So you need to keep an eye on that old bottom line from going totally down into the tank? Ok, l I hear you. So do I. So here are some low-cost CRM ideas and strategies for when your money is tighter than tight.
1) Watch the ROI on each of the channels you are marketing and advertising inn. Make sure they are worth the investment of money and time.
2) Look over your marketing channels and find redundancy and create a comprehensive view of your customer and the demographics of your ideal customer so you can pinpoint them with your advertising/marketing attack.
3) Ok you closet writers out there, create an internal and/or external blog or discussion board where customers and employees can communicate with all you Suites out there. Give them have access to you. It will calm down a lot of nervous people to be able to hear from you.
4) Look for ways to have virtual events rather than f2f.
5) Tap into your social networking groups to find ways to get free advice from your peers, colleges and competition.
6) Get out of your office and go visit your customers at their offices. Wow, now there is a novel idea.
7) Analytics. Yes Google analytics is still free. Track yourself.
8) Set on a speaking circuit. Again get out into your community and start talking. Rotary, Kiwanis and many Chambers’ of Commerce have groups looking, no begging for speakers. Find a topic you know well and go for it. You might be suprised at how smart you are.
9) Synergy. Find companies that complement you and work an account together giving your customer a broader ore complete service than you could by yourself.
10) Nurture those sales leads. Keep in contact with new and old accounts. Keeping in contact so when they are ready you are the first name that comes to their mind. Do I hear newsletter here?
Larson note: We need to keep a lid on our expenses but that does not mean we need to get derailed from out advertising, marketing and crm efforts. People are still out there buying stuff and services. The question is who are they buying from? You or your competition?
Howard Larson
Larson & Associates
Target Marketing & Telesales Professionals for new account acquisition
Making good businesses great and great businesses even better
847-991-0488
larsonassoc1975@yahoo.com
http://www.geocities.com/larsonassoc1979/1
http://larsonassociates.blogspot.com
http://member.merchantcircle.com/larsonassociates
http://businesswarfare.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
http://teamcircle.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
https://twitter.com/LarsonAssociate
P.S. We make telesales for small business affordable by offering programs down to only 15 hours a week. Maybe you could add telesales into your marketing mix call today and find out.
P.S.S. If you are in Credit Cards I have just signed up the services of an EXPERICENED merchant service salesperson. Interested in using him, call today.
*Source: Customer Relations Management
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Loyalty Programs to Boost Sales
So in these down times what can you do to increase sales or at least stop the loss of sales?
While there is not 100% guaranteed sure fire way to stem the tide for a deep recession but businesses should be able to make an attempt to keep the damage at a minimum. In building relationships and trust with your customers that already know you and love you is a very viable way to increase sales and stimulate growth, and should use it especially during a downturn, like now.
YOU could offer special discounts, make a customer club, early bird specials complete with wake up calls, or call alerts when their favorite merchandise comes in before it is on the shelf for the general public. These are all simple things you can be doing Now, Today.
These and other actives like these can be used to ensure that customers look forward to interaction with your and keep coming to you and not your competition.
Larson note: It does not take much to get your past customers coming in and back for more. That is if you were keeping records or name, address, telephone number, email address. If not start today. Loyalty comes in all shapes or forms but are an excelled way to keep your name out in the open and in front of your past-customers. Need company specific ideas, call us.
Howard Larson
Larson & Associates
Target Marketing & Telesales Professionals for new account acquisition
Making good businesses great and great businesses even better
847-991-0488
larsonassoc1975@yahoo.com
http://www.geocities.com/larsonassoc1979/1
http://larsonassociates.blogspot.com
http://member.merchantcircle.com/larsonassociates
http://businesswarfare.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
http://teamcircle.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
https://twitter.com/LarsonAssociate
P.S. We make telesales for small business affordable by offering programs down to only 15 hours a week. Maybe you could add telesales into your marketing mix call today and find out.
P.S.S. If you are in Credit Cards I have just signed up the services of an EXPERICENED merchant service salesperson. Interested in using him, call today.
*Source: SmartReply
While there is not 100% guaranteed sure fire way to stem the tide for a deep recession but businesses should be able to make an attempt to keep the damage at a minimum. In building relationships and trust with your customers that already know you and love you is a very viable way to increase sales and stimulate growth, and should use it especially during a downturn, like now.
