Category Archives: Rep Tech

Conducting Business With
“High Touch” While Dealing With an Avalanche of “High Tech”

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Years ago the great sage John Naisbitt coined the phrase “high tech and high touch” in his classic work, Megatrends. The idea was that we should embrace both.

Fast forward to today.

Now we have an abundance of technology that is integral in our lives. Most independent manufacturers’ reps today use mobile technology to get more done from just about anywhere. Most reps and manufacturers wouldn’t think of trying to get through a business day without employing some sort of touch points with technology.

So, how can a rep use the technology today and still maintain the sense of “high … Read the rest

What’s in Store For 2013?
Digital Marketing’s Role in Lead Generation

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As we think of new goals and new strategies, it’s important to consider all avenues to new business opportunities. Your company may have a solid handle on this challenge or it may be struggling to keep up. Whatever your particular case may be, there are always opportunities if you look in the right places.

First and foremost, digital marketing needs to be a major component of your marketing strategy, that is, if it isn’t already. Digital marketing affords you the best opportunity to connect to potential customers, clients and leads because they all use some form of digital media. This … Read the rest

The Good, Bad and Ugly — Social Media’s Impact On Your Brand

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There’s no denying that social media has taken the world by storm. Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter boast millions of users. Social media is a huge engagement, staffing, retention, and increasingly, branding tool. It’s at the foundation of what I call tri-branding. Tri-branding is when companies use social media to link both product and employment brand, and to get their customers to sing their praises or live their brand.

The Good

Companies need to proactively leverage social media to drive their tri-branding efforts. Companies should be leveraging social media to boost brand via tweeting, posting, and blogging. Posting recent wins, new … Read the rest

The Breadth and Depth of Social Media Marketing

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How to Maximize the Benefits of Your Online Campaign

Janet is a savvy small-business owner. She successfully navigated her way through the recession and is enjoying steady growth. She’s well-versed on her clientele and knows their individual likes and dislikes. She knows who her competition is and what they’re up to. She keeps up with trends, so she has a Facebook profile and a Twitter handle. So, why has she seen a marked increase in the growth of her competitors’ business and not her own? When she hears people speak of her product, why do they associate it with her … Read the rest

Relationship Marketing: It’s About Engagement, Not Broadcasting

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If there is one thing that ticks me off more than anything with social media it is the people who are abusing it. I’m sure you’ve seen the type.

They take their “stuff,” whatever that is, in the form of text, video, audio or whatever blather they have, and they simply broadcast to a list of as many people as they can buy. When the message is sent, they don’t care about the needs of those receiving the message. They only want to get their ideas sent to as many people as possible.

Ugh!

This “broadcast approach” demonstrates such a … Read the rest

Top Apps for 2013

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While we’re still fairly early in the New Year, we’re ready to tackle the biggest projects, climb the tallest mountains, and make the biggest deals. Now all we need are the right tools to help us get the job done.

To make this task easier on you, we’ve compiled a list of several innovative apps that are bound to be big hits in 2013.

Sign In Blue

This year, did you make a resolution to manage your time more wisely? Then you’ll want to check out Sign In Blue, which allows users to electronically transmit signatures. No more waiting for … Read the rest

A Fool With a Tool Is Still a Fool

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Any software you implement in your organization should enable or enhance a business process. Unfortunately, many people mistakenly believe that the software or technology itself is the solution, when in reality, technology is at best 10 percent of the value equation — the other 90 percent is based on the human factor.

Knowing this, it’s no wonder 70 percent of technology implementations fail. In other words, seven out of 10 applications that are installed and that companies spend millions of dollars implementing aren’t being used one year later. Talk about wasted resources!

How does this happen? All too often, … Read the rest

Places To Go,
Information To Gather

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After the web site addresses for foreign trade development organizations appeared in Agency Sales last month, a MANA member suggested that we include other sites that may be of interest to readers. To start off such a list he offered a number of sites that he and members of his agency regularly visit.

