Market Wisely, and Sales Will Follow, maybe even lead By Ray Silverstein What kind of marketing activities do you do for your business? Do you have a marketing plan? How about a marketing budget? Do you use marketing strategies to focus and support your sales efforts, or do you engage in spontaneous, one-time marketing activities…
How to Sell Smarter: ‘Ditch the Pitch’ Review by Ray Silverstein There’s one subject entrepreneurs can’t get enough of: how to increase sales. Well, here’s a thought. If your current sales pitch isn’t delivering the results you want, it’s time to switch things up. Better yet, why not do something radical, and ditch the sales…
THE ONE THING The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results Gary Keller with Jay Papasan – reviewed by Ray Silverstein The author states “The One Thing is the best approach to getting what you want.” “What’s the One Thing you can do this week such that by doing it everything else would be easier?” The…
10 Ways to Get Great Referrals (Even if You Stink at Asking for Them) When it comes to sales tools, few things are more powerful than customer referrals. They’re simple, effective, and absolutely free. We love when referrals come our way. Yet many entrepreneurs are reluctant to actively request them. If you’re one of them,…
Are Your Habits Helping or Hurting Your Business? Right now, many of us are wrestling with the personal habits we resolved to break or build back on January 1, like losing weight and giving up smoking. But what about your business habits? Have you given them any thought? Like it or not, we are slave…
How to Diffuse Workplace Conflict and Create Consensus I recently conducted a workshop on a highly emotional topic: humans in the workplace. After all, every human being—employees and bosses—shows up for work accompanied by their unique drives, triggers, and tendencies. All things considered, it’s a wonder we get any work done at all. My message…
“Don’t bring me problems, bring me solutions.” This is one of those standby expressions that small business owners frequently say to their employees. It recently came up in one of my PRO peer groups. The question was: is it a smart thing, or is it a dumb thing? At first glance, the phrase implies that…
Being a Good Manager One of the advantages of running a small business is that you can manage your employees on an individualized basis. A savvy boss identifies each worker’s hot buttons and work style, and manages employees accordingly. And if you’re super-savvy, you’ll factor in the cultural generation your employees belong to as well….
Recruiting Top Talent We discussed how the key to making successful hires is to target applicants who share your core values. This time, we ask: why wait for those hires to come to you? The smartest, easiest way to identify great potential employees is ‘24/7/365 recruiting.’ It’s simple: even when you’re not actively hiring, keep your eyes…
What do you think it is? Good news: it seems like more small business owners are shifting into hiring mode. That’s a good thing for everyone. Now, the bad news. Many small business owners don’t really know how to hire the best candidate. And making a bad hiring choice is one of the most costly…
