I have been in sales since 1992 and have seen the marketplace change in drastic ways. Today, we are in the midst of the information age where knowledge is king. Preparedness is a necessity for successful selling. In all honesty, this trait has never been one of my strengths. However, I have made changes to my approach (in order to survive!). The reason is found in this SellingPower.com article – Pre-Call Planning: It’s More than Just Research. The author shares a frightening sales story: G.A. Bartick remembers the day he called on a large wire house in San Francisco. He’d just completed a project for another brokerage firm that went… Read More
Continue ReadingMore Bad Economy
As a follow up to my earlier post, I give you this Inc.com article. The opening sentence: The economic crisis has kids worried about receiving fewer gifts this holiday season, according to Node Research. Where to start on that one? Could this be a push poll? Why even do this poll? Are kids primarily worried about how many gifts they receive? Is that the purpose of Christmas? Would fewer gifts be traumatic? I could go on, but you get my point. I think this is borderline propaganda.
Continue ReadingThe Economy Has To Be Bad
The economy is not in good shape right now, but the economic reporting by the “mainstream” media is abysmal. For instance, this article from CNNMoney.com shows the writer working hard to present the positive data are really being gloomy. The opening sentence sets the table for the writer’s theme: Stores and online merchants were busier this weekend than they were a year ago, according to figures out Sunday, but signs persist that holiday shopping will suffer in the weakest economic climate in decades. Unfortunately, facts are stubborn things (my editing): The National Retail Federation (NRF), an industry trade group, said shoppers spent $41 billion in the 4-day Thanksgiving weekend. The… Read More
Continue ReadingGiving Thanks
It is already looking like Thanksgiving here at Select Metrix so it seems like an appropriate time to say thank you to all of our customers, our associates, our friends and our readers. Many of you span more than one of those categories. Thank you for your support through this year of change. May all of you have a happy, safe and blessed Thanksgiving!
Continue ReadingFragrance Follies
CareerBuilder.com has a post regarding an overuse of perfume and cologne by employees. The author asks a good question: Apart from sharing the story, I’m writing this to ask how you think managers should handle “strong fragrance” issues in the workplace. It seems like a sensitive issue because people wearing the cologne or perfume must not realize that it is SO noticeable for the people around them. Let me be a little crass – I heard a funny story from a sales manager we met with yesterday. He used to work for a company where he was a sales manager for one territory and there was another gentleman who handled… Read More
Continue ReadingOdd Resume Inclusions
In first reading this I thought I was reading a line from one of Jeff Foxworthy’s jokes, “You know you are a redneck if you write on your resume, “hobbies include sitting on the levee at night watching alligators.” Nope, this is one of many odd resume inclusions from an article on CareerBuilder. If you have ever run a recruiting process you probably can come up with your own list, but CareerBuilder has put together some beauties: Candidate included that he spent summers on his family’s yacht in Grand Cayman. Candidate attached a letter from her mother. Candidate used pale blue paper with teddy bears around the border. Candidate explained a… Read More
Continue ReadingJob Change Motivators
I like to say that people are the ultimate variable – there are almost limitless possibilities, variations, surprises, etc. One aspect of hiring that often gets overlooked is motivation. In sales, money is the common, assumed motivator. In many cases this is accurate, but money motivation can manifest itself in different forms. Our website illustrates some subtle differences between motivators. Selling Power has an article that speaks in slightly more general terms. I think these 4 are quite accurate in terms of my own interviewing of candidates. The second one is quite prevalent amongst Gen Y: Situations. This usually doesn’t have anything to do with the actual job, says Radin.… Read More
Continue ReadingA New Green Initiative
Here is a good Friday anecdote – I was doing some research on a company and I came across this line on their website: Expansion of our business recycling programs to include employees What in the world? This is a fairly sizeable company so I am surprised no editing occurred on the site. However, it is rather humorous. I’m not sure I want to know how they recycle employees. It certainly seems to take “green” to a whole new level.
Continue ReadingKeep The Perks
The Herman Trend Alert has a surprising report on a survey looking at employee perks for 2008. The economy may be tanking, but employers are aware of the need to retain talent. In spite of the drastic effects of the economy on the labor market with announced workforce reductions up 30 percent, a surprising majority of companies (66.7 percent) have chosen to preserve their employee perks. Ten percent of those employers said they had considered trimming perks, but decided to leave them at current levels. Despite their need to reduce their expenses, almost 55 percent still plan to distribute year-end bonus checks this year (2008). Only 20 percent of the… Read More
Continue Reading10 Ways To Help Out Your Employees
ManageSmarter has a good article that provides 10 ways that you can help your employees through the economic crisis. There are some simple ideas on the list that a manager should do regardless of the economy. What better way to retain your employees than to show your appreciation for their efforts? Shortening the work week to four days with extended work hours will increase productivity and give a welcome break for people. Consider giving turkeys to employees for Thanksgiving and accompany the gift with a card expressing appreciation for what everyone is doing. Facilitate a car pool, coordinating rides or give a gas cards. Hold regular one-on-one meetings with employees to… Read More
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