According to the rep, who begins his business about 6:00 every morning, “Before attacking my work, one of the first things I do is access my hometown newspaper online. I’ve got to admit that I’m one of those people who said he would never adapt to reading … Read the rest

Practical Tools For Making the Most Out of Technology

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With all the new devices technology offers us, what is best for you and your organization? What will enhance your employees’ effectiveness and maximize their productivity?

There are so many choices out there for mobile devices, so which ones are best to equip you and your team? Let’s review some of the primary device categories and for whom they might make the most sense.

Smartphones are useful for anyone who needs to stay “connected” when mobile. Smartphone users should ensure that they have full wireless synchronization of their e-mail, calendar and contacts; they shouldn’t have to be at a computer … Read the rest

How to Be Human Online and Connect With Customers in the Process

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Today’s wired world requires many businesses and organizations to have an online presence. That’s a great thing for consumers like me — I personally love to read about new products or news about a company if it’s an organization I’m interested in.

However, when an organization starts experimenting with social media, they often use these emerging tools with a glance to the past — like it’s still 1999. Their organization’s blog posts and status updates are written like stale press releases and brochures, and the photos look like they were purchased from stock photo sites.

What’s the problem? Dry, tidy, … Read the rest

Stay Abreast of Technological Trends

“Technology trends ebb and flow: What’s hot today is yesterday’s news tomorrow.”

That’s just some of the timely technology advice that can be found in the recently published second edition of Proactive Selling, by William “Skip” Miller.

According to Miller, some of the most relevant technological trends that salespeople ought to keep an eye on are:

  • Mobility
  • Video
  • Cloud
  • Lead Generation
  • Contact management
  • Deal management
  • Apps

The author advises that salespeople should not be wary of making an investment in software or hardware. “You’re not losing your money or your time, even if the technology eventually becomes obsolete. I … Read the rest

Focus on Business Results — Not Just Activities — with Social Media

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Activities don’t matter by themselves. Results matter.

Losers like to engage in feel-good activities. They think that they are “doing something” and that is the final goal. They (erroneously) think that just by checking e-mail, sending a few Twitter Tweets, posting a message or two or saying “Hey!” to some friends on LinkedIn, they are getting results.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

In Social Media — just like everything else in life — what matters is not the activity, or even the effort expended. What matters always is getting the results you need.

This is a principle that … Read the rest

Today’s Technology is Getting Smarter

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Most people agree that our technology is getting smarter, but most don’t realize just how smart. Sure, they know their smart phones have GPS capability and their smart appliances are capable of improving efficiency, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. In reality, smart technology is around us every day. From surveillance cameras to clothing, today’s smart technology is watching us, helping us, and getting smarter because of us.

Smart Video

As an example, let’s look at in-store surveillance cameras. In the past, the video quality of those cameras was poor. Most of us can remember watching the nightly … Read the rest

Is Anybody Out There? Four Strategies for E-mail Marketing Success

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Should you ever bring up the topic of e-mail marketing, you will certainly hear people complain about the hundreds of e-mails they receive on a daily basis. They will tell you sob stories about the endless “junk” they receive and how they try to opt-out from all of that “spam” — all to no avail! They might even give you a strange look (after all, you did bring up e-mail marketing at a party) and start asking you if you are “one of those people” who sends huge volumes of e-mail.

With increased postage rates and the desire to reach … Read the rest

Why Your Organization Needs An Adaptive Website

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We are currently in the midst of one the biggest software and hardware revolutions we’ve ever witnessed. With processing power, storage, and bandwidth increasing exponentially, smart phones and smart tablets are quickly becoming our main personal and business computer. Customers, employees, and other stakeholders are bringing and using their smart phones and tablets everywhere, and that definitely impacts how they see and interact with your company online.

