Posts Tagged ‘growth’

Economic View From Sales Pros

Thursday, September 30th, 2010

Well, the debate rages on about what the economy will do next.  Want to know what’s really going on?  Talk to the boots on the ground.  The Alexander Group did that last month with a survey of almost 200 corporate sales departments, who manage over 100,000 sales people.  The upshot:  the recovery is still different by industry but mostly good.  Drilling down with these findings:

  • 60.5 percent believe their sector will have positive growth over the next 12 months.
  • 71.7 percent say their companies will grow at a faster rate in the next 12 months.
  • 61.4 percent are meeting or exceeding their 2010 year-to-date sales goals.
  • 49 percent expect to exceed their 2010 sales goals.

Keep in mind this data was gathered only last month.  My take:  there are industries that are doing very well now.  It’s not all gloom and doom.  Keep your platforms broad (so you can be nimble) but focus your marketing effort narrowly.

Are You Committed or Interested?

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

I get a lot of calls from folks who genuinely do good work.  They put out a quality product and their clients love them.  The problem:  they play too small.  It’s easier to dabble with that website, talk to folks who like them and don’t have the power to buy than it is to really go after that next level.

What’s holding them back?  Most folks are interested enough to buy those “magic bullet” systems but not committed enough to show up and implement what they’ve learned.  Why?  Because in order to get to the next level, you have to put skin in the game.

Here’s one way to tell how committed you are:  do you invest to the point of inconvenience?  When you sign up for that teleclass series, do you plan to show up or blow it off at the first opportunity because, after all, the session is recorded right?  When you decide to update that website (or your brand), do you choose vendors by price point or by what they can do for you?

Those who best benefit from the recovering economy will be those who invested in their business during the down times.  They bet on themselves.  So ask yourself:  how uncomfortable am I willing to be in order to get what I say I want?

Opportunities in odd places

Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009

You’ve heard of the old saying that for every door that closes, a window opens. A great example: many growth experts have worked in the church market, where visionary pastors dreamed of mega churches. Now that the economy has put the kibosh on big buildings, watch for growth in multiple locations. And that’s good news for technology experts.

How? Videoconferencing, scheduling events online, web-based church materials, even social networking. My prediction: interactive online learning (i.e., games) that applies biblical approaches to every day situations is right around the corner. Another hot area: background checks for volunteers. Security experts, start your engines…

My question: how are you using all these changes to find new markets? I’ll drill down on those hidden holes in the market in the upcoming Here’s the Deal call on recession-proof niches on March 10th. Click here for more info and registration.

Hidden opportunities in economic rubble

Thursday, January 22nd, 2009

Should the banking industry be avoided like the plague? Maybe, maybe not. Marketing and customer care experts are going to have a field day, if the findings from IBM’s “The Paradox of Banking 1015” come to pass. This report outlines top growth areas that will get the attention (and budgets) for growth. The winners are: new products and services, new markets and “customer intimacy.”

Remember, this is not an industry up for experimentation. But if you have a good track record with their peers, you’ll get a fair hearing. The key: find the buyers who care about these issues now. They are the visionary ones, who can see past the chaos and are in predatory mode. They are under the radar, so let them come to you. In this case, articles in prestigious journals (coupled with an aggressive distribution strategy) will be very effective….