We won’t be posting until the January 5, 2009. I’ll be busy with family and friends. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday and happy New Year!

Here’s to a great 2009.

Ramon Vela, CEO, StreetSmartVAR, Inc.

I have put together a new quarterly program where I am bringing together an elite group of IT solution providers whose sole purpose is to (more…)

Why would anyone turn down a “free” offer?

In these current economic times you might be tempted to offer your customer or prospect a free offer. It might be a “Free Cost Analysis” or some over free offer that normally you would charge $$ money for.

Problem is, sometimes “free doesn’t work. Here’s why.

There are two related reasons (more…)

I know this has nothing to do with sales, marketing, or business, but sometimes you just have to laugh.

Let me know what you think. Feel free to post your comments here, or send me an email at RVela@StreetSmartVAR.com.
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You Must Be There When Your Customer Is Ready To Buy

There is a realization that is setting in. The selling environment has changed. Businesses are buying differently and your competition is aggressively going after each of your accounts.

The days when doing (more…)

For managers and business owners, hiring and managing is one of those tasks that can be tremendously stressful and draining. This can be double during challenging economic times.

Make a good hiring decision and things work out. Make a bad one and (more…)

Here’s this week’s Monday Morning Video. With all the negative news these days here’s something to keep you laughing!

Let me know what you think. Feel free to post your comments here, or send me an email at RVela@StreetSmartVAR.com.
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Employment numbers just came out and they are worst than most people feared.  Today’s November rate came in at 6.7%. Not great considering that in the last 8 years we’ve been hovering around the mid-4% to the mid-5%. That fact seems to escape the media, especially during election season (but I digress).

The fact is we can’t expect the media to put things in perspective for us. For them, the worse the news gets (more…)

In today’s market can you be guilty of over qualifying or in other words is there such a thing as unqualified buyer?

Let me give you an example. In a recent lead generation campaign, we generated a lead for a client that they turned down. 

The Lead That Got Turned Down

The lead was a company that built fences for both residential, commercial, and government entities. They had 7 locations, spread across over several states, had over 2000 customers, and (more…)

Lately, I’ve seen a disturbing trend in salespeople.

Let me start by stating, I am a salesman. I am proud of it and I celebrate it. I often look suspiciously at those people who declare that they don’t like sales, selling, or salespeople. But I digress.

Because I love sales, I am constantly looking for (more…)