SalesNewz.com

Business blogs are still a bit of a mystery and certainly a source of anxiety and angst for many SME’s (small and medium enterprises) and SMB’s (small and medium businesses) alike. Many marketing directors and executive level decision makers cringe at the idea of having a blog. They don’t get the concept, fear the workload or have a skewed view of a business blog’s purpose. As a result, they conclude that they don’t need to do it. That’s just wrong.

Here’s one thing that every business regardless of size should get. Doing something that helps your sales team sell more.

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All of the talk of how things were on ‘Black Friday’ is now followed by the yearly quest for the Cyber Monday data. We in the online world love to see just how much the shift to online commerce continues to overtake the traditional way that goods and services are sold. Whether these numbers are inflated or given too much credit is always a concern but this year’s trends, at least from a few sources, points to the continued rise of online growing while brick and mortar struggles.

To what degree this year’s trending points to a larger economic trend is a huge TBD (to be determined). Honestly, more people may have experimented with online purchasing to save time and money including gas and food that is part of the in-store shopping experience of a venture out on Black Friday. That’s just my thought and there is NO scientific backing on that one.

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I am coming off the CMO Summit in San Francisco put on by the Aberdeen Group and I have a lot of questions. I come from the sales side of things and I have at least a basic understanding of the marketing side. After this meeting I think I see just how much more there is to consider on the marketing side that I simply pass off and, I suppose, take for granted.

While I am willing to admit that I don’t give marketers their due I think that the same needs to be considered from the marketing side of the ledger as well. So what am I saying here? If you are a marketer or someone who assists sales in any way I would love to know what our impression or view of the salesperson’s job is. I know it sounds a little odd and maybe even just plain weird but I really think that there is more of a disconnect than I ever suspected between these two supposedly linked worlds.

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I have had a difficult week. Nothing serious, so don’t move to another post or destination because I am going to bum you out with stories of woe and despair. It’s been difficult from a business perspective because I have slowly been coming to a realization. For over 20 years, I have been in a sales capacity of one sort or another. When you do something for that long, you tend to get attached to it, and hope that there is hope for the future. Well, if you are a true “salesman” I am here to tell you that you may need to find another job.

The world is SO noisy right now with everyone desperate to get out of the economic morass that we are stuck in, but what I see is everyone is also afraid to make a move. There are many, many things that people can do to find those who are still ready to work with you and buy your services and I submit that hardcore “sales” is not one of them.

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As I go through my existence in the Internet marketing world it becomes more and more evident that there is a serious dearth of good sales talent in the industry. For those of you who have encountered a slick, snake oil salesman type in the industry I apologize on behalf of all of us.

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