Business Development

Business Development — Comments Off on Spending on IT Outsourcing on the Rise – CIO Insight
08
Nov 12

Spending on IT Outsourcing on the Rise – CIO Insight

As businesses stabilize and expand IT budgets, IT outsourcing is on the rise, particularly in help desk support.

The percentage of the IT budget designated for outsourcing services is up 23 percent, on average, in 2012 over the prior year, according to Computer Economics annual outsourcing study, IT Outsourcing Statistics 2012/2013. The report also found Web/e-commerce systems and application development were the two most widely outsourced functions, and outsourcing in that sector is a mature service with a high adoption level, likely to grow relatively slowly, compared with other services.

Help desk and desktop support are the IT functions with the greatest potential for successfully reducing costs through outsourcing, while the functions with the greatest potential for improving service are desktop support and IT security. The study profiled outsourcing activity for 11 IT functions, including application development, application hosting, application maintenance, data center operations, database administration, desktop support, disaster recovery services, help desk services, IT security, network operations, and Web/e-commerce systems.

For each IT function, the company looks at how many organizations are outsourcing work and how much of their workload is being outsourced. “As our analysis shows, IT organizations are beginning to embrace cloud-based applications as well as expand outsourcing of data center operations. Other factors are also supporting decisions to outsource IT functions, including the ever-present desire to reduce costs,” the report said.

Spending on IT Outsourcing on the Rise – CIO Insight.

Business Development / Get Better — Comments Off on Why Sales People Actually Hate Leads | Fast Company
07
Nov 12

Why Sales People Actually Hate Leads | Fast Company

Warm or cool leads generated by marketing are typically just annoyances to sales people–ones that get in the way of their “real” work. Here’s how smart companies handle CRM and their marketing and sales teams to put a stop to the waste and increase revenue.

I have worked with many different sized companies helping them to scale their business. One of the key things I always look at is this: How does the sales force get leads, and what do they do with them?

Generating leads is at the center of most marketing mandates, yet most companies never really take full advantage of their investment in those leads. And when they think about scaling the business, they think they need to generate even more leads. I see too few companies invest in getting more revenue out of the leads they have.

One of the universal truths I have seen is that sales people basically hate leads that are generated by marketing. Unless, of course, the “lead” is ready to buy.

via Why Sales People Actually Hate Leads | Fast Company

Business Development / Get Better — Comments Off on Why Private Equity Is Not All Bad | Inc. 5000
02
Nov 12

Why Private Equity Is Not All Bad | Inc. 5000

Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign has turned a negative spotlight on private equity. But PE is a much needed solution to a void in the marketplace.

Imagine starting a business, growing it successfully over 5, 10, 15 years, and then reaching the stage where you need a partner to provide capital and help the company continue to grow. You might want to get some well-earned liquidity yet still retain some equity in the business to stay invested in the future. Debt financing may not be practical for you, as banks often require personal guarantees from entrepreneurs. This common scenario is where private equity can play a vital role.

Private equity brings a huge amount of capital to businesses that otherwise might not have the resources to grow, or to a marketplace that otherwise might not be able to fulfill the objectives of shareholders. Businesses, whether distressed or growing, often reach an inflection point where additional capital can serve a crucial need to either save the business or take it to the next level.

via Why Private Equity Is Not All Bad | Inc. 5000.

Business Development / Get Better — Comments Off on Inc. – How a Marathon Business Keeps Its Customers Happy | Inc.com
01
Nov 12

Inc. – How a Marathon Business Keeps Its Customers Happy | Inc.com

Want to own your industry? Don’t think vertical integration; think participant continuum.

Participant what? I know, that’s what I thought. But stick with me–this is a cool business strategy.

Here’s another in my series in which I pick a topic and connect with someone a lot smarter than me. (Check out some previous installments at the end of the article.)

This time I talked to Scott Dickey, the CEO of Competitor Group, a privately-held sports marketing and management group that owns and operates running, cycling, and triathlon events (including the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon series) and magazines like Triathlete, VeloNews and Competitor. (Disclosure: I subscribe to VeloNews.)

From the outside looking in, you’ve created “synergy” (dislike the word but in this case it fits) between your various lines of business.
The events and the magazines/websites definitely feed off each other. We look at it as an ecosystem. We’re in the business of participant-based sports, not fan-based, so we see it as a participant continuum.

More of the Inc.com post from Jeff Haden

Business Development — Comments Off on ZDNet – Why Amazon is within its rights to remove access to your Kindle books
31
Oct 12

ZDNet – Why Amazon is within its rights to remove access to your Kindle books

There has been a fair amount of indignation directed towards Amazon over the last couple of days.

Amazon deleted Norwegian IT Consultant Linn Nygaard’s Amazon account and removed access to the Kindle books she had purchased.

Martin Bekkelund blogged how Amazon closed her account and wiped her Kindle. It offered no explanation as to why it had done so.