YOU could offer special discounts, make a customer club, early bird specials complete with wake up calls, or call alerts when their favorite merchandise comes in before it is on the shelf for the general public. These are all simple things you can be doing Now, Today.
These and other actives like these can be used to ensure that customers look forward to interaction with your and keep coming to you and not your competition.
Larson note: It does not take much to get your past customers coming in and back for more. That is if you were keeping records or name, address, telephone number, email address. If not start today. Loyalty comes in all shapes or forms but are an excelled way to keep your name out in the open and in front of your past-customers. Need company specific ideas, call us.
Howard Larson
Larson & Associates
Target Marketing & Telesales Professionals for new account acquisition
Making good businesses great and great businesses even better
847-991-0488
larsonassoc1975@yahoo.com
http://www.geocities.com/larsonassoc1979/1
http://larsonassociates.blogspot.com
http://member.merchantcircle.com/larsonassociates
http://businesswarfare.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
http://teamcircle.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
https://twitter.com/LarsonAssociate
P.S. We make telesales for small business affordable by offering programs down to only 15 hours a week. Maybe you could add telesales into your marketing mix call today and find out.
P.S.S. If you are in Credit Cards I have just signed up the services of an EXPERICENED merchant service salesperson. Interested in using him, call today.
*Source: SmartReply
Using a Lead Generation Company (like ours)
More quality leads that’s what we want, isn’t it. Not just some tire kickers looking us over, not some person who can fog a mirror, but real people and companies with real needs that we can do, with real money to pay for those goods and services.
You can push your sales force to generate more sales leads. Yet, I have seen more times than not, that companies don’t want to compensate the salesperson who is an excellent missionary sales person, but give the money and glory to the customer service after the sale salesperson. It takes time, hard work, patience and nurturing to bring in those new accounts, and companies are in usually in the pay for results mode mode of thought not the pay for future sales way of thinking.
As an alternative you can go and contract out to a company like ours. Grizzly, battle hardened, thick skinned sales and marketing professional who live only for the hunt, the working and creating qualified leads rather than the more customer service oriented sales person.
We are not the only company doing this kind of work. And we hope we have put together a unique way of putting together guerilla marketing, advertising and telesales into a unique way of finding qualified leads for our clients. So the question I put to you is: What information should you be sharing with a lead generation provider to ensure you reach your sales campaign goals.
To start the more information you can give us the better. We cannot create leads for you in a vacuum of emptyness. The more you share the more opportunity there is for us to develop a deeper sophisticated target and demographic or your ideal customer. To start there are 3 things we would need from you
1) ROI targets. Are your numbers real and attainable?
2) What happens in the initial follow-up after we have a qualified lead?
3) What is the long term follow up patter that you have in place.
Then what tools will you use in your attack: The lest here can be too long for a simple blog but after list creation and call center set up, will you be using mail or wave mailing programs, e-mail blasts, newsletters, f12f sales calls, trade show invites, etc. After you put all this information together your “Lead Generation Company” might have some advice on what you should do in addition to what you think you should be doing to improve your end result and give you a higher ROI.
The end result is that the more information you are willing to share the more your lead provider can give you the results you are hoping for.
Larson note: More time than not, a company will buy a bare bones program. It’s their choice, we can only make recommendations, they control the purse strings and how much and how serious they are, in wanting new customers. A few will put a full program in place, most however think that a telesales effort is all they need and we become the sales and marketing of the effort. We can do that but, if that is all there is you are cutting your nose off. When you are willing to walk the extra steps to using telesales and list creation into a multi-channel 4 or 5 pronged attack, the odds of your success and a higher ROI go up exponentially.
Like in the Movie Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan, when Spock noted that Khan was only thinking in 2 dimensions and not 3, with the end result that the Enterprise using vertical as well as horizontal space movement was able to attack and win over Khan. So to in marketing and lead generation. Think of multiple dimensions for customer, prospect contact and watch your base of new customers double or triple.
