Short pieces, one topic at a time.
Marketing & sales
Marketing, promotion and advertising: what sets them apart
Promotion is two questions: what you offer and how you offer it so people respond. It happens at every point of contact, not only in the ad.
5 min
How much to promote when your diary is already full
Promote above what you can get through this week, never above what you are able to deliver. Today's capacity should not decide how many…
5 min
Why one offer per message sells more than three
One offer per message outsells three, because it keeps the customer's attention in one place and spares them a choice they are not ready to…
4 min
What a public is, and why your customers are several
A public is not everyone who might buy from you. It is a group held together by a shared interest, trade or status, so most businesses have…
5 min
What an opinion leader is, and why it is not a big name
An opinion leader is the person your public turns to for a view on things, not necessarily a famous one, so you measure them by influence…
5 min
How to build a business image with no marketing budget
A small business image is built first from integrity, word of mouth and useful work, not money. And good work that nobody hears about is…
5 min
What a sales phone call is for, and why not to sell on it
A sales phone call has one product: a date in the diary. The phone is good at booking meetings and poor at selling, so what you give away…
5 min
Why you cannot qualify a client over the phone
You cannot tell on the phone if a client is able and willing to buy. Qualifying happens in the meeting; the call only checks for a reason…
5 min
Why a customer who cannot reach you goes elsewhere
A call the customer starts is worth more than one you start, and when they cannot reach you they do not think you are busy. They think you…
5 min
Why you do not know what the client needs, and what they want
Clients do not want your service. They want something to stop happening to them, so assuming you know their needs is the biggest risk in a…
5 min
Why you never ask a client to decide in a sales meeting
In a sales meeting you never ask the client to decide or choose. Deciding takes understanding, and asking too early only weighs the client…
5 min
What a sales objection really is, and how to spot an alibi
A sales objection is usually the buyer's fear of getting it wrong, not a point about price. A real objection keeps coming back; an alibi…
5 min
Why customers who already bought are your biggest asset
The people who already paid you are your business's potential income. Most owners never count them, and never reach out after the first…
5 min
Why customers refer you, and why it isn't a favor
A customer who just bought from you gives you a friend's name because they need to: seeing someone else buy too reassures them they chose…
5 min
Why the work you deliver is your strongest marketing
Most new clients come from people you already served well and who send others your way, so the quality of your delivery outsells your…
5 min
What your price is measured against, and why it is not cost
A price is measured against its value in the buyer's eyes, not the market or your costs, yet you still need your full cost, so it sits…
5 min
Who really pays for what your business gives away free
What you give away was never free. It goes into the price of something else or comes out of your profit, and what matters is whether you…
5 min
Why selling more won't rescue falling income
Money represents work that was delivered, not work that was sold. When income falls because delivery is stuck, more sales only dig the hole…
5 min