Words and phrases like CMS, SEO, PPC, Twitter, RSS, HTTPS, PHP, QA, RFP, ROI, CRM, PMO, etc. all come flying out of my mouth faster and more readily than my own name… and then I realize: the person I’m speaking with has no idea what I’m talking about. How do jargon-heavy specialists remember to speak their customers’ language?

All of your content, across all of your communications channels, are a means to an end — yet all too often, I find people forgetting that fact, and framing these discussions as if they are an end in and of themselves. They aren’t. Why do you care about your customer engagement strategy? Why do you care about your email marketing campaign? Why do you care about your social media presence? To drive sales. Period.

I have a client who works in one of the nation’s least cutting edge industries. It’s not something that most people regard as terribly sexy, but it’s something that we all need. So, as a saleman, my client is constantly trying to find ways to jazz up his universe and introduce cool new technology into the mix — something that helps both the business and the customers.

I had an unsettling phone call last night with a prospective client. A mutual collegue had put us in touch so that I could help him with a new web and ecommerce strategy for his business. I thought I was getting on a call to answer specific questions about the approach I was recommending. Much to my surprise, when we got on the phone, he wanted me to explain to him why he should want an updated web and ecommerce strategy, when he considered his current solution more than sufficient.

What happens in your business when your clients are late paying their invoices?

“If I build it, they will come” is a dangerous sales and marketing strategy that all too many entrepreneurs try to rely on to build a new business. What should an entrepreneur do to build a sales pipeline for their new venture?