So, you want to be a rainmaker? Doesn’t everyone in sales? While rainmakers make it look easy, it is not. Rainmakerdom does not come without laying solid groundwork and building trust and relationships. Sometimes this groundwork is many years in the making. Below are solid tips to consider in your hunt for the coveted title…
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4 Strategies to Inspire Customer-driven Innovation
In our ever-changing world, there is naturally a lot of talk about innovation and the need to innovate to stay relevant, or even to stay alive. There is less said about how to actually do it. Below are four proven and practical strategies (plus one hidden bonus strategy) to drive continuous innovation that you can…
Read MoreSkate to Where the Puck Is—Lessons from ‘The Great One’
It’s up to you to create your future. Tough times require tough performances. Tough times bring out champions. The greatest hockey player in the history of the game—”The Great One,” Wayne Gretzky—was deemed too small, too wiry and too slow to be a force in the NHL by the so-called “experts.” But, he has a…
Read MoreMy Ideas for NCAA Basketball Tournament Promotions
The 2016 NCAA Basketball Tournament starts this week, and I just filled out the perfect bracket. A lot of people don’t have Temple winning the whole thing, but I sure do. (OK, I picked Michigan State. But I’ll still cheer for the Owls.) When people fill out their brackets, they can create any possible outcome…
Read More3 Free and Easy-to-use Social Media Tools Perfect for the Promo Industry
Hi there, Promo Marketing audience! I’ll get to the tools in a quick second, but I wanted to introduce myself first. My name is Mandy Kilinskis. I’m the content and social media manager for distributor Quality Logo Products, Aurora, Ill. I’ll be here monthly to share practical tips on digital marketing. Enough about me—on to the…
Read MoreShould You Upgrade to QuickBooks 2016?
Question: Is it time to upgrade to QuickBooks Premier 2016? Answer: QuickBooks Premier 2016 was released in November 2015. Every year when software comes out, it takes time for the bugs to get worked out, and Premier 2016 is no exception. It’s wise to wait a few months after the initial release to upgrade. My…
Read MoreSupernova Success Equals Organizational Skills
Time to spill a few more sales secrets, kids! And these secrets are organizational in nature … This past week, I once again sat down with a multi-million-dollar producer and interviewed her, trying to uncover attributes, work habits and her secrets of success. Just call me Bernstein from The Washington Post. Wait, maybe I should…
Read More11 Keys to Great Success in Life and Business: Key 11: Know Your ‘Big Why’
Most industry folks want to focus on the “how.” How do I sell more? How can I make more money? How? I believe with all my heart that “how” doesn’t matter until you know “why.” The truth is that most folks reading this already know “how” to double their sales and incomes. The reason they…
Read More6 Things Clients Are Buying
Clients and prospects still are buying. Your customers still need you and still want to buy from you. What your customers want to buy is a more efficient, more profitable, more exciting company. They want to buy a better brand. They want to buy the ability to be the first choice among shoppers looking for the services…
Read MorePromoting Higher Education
College was an exciting time in my life. For me, a kid from suburban Central Pennsylvania, it was a time when I moved to an exciting city, made new friends from all over the country (and the world)…
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