Whether you’re just starting up or need a way to manage existing operations, these tools have you covered. My inbox is constantly cluttered with announcements about the latest newfangled Website that will change how we all do business. Some of them, like the inbox fixers I wrote about in my recent magazine column, really do […]

Use these 15 questions to discover whether a prospect will buy from you before you waste time on the opportunity. During initial conversations with a potential customer, your most important job is to find out: A. Does this prospect really need my offering? B. Does this prospect have money to buy my offering? C. How […]

Let social media aid your sales efforts. Here are a few super easy steps for getting started on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and more. With less effort than you think, your organization can increase online conversions through genuine engagement on multiple social media platforms. And who wouldn’t want that? Social media sites can contribute heavily to […]

These three avenues will help you focus on the core while capturing new growth opportunities. Every business we know struggles with the tradeoff of investing in and maximizing the core business while trying to take advantage of growth in new, adjacent markets. It’s generally easier (and more profitable) to focus on your core business. That’s […]

In my experience, many business owners particularly those who have built a successful business feel they are doing “perfectly fine, thank you” without conducting marketing research.  I even run across those who are contemplating a new start-up who feel that this step can be rushed through at best, or skipped completely, at worst.  From the […]

Networking is crucial to success in business. Whether you’re looking to increase your clientele or develop valuable strategic alliances, connecting with new contacts and then taking steps to nurture those relationships will expand your social capital and your opportunities. And it’s the nurturing part that’s key. Effective networking is more about “farming” than “hunting”. It’s […]

Connecting with your customers’ highest aspirations will turn them into evangelists for your brand. Here’s how to do it. It’s a crowded marketplace out there. And you have a small advertising budget. How do you break through the clutter and capture customers’ attention? By telling them the right story. That’s the word from Jonah Sachs, […]

Online food ordering service Eat24 gets about a million visits a month and will reach $150 million in sales this year. Here’s how it happened. Eat24 is a Web and mobile food ordering service that’s grown like crazy in the last few years. What started as two guys in a San Francisco apartment in 2008 […]