Howard Larson
Larson & Associates
Target Marketing & Telesales Professionals for new account acquisition
Making good businesses great and great businesses even better
847-991-0488
larsonassoc1975@yahoo.com
http://www.geocities.com/larsonassoc1979/1
http://larsonassociates.blogspot.com
http://member.merchantcircle.com/larsonassociates
http://businesswarfare.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
http://teamcircle.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
https://twitter.com/LarsonAssociate
P.S. We make telesales for small business affordable by offering programs down to only 15 hours a week. Maybe you could add telesales into your marketing mix call today and find out.
P.S.S. If you are in Credit Cards I have just signed up the services of an EXPERICENED merchant service salesperson. Interested in using him, call today.
*Source: Active Response Group
You can push your sales force to generate more sales leads. Yet, I have seen more times than not, that companies don’t want to compensate the salesperson who is an excellent missionary sales person, but give the money and glory to the customer service after the sale salesperson. It takes time, hard work, patience and nurturing to bring in those new accounts, and companies are in usually in the pay for results mode mode of thought not the pay for future sales way of thinking.
As an alternative you can go and contract out to a company like ours. Grizzly, battle hardened, thick skinned sales and marketing professional who live only for the hunt, the working and creating qualified leads rather than the more customer service oriented sales person.
We are not the only company doing this kind of work. And we hope we have put together a unique way of putting together guerilla marketing, advertising and telesales into a unique way of finding qualified leads for our clients. So the question I put to you is: What information should you be sharing with a lead generation provider to ensure you reach your sales campaign goals.
To start the more information you can give us the better. We cannot create leads for you in a vacuum of emptyness. The more you share the more opportunity there is for us to develop a deeper sophisticated target and demographic or your ideal customer. To start there are 3 things we would need from you
1) ROI targets. Are your numbers real and attainable?
2) What happens in the initial follow-up after we have a qualified lead?
3) What is the long term follow up patter that you have in place.
Then what tools will you use in your attack: The lest here can be too long for a simple blog but after list creation and call center set up, will you be using mail or wave mailing programs, e-mail blasts, newsletters, f12f sales calls, trade show invites, etc. After you put all this information together your “Lead Generation Company” might have some advice on what you should do in addition to what you think you should be doing to improve your end result and give you a higher ROI.
The end result is that the more information you are willing to share the more your lead provider can give you the results you are hoping for.
Larson note: More time than not, a company will buy a bare bones program. It’s their choice, we can only make recommendations, they control the purse strings and how much and how serious they are, in wanting new customers. A few will put a full program in place, most however think that a telesales effort is all they need and we become the sales and marketing of the effort. We can do that but, if that is all there is you are cutting your nose off. When you are willing to walk the extra steps to using telesales and list creation into a multi-channel 4 or 5 pronged attack, the odds of your success and a higher ROI go up exponentially.
Like in the Movie Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan, when Spock noted that Khan was only thinking in 2 dimensions and not 3, with the end result that the Enterprise using vertical as well as horizontal space movement was able to attack and win over Khan. So to in marketing and lead generation. Think of multiple dimensions for customer, prospect contact and watch your base of new customers double or triple.
Howard Larson
Larson & Associates
Target Marketing & Telesales Professionals for new account acquisition
Making good businesses great and great businesses even better
847-991-0488
larsonassoc1975@yahoo.com
http://www.geocities.com/larsonassoc1979/1
http://larsonassociates.blogspot.com
http://member.merchantcircle.com/larsonassociates
http://businesswarfare.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
http://teamcircle.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
https://twitter.com/LarsonAssociate
P.S. We make telesales for small business affordable by offering programs down to only 15 hours a week. Maybe you could add telesales into your marketing mix call today and find out.
P.S.S. If you are in Credit Cards I have just signed up the services of an EXPERICENED merchant service salesperson. Interested in using him, call today.
*Source: Active Response Group
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Needs vs. Wants
One business section headline I read to day read: Manufacturing shrinks / Spending continues to plummet. I was not shocked at all. Had it said December’s numbers went up I would have been more shocked.
So it posed a 35.6 for December, and that factories will probably be laying off more workers in the coming month’s car manufactures want to work down their inventories. Yet in all this there are items and purchases that are consider essential to people.
In a survey conducted by BioResearch they listed the10 top things people would stop buying and the 10 things that people felt they would not stop buying.
