For all its faults, I still see Facebook as the No. 1 platform to promote just about anything online. But some of us have become overly reliant on this one platform to meet our needs. How do you market without Facebook? Here are a couple of ideas. And you might not want to wait until Facebook disappears to start using them…
Read MoreEditorial Type: Best Practices
5 Steps to Transform Your Promo Business (by Thinking Like an Ad Agency)
Distributors spend far too much time simply putting logos on merchandise and calling themselves marketers. This is an enormous problem—one that the supply chain stresses are only serving to exacerbate. However, distributors can follow five steps to create magic for their clients by thinking like an ad agency…
Read MoreSometimes We Need to Hear ‘No’
Most of us sales and business development types don’t like to hear the word “no.” I get it. But sometimes, us management types need to hear “no.” Let me explain. I recently asked our administrative assistant if she would help with a new project. She replied with an emphatic but polite “no.” The truth is that she was correct…
Read More8 Simple Steps to Protect Your Distributor Website From Hackers
The recent GoDaddy security breach exposed over a million users’ websites and email accounts. Keeping your online properties safe is one of the most important things you can do to protect yourself and your business. The good news is, there are a few things you can do that don’t involve that much technical know-how…
Read MoreWhy Most Promo Businesses Fail to Hit Sales Targets
“What drives sales outperformers?” That’s the question McKinsey & Co. asked over 2,500 B2B companies. McKinsey wanted to know what differentiates those who outperform the market versus those who stay stuck in no-growth (or slow-growth) mode. They discovered four key traits all outperformers share…
Read MoreRecipe for Success: 4 Essential Ingredients to a Winning Sales Presentation
There’s that old cliché that, when you’re nervous about giving a presentation, you should picture the audience in their underwear. But guess what? There are a lot of elements to a successful sales presentation, and none of them involve imagined undergarments. Here, we’ll look at four of them to help you nail your next meeting and bring home the sale…
Read MorePushing the Limit of Performance: Lessons From Formula 1 for Every Business
For the overall Formula 1 brand and its individual race teams, success comes down to a four factors: customers first, showcasing teams over drivers, highlighting the importance of quickly adapting to change, and displaying how critical it is to isolate issues swiftly. These all apply to running a successful business, too…
Read MoreThe Great Resignation Is Here: That Means Challenges, But Also Opportunities
The “Big Quit” is affecting us personally and professionally. We are all experiencing the downsizing of service levels and resources as consumers and sellers. But, as with most challenges, there can be rewards. Organizational voids are an opportunity to dig deeper into accounts and offer more assistance and value to inexperienced and overtaxed buyers…
Read More5 Common Marketing Mistakes Most Distributors Make That Hurt Business Growth
In working with hundreds of small and medium-sized business owners over the years, the last six with distributors, I have noticed five common mistakes most of them make that are hindering business growth. Let’s take a look and those mistakes and what to do to correct them. If you stop making them, you will see a big difference in your business…
Read MoreQR Code Packaging, Plush Chicken Tenders and More: Popeyes and Burger King Follow McDonald’s With Their Own Twists on Celebrity Meal/Merch Collabs
McDonald’s has had a ton of success with its celebrity meal/merchandise collabs featuring superstars like Travis Scott and BTS. Other fast food brands have taken notice, and as predicted are rolling out their own versions of the celebrity meals with a few twists on the McDonald’s formula…
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