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	<title>The MatriX Files &#187; Sales</title>
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	<link>http://www.thematrixfiles.net</link>
	<description>a blog by Joanna Pineda, CEO, Matrix Group</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Fri, 03 Sep 2010 04:18:55 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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		<title>Is it Easy to Do Business With Your Company?</title>
		<link>http://www.thematrixfiles.net/blog/is-it-easy-to-do-business-with-your-company/</link>
		<comments>http://www.thematrixfiles.net/blog/is-it-easy-to-do-business-with-your-company/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 04 Feb 2010 02:04:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jpineda</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[corporate culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[customer service]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Matrix Group]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.thematrixfiles.net/?p=1908</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I was arranging lunch with a vendor and suggested Kora, the hip, new Italian restaurant in Crystal City.  I wanted to e-mail my contact Kora&#8217;s address, phone number and a link to a Google map.  Alas, the entire Kora site is in Flash, which is beautiful, but it&#8217;s not very user-friendly.  The biggest problem?  I can&#8217;t copy and paste the contact info to include in an e-mail and  paste into Google Maps.  I know, I know, it&#8217; s not a big deal to retype the address, but I&#8217;m a picky consumer.  I want to be able to copy and paste easily.  Even better, I&#8217;d love [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.thematrixfiles.net/blog/is-it-easy-to-do-business-with-your-company/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Amazon Effect: What Amazon Has Done to the E-Tailing Experience</title>
		<link>http://www.thematrixfiles.net/blog/the-amazon-effect-what-amazon-has-done-to-the-e-tailing-experience/</link>
		<comments>http://www.thematrixfiles.net/blog/the-amazon-effect-what-amazon-has-done-to-the-e-tailing-experience/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 02 Dec 2009 04:16:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jpineda</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[customer service]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[e-commerce]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.thematrixfiles.net/?p=1616</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Like the rest of America, I went shopping on Black Friday.  However, I didn&#8217;t get up at 3am and I didn&#8217;t brave the crowds.  I did my shopping online, largely in response to promotional e-mails that I received throughout the day.  What struck me was how I compared the shopping and checkout experience on all other sites to Amazon.com. I call it &#8220;The Amazon Effect&#8221; (I&#8217;m sure I&#8217;m not the only one to call it that, btw).
I actually hear it all the time from friends, family and clients: why can&#8217;t this (insert name of site here) work like Amazon?  Okay, forget for a moment that [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.thematrixfiles.net/blog/the-amazon-effect-what-amazon-has-done-to-the-e-tailing-experience/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>In the Event That Miss Universe is Unable to Serve&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://www.thematrixfiles.net/blog/in-the-event-that-miss-universe-is-unable-to-serve/</link>
		<comments>http://www.thematrixfiles.net/blog/in-the-event-that-miss-universe-is-unable-to-serve/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 13 Nov 2009 03:59:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jpineda</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Matrix Group]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.thematrixfiles.net/?p=1563</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I haven&#8217;t watched a Miss Universe pageant in a long time, but a part of the program will stay with me forever:  the part where Bob Barker says to the 1st runner up something along the lines of:  In the event that Miss Universe is unable to serve, you will take the crown.
What on earth does the Miss Universe pageant have to do with running a business?
Well, it turns out that if you run a business long enough, no matter how successful you, there are times when you don&#8217;t take home the prize.  I can remember deals where we came soooo close to winning the [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.thematrixfiles.net/blog/in-the-event-that-miss-universe-is-unable-to-serve/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>What I Learned About Marketing From a Recipe on a Box</title>
		<link>http://www.thematrixfiles.net/blog/what-i-learned-about-marketing-from-a-recipe-on-a-box/</link>
		<comments>http://www.thematrixfiles.net/blog/what-i-learned-about-marketing-from-a-recipe-on-a-box/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 16 Oct 2009 01:14:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jpineda</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.thematrixfiles.net/?p=1454</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A couple of years ago, I was reading about the health benefits of barley.  So I decided to pick up a box of Quaker Oats barley at the grocery store.  Having never cooked with barley before, I searched for recipes online.  Finally, my husband said, &#8220;Hey, there&#8217;s a recipe on the box. Why don&#8217;t you try that one?&#8221;  So I did.  Guess what?  The chicken barley chili recipe on the side of the box was really good. In fact, I&#8217;ve made this dish for friends (who rave) and cut up a box to stash the recipe in my recipe box.
Since then, I&#8217;ve made made pasta, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.thematrixfiles.net/blog/what-i-learned-about-marketing-from-a-recipe-on-a-box/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Creating an Integrated Marketing Strategy for Your Organization That Blends Traditional Marketing and Social Networking</title>
		<link>http://www.thematrixfiles.net/blog/creating-an-integrated-marketing-strategy-for-your-organization/</link>
		<comments>http://www.thematrixfiles.net/blog/creating-an-integrated-marketing-strategy-for-your-organization/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 02 Oct 2009 01:27:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jpineda</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[social networking]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.thematrixfiles.net/?p=1392</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Clients often ask me how to add social media to their marketing and communication initiatives.  Rather than viewing social media as a separate program, I recommend adding social media to existing marketing activities.
In addition, I recommend against blasting the same message across the different platforms.  Instead, I urge clients to create a layered approach that uses each platform according to its strengths and capabilities.  Here are some examples:

