Five trade show mistakes to avoid

Mistake #1: Not having a pre-game plan.

Trade shows are one of those things that sneak up on you. You’re going to have to be out of the office for a few days, you need everything shipped in advance and you’re juggling your regular work. But the prep work should be done months in advance, which you can still take action on the ideas you think will give you the bang for your buck.

You should have an action plan for pre show, the show itself and post show. Most people put some thought into the actual event but rarely do anything in advance to get attendees to their booth. You can do something traditional like an attendee bag insert or you could get creative and do something in the lobby of the hotel most attendees will be staying at. But do something.

Stop Burning Out Your Employees

A new study finds that the live-fast, die-young model of overworking employees doesn't pay off--even in the short term. Try these alternative ways to motivate your staff.

There's a certain glamour to burning the candle at both ends, living fast, working ridiculously hard, playing hard, and, perhaps, burning out young.

And it doesn't just apply to rock stars. It affects plenty of business owners too.

Why I Hate Closing Techniques

“My salespeople need to get better at closing,” the Vice President of Sales said to me shortly after I arrived in his office.

If I’ve heard that line once, I’ve heard it a hundred times. Despite being on an important sales call, I couldn’t help but cringe. You see, I will never, ever train people on closing techniques if they sell to the corporate marketplace.

Why not? When you analyze what happens when you teach sellers how to be great closers, you’ll understand my perspective.

5 Trends That Will Shape Small Business in 2013

As you start preparing for next year, you may wish you had a crystal ball to see what’s in store for your business. Lucky for you, for the past three years at Open Forum, I’ve been suggesting imminent trends that will most impact small businesses in the coming year.
Well, it’s that time of year again; and hopefully this list will help you position your business for growth.
The most significant change I’ve witnessed over the last few months is that both consumers and small-business owners have accepted that some things have changed forever. There’s also a sense that, regardless of technological advancements, businesses need to return to being more about people.
Here are the five trends that I see will significantly impact businesses in 2013.

Don't Make These Mistakes When Entering a New Market

There is a lot of hair in India. That was the blinding insight that started our quest to develop a disruptive business in India's men's grooming market. Our idea was to port the efficient, affordable QB House model that is popular in Singapore and other Asian markets to India (QB House is detailed in the section titled "Remember: Quality is Relative" of The Little Black Book of Innovation). We would launch a series of single-chair kiosks that offered high-quality hair cutting, shaving, and related grooming services at affordable prices. We saw a wide open market, what is sometimes called a white space, blue ocean, or greenfield market.

Test: Do Your Sales Prospecting Habits Maximize Your Connect Rate?

When I talk to businesses who are using inbound lead generation, but who aren't seeing the sales that they want, I usually start with questions that identify what they're doing wrong (or not doing) at the top of their sales funnel. If the top of the sales funnel isn't predictably full, sales usually falter at the bottom. Maybe not right away. But, someday, they'll dip if they don't have the ability to predictably find qualified sales opportunties amongst the leads they've attracted.

I've only ever spoken to one person who was doing everything right. So, don't feel bad if you fail the test.

What Will Your Business Sell and How?

Once you've taken the leap and decided to start your own business, you've got to figure out what your business will sell!

What Should I Sell?

If you like to watch crime shows or read mystery novels, you are probably familiar with the three elements of committing a crime: means, motive and opportunity. Oddly enough, these three factors are also the most important elements of starting a business.

How to Create a Minimum Viable Online Business

Overwhelm is fast becoming the 21 century entrepreneur’s disease.
If you are feeling overwhelmed in your business online right now, take comfort in the fact you are not alone, and there are solutions!
The first solution, as Sonia outlined in her post last week, is to keep calm and carry on. How do you eat an elephant? Break things down, eat that elephant one bite at a time.
But what does that look like in reality?
What is the minimum required to get your business moving in the right direction online?
Let’s find out …

Keep Competitors from Stealing Your Customers

List building is one of the things that you have to do early so more people will get to know your new and emerging business. As your list grows, more people will be keeping an eye on your progress and that allows you to introduce newer things with ease. However, having a large list alone does not always solidify your position in whatever niche market you are in. Don’t forget that there are competitors that have to build their lists too leading to the possibilities of these companies stealing customers from you.

How 'Do Not Track' May Hurt Businesses

The way online marketers make money could change dramatically if a movement called "Do Not Track" gains steam and blocks their access to key user data.

Basically, Do Not Track is a way to protect user privacy on the web by allowing people to choose how their data is used. When people click a Do Not Track button on their browsers, their computer sends a request asking advertisers not to use their browsing history for targeted ads.

