Seriously, this happened to me.  When my son was 2 or 3 years old, he took my work cell phone and dropped it in the toilet (is there a better motivation to make sure everyone in your house flushes the toilet?).  I couldn’t find it, I called the number and couldn’t hear it.  I asked my son and he slowly led me to his bathroom where he raised the toilet seat and there it was.

Yup, I reached down into the water (was flushed, thankfully) and pulled it out.  I removed the battery and washed the entire thing with Lysol …twice.  I let it dry out for 2 days and it worked.  However, I still got rid of the phone in just a few months since I couldn’t look at it the same.

Now Yahoo offers up this article – How to Revive a Wet Cell Phone.  This story may only interest me, but there are some good tips in this short article:

The Cell Freak has all the collected wisdom on the topic, including some advice I’d never heard, like soaking the phone in 95% alcohol to dissolve all the water trapped inside. I’ve personally had good luck with low-level heat for wet phones and laptops: A few hours on the lowest setting inside an oven (150 degrees or thereabouts) can dry out a gadget and make it good as new.

Great ideas.  Of course, an ounce of prevention…

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Why do the so-called experts consistently error on the doom-and-gloom side of economic prediction?

The latest numbers via CNNMoney.com’s Jobs grow more than expected:

Employers added fewer workers to U.S. payrolls in November, according to a closely-watched government reading on labor market strength released Friday that still came in a bit stronger than Wall Street expectations.

Folks, you ever notice they always expect worse numbers?  Note how they open the article with a negative comment even though the number is 24,000 jobs higher than expectations.  The number will be revised later and the economy is cooling off after a torrid pace during the summer.  But it is still strong.

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I’ve recently been looking at creativity in selling since it seems to be a topic of discussion with greater frequency.  The younger generations are flattening the long-standing hierarchal structures that have been a hallmark of corporate structure.  Part of this change has to be attributed to the creative freedom wielded by so many Gen Y employees.  Managing creative types can be a real challenge as Jack Welch discusses in this article:

But what a mistake if you lead creative people from your heart and stop there. Managing creative people also requires—it even demands—a measure of authority. Nothing heavy-handed, of course. You don’t want your resident out-of-the-box thinkers running for the exits. With their fresh ideas and unique perspectives, they can be, and often are, the reason for breakthrough products and new ways of working, and even the impetus for whole new businesses. Still, creative people must know that boundaries and values exist, and they have to respect them.

This approach is synonymous with effective sales management also.  I recently talked to a new sales manager at one of our customers.  His comment about managing salespeople, “I’ve never encountered anything quite like this.”

Welch continues by zeroing in on specific positions (my editing):

Now, we realize that the velvet hammer part of the approach we recommend is somewhat counter to the conventional wisdom about managing creatives, which runs that writers, editors, artists, software designers, engineers, research scientists, and even a few particularly inventive investment bankers should be left alone. They’re different from you and me, the thinking goes: deeper, more mysteriously wired, more fragile. Treat them like worker bees, and they sting. Treat them like hallowed Yodas, and their wisdom flows.

Regardless, true creatives do seem to shut down when squeezed into normal strictures, and good managers need to be wary of that.

“Treat them like hallowed Yodas” – that is excellent, isn’t it?  Full disclosure – I was not familiar with the term “strictures” – something that closely restrains or limits.  I thought it was a typo for structures.  Anyway, salespeople have a similar composition with maybe less fragility.  Yet we have encountered many who have shut down due to overarching strictures (I had to do that).

The last word goes to Mr. Welch:

Which leaves leaders in a unique, but not irresolvable, bind. To win in the marketplace, leaders absolutely must respect the individuality of creative people. They are different. But if you want your organization to cohere and thrive, you must make sure they keep that difference within bounds. Yes, some creatives might balk; some might even walk. But remember, you are indeed the boss of them—and everyone else. For the sake of the organization, you need to act that way.

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From BusinessWeek.com’s When The Candidate Says No:

Then, disaster strikes. The candidate says no. In the blink of an eye, the story is rewritten. He’s self-important; she doesn’t know what she’s passing up. We didn’t land the candidate, so the candidate is flawed. Ever heard this story before? Of course—it’s one of Aesop’s most famous fables, The Fox and the Grapes. Once the fox realized the grapes were out of reach, he decided they were sour grapes, anyway. Who needs ‘em?

