Mike Anderson, on March 31, 2015
Too often, we define “new business” as the business a competitor once had until we stole it. Here’s the bad news: They often think of new business the same way. Thus, competitors engage in a constant war of churn, where quite often there really is no “new business” at all; just an exchange or recycling of clients as if sales was nothing more than a tennis match, and the client is the ball.
Kathleen O. Celmins, on March 27, 2015
This was another great week in terms of engaging content. We found a lot that made us think.
Here are the five articles that piqued our interest:
Mike Anderson, on March 25, 2015
Don’t just inform. Organize.
When was the last time you arrived at a sales appointment, and the decision maker said, “Glad you’re here! I know our appointment was scheduled for only 15 minutes, but as it turns out, I have an extra hour and a half today!”
Doesn’t happen.
More likely is the meeting where you encounter this rushed greeting: “I know our appointment was for an hour, but something has come up so I only have about ten minutes.”
Happens all the time.
That’s why I want you to think of the daunting task of the Google mission statement: “To organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” Of course, Google has more than one singular focus, and serves more than just a user who wants to do a quick search to find a quick answer or fascinating fact. They serve consumers who are shopping, companies who are being shopped, and marketers who are into metrics. I get all that. But focus on that beautiful, simple idea:
“To organize the world’s information… and make it useful.”
Imani Johnson, on March 24, 2015
Part of my job has me visiting different websites every day. I am always impressed with those organizations that have an active company blog and use it regularly to influence, educate, and build their brand and their thought leadership position. But so often I notice there are no comments left on any of the blog posts I read, or if there is a comment it’s usually just one—and then there is almost never a response from the writer to engage the person who took the trouble to comment.
Why would a blogger go through the entire writing, editing, designing, linking process to publish something they thought would provide value and then ignore the people who took time to visit the site, click through to the blog, read a post, and comment? I hope you’re not that someone.
Dean Moothart, on March 23, 2015
The most successful sales and marketing organizations are ones that set their sales teams up for success. They give them the tools and resources they need to get the job done as efficiently and profitably as possible. The best ones actually solicit input from their salespeople, asking what they need in order to be more successful.
If you’re a part of such an organization (and even if you’re not), you should insist that your company design and deploy an inbound marketing strategy. If they ask why, no problem! Here are a dozen reasons you can share:
Kathleen O. Celmins, on March 20, 2015
This was another great week in terms of content. We found a lot to love.
Here are the five articles that piqued our interest:
Dana Bojcic, on March 16, 2015
I grew up as the only girl with three brothers in the house—and a lot of laundry! That machine ran non-stop and I was always enlisted to help.
It was simple enough: Load the clothes, add some soap, turn and pull the big knob, and presto!—the clothes are getting washed. Sure, once in a while I put something red in with the whites and had a problem, but, for the most part, is was simple enough.
Well, I recently bought a new washer and dryer… and oh, how times have changed! That big knob you turn and pull? Gone. These new appliances look like space machines loaded with the latest technology. Aquajet! Sensors! Steam! A bedding setting! There’s even a function called “waterproof.” Whoa. It’s complicated.
Kathleen O. Celmins, on March 13, 2015
This was another great week in terms of content. We found a lot to love.
Here are the five articles that piqued our interest:
Beth Sunshine, on March 12, 2015
Finding the right person for the job often takes time—time you don’t have—so you may find yourself dreading to make that next hire.
No need to drag your feet any longer! These interview tips and questions will help you uncover the information you need to determine whether a candidate might fit the bill. Follow them consistently and you will find that you speed up the selection process and make it much less painful.
Kathleen O. Celmins, on March 11, 2015
We've talked a lot about thought leadership, and what it means for you and your business. Positioning yourself as a thought leader will not only bring more people to your website, but it'll present you with new business opportunities, invitations to speak at conferences, and more.
Steve Marx, on March 10, 2015
Can you have too much emphasis on new business?
I submit that’s not a crazy question. There’s a scenario, more common than you think, where an excessive emphasis on finding new clients can mask a significant problem growing inside your organization. Ask yourself: What role is that new business playing? Is it fueling your sharp growth curve? If so, congratulations.
Too often, the answer is that new business is playing a very different role—that new clients are coming in the front door just fast enough to replace those who are leaving by the back door. The emphasis on new business development in your organization might be coming at a high cost—not placing sufficient emphasis on satisfying, retaining, and growing your existing accounts.
Or you might not even be breaking even: You could be working harder than ever to find new revenue that is failing even to cover the losses you’re experiencing due to attrition. It reminds me of the classic line from Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, “The hurrier I go, the behinder I get.”
John Henley, on March 9, 2015
Great leaders don’t spend all their time-solving problems, but they’re smart about how to find problems and how to fix them. I see the best managers position themselves to hear problems and to see problems.
Hearing problems means being open to the problems your people bring you. If your people aren’t bringing you problems, that’s your meta- problem, or should I say your mega-problem! There are two explanations, and they’re both ugly: They think you can’t help or you don’t care. The can’t help scenario isn’t easily remedied, but the don’t care explanation is fixable.
Kathleen O. Celmins, on March 6, 2015
This was another great week in terms of content. We found a lot to love.
Here are the five articles that piqued our interest:
Arjun Basu writes (very) short stories on Twitter. He calls them “Twisters.” You should follow him at @arjunbasu. Here’s one:
The road narrowed. I said, I’m too fat for this road. My wife laughed, but I was serious. I was not happy with my weight. Or the road itself.
The road keeps changing, doesn’t it? In business, it seems as if at least half our roads are under construction or subject to detours—all at the same time. Has your road to success narrowed? Or are you just too fat to fit? Those are entirely different questions. Or should I say, those are entirely different ways of defining the problem or even of looking at the world. If you see the road as the problem, you let yourself off the hook—but you also condemn yourself to whatever the road has in store for travelers who are too fat for the new road. If you see yourself as the problem, even grudgingly (because you don’t have to love that new road to recognize it, acknowledge it, and deal with it), then success opens up for you.
Kurt Sima, on March 5, 2015
As a B2B sales consultant, I’m always looking for simple ways to help my customers get their heads around driving revenue. Here are five words I’ve been talking about a great deal lately:
Here are some simple tips tied to each word that will help sales organizations improve revenue in the upcoming year. Feel free to add this list to your sales consultant resources:
Beth Sunshine, on March 3, 2015
When it comes to recruiting superstars, some people just seem to have the magic touch! I have the pleasure of working with quite a few sales managers who have this gift, but one, in particular, stands out of the crowd. She rarely misses!
The other day, I was writing what seemed like a pretty smart piece for The Marketing Mind blog. That’s the site where we capture a wide variety of consumer and industry trends.
Our goal is to convert topical issues into valid business reasons to help sellers get appointments, and needs analysis questions that lead to meaningful challenges they can help their clients solve.