Example #1: Trade Association Wants to Promote a Conference

Create a microsite for the conference that contains information about the conference, the venue, the program and speakers, and benefits to attendees
Use Twitter to broadcast conference updates and deadlines, industry [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.thematrixfiles.net/blog/creating-an-integrated-marketing-strategy-for-your-organization/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Integrating Traditional Marketing with Social Media</title>
		<link>http://www.thematrixfiles.net/blog/developing-social-media-with-traditional-marketing/</link>
		<comments>http://www.thematrixfiles.net/blog/developing-social-media-with-traditional-marketing/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 30 Sep 2009 02:11:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jpineda</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Facebook]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[LinkedIn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[social networking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.thematrixfiles.net/?p=1373</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I had the pleasure of being part of a panel at today&#8217;s Grow Smart Biz conference, sponsored by Network Solutions.  Our topic was &#8220;Integrating Traditional Marketing with Social Media.&#8221;  Despite being the last panel of the day (we started around 4:20pm), I estimated that over 80% of the conference attendees attended the panel.  And by the number of questions raised, this is a hot topic for sure.
You can read a nice recap of the panel on the Solutions are Power blog, but here were my take-aways:

Your customers, prospects, staff and potential staff are increasingly using social media and they expect your business to have a [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.thematrixfiles.net/blog/developing-social-media-with-traditional-marketing/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Does Your Staff Know What Your Company Does?</title>
		<link>http://www.thematrixfiles.net/blog/does-your-staff-know-what-your-company-does/</link>
		<comments>http://www.thematrixfiles.net/blog/does-your-staff-know-what-your-company-does/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 01:34:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jpineda</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[customer service]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.thematrixfiles.net/?p=1135</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A couple of weeks ago, I called Harris Teeter to order a Thomas the Tank Engine birthday cake for my soon-to-be 5 year old son. The conversation went something like this:
Me:  Good morning, I want to order a birthday cake with the Thomas design.
HT staff:  Sorry, we don&#8217;t have Thomas cakes.
Me:  But you have a Thomas cake on display in your bakery section.
HT staff:  Sorry, we don&#8217;t have Thomas cakes.  I think that display is old.
Me:  I saw Thomas cakes in your catalog.
HT staff:  I haven&#8217;t seen the catalog lately.
Me:  Okay, I guess I&#8217;ll call Costco.
Lucky for Harris Teeter, I am a big fan of [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.thematrixfiles.net/blog/does-your-staff-know-what-your-company-does/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>How Many Times Do I Need to Pay For This Song?</title>
		<link>http://www.thematrixfiles.net/blog/paying-for-songs-and-videos/</link>
		<comments>http://www.thematrixfiles.net/blog/paying-for-songs-and-videos/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 29 Jul 2009 02:35:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jpineda</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.thematrixfiles.net/?p=1125</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I love Rock Band for the PS3.  A friend lent his set a couple of weeks ago to me and my husband and we&#8217;ve been enjoying learning how to &#8220;play&#8221; drums and guitar, as well as do vocals.  Rock Band comes with a collection of songs but you can buy scores of other songs (in different genres) on the Sony store.
So last night, I paid $1.99 for the Police&#8217;s Synchronicity.  I love this song.  I loved the album when it came out.  I even saw the Police in concert for this tour.  So I was happy to shell out $2 to be able [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.thematrixfiles.net/blog/paying-for-songs-and-videos/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Measuring the ROI on Social Media Initiatives</title>
		<link>http://www.thematrixfiles.net/blog/social-media-roi/</link>
		<comments>http://www.thematrixfiles.net/blog/social-media-roi/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 24 Jul 2009 02:48:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jpineda</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[social networking]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.thematrixfiles.net/?p=1112</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I met with a group of CEOs this morning and social media came up in conversation.  More than several members of the group wondered if a social media strategy is worth the effort. In other words, how do we measure the return on investment (ROI) of our social media initiatives?
This is a topic that comes up a lot at Matrix Group.  Unfortunately, there isn&#8217;t a magic formula for calculating ROI on social media activities. Mashable says that you can measure the ROI in two ways:

