Best Practices Archives - Page 2 of 5

Office workers using their mobile devices together

Essential management skills in the Age of Apps

We are living in the Age of Apps. I guess you could call this the App Age, like the Industrial Age and the Agrarian Age that came before. All business is now run on apps (or applications, which is how many people refer to software running on larger-than-mobile systems; I’m going to use “apps” here for all types). We communicate with each other on apps.

Cheesy image of man with braces holding his hand up in a "phone" formation next to his head

Why “selling” is really, truly dead—and what you should do instead.

Ever since Google made it possible for anyone to find anything online, the need for smile-and-dial salespeople has been seriously diminishing. I’ve said it before (in 2011!), and I’ll say it again: selling is dead. By selling, I mean making cold calls; “hunting,” making aggressive pitches in the cold call; “overcoming their objections,” and generally pushing the customer into a solution.

Photo of a woman with her hand over her face in frustration

The high cost of a bad manager

There are good managers and there are bad managers. People working for managers know perfectly well which type of manager they are working for, usually within the first couple of days.

Photo of a wooden model being pulled by strings labeled "Fear"

Fear Not: How to overcome fear and rise to new heights

Fear, like stress, is a thief that paralyzes us and keeps us from living life to the fullest. I suppose it can come in handy, at least if you use it to realize the severity of a situation. But that’s about it. Usually fear makes us less productive, less brave, less willing to take risks. We put life on hold when we are afraid. But you can overcome fear, and there’s an easy way to do it. As with most positive changes, it starts with a fundamental decision.

Photo of a woman enjoying a Kettle & Fire cup of bone broth or Keto soup

Kettle & Fire: Website Engagement on Steroids

Most websites are brochures on a screen. Which is kind of silly, given that the visitor is more than happy to click around, take advantage of offers, and even answer a few questions, if you ask at the right time and in the right way. Website engagement is the new frontier.

Photo of a man clearly happy after finding that someone selling marketing automation software got it right

Finally! Someone selling software gets it right.

For years I’ve wanted software companies to show their screens on their sites. It should be Rule #1 in any guide on “How to Market Software.” Instead, they get in the way—with lots of words . . . cute graphics . . . faceless-people illustrations . . . and stock photos. But we are buying a tool—and a quick glance at the screen will tell us almost immediately if we want to start using the software. Right? Right!