As marketing professionals, we often dedicate hours of our lives to scrolling, sifting, searching, and scrolling again. To what end? Sadly, we’re probably trying to find correct information online about the things we care about. But with Google Alerts, it doesn’t need to be this way.

Defining moments shape our lives and, in the case of Amber Winn, come in the form of books. Although it may be happenstance that she found The Power of Moments by Chip and Dan Heath, she’s grateful that a colleague suggested it for the SMPS Emerging Professionals Group (EPG) book club.

Do you have rainmaking skills? How about real relationships? Create a downpour of work by building on relationships and expanding your network.

Are you afraid to emerge from your winter hibernation unable to contact new prospects? Don’t be afraid. Get ready to feel confident when preparing to contact new prospects!

While “business development” is a common term in our industry, some may view it as jargon taken from an executive MBA program; it may seem overwhelming and incomprehensible to folks who don’t do it every day. But business development specialist Alicia Zimmerman doesn’t see it that way. Her take on business development? It’s a method of forging sincere, long-term relationships, with business success as the positive outcome.

At MARKETLINK, we practice the macro to micro approach to business development: Go from high-level to detailed when identifying and implementing business development strategies. And don’t just guess at where you are going, use research to make sure your strategies are on point.

“If you want to conquer fear, don’t sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.” – Dale Carnegie

Principal Keri Hammond, FSMPS, CPSM, applies this quote to the fear professionals have about the most crucial industry task, market research.

Imagine a software that combines the power of Excel with the convenience and cloud-functionality of Google Sheets. On top of that, this tool effortlessly links data together, making it an indispensable database. That’s Airtable.

Your Marketing Plan: If you have one, chances are your firm has invested hundreds of hours into what will be your roadmap for the upcoming year or two. But did you structure your plan with the end in mind? Did you create a strategy that can be monitored and measured? If not, a few modifications will ensure your firm’s success.

Every year, I call a variety of my clients’ clients to get their input on what impresses them in project interviews and what doesn't. While the Facilities Director of a Community College District in California declined to be interviewed, he did make me an offer I couldn't refuse. Rather than taking his word for it, he invited me to attend their next interview to experience the process myself. What I learned provided great insight into what works (and what doesn't), when your firm decides to participate in a formal interview process for a potential client job.