It’s laughable to see this story played out over and over, but it has a sobering side. When we invest time and energy in selling a candidate on our organization and the deal doesn’t happen, there is a strong urge to make the candidate the bad guy. But that’s ridiculous—we were excited about having this person on our team, right up until the moment we got the brush-off. After the fact, we can’t rewrite history just because we lost the deal.

Why not just accept that not all candidates accept the job offers we extend? Companies will always have to contend with a certain rate of rejection. But if we blame the candidate for failing to be enchanted with our generosity, we lose the opportunity to spot flaws in our hiring processes.

Well, there certainly is a whole lotta truth in those paragraphs.  The first flaw we would look for – is your process moving along in a timely manner?  More times than not, we see unneeded delays introduced by hiring managers who do not dedicate the time to consistently moving candidates through the hiring process.

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BusinessWeek.com offers up a great article from one of the authors of First, Break All The Rules.  The author discusses how managers discover what makes their employees tick and then they use that information to place the employee in the best situations for success.  This approach is one we wholly subscribe to:

Do what great managers do: Instead of trying to change your employees, identify their unique abilities (and even their eccentricities)—then help them use those qualities to excel in their own way.

This approach is one greatly important aspect of successful sales management.  At times, we see sales managers who expect the sales team to adapt fully to him or her.  That is a mistake.  Granted, the team will have to learn the sales manager’s preferences and expectations, but the sales manager must adapt roles and meet the team towards the middle.  The author’s suggestion to start this process:

First identify each employee’s unique strengths: Walk around, observing people’s reactions to events. Note activities each employee is drawn to. Ask “What was the best day at work you’ve had in the past three months?” Listen for activities people find intrinsically satisfying.

Watch for weaknesses, too, but downplay them in your communications with employees. Offer training to help employees overcome shortcomings stemming from lack of skills or knowledge.

I agree – invest time with your salespeople, but there is a way to turbo this process.  Assess them.  We assess salespeople daily via online assessments that reveal their motivations, natural abilities, developed skills.  We provide this information for external sales candidates with whom the sales manager does not have prior experience or knowledge.  This objective approach to management allows the sales manager to spend less time evaluating and more time developing their team.

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From the Website Notes enewsletter from Web Pro News:

Matt Bailey, President of SiteLogic said, “Simply getting more and more numbers to your Web site, is not the answer. It’s getting them to react.”

There are three types of searcher:
1. Specific searcher (Sharp shooter)
2. Concept searcher (Shotgun)
3. Idea searcher (Artillery)

He said writing content is just as important as the design of the content. Content should answer how it will make life easier. Call things what they are and speak in user’s language.

That is a good point about simplicity …a point I think is often lost in websites.  I know we get caught up in our own acronyms and buzzwords.  It is always more valuable to speak in the visitor/prospect/customer’s terms and world than it is to speak in your own terms.  That truth is found in successful selling and successful marketing.

BTW – great description of the 3 types of searchers.

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One of the tenets of successful sales management is effective pipeline management.  Sales managers have to have an accurate read on their team’s opportunities and a good understanding of when they will close.

This truth is never more important than in a capital equipment sale.  If a product has a long lead time or a highly customized build, the sales pipeline is even more critical.  ManageSmarter.com discusses this topic in their article Pipeline = Lifeline (great title):

“Pipeline management is a critical issue,” Stein says. “Few companies have it figured out.” For those that do, they will reap a myriad of benefits, including better forecasting the length of the sales cycle.

Absolutely.  An accurate pipeline also affects other departments within a company:

The second major component of a successful pipeline is having a chief revenue officer (or equivalent individual) understand the sales cycle for products and services in a time sense, and be able to “overlay” quotas against time. “Everything done should be quantifiable,” McNally says. “The CRO can see issues before they manifest themselves. A good pipeline means no surprises. A good pipeline allows you to create correct expectations. Another benefit is, over time, you will see trend lines developing.”

The feedback loop created by the pipeline provides market data to the marketing department that leads to the trends mentioned in that quote.  Operations is also provided a preview of what parts will be needed for the builds and allows for more predictable inventory turns.

In smaller companies, pipelines provide a forecast of cash flow that allows for adjustments before an unexpected tightening.

