Small Business Marketing

A simple recipe for more effective selling:
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STOP introducing yourself.
STOP asking for a moment of their time.
STOP asking how they are.

START with a killer question and go from there.

-- Jeffrey Gitomer, http://www.gitomer.com
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In the mid-1980's, John Opel, the then Chairman of IBM, gave a talk to an audience of Stanford MBAs.

In response to a question for his advice about how newly-minted MBAs should embark on their careers, he offered these three simple guidelines:

1. Create value
2. Don't fake it
3. Business is people

Happy Labor Day!

An AP poll on the public's attitudes about work found that most workers in the United States were at least fairly satisfied with their jobs. Their findings are summarized below:

• Seven in 10 surveyed said they are paid fairly. Men were more likely than women to feel this way.
• Six in 10 workers say work is an important part of who they are.
• 34 percent said they were dissatisfied with the amount of stress. Other leading complaints included opportunities for advancement as well as health and retirement benefits.
• Adults age 18 to 29 were most likely to say their job was something they mainly do to earn money.
• People over 30 were more likely to say they were very satisfied with their jobs.
• In this political season, it's also interesting to note that those most likely to say they were very satisfied were white, married, college-educated, homeowners and Republicans.
• 36 percent of those surveyed strongly agreed that their job allows them to reach their full potential.
• Finally, people were evenly split on how they feel about going back to work after a long weekend or a few days off!

Yahoo! News - AP Poll: Most Fairly Happy With Work