Social media connections are (arguably)
1.  quicker to form…
2. weaker, and…
3. more transparent to observers…
…than offline, face to face (F2F) relationships.
The implications of these differences:
Transparency enables Targeting. I can identify potential customers online with relative ease. It’s easy to see what topics interest a Twitterer and strike up legit conversations about mutual interests.
Speed enables Offline Integration. [...]

Social media is a hybrid venue for B2B marketing. A little bit sales, a little bit brand positioning. A little bit news distribution, a little bit 1-1 conversation.
Outcomes of certain social media tactics can be measured.  But the big difference between social media exposure and traditional brand advertising is the opportunity to build 1/1 relationships [...]

Widget makers have it easy. Plaster photos on the website. We.Are.Selling.This.Thing.  It.Looks.Like.This.  (Do you want it painted in Autumn Glory, Technicolor Stainless, or Urban Soot?)
For those of us who sell things whose souls cannot be captured in a photograph, it’s not quite so literal.
Here are six reasons why your erstwhile customer can’t figure out what [...]

If you’re not seeing the chart, try clicking here

As Seth Godin recently observed, Value = benefit/price.
Even if the customer’s question is “How does this save me money?” that doesn’t mean the answer is “I’m cheaper than my competitor” or “Because I’ll discount my price.”
Look closely. Both answers appeals to a benchmark entirely outside the customer’s business. Neither answer addresses the customer’s [...]

Marketplace indifference is a soul-killer. It’s a big reason why sales people hate prospecting. All reasonable efforts must be made to manage the amount of indifference to which a sales person is exposed. Sure, rejection comes with the job.  But what’s gained by throwing away emotional energy if nothing is learned from the experience?
I’ve said [...]

One of the paradoxes of marketing and sales is “monetizing relationships.”
We typically hate to be sold. The harder the sell, the more we hate it. However, we typically like to buy. Any person who has had an experience of spending their own money knows this. Many of us have been blessed to be able to [...]

Confession: I am a recovering Bloggerholic.
Thanks to Hubspot for this post which made me feel sufficient SEO-guilt to go ahead and make the switch.
Henceforth I shall set a better example.
In addition to the SEO benefits, Wordpress is also rife with useful plugins. These make it incredibly powerful, though not quick to set up. [...]