For organizations of all sizes, this means it’s time to take a good look at your website. Sure, your site might look great on a desktop or laptop computer screen. But how does … Read the rest

Elevating Your E-mail Marketing

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imageSuccessful e-mail marketing campaigns are typically defined as such because of their higher open and response rates, and ultimately revenue generation. Small businesses busy with everyday tasks often need a little help — a blueprint leading them to results they’d define as “successful.” Here are several suggestions to help you craft more effective e-mail campaigns.

Subject Line is Key

Everyone has heard the saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Unfortunately, there is a reason — because it’s a natural instinct. First impressions are critical in any form of communication. When people receive an e-mail, the first thing they … Read the rest

Top Reasons for Not Moving Your Business to the Cloud in 2012

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Author: Your Competitor

info in the "cloud"#10 Reduced Costs
You’ve spent considerable dollars on computers, servers, and software over the years. While it’s true that much of it is out-dated and many new programs won’t operate on your older machines, it still works — sort of. We know that Cloud computing reduces hardware costs and networking management, but why improve on what works — most of the time.

#9 Scalability
The business climate is tough and you can’t worry about potential growth. The Cloud allows companies to scale their busi-ness’ storage needs seamlessly, using and paying for only what they use, but why … Read the rest

Getting Everything From the Cloud

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As the year 1999 was drawing to a close, the world of technology was abuzz with various doomsday scenarios all related to the havoc about to be wreaked by Y2K. On an admittedly much smaller — and thankfully more positive — scale, today there appears to be a growing interest among “technophiles” in something called the cloud.

image of cloud computingCloud computing is defined in Wikipedia as “the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software and information are provided to computers and other devices as a utility (like the electricity grid) over a network (typically the … Read the rest

QR Code Benefits for Reps

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You probably have seen the “bothersome” little black and white square things on magazine pages and other printed ads. America is finally waking up 10 years after these QR Codes became a big hit in Japan and Europe. (QR means Quick Response.) These codes are scanned with Smartphones or Androids and quickly link to videos, phone numbers, brochures, coupons, membership offers, catalogs, etc. QR codes are fast, efficient and profitable.

In the United States QR Code use jumped an incredible 9,840 percent in the second quarter of last year vs. second quarter of 2010. And, cell phones now are … Read the rest

Keys To Being Innovative Today To Get Business

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Today’s market is different than anything we have ever seen before. To succeed requires being innovative in some fun and clever ways that go outside what has been done previously.  

Pace Robinson, Dottie Ramsey and Joan Hatcher from Modern Supply in Knoxville, Tennessee, recently gave me an interview where I asked about what they were doing that is working so well.

Founded in 1949 by Pace Robinson’s father, the company had been successful by following a more traditional format of appealing to contractors and plumbers who were predominantly male-oriented, conservative and established. Modern Supply’s success came from providing quality kitchen

… Read the rest

What Cloud Computing Really Means

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In an article (“Disasters — Always Prepare for the Worst”) that appeared last month in Agency Sales magazine, several reps described what they were or were not doing to prepare their businesses for survival following a natural or man-made disaster. In a number of conversations with reps, the subject of Cloud computing was raised as a logical step to take to protect agencies. The following article, which originally appeared in InfoWorld (www.infoworld.com), provides a primer on that subject.

Cloud computing is all the rage. “It’s become the phrase du jour,” says Gartner senior analyst Ben Pring, echoing many of his … Read the rest

In Business, We’re All Still Human

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Social media like Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and other tools are changing the way business is done. This is not because of their technology.

Yes, the technology of these and other tools is pretty amazing. The ability to connect with, say, all your friends who like baseball in Centerville on Thursdays provides a sense of community. Yes, we’ve had that for centuries, but now we have a way to do it faster, easier and in a cost-effective way. Even better, we can have that community world-wide at very low or no cost.

Courtney Boyd Meyers recently wrote an article for the … Read the rest

Do’s and Don’ts of Using an iPad on a Sales Call

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So you now own an iPad or other type of tablet and you’re wondering if you should use it on a sales call.

