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The Honest Economy by Marcus Sheridan

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Below you’ll find an email from my friend Marcus Sheridan of The Sales Lion (www.thesaleslion.com – great website, download his e-book, it’s amazing).  Marcus is a fantastic speaker and was recently selected to speak at a TED event and has received rave reviews for his talk – you can click on the link below to see the video.  In his comments below he mentioned 5 things you can do today to Embrace the Honest Economy and Change Your Business Forever – what are you willing to do?

 

From Marcus:

At this point, you and I have a choice. Be it the way we live our life or run our business, we can walk to the beat of the way “it has always been done” as well as the way “the other guys do it” or we can make a divergence in the road and clear our own path from this point forward.

When it comes to marketing you and your business, this reality has never been so true. Please stick with me for a second so I can explain…

As some of you are already well aware, two weeks ago I spoke at a TED event near Washington DC. As one who speaks a lot, this 11-minute talk was the hardest thing I’ve ever done on stage. I literally poured my heart and soul into it because it’s a message I so firmly believe in. I also know, without a shadow of doubt, that any business or individual who embraces this approach will positively change their industry, build their brand, and create more paying customers in the process.

I’m calling this movement “The Honest Economy ,” and it’s my hope you’ll consider joining the movement today-and also hugely benefit in the process.

And what is The Honest Economy? Simple, it’s one that’s not based on cheap sales tactics, poor financial practices, or slick ad copy. Rather, it’s fundamental core comes down to two essential elements: Great communication and teaching.

This is why content marketing is something I talk about so very much on The Sales Lion. When all is said and done, we’re just trying to be better teachers and communicators.

But to make this simple, I’m going to mention 5 things you could choose to do that not only are fundamentally based in truth and honesty, but will have an incredible impact on your business, brand, and bottom line. Here they are:

5 Ways You Can Embrace The Honest Economy and Change Your Business Forever

1. Answer every question-positive or negative-you’ve ever been asked by a prospect or customer. Turn each question into a blog post title, and then just answer it. Hold nothing back. Be real. Be consistent. Make this a culture.

2. Write a manifesto about something you seeing wrong in your industry, and then show it to the world. (Yes, this takes guts, but you’ll be amazed at the results.)

3. Make an offer to customers no one else in your industry is willing to offer. (Car Max did this with their 5-day money back guarantee in the used car industry and it worked out pretty well for them 😉

4. Make a section of your website called “Who we are not for.” (Believe it or not, it’s more important in your copy that you tell people who you’re NOT for (your product, service, etc.) than who you are for. I’m sure no one does this right now in your industry, but if you do, you’ll see the powerful psychological effect it has on customers and prospects.)

5.  Show your “secret sauce” by making a video explaining how you do what you do . As mentioned in the TED talk, if McDonalds showed the world how to make their secret sauce, don’t you think it’s time we showed ours?? Whether you offer a product, a service, are B2B or B2C-please consider showing the world how you make your secret sauce.

2 Requests that Could Change Your Life and Mine as Well 

I have two sincere requests on this day my friends.

1. Choose one of the above challenges . Tell me, by hitting “reply” to this email, which one you’re doing (or will do) and why. I ask this because I want to be a part of the journey with you.

2. I need your help spreading my TED talk. In order for the talk to be considered by TED.com (only 2% of all TED talks make it to the main TED.com website ) I really need to get the views above 10,000 by next week (currently it’s at 4,000 after the first two days). If everyone that receives this email just clicked on this link and watched the video once, we’d be way above that number. And if everyone shared that same video on Facebook or Twitter, the results would be astounding.

I’m not usually one to ask my readers and subscribers for favors, but today, I am. I do sincerely need your help and hope you’ll consider going to YouTube and at least watching the message-The Honest Economy.

As always, thanks everyone and I can’t wait to hear your responses to the 5 challenges above and see which you’ll choose.

Marcus Sheridan

What is Business Development & what are the Benefits of Outsourcing?

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It has come to our attention that many people have no idea what business development actually is. Some may have some inkling as to what business development encompasses, but few have a full understanding as to what business development sets out to accomplish.

The role of business development, as mysterious as it may be, is a combination of strategic analysis, marketing, and sales. It is up to a business development professional to then take that knowledge and use it to identify and develop new business opportunities.

  • New markets
  • New partnerships with other businesses
  • New ways to reach existing markets
  • The generation of new sales leads
  • New product or service offerings
  • Develop new marketing strategies
  • And much more!

All of this is meant to better meet the needs of existing markets, as well as exploit those opportunities to drive additional business and increase profitability.

A new trend, however, has developed recently in the business development world, quickly gaining more and more traction…Outsourcing!

The Benefits of Outsourced Business Development

More companies are beginning to turn to outsourced business development firms, like Springboard, to ask, “How can we do this at less cost while hitting all the key areas?” It’s simple; at Springboard we expanded and brought in more talent to give corporations the access, the exposure, and the opportunities they need based on their budget.

Just look at the bottom line!

What your corporation used to pay in terms of salary for a single business development specialist can now be used to outsource 3-5 high-level business development experts.

That is what we offer at Springboard! Regardless of the size of your business we can provide the talent necessary to grow your business.

If you have any questions about Outsourced Business Development, please contact Springboard Business Development by calling 410-832-7560 or click here today!

