You've got a strong marketing mix—but does it include public speaking? "Whether used to promote a company report or in-house expertise, or simply to engender brand awareness, public speaking is a powerful—and often economical and organic—way to get your message to key influencers and decision-makers," writes Heather Rast at MarketingProfs. ... more

You've produced content for your website, blog, and social networks... but why stop there?  Extend your content's reach to SlideShare's 60 million monthly users, who view a whopping 130 million pages on the site. How can you best make use of SlideShare? David Armano offers these five tips for "Optimizing ... more

One aspect of being social is relaying information as efficiently as possible. But data is dense, and we have more of it to sift through than ever before. To help you get your data across in an eye-catching way that resonates, Fast Company offers a list of five tools businesses can ... more

In an article at MarketingProfs, Dan Skeen writes that search-engine optimization provides several return-on-investment measures with a greater potential impact on a company's bottom line than many traditional tactics. However, he notes, because SEO is less tangible than some other areas of marketing investment, it's often harder to clearly show ... more

OK, let's admit it. We've all sat through slide presentations monopolized by the tyranny of one conviction-ridden idea. They make us kind of crazy, right? And doesn't a more social world merit a more social PowerPoint? Well, here's some good news: Now you can breathe real-time life into your next ... more

"Do more with less." That is the challenge for software marketers today: to get better results from their marketing programs on increasingly smaller budgets. It's important for software marketers to analyze the effectiveness of their programs and determine their return on investment (ROI), because a careful look will reveal that some ... more

You've undoubtedly developed a great elevator pitch for your company, product or service—that informative-yet-concise summation designed for delivery in the time it takes to travel from the lobby to the 17th floor. But what about visitors to your Web site—do you have a punchy way of telling them, in two ... more

When we are given the opportunity to stand out from our competitors, we must be memorable! What will standout so that people who are there will tweet positively about your company, your presentation, your product? What will they remember? What will they say about you? more

Nothing irks Steve Roesler more than when a speaker diminishes himself in five words or less. What may seem like courtesy when you're making that B2B sales pitch could actually be blowing your chances to seal a deal. Roesler offers the following examples of words that can kill. (Now, be ... more

One of the biggest challenges that marketing departments face is producing marketing tools that actually get used by the sales team. You want to create marketing tools that help sell products, not collateral that sits on a shelf. So how do you do it? How do you create a marketing tool ... more

Atlanta management consultant Brent Leary launched a radio show in 2006 to help small and mid-sized businesses understand technology. It proved so popular that he evolved the show into a series of online podcasts, bringing new business and (ultimately) new revenue to his 15-year-old consulting business. more

For email marketers, dealing with the small business owner can be an ongoing challenge. There are typically three main obstacles to introducing email marketing to a small businesses. more

Your reputation can be greatly enhanced and reinforced by speaking at industry events. This article provides a checklist to help you win valuable speaking gigs. Invest some time in getting on the stage, and it will pay off many times over in helping you build your business. Follow the tips ... more

Here are five powerful referral strategies—and precise action steps—that, when used either individually or collectively, can cause a flood of new introductions. more

"You can't sit around and wait for inspiration," said Jack London. "You have to go after it with a club." Pick up your club (your pencil, your laptop, your sketchbook) and let's go. Whatever your particular challenge, these 10 strategies can help you innovate—on a deadline. more

PR success isn't mysterious. It comes down to a mix of old-fashioned research, savvy trend-watching and good people skills. It is the age-old talent of telling a good story. That's really the essential difference between PR and advertising. Here's the "secret recipe" for telling your business story through public relations. more

Do your marketing and sales communications perpetuate the head-to-head competitive bakeoff? Or does it equip and enable your sales people to participate earlier and more effectively in the customer buying cycle? There is an easy way to tell. more

If you're like most marketers, you're probably struggling with the best ways to help your salespeople have more meaningful conversations with customers and prospects. Here are five quick tips for creating scripted conversations to help salespeople more effectively communicate your company's business value to customers and prospects. more

Microsoft's PowerPoint long ago became one of the most popular tools for business presentations. That's likely because of its efficiency and simplicity. But what about cases when PowerPoint's resources are not enough to deliver on the goals of communication? more

Want to make sure your message doesn't get through? That your campaign disappears without a trace? That your communication program suffers a quick, painful death? Then be sure to try one of these attention-stoppers. more

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If you're able to just snap your fingers and make work appear on command, more power to you. If not, and you ever find yourself having to do some sales, what follows are some musings from a business development department about preparation, organization, getting and staying in touch, and keeping ... more

The elevator speech is that tightly scripted, 30-second introduction that should pack as much information about a person as possible in an engaging, persuasive, and interesting way, right? Unfortunately, even the "best" elevator speech can be an express trip to oblivion instead of a shining personal marketing moment. more

One of the enduring myths of negotiation is that it is a back-and-forth struggle with your customer that occurs in the final stage of the sale, the "close." Here's how to survive (and maybe avoid) it. more

The consulting proposal is a necessary evil. A great proposal can be decisive in winning a project; a poor one can cause you to lose a project, even if everything else in the sales process has gone flawlessly. Use these guidelines to a write a killer proposal every time. more