http://www.smallbusinesstraining.co.uk Improve your sales and marketing skills: Win and grow more profitable business Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:15:07 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en This post was prompted by a company selling a webinar about meetings; more specifically, how to have effective meetings. It reminded me of one of a series of training videos that were used a generation ago that often used humour to put the main points across. This particular one was "Meetings ... http://www.smallbusinesstraining.co.uk/marketing/how-effective-are-your-business-meetings Prepare yourself for making your calls by getting into the right frame of mind Project an aura of friendly professionalism This can be broken down into two parts: 1 Style of approach With prospects you don’t know whom you'll be talking with or what to expect and one of my top rules on that ... http://www.smallbusinesstraining.co.uk/business/6-of-10-telephone-sales-tips-on-how-to-create-a-positive-image Prepare yourself for making your calls by getting into the right frame of mind Be a good listener You have two ears and one mouth - use them in that ratio. It probably isn't the first time you've come across this advice and it won't be the last, either! When you make your phone ... http://www.smallbusinesstraining.co.uk/business/5-of-10-telephone-sales-tips-on-how-to-create-a-positive-image Four years ago many small business clients were telling yours truly that: The hardest part was to get in front of potential customers They didn't have big marketing budgets to attract them They sent out the occasional mail shots and (sometimes, but increasing less so) followed them up with little success They'd ... http://www.smallbusinesstraining.co.uk/marketing/how-well-does-your-networking-work Answer: (probably) Nobody. Yet how do you behave when talking to your prospects (whether literally in business networking, face to face or telephone selling situations, or in your written marketing communications)? Be honest, now. Is it mainly "We do this", "We do that", "We're different because..."? And are you just a teeny ... http://www.smallbusinesstraining.co.uk/marketing/who-do-you-know-who-likes-being-sold-to Oops! I seem to have been a bit remiss... However, I saw this on a website earlier today, hadn't come across it before and thought I'd share it with you: Kind hearts are the gardens Kind thoughts are the roots Kind words are the flowers Kind deeds are the fruits Longfellow What we think about and feel ... http://www.smallbusinesstraining.co.uk/thought-for-the-week/thought-for-the-week-20 Precised extracts from my email inbox this morning: "...the Publisher of the Orange County Register in the USA (a newspaper that is the third largest in California) says: "The Register has to become a 21st century business... We can't have the same model that worked 10 years ago." His approach has been ... http://www.smallbusinesstraining.co.uk/marketing/business-survival-us-and-uk-style And you don't need to be there in person - there's webinars each day this week, starting today, 19th October. Here's a round up on results of a survey with proprietors of 7,000 businesses (over 1,000 of which had started up in the last 2 years: 48% have seen decline in ... http://www.smallbusinesstraining.co.uk/business/small-business-week-2009-is-now Integration of Social networks and CRM tools can provide a wealth of data on customers and potential customers but are small businesses making the most of this opportunity? I came across a great blog posted back in the summer by Ian Hendry, CEO of wecando.biz In it he talks about Social CRM: ... http://www.smallbusinesstraining.co.uk/marketing/small-businesses-social-media-cr Here are some questions only you can answer that will help you seer how you can get more profitable business... How have you brought in business in the past? And are those methods still working, or working as well as they used to? Who are your most profitable customers? How did they ... http://www.smallbusinesstraining.co.uk/marketing/how-can-i-get-more-business-3