Google CEO Sundar Pichai said at Bloomberg’s tech conference that AI will help engineers be more productive but that his company would still add more human engineers to its team. Meanwhile, Microsoft is planning more layoffs amid heavy investment in AI, Bloomberg reported this week. Other tech leaders at Shopify, Duolingo and Box have told…
My friend Steve Yastrow, a shrewd advisor and author, recently introduced this “Ditch the Pitch” approach, which you’ll find in his book of the same name at yastrow.com. It’s so packed with great ideas, I asked Steve for permission to share my top takeaways here. If your sales pitch isn’t delivering the results you want,…
I don’t know who coined the expression “cash is king,” but they certainly knew what they were talking about. Cash rules, always and forever, but even more so when the economy is soft. Cash = power. When you have it, it allows you to operate from a position of strength. Cash is not only money…
Goal: Learn to Sell Strategically Maximize Sales with Strike Zone Selling Like everything else, the key to selling effectively is focusing your time, efforts and energies where they’re most likely to pay off. That means identifying and targeting your best prospects by drawing on intelligence you already own. It’s called Strike Zone Selling, and it’s…
Step 1 – Target Your Market No matter what size your business is, the key to growth is working smarter, not harder. That means focusing your resources—time, money, personnel—on those activities that deliver the greatest return. Follow the 80/20 rule of productivity: just 20% of our customers, products, and activities generate 80% of our business…
Why Every Small Business Owner Needs a Mentor (and How It Can Transform Your Business) Running a small business is a rewarding but challenging journey. At times, it can feel like you’re wearing every hat in the office, from CEO to janitor, while trying to figure out marketing strategies and balancing the books. It’s no…
Retooling Human Resources: A Roadmap to Building a Stronger Team When it comes to growing a small business, many owners focus on sales, products, and the big picture. But there’s one crucial piece often overlooked—human resources. Specifically, how do you ensure you have the right people on your team, and how can you measure their…
How to Create a Marketing Plan and Budget for Your Small Business If you’re a small business owner, you’ve likely thought about your marketing efforts. But, do you have a written marketing plan? Many businesses approach marketing in a haphazard way—acting on impulse rather than strategy. Unfortunately, this usually leads to inconsistent and ineffective results….
Boost Your Sales with Strategic Strike Zone Selling In sales, like in any other business area, success comes from focusing your time and energy on activities that yield the best results. Enter “Strike Zone Selling”—a powerful strategy that helps you zero in on your best prospects and maximize your sales efforts. This method is drawn…
How to Give Your Small Business a Power Check and Stay Ahead of the Competition One of the most important keys to growing your business is to keep evolving. Growth doesn’t happen by standing still. You need to step back from your daily operations to evaluate your position in the bigger business landscape. This is…
