This live broadcast from the Puyallup Fair features Allan Cail of Elevations Limited and Chris Dick of Comfort Mechanical, along with some special drop in guests. These sales veterans talk about it takes to sell industrial services in niche and very competitive sectors.

From getting leads to the crucial close, you'll hear about how to cold call, get an appointment, respond to RFP's, and when it's right to ask for the order -- even if it's better to go to lunch before getting the contract signed.

Our special guests were Duane Peterson of Incisiv Software and Danielle Dale, the 2012 the American Beekeeping Federation's 2012 American Honey Princess who shared the latest buzz on bees.

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A common theme ran through this interview. No matter what you do, think about what's right for your business, then choose the right actions. Don't copy other businesses. Plan ahead. 

Our subject experts, Whitney Keyes (marketing), Priya Cloutier (intellectual property) and Wendy Gillihan (human resources), also weighed in on essential characteristics of entrepreneurs. Oh, and they had a few words to say about social media too. How they use it for themselves and what they recommend to clients.

Update: Priya Cloutier is no longer with Karr Tuttle Campbell.

Don't get obsessed with all the fun communications tools; keep the end goal in mind. Whitney also shared a few ideas on how to compete with the big guys for media attention. 

Keep up with changes in patent law. Know where to find value in your business and how to protect your intellectual property. All types of companies need to understand IP, not just tech.

Most small business owners who want to grow wait too long to hire. Don't wait. Make a plan. Understand the type of expertise you need, how much you'll need to pay and what you need to have on reserve. And, if you're just starting a business, say goodbye to the 40 hour work week.

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Developing an app isn't easy. Hundreds of decisions about what to create and features to include are made every day. 

In this interview, Adam Tratt of Giant Thinkwell and maker of Haiku Deck, meets JP Werlin of Pipeline Deals. Each rivals the market leaders in their respective categories, presentation and customer relationship management (CRM) software. Haiku Deck is a startup, Pipeline Deals has been around for 6 years. They're opposites in many ways, yet when it comes to dealing with startup and growth issues, they have a lot in common: 

• Nailing the CROI (Consumer Return on Investment)
  
• How to "productize" best practices into an app
• Finding developers
  
• The importance of treating customers right
  
• Cash flow, and yes, even cats
  

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