Mark Heuer Puts Face on Billboard to Find Job

Mark Heuer, a most interesting fellow, is pulling all the stops to find a job. His Mark 4 Hire website is pretty creative in itself, but he didn’t stop there. Frustrated by the extremely difficult job market, he decided to put his face on a billboard on a heavily trafficked highway near Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA. What a great example of creativity and drive! But is the billboard working? I really wanted to find out, so I contacted Mark through a mutual business associate, and he was nice enough to answer a few questions. You can find more details in the links at…

Ideas for Sales Job Interviews

GL Hoffman just published my guest post, Interviewing for a Sales Job - Thoughts from a Veteran Interviewer. A few of my ideas apply to other types of jobs … if you have a chance, please check it out.

Thanks, GL!

Think Green, Be Green, Market Green

Lately I’ve gotten quite involved in the green movement. One of my clients, Salazar Packaging, Inc., just introduced a line of 100% recycled corrugated boxes. Whatever your business, pay attention to the eco-conscious. As environmental issues continue to grow in importance, they will influence products, services, and branding in a big way. I recently asked Dennis Salazar a few questions about the firm’s Globe Guard boxes. His perspective on sustainability should be of interest to small business owners and marketing personnel.

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1. How did you become interested in sustainable packaging?

My wife, Lenora and I have always shared a concern for…

Get Green! - Interview with Rider Thompson

Green packaging is becoming more important every day, as we become more aware of how fragile our environment is. Rider Thompson, whose Sustainable is Good blog focuses on sustainable packaging, is a leader in identifying sustainable packaging products and trends. This should be of interest to all of us, since the choices we make as consumers drive much of what packagers do with regard to the type and amount of packaging they use.

I’ve begun contributing to his blog, and now Rider is here with answers to my questions about sustainable packaging and how he’s marketing his blog.
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Rider, how did you…

Protect Your Privacy! An Interview with PrivacyBuilder’s TJ McDonald

TJ McDonald, founder and president of PrivacyBuilders, is a client and someone who is passionate about protecting and respecting consumer data. To learn more about data privacy issues and how they affect us, read the following. It’s sobering.

Word Sell - How did data privacy come to be an important issue for you?

TJ McDonald - It started back in 1998 when a marketing executive in the insurance industry asked me if I knew how a piece of mail arrived at my postal mail box. I never really gave it much thought before then, but decide to find out. It didn’t take long for…

Use WordPress for Your Company Web Site

Transitioning from Blogger to WordPress would have been impossible for me without the help of Lara Kulpa, an incredibly talented WordPress developer I met through my blogging friend Liz Strauss. (Thank you, Liz!)

Lara and I are teaming up to help companies build Web sites and/or blogs in WordPress. From my point of view as a sales and marketing strategist, I can see enormous sales and marketing value in the WordPress approach. For a look at the technical benefits of WordPress, here are insights from Lara.

Interview with Lara Kulpa, Anubis Marketing.

1. How long have you been working with WordPress?
I discovered it back…

Strategic Planning–How Anyone Can Become a Business Genius

As follow-up to my recent post about the small business owner’s fear of strategic planning, I interviewed Gene Rosendale, a founding partner of the Alliance for Strategic Advantage.

Gene, a clear-thinking strategist and clear-speaking communicator, helps small and midsize companies (SMBs) implement strategic planning processes that get results. Gene’s background– which includes a degree from the Wharton Graduate School of Business, executive positions at Fortune 500 companies, and owning his own business–gives him the academic and practical experience necessary to assist SMBs.
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Here’s what Gene had to say about my post and the challenges of strategic planning.

WS: Do you encounter the fears of…

Can a Blog Sell Houses?

Marin Real Estate Insider, as I mentioned in a recent post, is a top-notch residential real estate blog, loaded with important house-hunting information.

Bob Ravasio, the blog’s author, recently talked to me about his blogging experience and how it’s affecting his and wife Pat’s real estate business. A former journalist and advertising account executive, Bob has a great perspective on the creative, marketing, and sales dimensions of blogging.

WS: How long have you been blogging now?

RAVASIO: I believe it has been a little over six months.

WS: Has blogging helped your business? If so, how?

RAVASIO: Yes, it has. First, I’ve had a few people find me…

How to Get an Order

Sales people can waste an enormous amount of time learning “closing techniques”. Tactics such the “assumptive close”, when the seller continues a conversation as if the buyer has already placed the order; asking a series of questions where “yes” is the only response, and then asking for the order in hope that the buyer will mechanically reply “yes”; presenting the buyer with an either-or order proposition; are gimmicky, manipulative, and ineffective.

You want an order? Just ask.

“Are you ready to order?”

“Would you like to place an order now?”

What’s wrong with being direct and to the point? If the sales person has…

Mystery First

Yesterday in Funny Business I wrote about a mysterious advertising message. While that particular message might be a little too mysterious, the principle behind it is sound. Sometimes, the less said, the better.

People are naturally curious. If you tell them too much too early, they won’t have anything to be curious about. Bombarding prospects with facts and figures can be a gigantic turnoff. Much better is to engage the prospect by telling a story. And as we all know, one element of an engaging story is mystery.

Lexus has been doing a superb job of creating mystery with the rollout of its new…

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