How to Get Your Business Out of Financial Trouble

Any business can encounter problems. It happens. It doesn’t matter how big or successful you are, whether you are a startup, a big player or even if you rule the whole market place, things can go wrong. You might find yourself in a cash crunch, struggling to pay bills, or even payroll. It could be…

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Moving Beyond the “Chaotic Buying Process”

It seems in recent months, the sales and marketing world is suddenly waking up to the fact the buying process/journey is not a linear process. That customers don’t go through an orderly process of: 1. Define problem, 2. Identify priorities, requirements, 3. Assess solutions, 4. Select solution, 5. Implement. It seems we are suddenly recognizing…

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The Challenged Customer

Our customers (and us) live in worlds characterized by information overload, rapidly changing circumstances, increasing demands, rising management expectations, scarcer resources, increasing scale, disruption, distraction, and complexity. It’s impossible to avoid feeling overwhelmed, unbalanced, and distracted. Getting things done, getting the support and resources to move forward is increasingly difficult. They must coordinate efforts across more…

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How to Keep a Good BBB Rating (and Why It Matters)

The Better Business Bureau is the go-to resource for verifying a business’s credibility. They receive complaints about accredited businesses from consumers, and a business’s ability and willingness to respond to those complaints is factored greatly an accompanying score. That’s called a BBB Rating. Therefore, just joining the BBB’s roster of recognized businesses isn’t enough to…

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10 Gracious Ways to Manage Angry Customers

At one time or another, I’ll bet your customer service has gone awry, no matter how much you work to avoid it. Whether mistakes are your fault or not, angry customers can get … well, pissed off! The key to marketing and branding success is how you (and your team) manage these blunders. Being gracious…

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The Importance of Setbacks

Too often, we get caught up in the rush of everyday life. The press of everyday activity, the constant intrusion and interruptions drive what we do. These become standard, we go on autopilot—even as a coping mechanism. Most important we stop paying attention, we stop being present. This doesn’t mean we aren’t accomplishing things. The…

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Sales Heroics are Actually Sales Failures!

All of us revel in stories of the deal where we took dramatic actions and ultimately won—hopefully not by discounting. We get an Adrenalin rush in talking about this things that we did to pull the opportunity from the ashes and into the victory column. When we get together with our colleagues, over beer, we…

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Be a Customer Complaint Hero with These 9 Steps

Some people perceive customer complaints as a pain in the butt. I suggest they take a 180° turn on this attitude. Customer complaints are gifts! (Yes, you read that right.) Although most customers will not take the time to voice their discontent, the ones who do can give you opportunities to investigate and identify where…

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10 Strategies for Rebounding from Startup Failures

If you can’t deal with failure, then the entrepreneur lifestyle is not for you. Don’t believe that urban myth that all you need is a good idea, a little fun work, and the money will start rolling in. When you are pushing the limits, nobody gets it right the first time, or even maybe the…

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