With all of these benefits, it still surprises me how little emphasis sales managers put on perfecting the pipeline.  My conclusion is that the most unknown, or inaccurate pipelines are products of sales departments without clearly defined sales processes.  Each salesperson has their own approach to qualifying and what constitutes a prospect.  The sales manager has to struggle to ascertain the truth.  The pipeline turns into a pipe dream.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

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The Herman Group newsletter this week discusses the amount of gaming that goes on in an office.  Gaming as in playing video games.  Seriously.

We estimate that computer gaming is costing United States employers millions of dollars every year. According to a recent survey of computer gamers, 24 percent of white collar workers admitted to playing during work hours.

The most critical finding is the frequency with which these workers play. Over half (53 percent) said they play at work at least once a day. Seventy-nine percent said they play at work several times a week—or more. Eighty-four percent said that, on average, they play casual games at work for between 15 and 60 minutes each day and 11 percent said they play casual games at work for an hour or more each day.

I laughed out loud when I read this.  I used to work for a technology company selling capital inspection equipment back in the mid ’90s.  The Internet was relatively new so online game play was not common (maybe not even available).  Unfortunately, the video game Doom was a huge hit and it could be played over a local area network.

Our entire support group was addicted to the game and playing it over the company network.  I think the game totaled somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 guys playing it simultaneously.  They would sit in the back and it would be quiet outside of some furious keystrokes.  Then there would be 3 guys simultaneously yelling “Ohhhhh.”

It was really unbelievable.  I was trying to close new customers with our highly complex products that required a fair amount of support.  Yet the support guys were busy hunting each other in a video game.

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Well, the future is now when it comes to this topic.  The social network sites are going to have a dramatic impact on finding strong sales candidates.  First, this may be slightly off topic, but MarketingProfs.com offers up this article – Facebook: Changing Advertising Forever:

At the November 5 launch of Facebook’s new advertising platform, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, presented his vision for the future of advertising:

“Once every hundred years media changes. The last hundred years have been defined by the mass media. The way to advertise was to get into the mass media and push out your content. That was the last hundred years. In the next hundred years information won’t be just pushed out to people, it will be shared among the millions of connections people have. Advertising will change. You will need to get into these connections.”

…

As Zuckerberg said later in his speech, “People influence people. Nothing influences people more than a recommendation from a trusted friend. A trusted referral influences people more than the best broadcast message. A trusted referral is the Holy Grail of advertising.”

Now change the topic from advertising to sourcing candidates and the quote is still prescient.  Now combine that thought with Steven’s post over at CollegeRecruiter.com:

But 95 percent (that’s the actual number) of college students and recent graduates are active users of Facebook. As these candidates progress through their careers, they will continue to be active users of social networking sites because those sites are as much a part of their lives as is TV for Gen X’ers. Even the busiest of Gen X’ers watches TV and the same holds true for Gen Y’ers: even the busiest of them uses social networking sites.

I don’t think you can underestimate the importance of this sourcing channel for all future hiring activities.  I suspect the social networking channel will become the primary tool for finding candidates in the very near future.

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Work/life balance is a hot topic as the younger generations flood into the work world and Baby Boomers start checking out.  One are that I haven’t considered is the effect this balance will have on relocation.  Forbes.com’s Travel Sick? article does take up this topic (my editing):

Throughout the country a growing number of executives are taking to the highways, railroads and even the skies to get to work instead of relocating closer to their job.

This is hardly a newsflash to the nation’s executive recruiters. Of those surveyed 55% say it’s more difficult today than ever to convince job candidates to relocate for a professional opportunity, according to a recent report by the executive recruiting firm Korn/Ferry International. Living near family is the leading reason for staying put, followed by lifestyle and the cost of housing.

We have actually seen the “living near family” reason become an asset as we have recruited candidates looking to get back to their home town.  It is an important aspect in career decisions.

And how about these facts:

This mentality became more prevalent after Sept, 11, 2001, says Frank Spencer, vice chairman and a partner at DHR International, an executive recruiting firm. But that isn’t the sole reason. Unlike previous generations, today’s employees switch jobs every few years. And in many households both spouses work. Imagine uprooting a family every few years because mom or dad gets a new job.

The key to future hiring comes down to a word that keeps appearing in these hiring articles – flexibility.

To compete for the best talent employers need to be flexible, says Jeff Hocking, managing director of Korn Ferry’s San Francisco office. With unemployment so low (4.7%) and demand for talent high, job seekers have options. “If you want to attract the right people they can’t expect them to be down the street,” says Hocking. “Their performance needs to be measured. They should hold them accountable for results instead of time spent at their desk.”

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