Understand the Subtle Signs of Employee Disgruntlement
As a manager, lack of engagement is one of the greatest telltale signs there’s a dissatisfied employee in your midst. Your management style may be a contributing factor or the triggers may be for reasons far more complex or widespread. How can you tell when employees are disgruntled? Engagement is key Ideally, successful managers carry…
Read More5 Fundamentals for Building a Successful Brand
In the eyes of your customers, your brand is who you are. Your brand is what people think of when they think of your company—it’s a mix of intangibles like feelings and perceptions along with concrete features like your logo or slogan. Branding is important because it does more than tell your customers why they…
Read MoreHow to Safely Secure Financing for Your Business
If you need financing, what’s the first thing you should do? Head to the bank? Post on Kickstarter? Go on ABC’s “Shark Tank”? In a world where the finance industry has developed a product to take advantage of many well-meaning entrepreneurs (i.e. “the business cash-advance”), where companies promise you funding within five days and use…
Read MoreWhy the “Why” is Important
As sales people, we know the “why” is very important in probing our customers. “Why do they feel this way? Why do you do things this way? Why is this is a problem? Why wouldn’t they change? Why are they interested/not interested?” The “why” is important to your people and your own performance in the…
Read MoreEvaluate All Your Products and Services Each Year
“Cut your losses and let your profits run.” ~Proverb Many businesses fall into the trap of assuming that products or services generating great sales revenue are also profitable. Truthfully, you cannot tell which products and services should be continued or eliminated unless you look at the profitability of each one. For this reason, I strongly…
Read MoreThe Art of Landing Page Design (for Non-Artists)
Having a sales force is pretty great. The thing about salesmen, though, is that when 5 o’clock rolls around, they punch out and go home. A strong landing page doesn’t have those pesky human restrictions. An ideal landing page will simply keep on working. It’ll do its job day and night, rain or shine. The…
Read MoreHelp with Yelp: Responding to Negative Reviews
67 percent of users are influenced by online reviews when making a purchase (Moz). Customers rely on reviews to find brands that will provide them with the best – product, service, experience, you name it! Taking the time to communicate with both satisfied and dissatisfied customers is extremely important via review and social mediums, particularly on Yelp. Yelp reviews…
Read More3 Marketing Tips on a Budget
According to a recent survey, only 15 percent of business owners spend more than $1,000 on marketing each month, while sole-proprietorships spend an average of just $290. In other words, chances are if you own a small business, you’re likely looking for ways to get the word out about your business without a large cash…
Read More5 Ways to Get Other People to Market Your Franchise
When you first open your doors, how will you let your community know you’re in the neighborhood? How will you market your franchise? Most marketing plans, in the beginning, consist of sending out flyers, putting out sandwich board signs or advertising in local publications. Although these are good, they’re all costly. One of the lesser…
Read MoreVisualizations for Infrastructure Projects
Typically, a 3D visualization of a water main doesn’t inspire awe and amazement. It’s not exactly a thing of beauty like, say, a model of Moscow’s Saint Basil’s Cathedral, India’s Taj Mahal, or San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. But an accurate visualization is a communication tool that can help firms win work on new architecture…
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