I don’t know of one print business today who isn’t thinking they urgently need to evolve, transition (insert your favorite synonyms for “change”). I believe there are two types of change, one produces incremental change, and the other produces real change. My favorite “what not to do example” is what larger companies frequently call “re-organization.” [...]

Conversations are critical to your business – asking great questions is a great way to lead conversations in the direction of your desired outcomes.

Everything is changing, I got that, now help me determine what to do about it?

There’s a good chance that you’re overlooking potential and opportunities right under your nose (more business from your existing customers and unrealized potential from your existing employees).

Are you spending your precious sales resources telling your prospects about you OR are you listening for their challenges so you can SELL them on relevant benefits?

Planning makes sense when you’re working with certainties – stable markets, stable product, stable customers. We are in an unstable time. Your assumptions need to be tested very early in the process in order to start the learning immediately.

Your story is told when you’re not around. Your story is told from the perspective of the people you serve (customers) and the people who do the serving (employees). Do you monitor your story? Have you ever documented what you want your story to be?

A vendor’s trade show ROI comes down to driving quality traffic to the booth. Building it does NOT necessarily mean customers and prospects will come to the booth. Think about diverting your focus and your budget from routine logistics to customer attraction.

A little planning can improve your trade show ROI. You can get a lot more out of it by simply investing in a little thought upfront. The key is, don’t leave “ROI” to chance – decide why you’re going, what you want to accomplish, and then plan accordingly.