In answering your second question:
Small business owners, although they may be experts in their field or in their line of business, may not know how to go about marketing their services and products effectively. A major mistake is that they do not do any initial market research. In other words, they need to define their target markets thoroughly, and really understand the competition as well. The second mistake is that many people "blindly" follow marketing advice from sales people. For example, if the local newspaper is calling to sell them an ad, they may just buy into it on the word of the salesperson alone, without investigating all of their advertising options enough. Lastly, a major mistake small businesses make is not getting their entire sales team on the same page. If the sales staff knows how to effectively market their products, the more naturally sales will come. A wonderful salesperson who know nothing about the "widgets" that the business is selling, cannot sell to their greatest potential. The same applies to customer service staff and marketing staff as well.
Rich Dusky