The 2 Keys To Business Success You Won’t Like To Hear

Creating success in business - or life - is a combination of two very important decisions.  Doing the hard things that everyone else is too afraid to do and ignoring everyone around you who disagrees with you.

Make no mistake – both are hard to do.  And both are amazingly important.

If you’re not tough enough, you can’t win.

The 5 Main Secrets of Social Business Marketing

Most organizations currently use the traditional business set up, which gives the executive ultimate control over business operations. That means that the executive makes all the critical business decisions alone. This is a relatively good business strategy although for it to function excellently; the executive has to be exceptionally good and experienced. A much better business strategy however, is social business. Instead of the executive holding complete control over an organization, social business distributes the management and operational powers to all the organization communities. These communities include employees, employers, customers, consultants, volunteers, customers, etc. They are all collectively involved in making the critical decisions in a company and running it. This is a very beneficial business strategy especially when it comes to marketing.

Selling Point: How to choose the right sales exec

A business is ready to go up the ladder only when the sales department is in place and it is staffed with the right people. This is even more crucial for a start-up because one wrong decision could create an irreparable dent in your business. Thus, look for people who have a natural ability to sell and market a business and its offerings.

Start small
Start-ups begin with a small team and a modest budget. With early investments in the bank, it's time to expand your team. The sales force is the last team to come on board, probably because, up until then, the founders were still putting together the company. It's always a good idea to hire someone with a little experience, even if yours is a small company.

10 Ways To Strengthen Your Business Relationships

One thing that is key to your success as a small business owner is the ability to build relationships with other people. It's doubtful you'll be successful if you hunker down and shut yourself off from the world. It's a given that your success is dependent on you, but it's not quite that simple.

"It's good to have a healthy sense of self-respect, but don't take it too far," says Ty Freyvogel, author of 'It's Not Your Smarts, It's Your Schmooze,' 'Seize the Century!,' and founder of MakingSenseOfYourBusiness.com. "The going-it-alone mentality may cause you to forget the employees, vendors, customers, and others who help keep your business running smoothly. Not only should you make it a point to strengthen these critical relationships, you should make it New Year's Resolution #1."

Marketing your company's personality

(MoneyWatch) To prospects, you probably look run-of-the-mill. As the old saying goes, experience is what you get when you wanted something else. So the trick is to learn from mistakes - preferably other people's mistakes. When it comes to marketing your company, don't make the mistake of looking like everyone else who does what you do.

"No matter what business you're in, you probably walk and talk a lot like the other people who do what you do," says Terri Langhans, author of a great book titled The 7 Marketing Mistakes Every Business Makes and How To Fix Them and the founder of the marketing firm Blah, Blah, Blah.

3 Cost-Cutting Mistakes to Avoid

With the economic recovery sputtering along, it's easy to fall into the mindset that cheaper is always better. But even when budgets are tight, there's a right and a wrong way to save money.

Trim spending in the wrong places and you can end up hurting your business in the long run, says business strategist Carol Roth, a former investment banker and the best-selling author of The Entrepreneur Equation. Here are three of most common cost-cutter mistakes:

What to Do When Your Employer Goes Bankrupt

Even the best companies can fail. Issues like a collapse in the industry, a serious economic downturn, or a product that suddenly becomes obsolete can bring down companies that seem perfectly healthy. Which means that you are left scrambling for a job under what are likely to be uncertain conditions.

How do you buy? Steps in a buying decision

People are getting confused about the terms buying decision journey, buying path, buy-cycle, helping buyers buy, and  buying  decisions. Using a case study, let’s look at how a real buying decision happens.

When I began using the terms in the 80s my meaning described a change management process to lead buyers through their non-solution/non-need-related, behind-the-scenes internal and political issues that enable all who touch the solution to buy-in. Lately I’ve noticed the terms applied to the sales end of the buying decision – that 10% of the buyer’s journey that manages the  pre-solution choice  behaviors, including  solution/vendor choice, time/money issues. In other words, sales.

Top 10 Time-Saving Blogging Tips for Busy Business Owners

Facebook expert Mari Smith recently reported on the results of her social media survey. It was no surprise to read that an overwhelming number of responders reported that time is their biggest marketing challenge.

In order to effectively attract clients with your business blog, you must publish new content consistently. For some, that may mean starting out with a monthly post and then gradually increasing. Others might be ready for a weekly blogging routine.

Why You're Afraid to Ask for the Sale

Prospects almost never come out and say, “OK, I want to buy this product right now.” No matter how interested they are, they will be inclined to let the moment go unless you come out and ask for the sale. But asking someone to buy from you in so many words can be a scary experience, especially for someone who is relatively new to sales. The trick to overcoming this fear is pinning it down and understanding it.