Using Social Media to Market During the Holidays

By Beth J. Bates, New Media Special Correspondent

With the holidays just around the corner, consumers are are planning on spending slightly less than in 2008, but much more strategically. 59% of consumers plan to shop in discount stores. 42% plan to shop online. What does this mean for professional services firms? Probably not much. But it does demonstrate that people in general have embraced social media and web-based alternatives to traditional ways of doing business. This public acceptance of new media almost certainly has implications for the b2b world.

Read Full Text

Deltek Survey of Government Contractors Shows Paths to High Growth

By Lee W. Frederiksen, Ph.D.

Sometimes the data speak volumes. I recently had that experience when reviewing the new survey of government contracting firms released by Deltek. The survey, called Clarity 09, is a great resource for anyone who sells professional services to the federal government (and you can download it for free).

Here is the first nugget that caught my attention: How should you approach proposal writing if you want to maximize growth? Be selective (the so called “write fewer and win more” strategy)? Or should you maximize proposals to maximize wins? How about a compromise and be moderately selective?

Read Full Text