Fwd: A stronger strategy for managing sales leads

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March 5, 2012 CONNECT WITH SMARTBRIEF Share | Sign up | Archive | Advertise Problem. Solved.  Focus on innovation brings manufacturer back from brink of failure After the economic downturn, the president of Atlantic Industries, a manufacturer of corrugated steel pipes, was forced to lay off 75 employees. Afterward, Mike Wilson changed the business' course by refocusing it on innovation and engineering instead of on commodity products. The move paid off, and the company now has a presence in several countries. The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (3/2)      How IBM is shortening the gap between customers and development value — Adoption of cloud services provides an alternative or complement to traditional development and test IT sourcing. In this white paper examine the challenges CIOs, IT managers and application development manager's face as they attempt to select a cloud computing vendor to help them address development and test requirements. Marketing  What Facebook's Timeline means for marketers Facebook is introducing its Timeline format for brand pages. The change means marketers won't be able to set a default landing page, but they will now be able to send private messages to Facebook users. "[I]t can be easy to clutter your Timeline with customer inquiries," writes Victoria Ransom of Wildfire Interactive. "When these inquiries can be better serviced in a more one-on-one manner, reach out to the consumer with a private message and resolve her question." Mashable (2/29)      A stronger strategy for managing sales leads Segment your sales leads into different groups based on how long it might take your potential customers to get ready to buy, D.J. Heckes recommends. "Develop an action plan for each type of lead and nurture each differently," she writes. Also, make use of technology, and don't lose sight of sales fundamentals, she writes. SCORE Small Business Success Blog (3/2)      Other News Dozens of content ideas to keep your business blog bustling Entrepreneur.com (3/2)      The mobile web is everywhere. Make sure your brand is there too. Download our latest report "5 Keys to a Successful Mobile Site" and learn how to create mobile web experiences that are branded, content-rich, and satisfying whether consumers access them at home, in the office, or on the go. Management  9 ways to protect your business from employee fraud Research shows that employee fraud can take a significant toll on businesses. You can help protect your business through audits and by splitting up financial duties, writes Greg Jones, CEO of BookKeeping Express. "Never allow the same employee to have the ability to write checks and manage the books," he advises. CNBC (2/28)      How to run a March Madness pool without inviting legal trouble Many offices hold contests centered on the upcoming NCAA men's basketball tournament, but doing so could land you in legal trouble if you aren't careful, writes Chas Rampenthal of LegalZoom. Be aware of state laws relating to social gambling, he recommends. Also, don't let the commissioner of the office pool collect a fee, and don't use a website to run your pool, he recommends. Inc.com/Legal Life Coach (3/1)      Other News Employers can be punished for denying time off for jury duty FindLaw/Free Enterprise blog (2/29)      Organizational Privacy Architecture and Assessment This checklist for Ecommerce, Web Development and Design, and Direct Marketing professionals enables you to gauge your organization's privacy compliance and best practice levels. Thousands of companies leave the intricacies of privacy management to TRUSTe, the 13-year-old leader in online privacy. Gain an overview of the program today. Money  Cost-cutting tips for small businesses If you need common office items such as toner, teaming with other companies that need the same things can help you to buy in bulk and get better deals, Scott Gerber suggests. Small businesses can also cut costs by making sure they are taking advantage of tax credits and by using daily deal sites. Inc.com (3/1)      Forget Fear. Forget Money. Behind every disengaged employee is a leadership problem to be solved. Uncover different types of motivation, what works best on the job (hint: it isn't rewards and punishments), and 4 coaching strategies that lead to engaged employees and better business results. Read the Free Report Now Tips & Tools  How should your business handle the upcoming