Let me tell you a story. One of the companies I work with is a small tech startup. About year ago, it was in the same place that many small tech startups find themselves in. They had some early traction, and they were well positioned to be a high-growth company. And, like many early stage companies, they were completely intimidated by sales. Continue reading
Author Archives: Tom Ryan
The Danger of Renting Your Sales Leadership
If you haven’t invested in building a strong sales foundation, it’s tempting to skip over building it yourself and simply hire a proven sales manager and an experienced sales staff. If they do their jobs right, the thinking goes, the sales growth will take care of itself. With the right hires, it might even work out that way. Until they leave for another job, that is. Then you’re right back where you started. Continue reading
Outside Capital Is No Replacement For A Strong Sales Foundation
Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/peasap/
Photo Credit to: We Love Costa Rica
In my work as a business coach, I talk with a lot of ambitious, driven business owners and entrepreneurs. One of the conversations I frequently have comes when I talk people with high-growth startups and small businesses looking to scale. It goes something like this:
“Hey Tom, we need capital to grow my business,” they say. Continue reading
Taking the Intimidation Out of Sales
The entrepreneurs and business owners I work with are not natural-born salespeople. Their businesses usually didn’t come into existence from a strong urge to make cold calls. They created a product or developed a service they believe in, and they formed their company to bring that vision to life. Doing the less-than-glamorous stuff of sales was the farthest thing from their minds when they launched their business. Continue reading
The Benefits of a Strong Sales Foundation
An overwhelming amount of attention in sales training goes towards teaching tips and tricks. Some of these tips are tricks can be good things to know, but ultimately they don’t add much to the value of the company. To see real results, you need more than tricks. You need to create a strong foundation for your company’s sales structure. Continue reading
Getting the Most Out of Your Advertising Dollars: Finding Media/Goal Alignment
When you’re spending money on advertising, you want every dollar you spend to yield the maximum return. Unless you’re seriously invested in building brand awareness, chances are that result will ultimately be measured in new leads and increased sales. It’s not enough for someone to see your ad and like it, they need to be inspired to buy.
Here’s where a lot of newcomers to advertising make a big misstep: It’s not just about the ad itself. It’s also about the media the ad is running on. If you want to see great results, the media (also called the channel in this context) needs to match the message. Continue reading
Getting the Most Out of Your Advertising Dollars: The Toddler Stress-Test
“But … why?” Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/quinnanya/
For any advertising campaign to be truly effective, it needs to be in complete alignment with your business goals. To get the results you want, you need to know what those results are. I’m not talking about a specific number of leads generated or a target number of conversions. I’m talking about the fundamental actions you want the person watching, listening or reading the ad to take. Continue reading
Getting the Most Out of Your Advertising Dollars: The Power Of The Call-To-Action
If you’ve ever lived in the Chicagoland area, like I have, chances are that you know this telephone number by heart: 588-2300. What’s so special about that number? It’s the number of Empire Carpet (now Empire Today), which has been etched permanently into my memory by their jingle-filled commercials.
In time, I may forget many of my experiences as an entrepreneur and business coach. I might forget the names of people I’ve worked with, or even the finer details of big events in my life. But as long as I live, I’ll never forget those seven digits. Continue reading
Getting the Most Out of Your Advertising Dollars: The Value of A/B Testing
Successful business decisions are rarely the ones with the most dramatic results. While the steep growth curves can be fun while they last, most of the day-to-day trends that can make or break a company come from smaller trends and decisions. No place is this more true than with advertising, where even a seemingly marginal difference in response rates can have huge results over the life of a campaign.
With so many options — from old-media ad buys in TV, radio and print to the various online and email campaigns of new-media — you could easily find yourself with a range of channels with conversion rates separated by a mere fraction of a percent. And even when you find the right channel, how do you know if you’re getting the best response? How can you truly know what kind of advertising works best for your company? Continue reading
Getting the Most Out of Your Advertising Dollars: Old Vs. New Media
When you’re running a startup or a small business, every dollar counts. This is particularly true when it comes to your marketing budget. There have never been more ways to reach potential customers, and there have never been more companies vying for your advertising dollar. Between old media advertising (print, TV and radio) and new media advertising (online display ads, AdWords, video marketing), it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the options.
It’s also easier than ever to get lost in the weeds. So let’s take a step back, and talk about the fundamental problem that advertising aims to solve. For most companies, the deeper question really isn’t “What’s the best way to spend my advertising budget?,” but rather “How can I drive more sales to my business?” Continue reading