I admit it. I silently judge people. You know, THOSE people. The ones that drive as if wherever they have to go is obviously more important than your plans. They are in their own world, totally oblivious to their surroundings; they slow down shopping lines and transactions for everyone. People who answer their cell phones at inappropriate moments without concern for others. And the ones that look like they just rolled out of bed and couldn’t even be bothered to take a shower before coming out in public. This month I was one of THOSE people. I am not saying this to solicit pity. I am saying it because it taught me a valuable lesson in empathy.
Read moreI met Amber Bell in 1999 at a San Diego based company that sold a product then known as Great Plains software. I worked in sales; she worked at the front desk. Today she is a GPUG All Star. Everyone loves a “rags to riches”, “pulled themselves up by the bootstraps”, “American Dream” type story. Amber Bell proves that with enough hard work, goals and personality anyone can be an All Star. And I am honored to have watched her journey, from front desk to back office to center stage spotlight. This is her story....or at least my version of it.
Read moreDon’t worry….I only used free-to-use images that I found online. I can’t get in trouble for that, right? Wrong! There are two reasons you can’t trust free images you get from Google even if you filter by “Usage Rights. Let me explain what I learned this week, the hard way.
Read moreHave you been to the Microsoft Pinpoint site lately? No, because it’s gone. As of July 7, 2016 it has been replaced with the Microsoft Partner Center website. I have done a ton of research and talked with several people. This is what I have come up with, but I make no guarantees that I understand it all correctly. With that being said, here are a few things I think my fellow Microsoft Dynamics partners should know about the transition from Pinpoint to Partner Center including what you can do now.
Read moreWhen I travel to a new city, I want to be sure I don’t miss a good coffee shop. When I attend Summit 2016 I will spend most of my time in the Tampa Convention Center. But I am sure I can make time to sneak out for a good cappuccino. Here are a few places I would like to try.
Read moreEvents are expensive. Very few Dynamics ERP/CRM partners want to add to the budget by hiring a professional video crew to film the event. But you should.
I love to save money just as much (actually more) than the next partner. But I still feel that an event video is worth the expense. There are just so many ways this video can be used, for years to come.
Before I get into the FAQ, take a look at the video of our last event to get an idea of the type of video I am talking about:
Read morePeople in my family have some cool jobs you’ve likely never heard of before. All of them are 100% online. So you don’t know if we are working at home or while traveling around the world (which we often are.) Blog owner, classic car broker, stock video seller and more....
Read moreHow often do you remember to check the Google Analytics data for your website?
I can go several months without thinking about it and that means I am missing out on valuable insights into the success of my online marketing efforts.
For that reason, I have several reports automatically emailed to me each month. On the first of the month Google Analytics kindly sends me these 4 reports as PDF documents:
Read moreYou are your own brand. And you want your brand to be recognized.
But strong brand recognition does not happen overnight. Some companies spend millions, over years building their brands. Fortunately, you can do it for free, but it does take time.
So you'd better start doing it now. Here are some tips....
Read moreBulgaria will surprise you. It is gritty and raw as you may expect an Eastern European country to be. But it is definitely “up and coming”, as they say. During our stay we found many cool stores, restaurants and to my surprise, some pretty fancy coffee shops. Here are a few favorites:
Read moreHow much do you want this information?
Are you willing to give me your personal information to get it? Even though you know that means I could start nagging you endlessly?
These are the questions we are asking our website visitors every time we ask them to fill in a form to get a piece of content. This is “gated” content. There is a gate in front of it, and their contact information is the key.
Ungated content is not guarded by a form. Anyone can see it and download it anytime.
In this post I give you my thoughts on the arguments FOR and AGAINST gated content. And the bold decision we made for our Dynamics GP website.
Read moreHow many pages does your website have?
According to one source I found, “a personal website typically contains 4-10 pages, a corporation's website might have anywhere from 10-50.”
The CAL Business Solutions website has 239 pages. (Plus an additional 539 pages as blog posts).
My online strategy is to Just Be Open. Here is proof that this works...
Read moreWhat is the goal of this first sentence?
To get you to read the second sentence. That’s all. And I see that it worked. You are already at the fifth sentence.
The single most helpful writing tip I ever received was in an email from Henneke Duistermaat at Enchanting Marketing.
She said that you need to keep your first sentence short. Ultra-short. Such as:
Read moreFor the past two months one company has written 4 out of 5 of the most popular blog posts on the CRM Software Blog. They have consistently been on the most popular list, but now they are completely dominating it. I told them that the blogger at Beringer Associates deserves a gold star. Then I found that they deserve a whole bunch of gold stars, because everyone at their company is a blogger. Lisa A. Beringer, Vice President at Beringer Associates, Inc. shared her company’s secret to success with me:
Read moreWhen someone is a prospect, they are a VIP. They get our full attention. But once they sign the contract or send the check, what happens? Do they still feel your love? A recent experience had me feeling like a top priority then totally ignored after the deal was done. And of course this made me think of ERP software....
Read moreHow many case studies do you have in your marketing portfolio?
A compelling case study is an excellent marketing tool, but they are not always easy to create. Here are 7 steps I use with each case study I write. Plus 13 interview questions I ask my clients to draw out the information I need.
Read moreWait, didn’t I already write about this? Once you have been blogging for a while, it all starts to become a blur. It is very difficult to remember what you have written about and when and where, it was published. But there is value in knowing what you have already written about and being able to quickly find the URL. Here are 4 reasons you need an inventory list and the benefits.
Read moreBanners are my new thing. When someone finishes reading a blog post, I want them to be see a beautiful banner that will just make them feel compelled to click to get more information.
But I am not a graphic designer. I wish I was, as it would be such an asset to my marketing career. As I get older I have resigned myself to the fact that you just can’t be good at everything, and learning when to delegate is a sign of maturity. Finally, I have found a solution. Here are a few examples of my favorite banners...
Read moreHow often should you promote a blog post?
When I write a blog post, I want people to see it. Of course the main way they will find it, if I have done a good job at optimization, is from their search engine.
But I also try to give my posts a boost using social media, specifically Twitter and LinkedIn, not just once but repeatedly because you will catch different peoples’ attention at different times with the same message. The question is, how much promotion is the right amount?
Here are two different strategies.
Read moreAnybody can say that writing more blog posts is better, especially someone who owns the blog site. But I can give you proof.
A Microsoft Dynamics CRM partner who is a member of the CRM Software Blog shared their statistics with me, and the results are very clear. With an increased focus on blogging and very few other changes to their marketing strategy, this Dynamics CRM Partner has seen a
- 57% increase in website traffic in 2015 over 2014.
- 322% increase in website traffic since they joined the CRM Software Blog in 2010.
- 126% increase in referral clicks from the CRM Software Blog.
And that is not all.
Read more