Category Archives: Rep Tech

Innovations Lessons From The Past For Us!

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In 1805 Napoleon Bonaparte was posing a major threat to the powers that existed in Europe. The Austrians, the Russians, the British and probably a bunch of others didn’t like this uppity Corsican who had turned the French military into the dominant force. 

Austrian General Karl Mack von Leiberich was determined to stop this pesky little Napoleon and do it the right way. He knew from years of training and battle experience what was right and “proper.” He knew he would stop this menace to his known world with a massive amount of force (combination of the various powers) and … Read the rest

Web-Thinking the Better Way to Win

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Competition. We grew up with it. We were told this is the way things were, are, and will be. But in the last 20 or 30 years, a new business model has emerged which some call “web-thinking.” Like the World Wide Web and the spider web, it’s an image of connection rather than competition. And, like the Internet, many believe it has a better possibility of bringing us success in our business.

Web-thinking grew out of an observed problem which many people noticed as they were entering management and entrepreneurial positions. They saw the problems that a rat race mentality … Read the rest

Using the Power of Smartphones To Grow Your Business

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If someone had told Alexander Graham Bell that one day his invention would evolve into a device that could turn your lights on and off, he would have taken your temperature with a mercury thermometer, which incidentally, in 1876, hadn’t changed much in more than 100 years.

Remember when cell phones first emerged? Chances are, you were just as cynical as Mr. Bell. You probably made that first call with a furrowed brow, skeptical to the possibility it promised. You were certain that your call wouldn’t connect, or at the very least your voice would be overridden by static. Like … Read the rest

The Importance of E-mail and Internet Marketing

An E-mail Marketing Checklist

According to Quattro Internet Solutions, rapid developments in the marketing environment make it difficult to run a successful, adapting e-mail campaign. Here is a checklist of changes to keep an eye on when businesses, including reps, are implementing their own marketing plan.

Remember the futuristic TV series Beyond 2000? We wandered beyond 2000, and while we were all either looking out for flying cars or the world to end I don’t think we ever really stopped to consider how this technological boom was going to affect our business strategies. Or, for that matter, how digital would … Read the rest

Twitter vs. Facebook

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Which is the best social media tool for you and your business — Twitter or Facebook? Each has its pros and cons for business-building. Which is the best tool for cultivating solid relationship marketing for your business?

Well, there are a lot of considerations. If we look at Twitter there are these factors:

• Twitter is great for sending a “broadcast” message to a large number of people.

• Twitter is very fast communication.

• You can link to a webpage for more video, audio, sign-up and other materials for moving customers up the relationship ladder.

• Twitter is … Read the rest

Using Facebook as a Business-Building Tool

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Most people know Facebook as a great way to stay in touch with friends and family, and to reconnect with long-lost childhood classmates. But there’s another side to Facebook — one that can help your business grow.

According to Facebook’s own compilation of statistics (found in their Press Room), more than 1.5-million local businesses have active pages on Facebook, and more than 20 million people become fans of pages each day. For CEOs and business owners, this means Facebook is definitely a way to spread your company’s message, build community and loyalty among customers, and ultimately increase your company’s bottom … Read the rest

Steps To A Professional Online Presence

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Creating a professional online presence is a must for businesses these days. Many business professionals are wondering how they can be online without sacrificing personal privacy or appearing less than business or Internet savvy. The following strategies can help you feel more comfortable and make sure you build your online presence in a professional manner that will help get you clients, customers and business.

1. Use a professional photo of yourself and use it consistently on all of your online profiles.

Using the same photo helps potential clients and the media recognize you. Using cropped or unprofessional photos can really … Read the rest

Keep Your Workday Sanity:
Make the Most of Your Time

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With all the recent layoffs and the unemployment rate hovering around the double-digit mark, those who are still employed face a tough dilemma. On the one hand, they’re grateful for their job, but on the other hand, their workload may have become too much for one person to bear. In fact, many people are now doing the work of two or even three people. They have more responsibility than ever before, and they feel that there’s no way they can keep up. Their mantra has become, “There’s simply never enough time.”

Whether the issue is that you have too much … Read the rest

Benefits of Being in the Cloud

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The days of relying on hard drives to keep your data safe are over; this smart option not only protects you from hardware malfunction, but it allows you to access your info from anywhere.

As a mobile professional, salesperson, entrepreneur or over-achiever, you have to be able to move quickly today. General Patton would have considered it silly to depend on a big computer fortress for your data. That means having the right kind of technology established to support you and help you serve clients. A big trend now is having your software loaded “in the cloud” vs. on the … Read the rest

How to Ruin Social Media Strategy for Your Company

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No social media presence? No problem … for your competitors, that is. Your competitors are perfectly happy to take up your social media space. They are happy to dominate, and if you are not there, that means more for them.

There are a few rules of the road in social media. Let’s spell out what we know already about what’s working and what’s absolutely not working. First impressions can turn people off forever, so it’s essential to make a good lasting impression. And yes, in case you are wondering, you will make more sales. The path to get there will … Read the rest

Reinvent Relationships With Your Customers Online

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With the popularity of social networks, the opinions of your loyal fans can be posted for the world to see. Encourage this free “advertising” by connecting with sites like Facebook and designing your own website to be friendly for your current and future customers.

