“I don’t care how many degrees you have on the wall, if you don’t know how to sell, you’re probably going to starve.”—George Forman

A lot of business owners think they are selling, when really all they are doing is marketing. Do you know the difference between the two? It will cost you a lot of time, energy, and money if you don’t.

An Article by Karen Whitman, SPIA Partner: There is definitely a risk to business owners with a “wait and see” attitude. Just to name a few:

Loss of market share
Lost customers
Loss of profitability
Loss of cash flow
Loss of liquidity
Inability to keep up with technology
Loss of productivity
Loss of key employees
Panicked employees
(Worst scenario)—Loss of your business

The greatest risk is the fear induced by the thought of the above happening in your business. This kind of fear can actually paralyze a person’s thinking, and it is the thoughts that control actions. Disabled thinking equals immobility in your business. Even though your business may not be at risk, this thinking makes you feel threatened. It goes back to the old adage, “If you think you can, you will, and if you think you can’t, you don’t!”

In Y2011, we find ourselves striving to take advantage of Social Media Marketing (SMM). Today its all about looking for the “best” marketing strategy to connect with a company’s target audience. So, recognizing this flow of progress, we might ask ourselves, really how much has marketing really changed in the last twenty-five years? From the beginning, the basic objective of every successful marketing strategy has been the same – establish or develop stronger connections or relationships with people.

Every morning, as I stand in line (with way too many other people by the way) for a cup of coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts – I hear it over and over again: “Anything else?” asks the woman behind the counter in her somewhat broken English. Another customer, another “Anything else?” as she’s ringing them up. Finally, it’s my turn – “I’ll take a large French vanilla ice, skim milk, one sugar – extra light”, I shout over the 3 people in front of me. Even as she’s walking away, she’s asking me those wonderful two words – “Anything else?” She doesn’t care if I’ve purchased a bottled water, Coolatta, or a dozen bagels – even if I’ve said no a thousand times before, she keeps asking and I absolutely love it.

Ever ask yourself where your company stands when it is compared by a prospective customer to others? Well it is more than likely that even your customers are asking these same questions. And if you’re not savvy to what they learn and how you compare against the competition, you are laying yourself “open” for lost business – or – worse, a compromised market position.