Located in Baltimore, Maryland, Springboard offers outsourced sales solutions for businesses in the professional services arena. Our approach to business development makes it easy to find new clients without the financial  burden of an in-house business developer.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn as well!

Sources:

Business Development

Understanding business development

Leadership Development Tips for 2012

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What is your New Year’s Resolution? Maybe you want to lose weight, travel more, or stop smoking. Or maybe you want to become a more efficient leader. After all, business development begins with you, the business owner. To grow as a business you must first grow as a leader.

There are lots of things you can do to better yourself as a business leader, but we don’t have enough time to explain them all so we have outlined our top suggestions.

Don’t Neglect the Present to Plan for the Future: Yes, the ultimate goal is to grow your business. But you cannot be so focused on future growth that you neglect the here and now. If you re-direct your focus on current business transactions and work to perfect what your business already does well, the rest will fall into place.

Listening: Listen to what your employees and clients are saying. After all, happy clients provide referrals, which brings in more business and makes you more money. This will make you a happy business owner. And happy employees will work harder and more efficiently, which brings in more business and makes you more money. This will also make you a happy business owner.

So stop talking at people and start listening to what they have to say.

Unlearning: Forget what you think you know about business…it is ever evolving. So stop relying on outdated methods and ineffective techniques. If you want your business to grow and prosper, you must first be willing to change your way of thinking. Just because something worked in the past does not mean it will continue working. Always be on the lookout for new sales techniques and more effective business practices.

Focus on What You do Best & Outsource the Rest: As a business owner, you are pulled in several different directions at once. You are forced to divide your attention between marketing, sales, business growth, customer service, and much more. And there is simply not enough time in the day to give each area of your business the time it deserves. As a result, your business suffers.

You cannot afford to do anything halfheartedly in the corporate world. So what is the solution? What is the best use of your time? Well, unfortunately there is no one answer. Every sector of your business is equally as important as the next.

However, one of the best ways to lessen your business burden is to outsource your sales to a professional business development firm, like Springboard!

Springboard offers outsourced sales solutions for businesses in the professional services arena. It’s simple, while you focus on delivery, we bring our sales expertise and connections to focus on your business development challenges.

If you have any questions, contact Springboard Business Development by calling 410-832-7560 or click here today!

Our approach to business development makes it easy to find new clients without the concerns of sales team turn-over, lack of sales expertise and payroll.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well!

Sources:

5 Leadership Tips for 2012

Highest and Best Use of Your Time

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As a business owner, you are pulled in several different directions at once. You are forced to divide your attention between marketing, sales, business growth, customer service, and much more. And there is simply not enough time in the day to give each area of your business the time it deserves. As a result, your business suffers.

You cannot afford to do anything halfheartedly in the corporate world. So what is the solution? What is the best use of your time? Well, unfortunately there is no one answer. Every sector of your business is equally as important as the next.

However, one of the best ways to lessen your business burden is to outsource your sales to a professional business development firm. This cost-effective solution will allow you to re-focus your attention to other pressing matters and will also allow you to better grow your business.

  1. Outsourcing costs less than hiring an in-house sales team: Outsourcing provides you with the rare opportunity to cut spending while also increasing profit.
  2. Increase sales: Not only are outsourced sales forces trained to do nothing but sell, sell, sell, but most outsourcing services operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. So even when your company is closed for the day, the weekend, or a holiday, your business will still be reachable.
  3. Focus on core business activities: Without having to worry about every little detail of your business, you are free to focus on your core business activities.

So stop spreading yourself thin and start running your business smarter and more efficiently by outsourcing your sales to a professional sales outsourcing firm, like Springboard Business Development.

If you have any questions, contact Springboard Business Development by calling 410-832-7560 or click here today!

Located in Baltimore, Maryland, Springboard offers outsourced sales solutions for businesses in the professional services arena. It’s simple, while you focus on delivery, we bring our sales expertise and connections to focus on your business development challenges.

Our approach to business development makes it easy to find new clients without the concerns of sales team turn-over, lack of sales expertise and payroll.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well!

Why Outsourcing Your Sales is a Good Idea

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As your business continues to get bigger, your time gets split between more and more tasks: marketing, management, customer relations, finances, and sales. But the more time you spend on the day-to-day activities of your business, the less time you have to expand and grow your company. What can you do? You can’t be everywhere at once.

The only solution is to hand over control of one aspect of your business to someone you can trust. The easiest and most cost-effective way to do this is through outsourcing. The benefits of outsourcing your sales to a third party vendor include:

•     Save Money: Outsourcing your sales to an entire dedicated sales team is much cheaper than hiring your own, in-house sales force.

•     No Training: You will not have to waste company time (and more money) training a new sales team.

•     Grow Your Business: Outsourcing sales allows management to focus on core business activites.

Outsourcing is becoming a common practice for many businesses as more and more companies are realizing the benefits of utilizing the skills of others to help their business venture succeed. So let Springboard take care of your sales while you focus on growing your business.

If you have any questions about outsourcing, contact Springboard by calling 410-832-7560 or click here today!

At Springboard we offer outsourced sales solutions for businesses in the professional services arena. It’s simple, while you focus on delivery, we bring our sales expertise and connections to focus on your business development challenges.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well!

Sources:

Is Outsourcing your Sales Force a Good Idea?

Why to Outsource Your Sales Team

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