Many small businesses struggle to maintain consistency in the critical area of lead generation. Lead generation works best for small businesses when it results in a steady stream of sales opportunities that can be developed into profitable sales. There is…
Month: January 2014
Use clients to validate your differentiation
I have written before about the importance of small business owners setting their businesses apart from their competitors. It is essential that the points of difference they promote are difficult for their competitors to copy or negate. This gives a…
Posted in Differentiation
Avoid falling into the catch-up trap
The catch-up trap is set by businesses that continually innovate and develop their products/services in new directions. These are forward-looking businesses that respond to feedback from their clients and develop their products in new and innovative directions. This commitment to…
Posted in Competitor / Market Knowledge
Timebox your activities
All small business owners are desperately busy people who have to cram plenty of activities into every single day. Some seem to thrive on the pressure this puts on them and these people will maintain their motivation and productivity day…
Posted in Time Management
Never convey how desperate you are for leads
All small business owners will have, at some stage or another, encountered barren periods during which it seems impossible to find sufficient new sales opportunities. You have probably experienced times when the lead generation methods with which you had previously…
Posted in Lead Generation
Think beyond transient differentiation
In a world full of products and services that look alike, small business owners in particular need to give more attention to making their business stand out from the pack. This is not easy but the value of doing so…
Posted in Differentiation
Use client surveys to identify weaknesses
Small business owners are not always honest with themselves regarding the weaknesses within their business that could be exploited by a competitor. Sometimes they think their product/service is much better than it is perceived to be by their prospects. To…
Posted in Competitor / Market Knowledge
Competing against small start ups
If you find yourself competing for sales against small start-up businesses, you will need to exploit their weaknesses while remaining conscious of their advantages. To help you do this, think back to the days when your business started out and…
Posted in Competitor / Market Knowledge