Kristin Zhivago
How social media marketing can be used to make sales
People often ask me: “Does social media marketing really lead to sales?” My answer always starts with this: “Yes, you can make sales directly from social media if you are selling a business-to-consumer (B2C) product or service. But if you are selling a...
The truth about SEO: How search engine marketing really works
What is search engine optimization (SEO)? It’s unfortunately one of the more misunderstood campaign activities by business owners who are trying to use it to attract qualified customers. It doesn’t help that the industry is literally flooded with hypes...
The attack of the legacy systems: How to avoid the Southwest Syndrome
For a company that does so many things right—and yes, I am a staunch Southwest Airlines fan, based on personal experience with numerous domestic airlines—they really messed up over the holidays, as we all know by now. It turns out their dependency...
Recession coming? Here’s what happens in a recession and how to grow your business
I saw an old term—“single point of failure”—used in a new way today. I’ve always thought of it as an engineering term, reminding me of that one Bay Bridge panel that fell down during the Loma Prieta earthquake in the Bay Area, in 1989, an…
The ultimate secret to getting qualified leads: “Thirsty horses”
There’s an old saying, going back centuries: “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.” One of my very smart clients said he had a mentor who quoted that old saying, but then added, “This is why I always...
Digital marketing vs. digital manipulation: Where’s the line?
I’m not alone in noticing that we seem to be in the midst of an explosion of not-so-nice behavior. I’m not surprised, having noticed decades ago that the entertainment industry seemed intent on showing us the seedier side of life. At any given moment, ...
Management for revenue growth: Your company is only as strong as your primary weakness
It’s a sad fact of business life—and one people hardly ever talk about—that your company is only as strong as your primary weakness. No matter how well you perform in one or several areas, your primary weakness will drag down your revenue growth potent...
The top 5 digital marketing mistakes that business owners make
Clients come to us because they are frustrated with their digital marketing vendors and the disappointing results of their efforts. What they want is a steady flow of qualified, ready-to-buy leads. They also want help with the “what happens after the c...
The truth about how management functions
There are many books about management, theories about management, and courses that teach certain types of management. The whole concept of management is fascinating to anyone who has tried being a manager for more than a day or two. It is not something...
Business Leadership: Are your personal characteristics killing your company?
The truth is, we are all a combination of positive and negative characteristics. No company leader is perfect. Which means that we have to be careful that our negative characteristics aren’t killing our companies without us realizing it. All of my...
Digital Marketing Ethics
It is now possible to know just about everything about anyone. We leave digital breadcrumbs wherever we go. And since we spend so much time online, that’s a big reveal. As digital marketers, we are in possession of incredibly powerful tools, tools that...
Exact Match: How search engine expectations changed buying—and marketing—forever
“I know it’s here, somewhere, and if I just keep refining my search phrase, I’m going to find exactly what I want.” That’s the “search engine mentality” of today’s buyers, and it’s changed marketing forever. Sadly, almost all marketing content hasn’t c...
“Helpology”: Where marketing and sales are going next
Some part of my brain is always working on the overall evolution of revenue generation. And that part of my brain is also always obsessed with the buyer’s reality, because their reality as buyers drives our reality as sellers. Buyers (including those of us who...
Your customers know more about buying than you know about selling.
I’ve mentioned elsewhere that I am continually interviewing customers for our clients. And I always learn something constructive when I do. In a recent interview for a client who sells office furniture, I interviewed a woman who ended up buying a chair...
Digital marketing strategy for engineers (and other technologists)
I love working with engineers (and any other technologists who think like one). I always have. Why? Because they’re logical. Straightforward. They hate BS. Which is why they have so much trouble making marketing work; they believe that they have to pra...
How to increase sales with Peer Proof
If you want to increase sales you need to gather and display something I’m calling “Peer Proof” in all of your communications to your prospective buyers. Doing so will mean you can finally compete effectively against all of the companies in your indust...
How to sell
I’m writing this for anyone who owns or runs a company. If that’s you, you weren’t “born” a company owner; you probably came into it after working in some other specialty. Finance, engineering, programming, plumbing, baking . . . whatever. Now you have...
SEO for CEOs: What you need to know
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of the more mysterious aspects of digital marketing; difficult to understand or manage, driven by arcane rules, and dominated by “leave me alone in my cave and let me work my magic” vendors. But it’s important; y...
How to increase sales without salespeople: A real-world use case
I need to share a Big Truth that I’ve learned as a revenue coach, helping hundreds of CEOs market and sell more successfully: The behavior of the business leader making decisions about marketing and sales makes an incredible difference to the success o...
Business Owners: What 2021 will require of us
If you are a business owner, and especially if you are a small business owner, 2020 was a very challenging year. Even more so if you were in an industry directly affected by the pandemic. There is hope, though. In fact, there is always hope…