Expendable
92% Luxury handbag
91% Satellite radio
91% Specialty shopping for apparel
91% High end cosmetics
90% Maid service
90% Facial
89% Fine dining
88% Manicure/pedicure
88% Upgraded cell phone
88% Club/social membership
Untouchable
81% Internet service
64% Cell phone service (basic)
61% Cable/satellite TV (basic)
43% Hair cut/color
37% Fast food restaurant
33% Casual sit-down restaurant
32% Charitable contribution
30% Vacation
26% Fast-casual restaurant
*BigResearch, American Pulse Survey
Larson note: Fist off people are going to buy want they can afford and these days more so in cash than credit cards. Seconcd most important thing to not is that items being considered expendable are women based, meaning the woman more so than men are willing to give up things for the family (sorry men, it’s a fact). So it you are in the sell in the top10 list of give ups what do you do, roll over and play dead? Hardly. First remember there are some people still in the market, there are some people still buying facials and maid serve, your job is to make sure those people buy from you and not your competition. Put on some extra value. A glass of wine when you do a pedicure? Free coat check at a social club? Restaurant, do you have a birthday club?
Get creative. If you do business in the way your accustomed to you will get the same results you and your competition has always gotten. Work to disrupt your competition. Keep them off balance and guessing. In times of panic and economic downturn it is really not that hard, just get creative
Howard Larson
Larson & Associates
Target Marketing & Telesales Professionals for new account acquisition
Making good businesses great and great businesses even better
847-991-0488
larsonassoc1975@yahoo.com
http://www.geocities.com/larsonassoc1979/1
http://larsonassociates.blogspot.com
http://member.merchantcircle.com/larsonassociates
http://businesswarfare.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
http://teamcircle.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
https://twitter.com/LarsonAssociate
P.S. We make telesales for small business affordable by offering programs down to only 15 hours a week. Maybe you could add telesales into your marketing mix call today and find out.
P.S.S. If you are in Credit Cards I have just signed up the services of an EXPERICENED merchant service salesperson. Interested in using him, call today.
*Source: BigResearch, American Pulse Survey
So it posed a 35.6 for December, and that factories will probably be laying off more workers in the coming month’s car manufactures want to work down their inventories. Yet in all this there are items and purchases that are consider essential to people.
In a survey conducted by BioResearch they listed the10 top things people would stop buying and the 10 things that people felt they would not stop buying.
Expendable
92% Luxury handbag
91% Satellite radio
91% Specialty shopping for apparel
91% High end cosmetics
90% Maid service
90% Facial
89% Fine dining
88% Manicure/pedicure
88% Upgraded cell phone
88% Club/social membership
Untouchable
81% Internet service
64% Cell phone service (basic)
61% Cable/satellite TV (basic)
43% Hair cut/color
37% Fast food restaurant
33% Casual sit-down restaurant
32% Charitable contribution
30% Vacation
26% Fast-casual restaurant
*BigResearch, American Pulse Survey
Larson note: Fist off people are going to buy want they can afford and these days more so in cash than credit cards. Seconcd most important thing to not is that items being considered expendable are women based, meaning the woman more so than men are willing to give up things for the family (sorry men, it’s a fact). So it you are in the sell in the top10 list of give ups what do you do, roll over and play dead? Hardly. First remember there are some people still in the market, there are some people still buying facials and maid serve, your job is to make sure those people buy from you and not your competition. Put on some extra value. A glass of wine when you do a pedicure? Free coat check at a social club? Restaurant, do you have a birthday club?
Get creative. If you do business in the way your accustomed to you will get the same results you and your competition has always gotten. Work to disrupt your competition. Keep them off balance and guessing. In times of panic and economic downturn it is really not that hard, just get creative
Howard Larson
Larson & Associates
Target Marketing & Telesales Professionals for new account acquisition
Making good businesses great and great businesses even better
847-991-0488
larsonassoc1975@yahoo.com
http://www.geocities.com/larsonassoc1979/1
http://larsonassociates.blogspot.com
http://member.merchantcircle.com/larsonassociates
http://businesswarfare.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
http://teamcircle.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
https://twitter.com/LarsonAssociate
P.S. We make telesales for small business affordable by offering programs down to only 15 hours a week. Maybe you could add telesales into your marketing mix call today and find out.
P.S.S. If you are in Credit Cards I have just signed up the services of an EXPERICENED merchant service salesperson. Interested in using him, call today.
