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During these strange and scary days, you have time on your hands that you ordinarily wouldn’t. If Stephen Covey were writing this blog, he would tell you to, “Sharpen the saw.” That is, “Since you can’t sell, improve your selling skills.” He’s not writing this blog, but we will say it just the same. Each week, we will give you suggestions for how best to fill your days and come out better and stronger on the other side. So, let’s start with this week’s quick sales tip for inkjet printing: Just like in sales itself, there are four keys to success when it comes to selling inkjet: Make a high-value, well researched sales call; Choose the best targets to approach; Create a prospecting process; Apply that process with diligence. Before we get much further down the road, let’s talk about your skill level on each of these four points. If you haven’t done so already, we suggest you take our free Sales Assessment Test and answer a few questions. By being as honest as possible, you will be able …

Research says we need reasons to feel confident about our decisions to buy something. That goes for buying a product or buying into a concept or a message. When we feel confident about our decision there’s actually a neuron in the brain that fires up and triggers people to take action. This happens regardless of the amount of information we have, it’s based on the feeling of confidence. So if you want your audience to take action, you need to make them feel confident about buying into the message you’re selling. The key is to provide proof points to support your message AND present them in a way that won’t undermine your message! Let’s assume you know your customer wants to improve their marketing. Your message is then “Print can help make your marketing more effective.” How can you support and boost that message? STATISTICS Numbers provide proof for your message and truly help highlight your point. Adding a statistic builds trust in the message. Now the audience has a real reason to …

In a previous blog , we delved into the makeup of the sales funnel—the essence of your marketing efforts—and ways to communicate specifically with each stage of the customer’s journey. The top of the sales funnel, as I noted, means assessing new visitors to your website, who perhaps have searched for some particular product or need, or maybe viewed one of the blogs. Remember, these visitors are brand-new to experience what you have to offer. Consider these elements of website best practices, so you have a fighting chance to move first-time visitors further down the sales funnel, from awareness to interest, desire, and action. • Looking Good . Statistics show that people prefer to read online content that is beautifully designed. In fact, 38% say they simply would not engage with a website that is unattractive, and almost 50% say that a website’s attractiveness reflects the credibility of its business. Your business! At the top of the funnel, that means you’re not selling anything …

Marketing is the life’s blood of your business. Prospects must be found and—somehow—converted into customers. Fortunately there’s plenty of insight into how to do this, because prospects generally follow a clear pathway in making buying decisions. It’s called the sales funnel. In this new blog series on marketing best practices, we’ll examine the concept of the sales funnel, what behaviors and interests your potential customers demonstrate at each stage, and the techniques you can use to move them from prospects all the way to customers. The concept often is illustrated like an actual funnel, or inverted pyramid. Brand-new prospects who first become aware of your company and services—probably via internet searches or by reading your blogs on your or other sites—can be viewed as being at the top of the funnel. They’re merely aware of you, but it’s a critical first step. It’s now your job to move them from mere awareness to actual interest in what you have to offer, a consideration of …

Anytime I do a media training I ask the same question: “How many messages do you think you should have for your target audience?” Every time I get the same answer… “Three.” Three seems to be that magic number. In the literary world there’s the “power of three,” a writing principle that says things that come in three are funnier, more satisfying, and more effective. Even in numerology, three is considered to be “the perfect number.” Lists that come in three seem to be easier to remember. No one wants a list of 15 things. Three seems to be just enough. So, when it comes to crafting compelling messages — we should stick with three, right? Wrong! Instead, it’s crucial to focus on your single most important message. Here’s why… Audiences just can’t absorb multiple messages. According to neuroscientist Dr. Carmen Simon, you’re making a mistake presenting more than one main message. Dr. Simon’s book,  Impossible to Ignore , shows that audiences remember best when you present your single most …