The beauty of a small business is that it’s usually very community oriented. Owners really get to know their clients and customers. When you’re trying to impress, build or maintain a relationship with a partner or investor, it’s so important to be yourself. Don’t be fake.
When it comes to the whole “wining and dining” thing, a lot of times it’s considered traditional to take clients out to a fancy dinner and take care of the bill. This can work sometimes, but it really doesn’t have to be the only way you close the deal. (And trust me, I know …read more

I lost a client today. Someone I respected as another marketing professional.
And I lost this person because of expectations. His expectations (right or wrong) were not met and as a result, he was disappointed.
Setting expectations needs two components: the ability to listen and the ability to educate. I believe I failed on the latter.
I recently had changed the way I have been communicating and tracking info from clients, and somehow thought he understood that. He also asked for additional information above what I normally do. It wasn’t wrong, but what he expected. I should have explained …read more