Although it smacks of poor customer service, Amazon is completely within its rights to do this. Its terms of service state:

All content included in or made available through any Amazon Service, such as text, graphics, logos, button icons, images, audio clips, digital downloads, and data compilations is the property of Amazon or its content suppliers and protected by United States and international copyright laws.

All the books on your Kindle are not yours. They belong to Amazon. All that cash you have paid was simply to access these books on your Kindle. You have not paid to own the books. If you want to own books, pay for physical printed books and get Amazon to send them to you by post.

ZDNet – Why Amazon is within its rights to remove access to your Kindle books

Business Development / Get Better / Uncategorized — Comments Off on Marketing Technology Blog – Why Isn’t Your Sales Rep on Social?
30
Oct 12

Marketing Technology Blog – Why Isn’t Your Sales Rep on Social?

At a recent conference, we found one of our clients skillfully networking and working the room. They were doing a fantastic job and garnering some good leads despite a luke warm attendee list at the conference. When Marty spoke with them, he noticed that they didn’t have any social information for him to connect with the sales people online. After returning, he wrote the business to let them know and they were honest and said their sales team wasn’t really that social.

You have to be kidding me.

While LinkedIn may seem like a chore, Facebook may seem like it’s for college kids and even the word tweeting may sound ridiculous, these are the biggest online conferences that you can find. There are billions of people online with hundreds looking for your products and services on any given day, asking about your company, and willing to engage online more than they would offline.

Industry groups on LinkedIn, Industry pages on Facebook, Tweetups, live Twitter sessions and hashtags on Twitter offer an incredible opportunity for your sales team to network, build credibility, and find prospects online. Why in the world you would spend thousands of dollars to build a booth and send your sales team to a conference… but ignore social media? That’s just plain nuts nowadays. Nuts.

Why Isn't Your Sales Rep on Social? | Marketing Technology Blog.

Business Development / Get Better — Comments Off on Why a Valuation Is Less Important Than You Think – Inc.com
09
Aug 12

Why a Valuation Is Less Important Than You Think – Inc.com

Take a picture of your iPad. Then, drop your iPad off a 20-story building. Now, take another picture. That “before” picture doesn’t say much about the current value of your iPad.

Essentially, this is the problem with business valuations.

A business valuation is a detailed financial analysis that gives you an estimated range of what your company is worth. There are plenty of business appraisers out there. The reputable ones will be certified by the ASA (American Society of Appraisers), the NACVA (National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts), or a similar organization. They’re not cheap. A professional valuation can set you back anywhere from $30,000 to $50,000.

via Why a Valuation Is Less Important Than You Think – Inc.com

Business Development — Comments Off on FBI Issues Warning on Hotel Internet Connections CIO.com
22
May 12

FBI Issues Warning on Hotel Internet Connections CIO.com

The FBI today warned travelers there has been an uptick in malicious software infecting laptops and other devices linked to hotel Internet connections.

The FBI wasn’t specific about any particular hotel chain, nor the software involved but stated: “Recent analysis from the FBI and other government agencies demonstrates that malicious actors are targeting travelers abroad through pop-up windows while they are establishing an Internet connection in their hotel rooms.

FBI Issues Warning on Hotel Internet Connections CIO.com.

Business Development / Get Better — Comments Off on What’s so special about you?
30
Mar 12

What’s so special about you?

Today I finished a request for proposal (RFP) for a prospective Lifeline Data Centers client.

The RFP was unusually concise and simply written, and Lifeline’s response was in the same style. I checked to make sure we hit all of the specific points that the company requested. Then I finished the RFP by adding what we believe to be Lifeline’s differentiators; how Lifeline is different, and the reasons why companies choose Lifeline. I attempted to answer the question that all potential clients have in the back of their mind: “What’s so special about you?”

If you’re in business development, or if you represent your organization, you should have answers to that question. Don’t forget that the answers need to be framed from the prospective client’s point of view. Companies don’t care if you try and maintain high margins. They may not care about how you’ve grown and changed. Be careful with words like I, me, mine, our, and us. If it doesn’t help the potential client, and if it’s something others offer, you may not be that special.

The same is true for your personal life. What’s special about you? How do you introduce yourself in a way that makes you memorable?

In your business and personal lives, do you have good answers to the question “What’s so special about you?”

Business Development / Get Better — Comments Off on 7 Competition Crushing Value Propositions : Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing
27
Mar 12

7 Competition Crushing Value Propositions : Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing

One of the biggest challenges that any small business faces in the area of marketing is standing out from everyone else that say it’s doing what you’re doing.

Until you can firmly offer a solid reason for why you should buy from or hire us over everyone else, you’ll compete on price.

As you develop a marketing strategy for your business you must proactively create the value proposition of “why us” and build all of your marketing messages, products, services, processes and follow-up communication around supporting that proposition.

This is how you use strategy to dominate your market. This is how you define value in terms that matter to those you are trying to attract.

Below are seven ways to think about defining and refining your core value proposition.

7 Competition Crushing Value Propositions : Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing

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