Articles - Referrals en-us http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/article N/A http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/article melanie@ducttapemarketing.com 20 http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/article/articles/1358/1/Five-Forces-of-Business-Success/Page1.html drew@drewstevensconsulting.com (Drew Stevens PhD) Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/article/articles/1357/1/Are-your-Friends-Helping-Your-Network/Page1.html To be successful you must have a strong peer group. If your network is not helping to push you to new levels of success, perhaps it is time to get a new network drew@drewstevensconsulting.com (Drew Stevens PhD) Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/article/articles/1349/1/What-Employers-Look-For-Performance-Skills-Are-Critical-To-Career-Success/Page1.html Whether searching for a new position, or looking to advance your current career, it’s necessary to understand the skills and traits employers are looking for.  In an environment where education and training is fairly accessible, it is possible for technical skills to become a commodity. If so, then what will set you apart from all the other candidates when applying for a position? allison@bluetreemedia.com (Kristen Harris) Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/article/articles/1215/1/How-your-Ideal-Customers-can-help-you-generate-a-ton-of-new-business-without-spending-a-cent/Page1.html There is no bigger source of future revenue and profit than the Ideal Clients you have now—at least the ones you really like to do business with, who don’t beat you up on pricing and who pay on time. ken@marketingmasters.ca (Ken Burgin) Tue, 26 May 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/article/articles/1163/1/Why-Consistency-Matters/Page1.html Emerson called consistency the hobgoblin of little minds, but when it comes to public relations, consistency is THE most crucial key to success.  Why?  Because we live in a world of cause and effect.  Barbara@bluetreemedia.com (Barbara Wayman) Sun, 29 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/article/articles/1152/1/Your-Most-Powerful-Word-of-Mouth-Marketing-Tool/Page1.html Well first let's make some assumptions. Are you referrable? You have heard me say this before, and it is even more true in today's economy. We must be constantly aiming for EXCEPTIONAL! How do you know you are referrable? Quite simply you should ALREADY be receiving a healthy amount of new business from word of mouth referrals. cidnee@strategiesforsuccess.ca (Cidnee Stephen) Mon, 23 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/article/articles/1146/1/When-You-Lose-the-Trail/Page1.html Big Game Hunting secures company-wide, ongoing assignments for business services firms who think globally. Conversational Marketing  One-to-one conversations deliver entrée deep inside complex organizations, where new business development takes place.    Learn how to:   1.   Target business services offerings to the C-level executive 2.   Use a proven, cost-effective system to win new business with multinationals. cmassociates1@yahoo.com (catherine mcquaid) Sun, 22 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/article/articles/1145/1/Bagging-the-First-One/Page1.html   Bagging the First One Gathering business intelligence is part of "acting big". If you are targeting Fortune 1000 companies as clients, following new business development principles rather than sales-focused activities will yield long-term, repeat business. These are 3 principles of Big Game Hunting’s methodology: Email a briefing document BEFORE requesting a conversation Pursue discovery conversations with senior executives in all business units simultaneously Your objective in approaching the head of the business unit is to be referred to someone on their team who has been charged with delivering on promises made to shareholders. http://www.huntnewbiz.com/, 416 923 0877, Catherine@HuntNewBiz.com If you want your company to be retained company-wide, on an ongoing basis, your cost of sales is likely to be higher than winning one-time assignments. However, you will receive compound returns on that investment. Here’s why: a multinational is a collection of several "silos" or independent business units. When you secure a company-wide vendor agreement, you access multiple opportunities. Each business unit head has their own discretionary budgets and therefore represent discrete business opportunities for your firm. Big Game Hunting’s objective is to win new clients who are in a position to award multiple assignments simultaneously, year after year. The lifetime value of a company-wide vendor agreement is usually several multiples of the cost of acquiring a one-time assignment. cmassociates1@yahoo.com (catherine mcquaid) Sun, 22 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/article/articles/1144/1/How-Does-One-Eat-an-Elephant/Page1.html   How do you eat an elephant? My dear, one eats an elephant one bite at a time. When hunting Big Game in the corporate jungle, it is best to conduct discovery conversations with the leaders of each business unit or operating group of a conglomerate. Yes, pursue access in each line of business simultaneously. Don’t wait to win an assignment in one area so that you can prove yourself and get into the organization, is my advice. Why? The objective of Big Game Hunting is to secure a company-wide vendor agreement. Won’t you step on someone’s toes? In my experience, as you are developing access and your knowledge of each operating group within the corporation, a bite-sized piece of business will be uncovered. Sometimes a part of operation has an immediate need. It may be that one area of the business is willing to fund a pilot, prototype or implement your solution in a low-risk area of the business. In other words, during discovery conversations, the discussion is likely to be whether or not your company’s solution would be relevant and whether or not you can really do what you say you can do. http://www.huntnewbiz.com/, 416 923 0877, Catherine@HuntNewBiz.com "Will it work here?" may be an objection your firm can put to rest only after your potential client has seen or experienced what you do. In other words, even a successful outcome for another company may not be enough to overcome the "will it work here?" concern. Once you get agreement that company-wide rollout would follow a pilot or mockup, it is time well invested to go through the mountains of paperwork required for approved vendor status. Yes, even at the pilot stage. Going through this arduous process can make it easier for other business units or divisions to use your firm once the first project is underway. If you are asked for pricing concessions at this stage, a purchasing agreement based upon volume assumptions can be negotiated. Since you are laying the groundwork for an enterprise-wide engagement, now is the time to build in incentives for other areas of the company to use your firm. It is also the time to set customer expectations around deliverables and to educate them about how you deliver a successful solution. This is not the time to compromise on quality standards. If the client wants a modified solution, document what the risks are to them. A pilot can be a bite-sized piece. Yes, one eats an elephant one bite at a time. cmassociates1@yahoo.com (catherine mcquaid) Sun, 22 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/article/articles/1106/1/Get-More-Referrals-How-Newsletter-Marketing-Creates-a-Constant-Stream-of-Referrals/Page1.html Your existing customers are your best sales people. They will continue to call you and REFER you if they are reminded to do so. A monthly client newsletter is a friendly reminder in an interesting and non-intrusive way DavidGruttadaurio@gmail.com (David Gruttadaurio) Sat, 14 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0500