Channel or Direct Sales: Should You Cut Out the Middleman?

The shortest distance between two points is always a straight line. However, selling directly to your customer instead of developing an indirect sales channel isn’t just about cutting out the middleman and keeping all the profit for yourself. It’s about considering the pluses and minuses of going it alone.

Selling direct may sound like the most profitable way for a company to do business, until you consider the costs that go into selling this way. Let’s compare Microsoft and Apple.

For the most part, Apple sells direct. Continue reading

Now is Not the Time to Hesitate, Now is the Time to be an Entrepreneur

If you’re standing on the precipice of making the decision to become an entrepreneur, it’s time to jump in. There are too many opportunities to wait any longer. And the longer you wait, the harder it is to make that leap of faith.

First, there are a number of experts out there who will tell you about Continue reading

Tracking Sales Losses is Important, Too

Everyone wants to win. Companies love tracking sales growth. But what about the losses? Don’t overlook them. They are important to your company as well.

In the MediaPost article, “9 Metrics Every Company Should Use,” writer and senior vice president of strategy and solutions Martha Bush, suggests:

As the number of sales channels continues to increase, so has the need for organizations to get a strong, metrics-based grip on all that data to maximize their successes and learn from their failures.

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Building Strategic Alliances is necessary to business success

Building alliances can be tricky. Building strategic alliances is time consuming in that to do it well, you need to be able to see the big picture. In a recent article written by Ken Lyons; 63 Free (or Almost Free) Ways to Market Your Business, each and every suggestion has its roots in building relationshipsKen’s advice isn’t repetitive. It’s just that the art of building strategic alliances is in and of itself the most effective, direct, and fool proof way of marketing your business.

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