Leverage Blog: How to Exploit the Web.

Here's a new one: "Productize"

This OpenForum article introduced me to a new term - "Productize." It's the idea of taking a service, and packaging it like a product. The example they use is a good one - a makeup artist selling a package of services with a name like "The Ultimate Makeover" and a defined set of services, like a certain number of hours, including hairstyling and makeup, or whatever. The same could be done with other services, like an auto body shop that sells a package of services called "The Works" that includes tire rotation, oil change, and brake inspection.

The article is written as advice for people who might be interested in selling their businesses, but I think it's a good idea to productize anyway - it's a good suggestive sales technique, and it will help you streamline your business.

Trademark Attorney

Innovative Architecture

Make networking feel like fun, not work.

I don’t usually talk much about sales and business development, but this story has some good reminders about networking.

Networking used bring to mind images like the one to the right - business suits and business cards. But it's been taken on a broader meaning thanks to the rise of social networking sites like myspace and facebook. There doesn't have to be a hard line between business networking and social networking, though, especially if you approach it the way they talk about in the article - what can you do the help your friend's business succeed?

You won't feel guilty, because you're not approaching strangers and thinking of how you can get them to help you. And it feels natural because it is natural - you want to help out your friends succeed. When they do, they might tell people about how you helped them, or they might ask if there's any way that they could help you succeed. Or they might introduce you to a friend of theirs who would be better suited to help you - and that's business networking. Guilt-free, work-free - just helping out your friends.

Need some cash?

In the current environment of tight credit, even successful small businesses are finding it difficult, if not impossible, to get a bank loan. New sources like prosper.com and micro-lending are innovative approaches to getting the cash your business needs to grow.

Take a peek at a few alternatives to the traditional bank by clicking here.

Smashingly Innovative.

Cyber Monday sales are up from last year

Everybody knows Black Friday - but Cyber Monday is a new term for a lot of people. It refers to the Monday after Thanksgiving, the day people get back to work... and make purchases online. In this article on Bloomberg.com, a firm that collects data from over 500 retailers said sales are up an impressive 16% over last year's.

It makes sense that people are going online to look for deals - I'd rather do some deal-hunting online than wait in line for hours for a store to open, then being forced to compete with hordes of people in hopes of getting a great price. I can only imagine the trend will continue... shopping online just seems so much more convenient for many types of products.

Are you running any special promotions for the holidays? And if so, have you made any special efforts to make it easy for deal-hunters to find you?

Branding Matters. Branding Works.

Good stuff today from AmEx Small Business.

Pop quiz! What is the most common, yet most easily corrected, mistake small businesses make?

A. Undercapitalization

B. Marketing myopia

C. Lack of branding

D. Failure to diversify

While all are real and unfortunately all too common, for my money and in my experience, the answer is C., Bad branding.  Read More, and if the article has you wondering about next steps, call us.