RESOURCES - Sales & Marketing

Looking for sales and marketing advice?  The Smarketing Institute contributors are some of Boston's most respected sales and marketing professionals.  From independent consultants to small companies, our contributors help small businesses launch, grow and build their sales and marketing efforts. 
 
Our contributor’s sales and marketing blogs, white papers and published articles offer effective solutions for today’s sales and marketing challenges.  Whether you are looking for proven sales methods that work, how to make a successful sales call or sales coaching check out our sales and marketing articles.
 
Our contributor’s sales and marketing tools help you evaluate your current efforts, identify area’s in need of improvement and how to implement successful solutions?  Whether you need to evaluate a sales rep, do a SWOT analysis or build a referral chart, check out our sales and marketing tools.

Sales Resources

Marketing Resources

Tools

What is Sales?

What is Marketing?

According to The Oxford Dictionary the definition of sales is: the exchange of a commodity for money; the action of selling something.

In the simplest business terms this is said to be the closure of a transaction. I once heard a version that I have held on to throughout my career. I was told that the art of sales is simply the “transfer of confidence”. The confidence you have that your product/service solves the prospects problem or pain point is transferred to the prospect therefore the “close” is expected not coerced.

According to the American Marketing Association the definition of marketing is: the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.

In the simplest business terms, marketing is used to educate your prospects about your company and/or offerings. The avenues in which this happens is widely variable and takes many approaches. Some of the vehicles used can be any combination of the following: Website, Public Relations (also wide in definition), Social Media, Newsletters, Advertising, or Direct Mail. I know there are several more but wanted to keep this definition short.

---

When we hear the terms “sales” and “marketing” often times we forget these two business processes are mutually exclusive. By simplest definitions sales is transactional and marketing is educational. In cases of big companies these are handled by a separate set of teams & executives. Yet we still classify sales and marketing as the same business subset. I’d contest that sales and marketing can be as different as Operations and Accounts Payable. They each need specialized attention and leadership. As should there be a very clear “handoff point” where marketing stops, and sales starts, if the sale doesn’t close they can always restart the marketing process, but it is still a clear “hand off” back to marketing. However, I do admit that in small companies this can be very difficult, therefore, there is quite a bit of crossover or complicated even more by having the same person responsible for both. In these times I’d urge the responsible party to make sure you spend your time wisely and know exactly how much time, money, and effort should be put into each process individually. Time management and budget accountability are greatly in need in cases such as this…but remember closing business is of the utmost importance.

Smarketing WEEKLY

Monday - Facebook Poll

If starting a small business in the near future, would you go it alone or with a partner?
😎  | 

Read More!

Tuesday - Interpretation of Quote

Whenever an individual or a business decides that success has been attained, progress stops. – Thomas J. Watson Jr

Interpretation by Tom Libby: This I like, I feel like we too often stop goal setting once the first goal is achieved. You should always look for ways to raise the bar…not just for yourself, but for you employees, your company, or even your family. Keep rising to the occasions that are presented to you and you’ll successful regardless.

Read More!

Wednesday - Sales Tip

Get them to think Different!
Ask your prospect to describe their competition to you and how they would expect them to view or use your offering. This allows you to do to things: understand what they fear about their competition as well as give you a potential lead.

Read More!

Thursday - Marketing Tip

Market to the Emotion!
Storytelling can be a very purpose driven initiative. Create lasting connections using branding beyond the sale. Videos work well in this arena as well as events or workshops, these can create lasting emotional response.

Read More!

Friday - Fact or Fiction

Even though websites are an absolute, a necessity so to speak, the percentage of small businesses that have one is less than 60%.
FACT: According to Statistic Brain Research Institute only about 53% of small businesses actually have websites. Even more surprising the majority of those are under-developed.

Read More!

Smarketing Institute Basic Level

Welcome to the Smarketing Institute.  We are glad you found us.  We are a group of sales and marketing professionals.  We have come together to help small business launch or revive their sales and marketing efforts to build brand awareness and increase revenue.  Our Bronze level community gives you access to our private community where you get communal and peer to peer advice.  In addition you will have access to white papers and ebooks along with easy to understand sales and marketing tools. Want more?  You will also have access to the experts in the community when you run into obstacles and hit roadblocks.

$39 per month | $397 per year (15% Discount)

Join Now

Access to Private Community

• We have a private Facebook Group designed for our members to communicate with each other as well as our Smarketing Team.
  

 
Access to Communal and Peer to Peer Advice

• Through experience we have found tremendous value in listening to those who have been there, done that. Peers can be a great resource.
• Also, through a community mentality there comes a think tank version of methodologies. Work through problems before implementation and save time and money.

 
Access to White Papers & Ebooks

• These can be a great starting point for direction and/or “How to’s”
• They can also be use as research to justify Sales & Marketing decisions.
• Learn some “Best Practices”

 
Access to Sales & Marketing Tools

• These tools consist of anything from ROI Calculators to Marketing Strategy flow charts.
• Useful from a practical stand point and easy to understand.

 
Access to Smarketing Institute Community Contributors

• We have collected leaders in the field and you have access to their specific areas of expertise.

READ an Article

 What Comes First, SALES or MARKETING?

You’ve launched your company, now what to do first, Sales or Marketing?  OK…You started a business and now aren’t sure how to produce revenue. Do you worry about sales first then marketing or marketing first then sales?

Keep Reading!

DOWNLOAD a Tool

Sales Channels

Determine the pro’s & cons of the different sales channels and which ones you’ll use to monetize your product/service.

Sign-up to receive our Smarketing Articles. 

Contact The Smarketing Institute