I’m perusing the employment ads again and came across one for a position in North Dakota. The company is using a large, national recruiting firm which is clear from the ad. One problem, the city listing for the ad: Bismarck, MN Since I know we have readers from around the country, Bismarck is the capital of North Dakota…there is no such town in our home state of Minnesota. Could be an oversight, but my guess is the recruiting firm passed on the chance to visit their North Dakota customer in winter. I’ve said it before – some errors simply cannot be made in an ad. This would be one of… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Recession Dictionary
This current economy is giving life to a handful of new words tied to the recession according to this abcnews.com story. Some of the words are making it into the online site of the major dictionaries. Thankfully they are not putting the words into the printed version…yet. Does anyone still buy the hard copy? Here are a few of these new words entering the lexicon: decremental: adjective The act or process of decreasing or becoming gradually less; the amount lost by gradual diminution or waste. Great Recession: noun The current recession, which began in December 2007. The length and severity of the current recession has led some in the media… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Work-At-Home Scam
This shouldn’t be surprising, but abcnews.com has a story regarding all of the work-at-home job postings on the Internet right now. As you can imagine, this type of economy breeds these types of “jobs.” I’ve always found them to be borderline ridiculous…like the email spam that says you have inherited millions from a deceased Kenyan official. “Currently there’s a 54-to-1 scam ratio among work-at-home job leads on the Internet,” said Staffcentrix co-founder, Christine Durst, who screens up to 5,000 online job offers every week and rates them on her Web site. “That means that for every 55 [work-at-home] job leads that you find on the Internet, 54 of them are… Read More
Continue ReadingDown 25%
That is the number I continue to hear from salespeople in a variety of markets when I ask them how are sales? That is a staggering number when you think about it. Unfortunately, those are the times we live in for now. I continue to believe that the best method for offsetting this decrease is to go take business from your competition. Who are their top customers? Those accounts must always be your top prospects in any economy. In today’s economy, I believe it will be difficult to persuade companies to invest in new purchases. However, if they are currently buying from a competitor, salespeople need to unhook the business. … Read More
Continue ReadingSales Hobble
Great title from Justsell.com, don’t you think? From their monthly newsletter (sorry, no link): Top 3 activities that can hobble a sales day… 1. Talking with people who can’t move the sales process along 2. Unnecessary research activities What’s too much? There’s really no definitive answer. It’s particular to your sales world. Many people start to get a gut feel for when they should move on. The key is to act on it and make the call (rather than making sure every little thing is known before the call – fine line, of course). You might be surprised what you can learn by asking a straightforward question of the person… Read More
Continue ReadingClandestine Conversation
I have noticed this of late – salespeople are having more discussions on their cell phone while in the office. Maybe they go into a conference room, a hallway, lunch room, etc. Is there a greater clue that they may be looking for a new opportunity? Granted, these calls may be nothing more than a personal call and not an employment opportunity. However, I always become suspicious when I see that behavior inside an office. Just an observation.
Continue ReadingThe Straight-Up Truth
These are skittish times, aren’t they? I have seen this among reps and myself – every little item is scrutinized. Communication, email, reports…I find myself looking for subtle clues in all of them. Is a layoff coming? How bad is it? What is going to happen next? These are not productive thoughts. As a manager, how do you quell these fears? There isn’t one move, tool or approach that will cure it, but a concerted effort will help to minimize your team’s anxiety. Selling Power offers up an article that has some feel-good points that I question. However, there is something in the article that caught my eye: Don’t make… Read More
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