The terrorist attacks of 9/11 ushered in a cold reality to Americans. It was the beginning of a period of depression for many. A few weeks later, my Dad asked how I was doing. I painted a dismal vision mixed with anger and fear. He asked me what I was going to do about it. What could I possibly do that would make a difference? With a look of resolve, he said, “son, the best thing you can do is to get back to doing what you do best; working and living!”

That was good advice then and it is good advice now. Today’s battle is surviving and thriving in the current state of the union, a poor economy. But how do you get back to work when you have lost your job or your business is down considerably? Read the rest of this entry »

One of my business goals for 2010 is to increase business by 30% in the first quarter of the of the new year. If you have a similar goal for your business, I invite you to listen to this episode on Blog Talk Radio. Wes Holsapple is a longtime friend and business consultant, who really outlines how to get more business …via Word-of-Mouth in 2010. Let me know what you think…

C.J. Hayden, MCC

You’ve heard it many times before: you need to sell benefits to your clients, not features. Whether you are writing copy, talking about what you do, or engaged in a sales presentation, it’s the benefits and results of the service you provide that you should emphasize, rather than its features or how it works. But it’s not always easy to get this right.

A feature is a fact, detail, or description about your services. A benefit is the positive result your client gets as a result of working with you. Read the rest of this entry »

By C.J. Hayden, MCC

All economic indicators say we are in a recession. Consumer and business spending is down; unemployment is up. It’s natural to wonder whether perhaps this is a bad time to be marketing your business.

Since I’ve been self-employed for almost two decades now, I’ve seen several economic cycles come and go. What I notice about these “down” periods is that people who frequently struggle to get clients typically think these are bad times to market. On the other hand, people who have been consistently successful at landing clients seem to believe that there is never a bad time to market. Personally, I’d vote to follow the lead of those who are succeeding. Read the rest of this entry »

A major factor behind the success of Coffee News is that all content is positive and lighthearted, including the ads themselves. Coffee News ads are designed to:

1. promote your top two or three products / services
2. highlight the positive benefits of your business
3. what makes you different from your competitor (or you Unique Selling Proposition) Read the rest of this entry »

Thank goodness that sales is not an easy profession, otherwise everyone would be in sales. Most salespeople have a systematic approach to the selling process, but sometimes you need something more to gain that edge over our competition. Here’s 14 virtues to add to your salesmanship tool bag.

Not that I do a lot of PowerPoint presentation, I know that there are a lot of you reading this that do! Here’s an article from MediaSalesToday.com, that offers some great pointers that you may not have previously thought of.

Perfect Your Presentations By Avoiding Common Mistakes

Sure, we all know the basics of a good presentation: Pre-speech practice, good eye contact, not reading notes and slides word-for-word…But, there are some lesser-known “don’ts” that may sully an otherwise successful presentation:…click here for full article

It’s that time of year, kids are back in school, but will parents be spending on back to school supplies and apparel? Check out this article at Media Sales Today

You may have seen these billboards on your drive to and from work – I know I have. Here’s the story behind these truisms on recession. Enjoy!

by Vicki Lenz

Tracking Results – Ask or Don’t Ask?

Ask? This used to be my response, until I did further research on real-world results – as illustrated by a case in Corbett’s book. He cites the example of a new super lumber-type store. Customers were polled as they entered the store on grand opening weekend and asked, “What brought you in?” Roughly 50% said radio, 30% said TV, and 20% said newspaper. Guess what? The grand opening was advertised only on radio and in the newspaper. Yet 30% were very sure that they saw the ad on TV! “People don’t like not knowing what brought them in and they want to be helpful, so they’ll make things up,” says Corbett. Read the rest of this entry »