election? With the next presidential election months away, it's important to decide how you will address the topic as a business owner, Carol Tice writes. You have several options, including totally discouraging political talk and actively pushing for your favored candidate. You should realize that wearing your political allegiance on your sleeve could alienate some customers even as it attracts others, Tice writes. Entrepreneur.com/The Daily Dose blog (3/2)      Top video-editing tools for small-business owners Small-business owners who want to use videos to market their companies have a wide variety of tools to choose from. Notable options include Adobe Premiere Elements, muvee RevealX and iMovie. Small Business Trends (3/4)      Other News Software to help you manage off-site workers Fox Business Small Business Center (3/2)      The Buzz(CORPORATE ANNOUNCEMENTS) Yahoo! Small Business Launches Advisor, a New Media Property With Personalized News, Advice, and Tools for Established... Interested in learning more about advertising with SmartBrief? Click here for detailed industry information and media kits.  Featured Content  Entrepreneurship's Leading Ladies: 9 Inspiring Businesswomen Scott Gerber What Employees Really Want-and 4 Ways to Deliver it Rieva Lesonsky 3 Reasons Effective Design Plays a Role in Your Success Matt Mickiewicz Non-Scientists Use Business Savvy to Launch Med-Tech Product Susan Kuchinskas Change the Bra or Change the Job? Courtney Rubin Most Popular Headlines from Last Week 5 Things Women Should Never Say When Negotiating Katie Morell Why You Lose VCs at "Hello" Courtney Rubin 17 Best Tools and Apps for Building New Habits and Goals TJ McCue Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers. Most Read  Top five news stories selected by SmartBrief on Small Business readers in the past week. How to use Facebook for B2B marketing (Entrepreneur.com) The problem employing workaholics (Fox Business Small Business Center) 6 tips for finding the right freelance writer for your content marketing (RepCapitalMedia.com) How to use less fuel and save as gas prices surge (Entrepreneur.com) 5 Things Women Should Never Say When Negotiating (OPEN Forum blogs) Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers. Just for Fun  Poll reveals the secrets of the well-rested People who say they sleep well tend to spend about two hours relaxing before bed and go to bed at 10 p.m., according to a poll. They eat their last meal at about 8:30 p.m. and have their last drink at 9:10 p.m., the poll found. The Telegraph (London) (3/3)      SmartQuote  A great business blog doesn't sell. Instead, it shows customers why they should do business with you and not your competitors." --Carol Tice, writing at Entrepreneur.com      SmartBrief delivers need-to-know news in over 100 targeted email newsletters to over 3 million readers. All our industry briefings are FREE and open to everyone—sign up today! Accounting Advertising Automotive Aviation & Aerospace Biotechnology Business Chemicals Construction & Real Estate Consumer Packaged Goods Distribution Education Energy Finance Food Service Health Care Insurance Legal Manufacturing Media & Entertainment Nonprofit Retail Technology Telecommunications Travel & Hospitality This SmartBrief was created for profjorge.entrep@gmail.com John Jantsch, Editor at Large John Jantsch is author of "Duct Tape Marketing: The World's Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide" and "The Referral Engine: Teaching Your Business to Market Itself." John is a marketing and digital technology coach and creator of the Duct Tape Marketing small-business marketing system. Subscriber Tools SIGNUP SEND FEEDBACK E-MAIL THIS BRIEF Today's Brief - Permalink | Update account information | Change e-mail address | Unsubscribe | Print friendly format | Web version | Privacy policy Advertise Sales Director:  Tom O'Brien (212) 450-1679 Download Media Kit SmartBrief Community: Most Clicked Facebook Twitter Publish your Press Release LinkedIn Get this RSS Feed Search Archive About Download a SmartBrief Mobile app today Recent SmartBrief on Small Business Issues: Friday, March 02, 2012 Thursday, March 01, 2012 Wednesday, February 29, 2012 Tuesday, February 28, 2012 Monday, February 27, 2012 Lead Editor:  Brooke Howell Editor at Large: John Jantsch       Mailing Address: SmartBrief, Inc.®, 555 11th ST NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20004 © 1999-2012 SmartBrief, Inc.® Legal Information

 

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