The Competitive Advantage

May 16, 2013

Re-purpose… and extend the depth and breadth of your content marketing.

I recently delivered a presentation on marketing at the annual CASRO Management Conference in New Orleans.

It was called, “12 reasons why your marketing & sales might not be working and what you can do about it.”  Other than creating the PowerPoint presentation itself, it took me no time to develop… no time flushing out ideas, no time refining concepts, no time finalizing the content.

How was I so lucky? Easy… the presentation already existed.  It was based on an eBook I had published a few months earlier.  I simply took the content that had been developed for the eBook and ‘re-purposed’ it for the presentation.

May 7, 2013

Better, faster, cheaper… is it possible to deliver all 3 for a competitive advantage?

Creating strong client relationships is built on a 3-legged stool…

• Excellent service
• Low prices
• Great products/services

And the presumption has always been… you can deliver on two… but never on all three.  E.g. You can be fast and cheap – but the quality won’t be so great.  Or, you can turn it around quickly with great products – but it’ll cost you.

I have always believed this to be true – not just in MR but in every industry – until I went wine shopping with a friend of mine at Beltway Fine Wine & Spirits, just outside of Baltimore, Maryland.

April 30, 2013

A 5-step recipe to position your firm for a competitive advantage

At the risk of sounding like I’m a little full of myself, I’m going to toot my own horn… but only to make a point.

We had an inquiry from a good-size research firm in the U.K. recently, which was sort of unusual… since I don’t really do anything to try to build business there. So I was a little flattered.

During the introductory portion of the call (gotta love Skype!), my contact said that he reached out to me, “because you’re the most recognized name in marketing & sales in our industry in the UK.”  Are you kidding me?!  How did that happen?!

April 29, 2013

How that ‘one great client’ could doom your firm

When I was a kid just out of college (a long time ago) working as a sales rep for the DuPont Company, I used to believe that I couldn’t be successful until I got what I needed from others.

• “I’ll be better at sales when I get better brochures from corporate.”
• “Business will pick up once engineering improves these products I’m selling.”
• “Once I get through the training program, my results will improve.”

But once you mature a bit and get a little real-world experience under your belt, you realize that success is your responsibility entirely. You succeed or fail because of what you do or don’t do. Simple – and true! If you buy into this concept – and most successful professionals will – then why do we continue to ignore it when it comes to running our businesses?

April 26, 2013

Is the Market Research industry changing the way it feels about Marketing & Sales?

As I mentioned in last week’s blog, I had the privilege of speaking at the CASRO Management Conference this week in New Orleans.  By the way, if you run a research agency and haven’t been, you need to put it on your calendar for next year!

In addition to speaking, I also had the opportunity sit in on all the other sessions and panel discussions.  Interestingly, about half of the topics revolved around marketing & sales!  At a market research event?

April 17, 2013

Going to the CASRO Management Conference in New Orleans?

I’m privileged to have been invited to speak next week at the annual CASRO Management Conference, the only industry event that exclusively focuses on managing the business side of the research business.   Sessions are centered on such topics as marketing, sales, HR and finances.

The title of my session is, “12 Reasons Why Your Marketing & Sales Might Not Be Working & What You Can Do About It.”  The presentation is based on our eBook of the same name.

It’s still not too late to register.  For details, Click Here.

Hope to see you there!

April 10, 2013

Ask the MAGIC QUESTION to gain a competitive advantage

I’m writing this blog post from a coffeeshop about an hour from home while my wife & I are living with my in-laws for a few days.  Our new hardwood floors are being finished and we needed to be out of the house.

But it wasn’t by design.  The floors were actually finished a week ago… but then got scuffed up by the painters dragging their ladder across the floor to do their job.  Was the scuffing bad?  Not really… but enough that it bothered us.

We called the general contractor to express our displeasure.  Some people in his position would have argued, said the scuffs were to be expected, blamed it on others, etc.  Not our contractor.  His question was simple and straightforward, “What do I need to do to make you happy?”

April 2, 2013

Hiring your first sales rep? Answer these 3 questions first… (part 3 of a 3-part series)

This is part 3 of a 3-part series to help answer a few important questions for those firms in the Market Research industry that are thinking about hiring their first sales rep.

In part 1, we discussed the advantages and disadvantages of Inside vs. Outside sales rep.  In part 2, we talked about the Hunter vs. the Farmer role.  In this post, it all about the money…

Question #3: How to compensate salespeople?