| Sales | 
| | | No matter how many sales you make, your business will struggle if you don't watch your margins. One of the biggest mistakes made by startups is to confuse making sales with making money. New business owners seem to think that business is about busy-ness--that is, how many times the cash register rings. They fail to take even simple steps to ... | | | Getting a few more dollars out of each customer can put startups on a fast track to success. Walk into any McDonald's, order a Quarter Pounder, and the clerk will invariably ask, "Do you want fries with that?" Each affirmative answer adds $1 or more to that particular sale. If just a fraction of McDonald's' 54 million daily customers say ... | | | Maintaining strong customer relationships is the key to creating a strong campaign. Most Americans can't get through a single week without purchasing a service from a small business. Whether they're visiting the neighborhood car wash, having an office painted, or getting a home refrigerator repaired, they need the services of a ... | | | What Will Your Competitors Do Next? Once you know the identity of your most direct competitors and have a good idea as to your second- and third-tier competitors as well, you should give some thought to which actions they are likely to take in the next year or so. Estimates of ... | | | Where is your business? Business Life Cycle
Where is your business?
How far are you along the entrepreneurial road from startup to maturity? Each leg of the journey puts distinct new demands on small business owners.
Knowing where you are helps you seize ... | | | Beer entrepreneurs quench the thirst of increasingly savvy consumers. Once upon a time, beer drinkers only had three major choices when looking to pop a cold one: Budweiser, Miller and Coors. Now the market is flooded with imports, seasonal brews and variations of the old classics. Choosing which beer to drink may ... | | | Use these 3 smart tactics to personalize marketing messages and increase sales. Marketers have found a new opportunity for more intimate and direct communication with consumers. Not so long ago, families gathered around the TV; now individuals surf the web and watch video on personal, handheld devices. Consumers have grown ... | | | Don't outsource your search engine optimization without asking these 10 questions. Finding and hiring an outside firm or consultant for your SEO can be daunting. In today's marketplace, a professional search optimizer is a combination of copywriter, web designer, product designer, developer, marketer, advertiser, analyst and ... | | | Need help implementing your ideas? This approach may provide you with the structure you need. Marketing guru Seth Godin recently addressed alignment in a piece about iTunes falling over its own words and intentions. After reading it, I did a quick Google search on "strategic alignment," which brought up a lot of results and a lot of ... | | | Don't wait until business dips to start marketing. Begin today using these 3 important principles to develop your core message. One of the questions I'm asked most frequently is, "When is the best time to market?" The answer is simple: The best time to market is now and every day hereafter. In fact, marketing should be a year-round process. Even seasonal businesses must ... | | | There are more ways than ever for your business to save energy, money and the environment. It's Easy Being GreenLooking for other ways to cut costs? Visitwww.entrepreneur.com/shortcutsand discover 50 simple ways your business can save money.For Bob Chandler, entrepreneurship and the environment go hand in hand. As co-owners of McCracken ... | | | This time around, many candidates are taking their campaigns online in new ways. Find out how you can use their tactics to build brand loyalty and convert community interest into sales. Ten years ago, it would've been hard to imagine candidates actively campaigning for a presidential election two years away. It would've been even harder to imagine that some of the well-financed, prominent candidates would announce their candidacy ... | | | Determine whether your business will succeed by evaluating these six aspects. Great business models depend on developing three "green lights," or qualities that help the business succeed: finding high-value customers, offering significant value to customers, and delivering significant margins. Great business models also avoid ... | | | Getting your company’s departments to work in harmony is sometimes a battle, but you can keep discord from reigning supreme. Turf WarsBusiness is good for Michael Cooch, founder of 4-year-old Everon Technology Services, a Boston IT firm that serves SMBs. The company’s clientele encompasses industries from schools to government lobbying firms to retail shops, and sales are ... | | | Cut to the chase with these tips to reach prospects who are ready to buy. Sales ShortcutsIf you’re like most new entrepreneurs, you can’t afford to wait months or years for your first sales. You want marketing tactics that produce results quickly, and that means learning all you can about “search corridor” media--media ... | | | Take this quick quiz to learn important tips for growing your business by marketing the smart way. Are You a Smart Marketer?Polish your marketing smarts with this handy quiz. Just answer true or false to these eight questions, then read the answers for important insights that'll help you improve your marketing in the coming year.1. On a ... | | | Telemarketing in the era of Do Not Call Three
to Think About
Telemarketing in the era ofDo Not Call
Driven by consumer complaints about unscrupulous telemarketing practices, the government has regulated unsolicited calls more strictly. Does that mean ... | | | Extreme Marketing Extreme Marketing
--by Aliza Pilar Sherman
Aliza Pilar Sherman is a Web pioneer,
marketing and business expert ... | | | Plan B (and C and D and...) Plan B (and C and D and...)Management experts advise entrepreneurs to revisit their business plans regularly. After all, circumstances change, and if tactics and goals don't change along with them, a business strategy can grow stale awfully fast. ... | | | Keeping Customers Keeping CustomersBy Aarti ShahEntice repeat business from existing customers without slashing your prices.It's no secret that keeping old customers is a more cost-efficient marketing strategy than trying to recruit new business. Though earning ... | | | Rewarding Your Best Customers Rewarding Your Best Customers
Aarti Shah
It's no secrete that keeping old customers is a more cost-efficient marketing
strategy than trying to recruit new business. Though earning customer loyalty is one area that small business owners might have ... | | | Growing Sales Through Leadership Growing Sales Through LeadershipBy Instill a natural passion in your sales team to see your profits rise.Can better leadership contribute as much to the bottom line as good sales training? One of the biggest challenges of teaching leadership is how ... | | | Selling Tactics for Start Ups Selling Tactics for Start Ups
by Mary Murray
A start up aiming for sales needs to leverage contacts and
public relations opportunities, show customers how the
product or service will ... | | | Meet four ex-cops who left their badges behind to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams. In May, Gina Scarda was sergeant of the New York Police Department's Technical Assistance and Response Unit. Just six months later, she has three new titles taking the place of sergeant: franchise owner, holistic health counselor and stand-up ... | | | Your First Investment: The Start Up Executive
Team Your First Investment: The Start Up Executive Team
by Vail Horton, Keen Mobility Co.
A year and a half prior to launching Keen Mobility Co. in
August 2001, I was scouting the University of Portland campus, ... |
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