Companies spend millions each year pay­ing agencies and marketers to brand their companies in order to reach more prospects. But how often do these same companies look carefully at the brand that is already built for them by their loyal, current customers? Like it or not, your “fan base” already has built your brand and holds … Read the rest

12 Ways to Get Your Facebook Account Disabled

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Facebook can be a great networking tool for business, but make sure you use it properly and follow the rules, or you may lose your account — and your connections.

Most people who use Facebook don’t spare a thought about whether their Facebook account will be disabled. While I was researching this article, I visited a section of Facebook’s blog that I call “Facebook Purgatory.” This is where the poor souls who have had their accounts disabled go to desperately plead with Facebook to reinstate their accounts. Most have no idea why their account has been disabled, and some have … Read the rest

Time Management With Social Media

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Learn how to balance social media marketing with the rest of your business strategies so you’re not wasting time or opportunities.

Okay, okay, okay! Enough already! Have you had it with all the “You’ve got to be on social media” advocates incessantly reminding you that “Twitter is the new e-mail,” or how much you need to be on Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.? Many reps (and manufacturers) are confused at what to do regarding the massive change driven by social media and social networking.

What about the rest of us who have real jobs? A rep can’t spend all day “tweeting” instead … Read the rest

The Secret to Great Linkedin Recommendations

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If you want it done right, do it yourself: help your clients write and post their recommendations.

The online social networking site LinkedIn lets you connect with your business network, allowing you to stay in touch, build relationships and keep up­to-date with important changes to your contacts’ situ­ations — such as employment changes or business de­velopments. LinkedIn also has the ability to help build your credibility with new connections and potential prospects using the Recommendations feature.

Recommendations are testimonials added to your LinkedIn profile by existing connections in your network who have worked with you and want to share their … Read the rest

Create Social Media Guidelines to Reach Your Customers

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Be sure to establish your intended message and convey guidelines to your employees so they can be credible representatives for your company.

The new frontier of Web 2.0 is not just about informing your customers; it’s about communicating with them. Today’s Web 2.0 tools, such as blogs, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and the many other social media options, are all about customer engagement.

When you send your prospects or clients an e-mail, a mailer or a newsletter, or when you place a TV, radio or print ad, you’re informing your audience about something. Those are information-age tools that still have a … Read the rest

Keys to Social Media Marketing Success

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Social Media Marketing (SMM) is the latest buzz in the marketing and public relations realm. And as with any new pub­licity tool, people have a wealth of questions on how to best utilize it.

SMM takes viral marketing to the extreme. Just as you can send friends your favorite jokes via e-mail, with SMM people can spread your message for you, with just the click of a button. It’s a good type of “virus” that you hope your mes­sage gets infected with.

In order to ensure that SMM works for you in a positive way, you need to employ some … Read the rest

Unique Opportunity in an Untapped Market

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Licensing intellectual property presents a new opportunity for reps in today’s digital age, but this emerging market requires the fine-tuning of contracts to reflect a new way of selling.

We live in an economy that is, more than ever, driven by technology. As a result, there are a growing number of companies that are in the business of developing, owning and marketing patents, trademarks and other intellectual property. as with traditional manufacturers of goods and providers of services, these companies may occasionally turn to independent sales representatives for their sales and marketing.

This offers sales reps in a variety of … Read the rest

Coping With the Web: How to Brand Yourself Online

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A great idea can hit you anywhere. It can wake you at 2 a.m., so compelling that you jump out of bed, put on a pot of coffee, and begin outlining your business plan.

Remember, though, in the heady rush of dreaming up the business, to build a launching pad for it. In other words, create a presence on the Internet. In today’s buzzword search-engine climate, a website is the most powerful marketing and sales tool available to any company, large or small, cottage industry or inspired entrepreneur.

You don’t need to be a cyber genius to go online and … Read the rest

Social Media: Communicate the Important Stuff

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In the midst of a teleconference earlier this year devoted to the importance of using social media, one attendee offered her introduction to the use of Twitter. “I signed up last week and was anxious to get started. Once I completed the profile and introductory steps it was time for my first entry which was ‘I just ate yogurt.’”

After what seemed liked an interminable period of silence, the conference facilitator offered: “You blew it. You just described yourself as being boring. Why would anyone want to follow you or read anything you have to write?”

His point gets at … Read the rest

The Top Mistakes of Social Media Marketing

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As a business owner, you already know the importance of utilizing traditional public relations — print, radio and TV exposure — to keep your name circulating in the marketplace. Now, however, there’s a new PR outlet you need to become familiar with. It’s called Social Media Marketing, and when combined with your traditional PR efforts, Social Media Marketing can help you penetrate the marketplace with your message quicker and easier than ever before.