*Source: BigResearch, American Pulse Survey
Major Mistakes in Social Media Marketing
What are some of the biggest mistakes you can make in Social Media Marketing?
The first is not knowing your audience and your “market”. Even in a small online group there can be smaller splinter (dare I say cult) groups running around. Are these your market or is it the lager group? You need to get a handle on who you are reaching out and talking to. Craft and tailor yourself to their needs and interests and making friends with them. Become their hero!
Second is thinking that “if you build it they will come” mentality. Doesn’t work, sorry. I have 2 ning groups floating out there, one for my running/coaching company and one for my marketing company. I work and post to them but for whatever reason they have not clicked with the market I thought was out there. You need a reason for creating a community and a compelling reason for people to be a member of that community.
Third is boring content. Whether you are a blogger, a forum poster, a group writer or an emailer, keep fresh and to the (your point). Consistency is important. The people who are following your blog do it because they like what you are saying. As was pointed out to me once, by Vincent Wright of http://mylinkingpowerforum.ning.com you have more followers to your blog than you really know they just don’t post any comments. So don’t get stupid with it, stay in your knowledge area and keep it focused. It will pay back dividends if not today, tomorrow.
Fourth is a bunny hop from above but keep yourself consistent through all your SM marketing efforts. Just know who you are and project it to your audience. Some people call this branding, and it is, you are creating a brad of you and your company.
Fifth is size. It is not the number of friends or followers you have that is important but the number of touches you have with your friends that is. A person with a following of 500 with a 25% touch rate is much more effective that a person with a 2500 following and a.5% touch rate.
Sixth is execution. Use the elements of SM that you can use at or close to 100% and leave the rest.
Larson note: Social Media Marketing is cutting edge and you are riding the big wave. To keep on the crest you need to stay active. Keep slim and trim hand hammer home your consistent message. Create your brand and find your followers and stay connected.
Howard Larson
Larson & Associates
Target Marketing & Telesales Professionals for new account acquisition
Making good businesses great and great businesses even better
847-991-0488
larsonassoc1975@yahoo.com
http://www.geocities.com/larsonassoc1979/1
http://larsonassociates.blogspot.com
http://member.merchantcircle.com/larsonassociates
http://businesswarfare.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
http://teamcircle.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
https://twitter.com/LarsonAssociate
P.S. We make telesales for small business affordable by offering programs down to only 15 hours a week. Maybe you could add telesales into your marketing mix call today and find out.
P.S.S. If you are in Credit Cards I have just signed up the services of an EXPERICENED merchant service salesperson. Interested in using him, call today.
*Source: Stesslimitgdeisgn
The first is not knowing your audience and your “market”. Even in a small online group there can be smaller splinter (dare I say cult) groups running around. Are these your market or is it the lager group? You need to get a handle on who you are reaching out and talking to. Craft and tailor yourself to their needs and interests and making friends with them. Become their hero!
Second is thinking that “if you build it they will come” mentality. Doesn’t work, sorry. I have 2 ning groups floating out there, one for my running/coaching company and one for my marketing company. I work and post to them but for whatever reason they have not clicked with the market I thought was out there. You need a reason for creating a community and a compelling reason for people to be a member of that community.
Third is boring content. Whether you are a blogger, a forum poster, a group writer or an emailer, keep fresh and to the (your point). Consistency is important. The people who are following your blog do it because they like what you are saying. As was pointed out to me once, by Vincent Wright of http://mylinkingpowerforum.ning.com you have more followers to your blog than you really know they just don’t post any comments. So don’t get stupid with it, stay in your knowledge area and keep it focused. It will pay back dividends if not today, tomorrow.
Fourth is a bunny hop from above but keep yourself consistent through all your SM marketing efforts. Just know who you are and project it to your audience. Some people call this branding, and it is, you are creating a brad of you and your company.
Fifth is size. It is not the number of friends or followers you have that is important but the number of touches you have with your friends that is. A person with a following of 500 with a 25% touch rate is much more effective that a person with a 2500 following and a.5% touch rate.
Sixth is execution. Use the elements of SM that you can use at or close to 100% and leave the rest.
Larson note: Social Media Marketing is cutting edge and you are riding the big wave. To keep on the crest you need to stay active. Keep slim and trim hand hammer home your consistent message. Create your brand and find your followers and stay connected.
