Marketing and Business Tips
Glenn Smith
September 6, 2018
Too many small business owners are by default small leaders, and this costs them dearly! However, it doesn’t have to be this way. Too many of us excel in “doer-ship” instead of “leadership,” and unfortunately, it shows in our businesses and our lives.
Too many owners of small businesses are micro-managers who like to touch and control everything. They trust no one but themselves. They believe “no one does it as well as me.” As a result, they seldom delegate, if they delegate at all. They mistake such busyness for business leadership.
Instead of thinking and leading like “owners,” many (if not most) of us think and behave like employees.
Glenn Smith
August 21, 2018
Practically every business leader can increase their personal productivity by managing their time better. There are a lot of ways to be more productive, but here are 10 ways I’ve seen can make a big impact. Put these to work and you too will be able to increase your personal productivity.
Glenn Smith
August 14, 2018
Every small business needs a current and actionable marketing plan! However, it is easy to feel overwhelmed by the task of writing one. Most software programs designed to help you are often too comprehensive; to the point that many business owners give up, or never even start.
Marketing plan software can be very helpful, but I want to offer you a quick, simple way to create an actionable plan that will get you results! After all, results are what we’re after!
Glenn Smith
July 20, 2018
It’s extremely gratifying for a business owner or sales professional to close a sale. For me it’s not just a “win.” It’s the awareness that I have satisfied a sincere want or need for another human being. I have helped them in some way. I have provided so much value that they willingly compensate me for what they are receiving.
I just completed 2 days of sales coaching and training with a local franchise owner. I shared with them my belief that traditional sales training does not work.
Glenn Smith
June 29, 2018
In the past, I’ve given seminars and workshops to salespeople and business owners called, “How to Improve Your Selling Conversation.” Every business owner should be thinking about ways to improve their own sales effectiveness and the effectiveness of their employees. This seminar was also extremely beneficial to the veteran sales professionals present (based on their feedback.)
At the heart of direct sales is the conversation. We can increase our sales by simply improving the selling conversation. The best salespeople are always working to improve their sales effectiveness. I can’t share the entire seminar with you in this blog post but let me offer you 3 tips that will enable you to improve your selling conversation.
Glenn Smith
June 7, 2018
Glenn Smith
May 28, 2018
From time to time I have business owners approach me for feedback on a new logo. The truth is that there is no end to creativity and the possibilities of creative logos. However, the bigger (and more important) question is this: “What do you want your logo to represent?” Or, in other words, what’s your brand?
Logos in and of themselves are not really as significant as some may think. They really have nothing to do with the establishment of your brand. They are only important after you establish your brand.
People will not look at your logo and see the essence of your brand. Consider the Starbucks logo. It communicates nothing about the coffee experience. In fact, some would say that it is really not even that creative.
However, once you have established your brand, your logo becomes the visual identity of that brand. So what is a brand?
Glenn Smith
May 18, 2018
On June 12th, 1987, Ronald Reagan made his famous speech at the Brandenburg Gate near the Berlin Wall where he issued that historic challenge to Mikhail Gorbachev, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” The rest is history.
This speech was actually loaded with powerful lines, but they are all overshadowed by this emphatic message. Two reasons this statement was so powerful is because it was concrete (not abstract) and emotional (not just intellectual). Geoffrey James in his book How to Say It: Business to Business Selling uses this line as an example of how we as business owners and sales professionals can and should craft our selling messages.
Glenn Smith
May 5, 2018
You must have a system for quality control if you want to create a world-class business that is sellable. In fact, the survival of your company depends on your ability to produce a quality product or service.