What is Social Media Marketing? It’s utilizing the various social networking sites to enforce your brand and market your business. A social networking site is simply an … Read the rest

Relationship Farming Tools

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Tending to the Task of Business-Building

Relationship marketing is much like keeping a water bucket filled. The bucket has holes in it, and it is your job to keep the water at the “full” mark. That requires three kinds of activities: 1. Putting water in the bucket; 2. Keeping the holes patched and 3. Preventing new holes from appearing. As a relationship farmer, it is your job to tend to these never-ending tasks.

You want to keep your business relationships fresh and current. Stay in touch with important people. This also means that you have to prioritize among those who … Read the rest

Using Social Networks to Make Your Company Recession-Resistant

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Most people are familiar with the term “Web 2.0,” which refers to a second generation of web development and design that focuses on fostering social networking via the web. Innovative companies are beginning to embrace Web 2.0 as a way to enhance communication, information sharing, and collaboration, thereby allowing them to work smarter rather than harder.

The business use of Web 2.0 represents a new trend called “Business 2.0.” Aside from being the name of a defunct magazine, Business 2.0 is about using the new web-based social networking applications (many of which were originally created for personal use) in a … Read the rest

Leverage Technology to Build Relationships

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Business is all about building profitable relationships with customers, suppliers, team members and other stakeholders. To facilitate those relationships, we use tools and apply time-honored principles. This is what relationship marketing thrives on today.

In this article, I’d like to share with you some tools that can help you in your work to build and maintain profitable business relationships. These tools enhance your communication with customers and other stakeholders, putting the power of human connections to work for you.

Connect Wirelessly — Amidst the Noise

Cell phones are a way of life now. We are using them for most calls. … Read the rest

Convenience vs. Burden

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Learning to Break Free From Technology Overload

Technology has been a revolutionary thing over the past few years, allowing us to do many things once thought impossible. We can work from home; we can make phone calls from the grocery store; we can instantly communicate with people on the other side of the globe; we can seek out the latest trends; we can mobilize on issues we care about. It has enabled us to use our household wireless internet connection on our laptop to send emails while we catch up on our favorite TV shows, to conference into a meeting … Read the rest

Technology Tips to Turbo-Charge Your Business

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“So many fail because they don’t get started — they don’t go. They don’t overcome inertia. They don’t begin.” — W. Clement Stone

It is time for a new beginning — in many ways. This marks the end of an era for many. This country has elected a new President with a new vision and a different way of doing business. And in my opinion, this is a great time to begin anew.

So, here are some business tools and tech tips to help propel you forward.

Contact Management Systems (CMS)

This is the most important element for any sales-oriented … Read the rest

Using Social Networking and Relationship Marketing to Improve Your Bottom Line

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What is going on with this social networking buzz?  Well, for marketers and businesspeople serious about making money — a lot!

If you’re like the bottom-line focused businessperson that I am, you might have questions about this whole social networking rave.  Yes, it is nice to see people connecting.  And yes, it started with college kids sharing about things that normally don’t pass the “So what?” test in business.

But the world has changed.

It has changed in a big way.  Social networking is a prime way to reach prospects, suppliers, vendors and colleagues today.  Television isn’t what it used … Read the rest

R-Commerce and the Business of Relationship Marketing

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Social networking, open source, and your business success.

Social Networking is a logical extension of relationship marketing or what I call R-commerce. It is the desire for people to connect with others who share similar interests, values, ideas and who can help each other. It is also a sign of how marketing has changed.

In the old days (not that long ago), marketers would craft their message and push it out to the masses. Delivery vehicles included TV advertising, radio advertising, newspapers and other tools. These worked well for taking your message and sending it to the masses.

But today, … Read the rest

Tech Tools to Make the Rep’s Job Easier

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Small Recorder Gets Results

Recently I had the opportunity to review the H2 Handy Recorder from Zoom. This diminutive professional recorder is designed for on-the-go professionals who need studio-quality audio. It is used a lot with recording artists and for capturing group singing (think choirs, social gatherings, etc.).

However, this device also has some serious capabilities for mobile professionals who want to tap into the power of the net for relationship marketing. For example, you can record audio of satisfied customers and then post those testimonials to your website. You can also use it to record instructions. (Chances are, you … Read the rest

Increasing Your iPhone’s Life

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Those of us who use Apple’s iPhone find it increasingly useful for many applications. I use mine for phone calls (of course) along with checking my email messages more frequently and on a more regular basis. I can get a lot done from just about anywhere I am using it.

However, my objection to the iPhone initially was battery life. If I use it for listening to music, surfing the internet, reading books, etc., the battery tends to drain quickly. And if that happens, making those late-in-the-day phone calls when I can’t get near a charger (think airplane rides and … Read the rest

The Importance of Relevance in Relationship Marketing

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Being relevant is one of the most powerful ingredients in building successful business relationships. If you become — here’s that horrible word — boring, you are toast in today’s world. Stay alive. Be relevant for others and find ways to make their lives better.

“Stop it already! I don’t have time for yet another blog, news story, article, podcast, video on the internet, social networking meeting, blah, blah, blah. Yikes! I am inundated with so many choices that it drives me nuts.”  Maybe you can relate.

We’re all swamped with so many things going on. Your customers are in the … Read the rest