Often, marketing and sales people tear out their hair trying to figure out what customers and prospects are thinking.

• Are they coming to a show?
• Are they thinking about purchasing at the show?
• Did they like last year’s show? How far did they travel?
• What do they look for in a booth?

So here’s a radical idea: Ask them.

Survey tools today are cheap, simple to implement, and sophisticated enough to gather some incredibly helpful information. There’s a really helpful article at idealware.org that outlines some of tools available to you that are free or cheap. The article also outlines a few features to look for: Read the full story

This article from Terry Stanfield, outlines the basics of creating relationship via the telephone. It’s an interesting aspect of sales and generating leads that’s often over looked. While email makes communication fast, it is also very impersonal. Face to face meetings are always best but fuel costs can make some think twice before crossing the country…or even crossing town.

The good old fashioned telephone however, is intimate, cheap and very personal. The focus of the article on creating relationship is key. Afterall, most of our experiences with unsolicited phone calls is negative. Like all sales, the rejection rate must be horrific, yet the investment in time does build relationships with prospects that could lead to a sale. Depending on your product that could be either a phone call away or a meeting set up during the call. Read the full story