This is a discussion I had with a client, paraphrased, that I just had to share. It went something like this… I’m signed up here but I have to tell ya, I really don’t like marketing and I have a lot of issues with it. I hate being “marketed” to. I screen all telemarketing calls and never call them back. …
I have emphatically stated and long taught the importance of FREQUENT and MEANINGFUL communication with your clients as well as key strategic partners and centers of influence (association directors, sponsors, referral partners, etc.). Practically every business I know fails to do this effectively, some more than others. The best way to communicate, I believe, is a well-written MONTHLY newsletter that …
Here’s a question I received from a client that I get some version of FREQUENTLY: “Once I get the contact on the phone, say the CEO, he or she will usually say, ‘Yes, I got your information and passed it on to my IT department.’ For me this is like being placed in the Bermuda Triangle, because the IT person …
One of the most productive and useful things you can do to work on your marketing and sales for your IT business is NEGATIVE PREPARATION: think of every reason a prospect won’t buy – every obstacle, concern and issue that causes anxiety – then go to work in preparing your process to address it EARLY and, ultimately, address it, minimize …
When you want to show how filthy rich and successful you are, details matter. That’s why you need to have gold-plated staples, sold in packs of 24 for $175. Or how about a Tiffany tennis-ball-canister … for $1,500? And if you really want to show off on the courts, you can hydrate yourself with a $60,000 bottle of Icelandic glacier …
One night in 1936, Sylvan Goldman, owner of the Humpty Dumpty supermarket chain in Oklahoma, sat in his office trying to figure out how to get customers to buy more groceries. Observing clients as they shopped, he noticed that many of them were struggling to carry the normal shopping basket provided, particularly the moms with kids. Once they got to …
At every Rapid Implementation Workshop (www.RapidImplementationWorkshop.com), I take attendees through an exercise of secret shopping each other’s businesses. The scenario we give them is this: You are the Operations Manager of a company with 26 employees. Your server keeps rebooting, and your current IT company can’t come out to fix it until Tuesday of next week (three days from now). …
Email marketing during the 1990’s was a gold mine. Fifty to sixty percent response rates were common (compared to an industry benchmark of 20% today). Every email campaign I sent out got a flood of email responses. Today it’s an art form rather than a free-for-all. While email marketing shouldn’t be the only tool in your arsenal, it’s still incredibly …
The United States government is the largest customer in the world. They buy millions of dollars in services and products every year. Landing an IT government contract can be a huge boost for your business. But it’s not about grabbing for any government contract you can find. You need to make sure it’s the right opportunity for you. Today we’re …
You’re pulling 80-hour work weeks but not getting the results you want. You think you’re setting smart, business goals but failing to achieve them. You’re frustrated, even unhappy, about the state of your IT services firm and struggling when selling managed services. What can you do? Why IT Firms Struggle I’ve worked with, mentored and assisted thousands of IT business …
