Too many organizations forget that public relations can and should have a meaningful impact on the sales process. Are you using PR effectively to sell?

One important output of a PR campaign is to use press clippings in the sales process. PR should not be passive. You should use clippings from interviews and favorable mentions in the sales kits and other leave behind.

You should also be using recent clippings like trend pieces and case studies and sending them along to leads that have cooled.

When viewed this way, PR can be used strategically to sell. How are you using it?

To network or not to network? You may expect me to tell you, unequivocally, if you’re serious about your business, get out and network! Kind of in the same way that dentist you don’t go to anymore used to tell you how important it was for you to floss.

But honesty is a better policy. Not everyone should be out there networking. Some should be doing more. And some who are networking today may be doing it all wrong.

Where do you fall? To find out, take the quiz:

http://designerscouch.org/show_article/182/should-you-network.html

Marketing materials are an important part of the sales process for most B2B and B2G companies. But not all companies, even the ones selling high end services and solutions, meet the challenge. Here is part two of the recent article, 8 Reasons Why Collateral Still Matters.

Read Q2’s Becky Sheetz-Runkle’s Challenging Government Marketing Myths and Reaching Buyers in the influential MarketingProfs @ http://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2009/3092/11-tips-for-challenging-government-marketing-myths-and-reaching-buyers#

We’ve been focusing on a favorite topic of mine—branding for government contractors. I’ll be the first to tell you that revenue generating initiatives are of greater value in a down economy than branding efforts. But federal contractors are different. Generally speaking, they tend to lack the strong brand identity and recognition of their commercial sector counterparts. Only, unlike their commercial counterparts, successful government contractors, with a greater immunity to the recession, can afford to make the investment in brand building now. 

Building or maintaining a strong brand should be an important short and long term revenue goal for your company. Especially in a recession. But for many federal contractors, the time, attention (and money) dedicated to this initiative fall short. The reasons for this are many and range for too much emphasis on set-aside status, to a desire to make marketing materials look and sound like other industry players. For example, many small government contractors want their marketing materials to sound like Lockheed Martin or CSC, but of course don’t have the marketing budgets of the big boys.

• What is unique about my organization or brand in the context of the industry as a whole?
• Which of these factors are most important to my clients and prospects?
• Which of these factors are most difficult for your competitors to imitate?
• Which of these factors can be most easily understood by my prospects?

1. For the brand to be effective, it has to be unique.
2. For the brand to make an impact and be memorable, it has to be clear and compelling.
3. For the brand to generate revenue, it has to foster a sense of ownership by my clients, partners and employees.
4. For the brand to be credible, it must be believable.

Check back soon for more of what works and what doesn’t in branding for government contractors.

Becky Sheetz-Runkle has been named Vice Chair of The American Small Business Coalition (ASBC) inaugural Executive Committee. This new committee will be an important part of the federally-focused membership organization’s decision making process.

The ASBC is a membership organization exclusively focused on supporting the development of relationships, best practices and market intelligence for companies doing business in the government sector.

Find out more at http://www.theasbc.org/?page=execcomm_mem.