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What do you do when you find yourself facing tough topics you want to talk about? Well there’s one simple trick that can save you! The number one way to navigate tough interviews and make sure your message is heard…is to build a verbal Bridge!  “Bridging" means finding the opportunity within the question to get to your message.  To be successful you have to Bridge the right way! Here’s how in 3 steps. Answer or acknowledge the question:   We’re not politicians. You can’t just ignore the question that’s asked and just talk about what you want to talk about. So you have to first answer or acknowledge the question. If the question is “Where do you live?” Answering that question would be “I live in Scarsdale, NY.” Acknowledging that question would be “I live outside of New York City” or even “I live in New York State.”   Transition: Start to lead away from the question and towards your message by finding a        topic that can relate to both the question and message.   Bring In Your …

In exploring marketing best practices at the top of the sales funnel — that stage in the buying process where you invite prospective customers to consider your company for their inkjet printing needs — it’s essential to understand how Google helps people find what they’re looking for. Tweaking your website here is known as search engine optimization (SEO), making it more likely your company and services will appear toward the top of search results. This is important because as much as 92% of search traffic clicks happen on the first Google page. Internet users rarely keep turning the search page to find additional options. SEO done right is a specialized skill, so ask an SEO expert to analyze your keyword click successes and tweak your site to improve click-throughs. You, however, are essential to the process, assuring that your SEO efforts dovetail with your internally developed marketing strategy and tactics. Where to begin? Both you and your SEO expert have to start with the …

Let's say you were at a sales meeting and the company president announces the addition of a new piece of equipment. This device, an inkjet printer from Canon, is not only better and faster than what it's replacing, it opens up all new opportunities for you as a salesperson. Looking at the inkjet printer, you are amazed despite the fact you're not sure if you're looking at the front or the back. It doesn't matter. You learn that the boss got every possible option except for the surface to air missiles which apparently are still in beta. Needless to say, we made that last part up. Come on… You go through sales training, even sitting through a day with the authors of this blog, attending one of three thINK Virtual Workshops held in 2020. You learn about applications, what to expect, and the vertical market approach you can undertake. After all this information and all this knowledge, you walk into your boss’ office, sit down and proclaim, "I don't want to sell inkjet," and then await the …

How can you help steer the conversation and stay on message? Be a proactive passenger! When you do an interview with someone or engage in Q&A – it’s like traveling with that person in a car. Whoever is asking the questions is in the driver’s seat, with their foot on the gas pedal, pushing the journey forward. You’re the passenger. You’re a part of the journey but you don’t have as much control as the driver. When you simply answer questions without thought of bringing in your message, you’re like a passenger simply along for the ride. That’s because in the moment, when you’re nervous or unprepared, you’re more likely to see questions as obligations instead of opportunities. When you just answer questions, without thought of bringing in your message…who knows where you’ll wind up! But if you’re a proactive passenger that means you’re helping steer the conversation towards the message you want the audience to hear. Here are the two things you need to do to be a proactive passenger: Know …

Selling inkjet printing successfully is not a matter of understanding what a particular company within a vertical buys (i.e. their print needs) but rather what their challenges are (i.e. their business needs) and what you can do to solve them. Using this approach allows you to finish the sentence that starts, "The purpose of my call" with an idea, such as what's discussed below, rather than the words "to find out who buys your print." With that in mind, we offer the following selling opportunity… Once upon a time, long ago, it was standard operating procedure for banks to solicit new business by handing out gifts to anyone who opened an account. There were toasters and blenders and even crystal. When his brother got married, Bill opened so many accounts ($25 at a time), he was able to create a fantastic wedding gift (right after he learned what the word "crystal" meant).   Today, banks have upped their game.   According to the Wall Street Journal, in 2018 there were 15 banks in the …