Howard Larson
Larson & Associates
Target Marketing & Telesales Professionals for new account acquisition
Making good businesses great and great businesses even better
847-991-0488
larsonassoc1975@yahoo.com
http://www.geocities.com/larsonassoc1979/1
http://larsonassociates.blogspot.com
http://member.merchantcircle.com/larsonassociates
http://businesswarfare.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
http://teamcircle.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
https://twitter.com/LarsonAssociate
P.S. We make telesales for small business affordable by offering programs down to only 15 hours a week. Maybe you could add telesales into your marketing mix call today and find out.
P.S.S. If you are in Credit Cards I have just signed up the services of an EXPERICENED merchant service salesperson. Interested in using him, call today.
*Source: Stesslimitgdeisgn
Monday, February 2, 2009
Plan Your Marketing for Market Disruptions
Things happen and unfortunately they are not always for the best. You have a business. You want to grow your business and bam you get wacked on the side of the head. I am not talking about the economy. Lord knows that is making life hard enough already, I am talking about what can happen to you and your business in the shifts your competitions makes in their marketing tactics.
You need to be thinking creatively, thinking marketplace shifts, thinking winning, because that is what business is all about. Winning and losing, and doing it graciously yet powerfully.
We need to be willing to make changes when they are needed, not when our business plan says we should. I have a 3 month, 6 month 1 year and a 5 year business plan working. Yet I am always ready to make changes. When something better comes along or one of my competitions broadsides me, I change. It’s more make changes or lay over and die. We need to have creative disruption; we need to be willing to embrace change when change is necessary and not change just for the sake of change. The focus needs to be on the result of execution. It seems to me that most business books are all about improving execution and but not about changing with the market. Get stuck in one thought pattern and die. Fall in love with your marketing and fall on your face.
Businesses most likely to succeed are ones that cause market shift, market change, businesses that go out and create market disruptions for their competition. You can’t be sitting back and playing catch up to other company’s initiatives.
Larson note: Take 2 hours a week, half a day a month and think about future marketing and/or business trends you could be, should be, using. Get obsessive about your competition and how to make their life miserable. It’s you or them, and between you and me, I would rather have my competition be more miserable than myself.
Sometimes tactics need to be changed. Case in point was the way I was approaching twitter. I was using a let them find and follow me approach on twitter until Mike Seidle on MyLinkingPowerForum.com showed a study in which he got a 4% click though off of his twitter posts, his Google posts got 1.5-2.5% and his facebook posts got only.03 to .11%. That blew me away and I revamped my 3 month marketing plan to get more aggressive in and on twitter.
Yes you can teach an old dog new tricks, just don’t tell my wife.
Howard Larson
Larson & Associates
Target Marketing & Telesales Professionals for new account acquisition
Making good businesses great and great businesses even better
847-991-0488
larsonassoc1975@yahoo.com
http://www.geocities.com/larsonassoc1979/1
http://larsonassociates.blogspot.com
http://member.merchantcircle.com/larsonassociates
http://businesswarfare.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
http://teamcircle.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
http://mylinkingpowerforum.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
https://twitter.com/LarsonAssociate
P.S. We make telesales for small business affordable by offering programs down to only 15 hours a week. Maybe you could add telesales into your marketing mix call today and find out.
P.S.S. If you are in Credit Cards I have just signed up the services of an EXPERICENED merchant service salesperson. Interested in using him, call today.
*Source: Mike Seidle, Larson & Associates
You need to be thinking creatively, thinking marketplace shifts, thinking winning, because that is what business is all about. Winning and losing, and doing it graciously yet powerfully.
We need to be willing to make changes when they are needed, not when our business plan says we should. I have a 3 month, 6 month 1 year and a 5 year business plan working. Yet I am always ready to make changes. When something better comes along or one of my competitions broadsides me, I change. It’s more make changes or lay over and die. We need to have creative disruption; we need to be willing to embrace change when change is necessary and not change just for the sake of change. The focus needs to be on the result of execution. It seems to me that most business books are all about improving execution and but not about changing with the market. Get stuck in one thought pattern and die. Fall in love with your marketing and fall on your face.
