As any regular reader of this column knows, I am a huge proponent for email marketing. I believe that when it is properly used it comes in second to face to face. You might be able to convince me to cede to third place behind a phone conversation. Why?

Simple! If you are doing email marketing right (and legally), your clients and prospects have INVITED you to provide them information. You now have access to deliver your message to their home or office whenever you want. And that’s a pretty heady responsibility. Don’t mess it up. And when coupled with other strategic sales tactics, it can be a win-win for everyone.

If you are not segmenting your list, you need to. There is a ton of ways…

Don’t you just love the phrase? “To tell you the truth, I …” This is on the same page as “I’ll be honest with you.”

Here is a novel idea. Let’s be honest with each other for a change. Let’s see how it feels to tell the truth. You go…

Carnival Cruise Lines did a study several years ago indicating 80% of cruisers booked their second cruise with someone other than the travel professional with whom they booked their first.  However, the clients must have been satisfied with the cruise experience, because they took a second cruise.

So how to explain this rather startling statistic?

Though most of us feel like we understand the essence of customer loyalty, our study first necessitates grasping a very simple concept: Even a satisfied client will go elsewhere when an opportunity arises the client perceives as objectively better than the one you offer.  A loyal client, however, will…