I don't know if there has been a full moon or what, but positivity has gone out the door. Looking at a glass half empty rather than half full, seems to be the flavour of the week. Is it because everyone is so frantically working hard for end of financial year? Getting figures in, reports done and clients to bed?

It's hard to shake it when a negative spiral heads your way, but if you identify it early, it can mean the difference between whether you smile today or not. And we all know how good it is to smile.

With only days until the end of the financial year, in most companies, there is a sense of need to get more sales in to improve the yearly results.

If you are struggling to find ways in which to bring in 'last minute' sales and want a refresh - try some of these helpful tips.

1. Ring your entire client base and see what other services you can give them in this financial year so that they can achieve their business objectives.

Let's get straight to the point. There are many challenges that small businesses face when it comes to marketing - and much of it is internal.

Small businesses:

1. Argue, challenge and brainstorm in June and December each year about what they are going to do for marketing in the year ahead. . . and end up doing nothing.

Whether you are a big business or a small business, "none of us is as smart as all of us" (ref: Kenneth Blanchard, The One Minute Manager).

Truth be known, I don't think I am very smart at all, but collectively with the talents of my team at Marketing Eye, we help small businesses grow and most of our work is pretty awesome (if you ask me!).

It's Sunday, and like most Australians, I am enjoying the day, relaxing, reading the papers and eating with friends and family.

Reading The Sunday Age is always a treat, especially when I get through the paper, start to finish. It is full of interesting stories on people, places and world affairs.

For some light reading, I often pick up the Sunday Life Magazine, and flick through. Having Gwyneth Paltrow on the cover helps, as I am a BIG fan of her acting, singing and sense of style.

Not knowing if your marketing investment is working for you is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to building your business. Each year, millions of businesses put away funds for investment in marketing services. Many don't know whether their investment is working or not. Marketing Eye provides companies with a marketing manager who helps identify your target audience and develop campaigns to generate leads and create sales results.

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At Cebit this week, you can imagine my horror when I saw this well-meaning company, invest in a poorly designed banner and booth. What do you think of this banner?

Cebit was a clear example of how to waste alot of money investing in having a booth at a tradeshow and half putting it together. Here you have an opportunity to showcase your brand and value proposition to companies that will potentially be your customers. So throwing together a couple of banners is not a good idea if you want people to trust your brand and think that your company is professional and someone that they should do business with.

What's your thoughts?

P.S. If you like this marketing blog, then please feel free to share it on whatever social network medium you see fit. We love facebook, twitter and linkedin!

Retail is dying. Is it? Is the economy really as bad as everyone is saying. Last night on the ABC, they confirmed that advertising spend is down and this is a real indicator of how well the economy is going.

In the last month, I noticed another not-for-profit that I have been very familiar with over the years finally get online and join the ranks of facebook and twitter.

Not-for-profits in 95 percent of cases are for very good causes and definately whether they make a profit or not, have their hearts in the right place.