for approval, nor does it need to be PC for your client’s... [...]

Fergal Glynn says, “Sales always has been, and always will be, about closing the deal. But, sales professionals cannot rely on cold calls and haphazard prospect visits if they want to meet their sales goals and make it into the top 10%. In reality, sales professionals and managers need to have access to the best available sales planning tools to help them boost sales productivity and close more deals. I’ve compiled a list of 18 sales planning tools, listed here in no particular order, which can help you organize your sales process and plan calls, routes, and territories with greater efficiency. 1)... [...]