Business down? Add Lemonade!
Posted on March 17th, 2020 | Blog
Not going to conferences, trade shows, visiting customers? Make a difference now for when you resume business as usual. Smart Advantage can help you find your differentiators and competitive advantages remotely. You never have to leave your office; we don’t have to come on site! Make this worldwide Down Time pay off for your company. Arm your sales read more
Get Your Story Straight, and above all, Consistent!
Posted on March 16th, 2020 | Blog
After reviewing the marketing and sales messages for hundreds of companies, one thing has become glaringly obvious: there is little or no consistency in the messaging from any one company. Often messages are drowning with clichés. Clichés that are replicated on the websites of their nearest competitors. No one stands out, everyone is generally read more
Are you killing the goose?
Posted on February 3rd, 2020 | Blog
I am beginning to think that if we answered every single customer satisfaction survey we got after virtually each purchase, we would have to give up all our discretionary time to provide feedback to companies. You get a survey after you stay in a hotel, fly on a plane, order flowers, buy anything online, make read more
Hold the Line in Sales Negotiations
Posted on December 28th, 2019 | Blog
Now that the holidays are behind us, did you notice how many days are named for shopping? Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday, and Super Saturday are all special ways to shout – SALES. As if these designated shopping days aren’t enough, there’s no shortage of last minute specials with their blow out read more
Complaints, Please?
Posted on December 6th, 2019 | Blog
I was recently in a local retail store with a big sign announcing “Closing Sale, everything 70% off.” It was enough to get me to enter the store and ask the clerk why the store was closing. The clerk, who happened to be the Assistant Manager, said “Internet prices are killing us.” I tried to read more
Is Choosing to Buy from You a Crap Shoot?
Posted on November 18th, 2019 | Blog
If you have ever bought a new house or made any big purchase decisions, you likely did some comparisons. Most of us do that even when we think we know what “we want.” We are looking for that tie breaker. What will help me make my choice? Which stands out and why? Is there anything read more
Sales Speak is Hard to Change
Posted on October 7th, 2019 | Blog
How often do you challenge your salespeople, and yourself, to clean up your company’s sales pitch? We have worked with hundreds of companies to help them build a compelling data-driven pitch. The key to success for any new sales pitch is that it must be a consistent presentation of your company’s value. And the goal read more
Despite the Buzz Words…Companies Miss the Mark
Posted on September 3rd, 2019 | Blog
Companies throw buzz words around like pillows at a preteen sleep over. Value Proposition, value marketing, cost benefit, cost justification, value chain – you’ve heard them. Too many are adopted by company leaders to create the internal “vision” of what the company must focus on in their corporate culture and sales and marketing efforts. read more
Judge Judy and Business Decisions
Posted on July 30th, 2019 | Blog
I will confess, I am a big fan of Judge Judy. I love how she cuts to the chase and doesn’t let folks ramble on with their “feelings,” just goes for the facts. What a concept! But most of all, she tells plaintiffs and defendants alike: “I don’t want to hear that, I don’t care read more
Mirror Mirror
Posted on July 2nd, 2019 | Blog
Peter Drucker said “90% of information used in an organization is internally focused and only ten percent is about the outside environment. This is exactly backwards.” This may be one of the most telling business quotes of all time. We often see companies that are wrapped up in themselves. Their self-image – who they read more