Businesses most likely to succeed are ones that cause market shift, market change, businesses that go out and create market disruptions for their competition. You can’t be sitting back and playing catch up to other company’s initiatives.
Larson note: Take 2 hours a week, half a day a month and think about future marketing and/or business trends you could be, should be, using. Get obsessive about your competition and how to make their life miserable. It’s you or them, and between you and me, I would rather have my competition be more miserable than myself.
Sometimes tactics need to be changed. Case in point was the way I was approaching twitter. I was using a let them find and follow me approach on twitter until Mike Seidle on MyLinkingPowerForum.com showed a study in which he got a 4% click though off of his twitter posts, his Google posts got 1.5-2.5% and his facebook posts got only.03 to .11%. That blew me away and I revamped my 3 month marketing plan to get more aggressive in and on twitter.
Yes you can teach an old dog new tricks, just don’t tell my wife.
Howard Larson
Larson & Associates
Target Marketing & Telesales Professionals for new account acquisition
Making good businesses great and great businesses even better
847-991-0488
larsonassoc1975@yahoo.com
http://www.geocities.com/larsonassoc1979/1
http://larsonassociates.blogspot.com
http://member.merchantcircle.com/larsonassociates
http://businesswarfare.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
http://teamcircle.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
http://mylinkingpowerforum.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
https://twitter.com/LarsonAssociate
P.S. We make telesales for small business affordable by offering programs down to only 15 hours a week. Maybe you could add telesales into your marketing mix call today and find out.
P.S.S. If you are in Credit Cards I have just signed up the services of an EXPERICENED merchant service salesperson. Interested in using him, call today.
*Source: Mike Seidle, Larson & Associates
The Week Ahead for February 2-6, 2009
Monday: December personal income and spending, January institute for supply management index,
Tuesday: January vehicles sales
Wednesday: January ISM services index
Thursday: Weekly initial jobless claims, 4th quarter productivity, December factory orders
Friday: December consumer credit, January employment report
Larson note: Still too early for any positive signs in the economy. Everyone is sitting around waiting for the other guy to make a move or get positive.
So I just thought I would report a little good January news. Gross Sales here at Larson & Associates were up 19.57% over last year. This sets us up well to hit our numbers in February. We are expecting 1 to 2 new accounts in February and will start to take in new associates in late February and March. (Yes we do have a growth plan written out for 2009.) We can, each of us make a difference, one sale at a time. Does your small business want double digit growth? Would even single digit growth feel good? Maybe you should call us.
Howard Larson
Larson & Associates
Target Marketing & Telesales Professionals for new account acquisition
Making good businesses great and great businesses even better
847-991-0488
larsonassoc1975@yahoo.com
http://www.geocities.com/larsonassoc1979/1
http://larsonassociates.blogspot.com
http://member.merchantcircle.com/larsonassociates
http://businesswarfare.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
http://teamcircle.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
https://twitter.com/LarsonAssociate
P.S. We make telesales for small business affordable by offering programs down to only 15 hours a week. Maybe you could add telesales into your marketing mix call today and find out.
Tuesday: January vehicles sales
Wednesday: January ISM services index
Thursday: Weekly initial jobless claims, 4th quarter productivity, December factory orders
Friday: December consumer credit, January employment report
Larson note: Still too early for any positive signs in the economy. Everyone is sitting around waiting for the other guy to make a move or get positive.
So I just thought I would report a little good January news. Gross Sales here at Larson & Associates were up 19.57% over last year. This sets us up well to hit our numbers in February. We are expecting 1 to 2 new accounts in February and will start to take in new associates in late February and March. (Yes we do have a growth plan written out for 2009.) We can, each of us make a difference, one sale at a time. Does your small business want double digit growth? Would even single digit growth feel good? Maybe you should call us.
Howard Larson
Larson & Associates
Target Marketing & Telesales Professionals for new account acquisition
Making good businesses great and great businesses even better
847-991-0488
larsonassoc1975@yahoo.com
http://www.geocities.com/larsonassoc1979/1
http://larsonassociates.blogspot.com
http://member.merchantcircle.com/larsonassociates
http://businesswarfare.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
http://teamcircle.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
https://twitter.com/LarsonAssociate
P.S. We make telesales for small business affordable by offering programs down to only 15 hours a week. Maybe you could add telesales into your marketing mix call today and find out.
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