Category Archives: Sales

Déjà Vu: The Partner Curse

Posted on Thursday, 30 November 2017 9:13 am by

I’m sure you’ve read about Hyphbot, but if you haven’t, here’s a good piece at The Drum which you should read. In the article, this line from Jay Stevens, the Adform CRO, hit me: “Premium publishers, like the FT are … Continue reading →

Posted in Branding, digital marketing, fraud, Marketing, Media, Sales, Tactics | Tagged , , , , ,

Your Holiday Season Mission: Customer Acquisition

Posted on Wednesday, 29 November 2017 10:17 am by

We’re in peak marketing season, with under 30 days to go. Digital CPMs are rising, clearing spots at acceptable CPA is getting harder, email in-boxes are more cluttered than ever, and sales promotion is off the hook. Nothing we haven’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Analysis, Marketing, Media, planning, Sales, Strategy, Tactics | Tagged , , , , , , ,

Guitar Effects: Two Legends and a Sale

Posted on Friday, 1 September 2017 9:12 am by

My core beliefs include positivity and assuming goodwill. If you only knew me from my writing here, you might not think that. It’s hard to be positive sometimes when I seem to spend the whole day mired in “digital” marketing … Continue reading →

Posted in Branding, Communications, digital marketing, Guitar, Marketing, Media, Sales, Social Media Marketing | Tagged , , , , , ,

Competitors? Meh.

Posted on Thursday, 20 April 2017 10:29 am by

I saw a post on LinkedIn today about the importance of doing combat with your competitors. That’s misguided and wrong. When you devote resources to something, you are by definition taking them away from something else. Every bit of time … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer Care, Leadership, Organization, Philosophy, Product Development, Sales | Tagged , , ,

An Odd Industry: “Marketing Leadership”

Posted on Monday, 5 December 2016 9:30 am by

Increasingly, marketing is being taken over by charlatans. An example of this is the so-called “marketing leadership industry” one that is, so far as I can tell, devoid of metrics and accountability. When you see a CMO bragging of their accomplishments in said “industry” you can be sure you’ve been had. Continue reading →

Posted in Career, Marketing, Organization, Philosophy, Sales | Tagged , , , , ,

When Nobody Cares About Your Brand…

Posted on Monday, 23 March 2015 1:55 pm by

…marketing gets easier. Wait, how can that be? As Bob Hoffman reminded us today and as I’ve been saying for years, nobody cares about the vast majority of the products or categories in which they buy. When you dismiss the … Continue reading →

Posted in Branding, Communications, Marketing, Philosophy, Sales | Tagged , , ,

Price-Driven Corporate Brutality?

Posted on Friday, 30 May 2014 9:47 am by

The quest for the bottom line leads to brutality, says Seth Godin in today’s blog post. The race to the bottom, driven by price, causes people within companies to treat others with disregard of the Golden Rule. Outsourcing, treating customers … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer Care, Leadership, Organization, Sales | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Lazy Salespeople

Posted on Friday, 22 July 2011 2:47 pm by

I love being sold. I can even suspend disbelief in the interest of hearing just why I need a $44K CUV instead of a $15K subcompact that will do the job, arguably, just as well. What I can’t stand is … Continue reading →

Posted in Rants, Sales | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Monitor Your Sales Calls? Yep, It’ll Save You Money

Posted on Tuesday, 31 May 2011 2:21 pm by

I just got a sales call from a very large information services company.  The inside salesperson wanted me to purchase some the data they had to offer and was asking if I was the right guy. I answered “sure” and … Continue reading →

Posted in Marketing, Sales | Tagged , ,