Qualitative &#8211; Are you part of the conversation in your industry? Are you able to demonstrate that you or [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.thematrixfiles.net/blog/social-media-roi/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Whale Hunting as a Metaphor for Landing Large Accounts</title>
		<link>http://www.thematrixfiles.net/blog/whale-hunting/</link>
		<comments>http://www.thematrixfiles.net/blog/whale-hunting/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 21 May 2009 01:29:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jpineda</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.thematrixfiles.net/?p=844</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[At a recent Vistage meeting, I had the pleasure of hearing Tom Searcy, author and CEO of Hunt Big Sales, a sales consulting and training company, talk about how small businesses can land big sales that will transform their companies.  Tom likens the process to whale hunting, which:  requires planning and skills, can&#8217;t be done by one person (it takes a village, actually), and can keep a large number of people fed (or employed) for a long time.
Tom says that whales are like large companies and we all know that large companies usually buy from other large firms because they:

Are perceived as having more [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.thematrixfiles.net/blog/whale-hunting/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>El Cheapo Ways to Announce Your Web Site Launch</title>
		<link>http://www.thematrixfiles.net/blog/el-cheapo-ways-to-announce-your-web-site-launch/</link>
		<comments>http://www.thematrixfiles.net/blog/el-cheapo-ways-to-announce-your-web-site-launch/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 09 Jan 2009 02:23:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jpineda</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.thematrixfiles.net/?p=388</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Matrix Group recently launched a new Web site for the International Association of Chiefs of Police.  Prior to the launch, Chuck and David, our esteemed clients, asked for some suggestions on ways to promote the new launch.  Here were some of my suggestions, including some easy and inexpensive tips:

Send out a special e-blast to your membership or customers. Be sure to highlight new features, new functionality, tips for navigation, links to popular pages, etc.
Include an article in your newsletter or magazine. Consider a series of articles in the next few issues of your publication.  In each issue, focus on something different about the new site, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.thematrixfiles.net/blog/el-cheapo-ways-to-announce-your-web-site-launch/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Retailers: When Soliciting Feedback from your Customers, Be Ready for It!</title>
		<link>http://www.thematrixfiles.net/blog/retailers-when-soliciting-feedback-from-your-customers-be-ready-for-it/</link>
		<comments>http://www.thematrixfiles.net/blog/retailers-when-soliciting-feedback-from-your-customers-be-ready-for-it/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 15 Dec 2008 23:50:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jpineda</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[customer service]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.thematrixfiles.net/?p=290</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The holidays are all about traditions and last Saturday, my son and I engaged in one of my favorites: we created a gingerbread train.  I&#8217;ve been making gingerbread houses for years, first by myself, then with my niece and nephew. and now with my son.  This year, we updated the tradition to decorate a gingerbread train because CJ is obsessed with trains.
I picked up the gingerbread train kit from Target, the manufacturer is Create a Treat, Ltd.  The cute box says: We want to hear from you, send a photo to myhouse@createatreat.com.
Now, I&#8217;m not one to send photos of my kid to various contests.  But [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.thematrixfiles.net/blog/retailers-when-soliciting-feedback-from-your-customers-be-ready-for-it/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>6</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Selling the Invisible</title>
		<link>http://www.thematrixfiles.net/favorites/selling-the-invisible/</link>
		<comments>http://www.thematrixfiles.net/favorites/selling-the-invisible/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 16 Jun 2008 23:13:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jpineda</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Favorites]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[customer service]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.thematrixfiles.net/?p=52</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[My bible on selling services, customer service and marketing.
]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.thematrixfiles.net/favorites/selling-the-invisible/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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