Marketing and Sales

I propose we look at our own organization as a blank sheet of paper. By doing this, we can engage in “as if” thinking. This means thinking in a manner as if we can make the changes needed in our organization right away...

Are you afraid to fail? Or are you afraid to get started because you might fail? The late TV preacher Robert Schuler famously said, “What would you try to do, if you couldn’t fail?” Do you dare to dream big? Your realities can only be as big as your dreams...

Mike Jacoutot, founder and managing partner of Butler Street, a leading management consulting, training and research firm focused on client and talent development, shares five keys to effective growth through cross-selling and teamwork...

From Tiffany & Co. to Coca-Cola, hosts of memorable brands have become synonymous with iconic packaging. They know that a package contains more than a product; it’s the prelude to the product’s story. With more and more companies fighting for control of retail shelves, and prime positioning in general, it’s easy to lose sight of what drives purchase intent. And an uninformed vision can lead to multiple variables (e.g., color, shapes, symbols and text) working against each other.

Branching out into a new product category like promotional items may be intimidating, but it’s far from impossible, and a little education can go a long way. Since you’re already excelling at print, up your game by offering combinations of print and promo in your next sales pitch. We spoke to Stephanie Friedman, vice president of marketing for City Paper Company, Birmingham, Ala., who shared some tips on how to make your endeavor into promo a successful one.

Your company’s website can draw in new prospects and keep current customers happy just as easily as it can drive them away. “If you build it, they will come” may work in a baseball movie, but it’s a shaky strategy for your organization’s online presence. The key is to build it well. Is the site inviting, knowledgeable and aesthetically pleasing? Here are eight ways to help the process along.

We often get so caught up with “making our numbers,” and trying to earn a living and pay the bills that we come to believe that we work to make money...

At the start of my career, I spent a lot of time pitching products in hopes of catching a decision-maker’s attention. Today, I’m usually on the receiving end, listening to a budding entrepreneur looking to partner with us, or to a team member hoping to green-light a project...

Bensussen Deutsch & Associates LLC (BDA), Woodinville, Wash., has been named the preferred merchandise agency for Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA). The merchandising contract began July 2015 and will run through 2020...

Mary Ann McLaughlin, managing partner at Butler Street, shares the four most common (yet completely avoidable) reasons that clients will leave you...