Ten Essential Skills for Face-to-Face Sales

By David Mills
on May 22, 2023

Refreshing face-to-face sales skills

Remember when sales were mostly in person or on the phone? While many people relied upon the personal interaction of tradeshows and vendor visits, it all got shut down during COVID. Is it possible that some of those in-person skills have gotten a little rusty? If you have salespeople who are new to the team or industry, they may have skipped the hard-won lessons of your veteran salespeople and might need a refresher on the skills of in-person meetings.

Here are a couple of ways to refresh those in-person skills. First is a quick refresher on the essential skills for in-person sales. Following that are four classic sales books that can spark fresh insights into the skills for effective sales.

5 Videos [+ examples] that Leverage Brand Storytelling in Your Buyer Journey

By Amy Alexander
on March 23, 2023

As buyers navigate their way through the purchasing journey, they will research many brands and solutions for their problems. And, in such a noisy marketplace, it can feel almost impossible to set your brand apart. The good news? Brand storytelling can provide a powerful solution for engaging customers and enabling a truly differentiated brand. The little-known reality is that every brand (whether or not you're a media or marketing company) should include video as a core activity of enabling their buyers in the journey. And, it doesn't have to be as hard as you think!

Does Search Engine Optimization - SEO - Help Your Brand Story?

By David Mills
on March 06, 2023

Does all of your effort on search engine optimization, help or hurt your brand? It’s easy to miss the brand impacts of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) while you are working to ensure that customers can find you online. Search strategy is deeply interwoven with the experience that potential customers have with your brand.

The Major Cons of Outsourced Marketing

By Amy Alexander
on February 15, 2023

Outsourced marketing is a reality for small, medium, and even large companies. We know this. It can't be helped. Whether it's niche digital advertising, rebranding, or website redesigns... even large organizations have to outsource niche expertise. But, have we considered the cost... the major disadvantages of perpetually outsourcing our marketing? Could serial, outsourced marketing be damaging our brand story in a way we never took the time to realize?

The tech fight of the century- the impact of AI for business

By David Mills
on February 08, 2023

We've got ringside seats, except we've got a stake in this game because AI for business is going to change everything

Sports fans love a good fight, and there's one going on right now in the online search world. It all started on November 30, 2022, when Open AI made their service ChatGPT public. Over the holiday season, Google's top leaders had to wake up from their long winter's nap to a widely reported code red, because they realized the dramatic impact this was already having.

6 Value Proposition Mistakes That Dilute Brand Loyalty

By Amy Alexander
on December 15, 2022

Value propositions are elusive. Even top companies present themselves as "different" using the same concepts and terms as their competitors. They forget to actually differentiate when they present their value to their customers. Common value proposition mistakes leave customers lukewarm about brand loyalty, and unclear about why they should look at anything more than a price-point.

How to use email to fuel company growth

By David Mills
on November 07, 2022

The lack of effective email is a growth barrier

Deliver better customer experiences with email tied to a CRM (and don't ditch good customers)

It is frustrating! I know they have my email address and my phone, but my house hasn't been pressure washed for more than a year. I think the power washing company has abandoned me. I think I know why.

It's not because I was a bad customer. I had plenty of dirt on my vinyl siding, and I paid promptly. The technician was only here for a couple of hours and I said thank you, even though some of the spray fluid came through the kitchen door and ruined the tablecloth.

Our Mission: Help You Accomplish Good, Hard Things

By David Mills
on October 18, 2022

I was stunned when I heard him say it. In just a few short words, Andy Crouch, speaking at the Faith Driven Entrepreneur Conference 2022, captured what we've been working to explain for the entire life of our company. It was as if we'd finally found the words that describe our purpose. Clarity about the "why" fuels the work.

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