Marketing - Do People Really Care How Long You've Been in Business?

Some marketing consultants talk about how you should always stress benefits, and never talk about features … and how you should always focus on the customer, and never on the company.
But is that always true? Of course not. For instance, the number of years you’ve been in business is a feature – a fact about the company. Yet prospects care how long you’ve been in business -- and your longevity can help close the sale.
Why?
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Meeting Success Tip

If you want everyone's opinion, take note of those who have said nothing. When everyone is quiet, ask those people for their ideas.

Learn from our free set of tips on Using an agenda for meeting success. Ask for them now.

Blake Mouton Managerial GridBalancing Task - and People-Oriented Leadership

When your boss puts you in charge of organizing the company Christmas party, what do you do first? Do you develop a time line and start assigning tasks or do you think about who would prefer to do what and try to schedule around their needs?

When the planning starts to fall behind schedule, what is your first reaction? Do you chase everyone to get back on track, or do you ease off a bit recognizing that everyone is busy just doing his/her job, let alone the extra tasks you’ve assigned?

Your answers to these types of questions can reveal a great deal about your personal leadership style. Some leaders are very task-oriented; they simply want to get things done. Others are very people-oriented; they want people to be happy. And others are a combination of the two.

If you prefer to lead by setting and enforcing tight schedules, you tend to be more production-oriented (or task-oriented). If you make people your priority and try to accommodate employee needs, then you’re more people-oriented ...

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