Tag Archives: growth

Business Partners, Joint Ventures and the Win-Win-Win Strategy

Posted on by

Most people are very familiar with the idea of “win-win” in the development of joint ventures. This way of thinking has helped push old world business owners into thinking about the benefits of helping their business partners as well as themselves.

To strengthen business relationships, you need to focus on what would benefit both parties. The result creates more of a unified force. Asking yourself how you can help your business partner will truly make a huge difference in the long-term stability of your venture. A good way to start a relationship is to ask both parties for their Conditions of Success (COS). Then everyone knows what is expected at the end for joint success.

Continue reading →

Land a Sale by Tracking Sales Leads

Posted on by

Your small business exists because it has a product or service to sell. However, you can’t have a sale if you don’t have a buyer. And you can’t have a buyer if you don’t successfully generate and track sales leads.

What Exactly is a Sales Lead?

In general, a sales lead is a potential customer who previously indicated an interest in your product or service. They are not a customer…yet. Your job (or that of your sales reps) is to sway that individual or business so that they become your customer.

Seems like an easy enough task. Continue reading →

9 New Steps for Managing Strategic Alliances That Work

Posted on by

In a recent press release, Hallmark, the world’s leading greeting card brand, announced a strategic alliance with Shutterfly Inc., a leading Internet-based digital photo site. The goal is to have “exclusive Hallmark-designed customizable cards featured on Shutterfly’s new personalized greeting card site, Treat.com.”

According to Investopedia.com, a strategic alliance is… Continue reading →

Three Tips to Keeping Sales Growth Strong

Posted on by

When you first opened your doors for business, you were probably excited about the opportunity ahead. You had researched the market, talked to advisors, investigated financing, and made your dream come true.

Now it’s time to keep sales growth strong by taking the next step (or two) toward small business survival.  Continue reading →

Why Use A Sales Strategy to Ensure Success

Posted on by

As many people know, it can be very difficult to grow revenue for their company. Do you have the right sales strategy in place? Maybe you don’t even have a written strategy. Are sales growing as expected? Maybe you should double check your sales strategy or put one in place to guarantee your company continues to have some growth.

The first reason you should check your strategy is to ensure your entire sales team and the whole company Continue reading →

Entrepreneurs Under 30 Willing to Take Risks – Shake the World

Posted on by

For the under-30 crowd, a career isn’t about graduating college and working for a Fortune 500 company anymore. It’s about finding a passion, usually involving social, economic, or environmental issues.

In the May 2012 The Tennessean article, “Young entrepreneurs blaze their own trail,” writer Duane Marstellar suggests that more and more young adults are becoming entrepreneurs for economic and personal reasons. Marstellar cites:

Joblessness among 18- to 29-year-olds nationally Continue reading →

Is Networking Important to Sales Growth?

Posted on by

According to the Inc. article, “How to Network to Increase Sales,” 

If you routinely return from a networking event with a pocketful of business cards that aren’t useful to you, you need to rethink your strategy. While it’s good to make friends, it’s better to make money. 

The difficulty is that while networking is a useful sales tool and many business professionals Continue reading →

How to Increase Sales Growth

Posted on by

Today in a world where there are literally millions of products being sold, it’s importnat to have a strategic plan to increase your sales. There are many things competing for consumer’s attention. Implementing a plan to get the consumer to buy your product and increase your sales growth is very important. You can use many avenues to do this. Some are to develop a marketing strategy, provide excellent customer service, and also to have an good social networking presence. Continue reading →

Start the Sales Process by Targeting the Best Customers

Posted on by

Regardless of what you sell – product or service – or how you sell – brick and mortar, online, or both – the first step in the sales process is to identify the right customers for your business. Understanding who your customer is will help you know where to find them.

According to the recent Business Insider article, Continue reading →

Help for Entrepreneurs is Just a Click Away

Posted on by
Everyone has a dream to make it big with one invention or idea that could change the world. Before embarking on that dream, however, it is important to lay the foundation for your success. Remember, you are leaving the security of a steady paycheck to pursue your dream as an entrepreneur. Therefore, one cannot simply make this huge leap without careful planning and even some soul searching. Continue reading →

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

Posted on by

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

Posted on by

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 →