Every year more and more products are being introduced into the market, and after a while it all looks the same. What if a program was developed that helped generate a true (ROI) return on a trade show investment? During my tenure as a promotional products consultant, I was absolutely amazed at how ineffective most marketing managers were at effectively managing the results of their trade shows.
Cliff Quicksell
As I was growing up—and even to this day, I am very involved in athletics. As a high-schooler and through university, I participated in varsity track, basketball and baseball, and studied martial arts, achieving my black belt in tae kwon do and hapkido. I learned many valuable lessons that have been tenets for me to this day; lessons that I use and have passed on to both my children, Caitlin and Alex.
One of the best ways to promote your business is with compelling end-user testimonials. Here are 10 tips for testimonials that are compelling and useful.
The Internet, the obvious low barrier to entry, unskilled salespeople, the economy—each of these drive price wars and ultimately erode profits. Additionally, these issues relinquish control over to the client thus giving the client ultimate control to manage and drive the process. However, it doesn’t need to be that way. Choose to be different!
A few years back I was speaking at Fruit of the Loom’s national sales meeting, I had the pleasure of sharing the stage with a gentleman whose name escapes me, however, his message during our offstage conversations still resonates with me today.
Accountability—the very mention conjures up feelings and thoughts of stress, being under a microscope or micro-managed. Accountability is imperative to running any organization. Whether it is a business, a household or a team—everyone needs to be accountable. So where does it begin?
As a speaker, it is imperative to follow a certain set of standards to stay on top of my game. These same standards helped me when I was making client presentations. Learn these guidelines and continue to hone them, and you will see amazing success.
If I were to ask you, “Where do you want to be at the end of next year, in three years or five?” what would you say? Selling $1 million, maybe $2 million? Increasing your profits by 15 percent? Having 10 new clients? Spending more time with your family? Going on that long wanted European vacation? Well, whatever your goal, you must envision it, have a plan, work the plan, and measure the plan in order to stay on course if you ever want to see your goals to fruition.
When it comes to marketing, there are no guarantees. A great marketing idea that is poorly implemented or incorrectly presented can have less than desirable results. You might spend hours of development time and a ton of money, so pay heed to the advice to ensure top results.
There are many factors that dictate the success or failure of any marketing campaign. Let’s discuss what they are and how to prevent the disasters from happening—or at best, keep them to a minimum.
As a consultant, I am often asked, "what are the characteristics of successful people in the industry?" One interesting note—it has nothing to do with gender, age or tenure in the industry. Instead, it has everything to do with the character and integrity of an individual. I have noticed through discussion and observation several factors that I believe truly make a champion. And by the way, becoming a million dollar salesperson isn’t the Holy Grail barometer of success. Success can be measured and identified on many, many levels.
What exactly is your ideal client worth? What would you spend to get that new client? How much does your best client spend with you on an annual basis? And better yet, what is the profitability, long term, of that client? This article will be a mathematical analysis of your marketing.
The promotional products industry for decades has bred reactive salespeople. As I have interviewed top performers over the years, one trait seems to surface more times than not. It’s not the verbalizing of having “great customer service,” no, it’s actually putting that statement into practice well beyond what most would consider good customer service.