Here are some quick rules to consider:

Don’t use it just because you have one.

Who really cares?  Just because you own the newest electronic gadget doesn’t mean the customer you’re seeing doesn’t own one too — or worse yet, despises people who do own them.  It only makes sense to use one on a sales call if you have a purpose for using it.

Do use it if it simplifies your sales call.

Using an iPad … Read the rest

Social Media as a Negotiating Tool

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Social media has blown onto the scene the last couple of years with the popular websites of Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and many others. Nobody can tell for sure what social media will look like five years from now, but what everyone can agree upon is that the concept of using the Internet to socially communicate is not going away.

For salespeople, an important question is: “Can social media help in negotiating?”

My answer is, “Yes, it can.” I’m not saying you should directly negotiate with another person by way of a social media (although I suppose there might be exceptions … Read the rest

Avoid Social Media Meltdown: Create a Strategy Take Back Control

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Everyone said that you and your business needed to be on Facebook, Linked-In, Twitter, and every other new social media site or service that has made its debut since then. You linked your webpage and your blog and made sure you had the right apps on your mobile devices to post on the go. You have profiles and pages on multiple services and — now what?

Losing track of where you and your company are online, over-engaging, under-engaging, and inaccessible content can hurt your ability to reach your audience. Hurdle past these issues and get back on track with

… Read the rest

Make e-Marketing Work for You

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We’ve all heard of e-mail marketing, but it can appear daunting with all the laws, spam, filters and confusion over the best method to employ.

Whether you’re an e-marketing novice or you’ve tried it before, learning the tricks of the trade can make the process more comfortable and successful. After reviewing the campaigns we’ve run for customers, we came up with the following tips to achieve the best results from your e-mail marketing campaigns.

Start With the Reader’s Point of View in Mind

This may seem obvious, but you have to approach all marketing from a reader’s point of view.

… Read the rest

HICCUP: Your Way Past Competitors On Facebook

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Every company is trying to use Facebook in an attempt to move their business forward and stay connected to their customers in this fast-paced world. Why are some companies more successful at this than others? Content is the key to staying in touch with your customers and keeping them informed. The content, however, must be a rich mix of information, education, humor and fun. Use the HICCUP approach to make your Facebook page more successful:

Humor

Humor allows your audience to come away with a warm fuzzy feeling and a friendly attachment to your message. It doesn’t have to be

… Read the rest

New Technologies To Make Personal and Professional Lives Easier

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Here are a few quick technologies I’ve been using for about a month which can help you in your business.

xShot for Stability, Better Pictures and Video 

One of the best features of the iPhone 4 is the video camera and camcorder. The quality is good, and it is easy to carry with you. However, with video it is often best to bring a tripod or other device to make a more stable video.

A company called xshot has an iPhone 4 case that gives you the ability to shoot jitter-free video. It consists of an easily-assembled case with two

… Read the rest

eCAT is One Smart Cat When it Comes to Product Catalogs

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As an independent rep, which would you rather:

• Go though the annual process of approaching each of your principals to request a supply of updated product catalogs?

• Under your banner and on your website, have each of your manufacturers provide and constantly update electronic product catalogs?

If there’s no immediate answer, consider for a moment the traditional and time-honored way manufacturers and reps have worked together to ultimately place product catalogs in the hands of customers. Annually manufacturers compile product information. They then input that information into catalog format, send to a printer and print x-number of copies … Read the rest

Connecting With Customers Via Blog

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The push for companies to blog is a recent trend in business; it is a wonderful way to connect with customers. If you’re wondering how and where to start, it’s always a good idea to remember to start small until you get the hang of it (once you’ve decided blogging is for you).

Blogs can be geared to any interest imaginable. They can target specific interests and hobbies, become a voice to the customer, or be designed for the benefit of other businesses. One my favorite small business blogs is SmallBizSurvival.com, where Becky McCray doses out words of wisdom … Read the rest