Filed under: other stuff , sales. Tags: other stuff sales Researching an article on networking for NARI Remodeler’s Journal, I was wondering: Do referrals come from weak connections? So I  Googled “referrals weak connections&# and came upon this terrific post by Peppers and Rogers Group: Harnessing the power of your weak ties. The research confirms my intuition – yes, referrals and opportunities come not just from strong relationships, but very often from “weak ties&# — friends of friends, acquaintances, people outside your primary network. Hmmmm. MORE >>

At Bungalo Group, our goal is for both partners to spend 8 hours a week on marketing — not sales — marketing. There’s plenty to do – a quarterly newsletter, articles for industry publications, maintaining the blog, improving our sales tools, etc. Our presentation at the NARI MN meeting last night went pretty well. No doubt some folks came to learn about some of the more common metrics marketers use to track the success of their marketing systems. Where are you spending it? Are you spending it on stuff that really matters, that’s mission critical? MORE >>

You have existing sales reps that sell, so why not hire an additional one to go out and beat the street for you? Have you ever interviewed a sales person who says, “I have a HUGE customer base, and I am sure I can do x amount of sales in my first year.” As owners and sales managers, we hyperventilate as we start to add the figures up, and plan for more revenue and bigger profits. In the home improvement industry, commissioned sales people are common. For maximum revenue: balance your sales and marketing portfolio. What is the True Cost of this Rep? MORE >>

So if you don’t have a system in place for managing customer relationships as they move through the marketing and sales pipeline, you are losing revenue. Starving your marketing efforts now, may lead to anemic sales down the road, and leave you staring at the competition’s tail lights when the market improves. This article appeared in the NARI Minnesota Newsletter (Winter 09/10). Your pencil can’t get any sharper. You’ve done everything you can think of to minimize overhead and shrink job costs. Strategy first, then goals. Set goals. The devil is in the details. MORE >>

Posted in good idea, sales Tagged: communication, sales. Tags: good idea sales communication In a recent blog post — Take your Time — Quickly — Remodeling blogger Greg Antonioli talks about how you need to be accurate with estimates, and at the same time, you need to move quickly so buyers don’t lose interest/enthusiasm for their project. Greg advises creating a system for keeping prospects engaged, but that gives you “time to cross your t’s and dot your i’s.&#. But what should the system look like? MORE >>