All business owners and sales reps know they should have a plan, right? We’ve all heard the saying, “If we fail to plan, then we are planning to fail,” right? There are three types of business plans, and in my next three articles I will address them. The first and most common type of plan…
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A frequently asked question that I get at speaking engagements is, “What is your elevator speech?” Or, I’m asked to help someone craft an elevator speech. Here’s what I don’t like about elevator speeches: They’re canned. They are a one-size-fits-all recitation that’s not going to win anyone any business. It’s not that I’m down on being…
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More than 100 technologists and business leaders will meet next week in San Francisco at the PPAI Technology Summit. This is largest-ever gathering of industry technology leaders. You can view the PPAI Technology Summit agenda here. The summit will include discussions on search engine optimization, security, project management and about a dozen other relevant topics, including industry…
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This weekend marked the start of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. I watched a variety of events and, like the rest of the country, I was in awe of the many young athletes competing their hearts out. The positive energy and sheer desire to win was evident in every competitor—as was the heartbreaking…
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Well, folks, August is here. For many of us, that’s last call on summer. Students are going back to school, the sun is out a for a slightly shorter amount of time than it was in July and, before we know it, we’ll be wearing jackets to walk to work once again. But, all is…
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Question: I am new to the business. Do you have any advice as to how to price items? Answer: Pricing is complex. On one hand, you want to maximize sales, but if you price items too low, you might end up doing lots of work and making very little profit. Also, if you are known…
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Quit being afraid of the future. That’s where all the good stuff lies. The road to failure is littered by organizations that feared and tried to hold back the future. Just look at Lotus 1-2-3, which owned the database and software business powering PCs in the days before Windows. Or look at Kodak, the company…
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A/B testing is one of the most underutilized opportunities by promotional firms today. It’s also something you need to know about to help your clients succeed online. Fortunately, understanding A/B testing is not that complicated. Implementing it is easy, too. Consider this example: What subject line generates more clicks to your website? “20 percent off…
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The Rising Trend in Personal Care Good marketing, and the products or services being promoted, seek to identify and fill a void within the consumer’s present life. For millions of individuals, that void often centers around wellness and personal care. An overlooked yet deadly serious element of daily life, self-care is an activity or habit…
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Question: I don’t like to show item numbers to my clients. Is there a way to avoid that in QuickBooks? Answer: Yes. You can customize templates to include only the fields you want and eliminate those you don’t. (And, it is a good idea to not show item numbers on customer forms, as it makes…
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