From Inc.com: During 2007, 5,488 people died from job-related injuries, a 6 percent decrease from 2006. However, workplace murders increased 13 percent to 610 homicides. I find that stat a bit remarkable. I’m not sure what would drive the workplace murder rate up, but that is a disturbing trend.
Continue ReadingTalkin’ Gen X, Gen Y
BusinessWeek.com provides a good article for adjusting your communication for Gen X and Gen Y employees. I can’t speak to the Gen Y suggestions, but I find the Gen X piece to be spot on. A sample: TECHNOLOGY Generation X: Keep it up-to-date and motivating. Music at work, BlackBerrys, IM, and fast computers will help Gen X stay productive. Generation Y: Encourage suggestions and don’t fear change. Gen Y is more comfortable with technology than any other group. Learn from them and stay on the cutting edge. COLLABORATION Generation X: Limit in-person meetings. Offer alternatives like conference calls, video, and Web conferencing when collaboration is truly needed. For face-to-face meetings,… Read More
Continue Reading“Technology has destroyed time and space boundaries.”
The Wall Street Journal offers up an interesting read about work/life balance from Dr. Henry Cloud. Every time I receive a call from one of our customers at 8:30pm I think of this topic. Here is the full text of the quote referenced in the title: I think the first thing is to be aware that you basically have two things available to you to create your vision — in work and in life. First, you’ve got your time. Second, your energy. The second thing, energy, you might not be aware of because of people and activities getting the best of your energy, or the wrong people and wrong activities… Read More
Continue ReadingSales Managers In Over Their Head
Dave Stein has a provocative post regarding some recent poll data about sales executives. This is excellent: Top Five Reasons Executives Are Unhappy At Work Limited advancement opportunities (12.8%) Lack of challenge/personal growth (12.3%) Compensation (11.7%) Stress Level (7.7%) Job Security (7.7%) For sales executives, I believe there is another reason for unhappiness in their jobs: many don’t have the capabilities to perform successfully. It’s too much of a challenge rather than lack of a challenge (indicated in number 2 above). Here are two indicators that this is true: First, tenure of sales executives is getting shorter year after year. These sales executives aren’t leaving their jobs in less than… Read More
Continue ReadingTelecommuter-Friendly Companies
A few months ago I posted on the rising trend of telecommuting. The percent of companies that allow working from home has gone up dramatically over the past few years. From our experience, that trend has been accelerating in just the past few months. More companies are offering salespeople the option to work form home a few days a month once they are through their on-ramping process. We are also being asked by sales candidates early in the process if telecommuting is an option. Not all companies and positions have that flexibility, but that shouldn’t preclude you from looking for alternatives. A recent article from the Workforce Management newsletter lists 7 companies… Read More
Continue ReadingRequired Skills-Sales Ability
From an ad for a National Sales Manager: Required Skills: 1. Product knowledge. The ad lists 3 other “non-sales” skills. Sales is that strange position where many hiring managers focus on skills other than selling. Is it any wonder there are so many sales hiring horror stories?
Continue ReadingA Dumb Time-Management Tip
This week Salesopedia is highlighting time-management with multiple authors providing articles. This one by Mike Brooks provides a couple of truly elementary, overly-simple suggestions: Key #1 – Begin each day with a written list of three to five priorities. Ask yourself: “What are the five things that are crucial for me to accomplish today?” (Hint: ask yourself what five things you can do today that will most affect your bottom line, i.e., dollars in your pocket?) Write them down — in order of importance and then…. Key #2 – Start each day with your top three to five priorities and work each one through until it’s done. Then cross it… Read More
Continue ReadingMore Than A Name
Here is an interesting post from one of Inc.com’s blogs. This one discusses the importance of a company’s name for branding purposes. The short post contains something simple, but profound: In fact, only one of the 12 — Jeff Taylor, founder of Monster.com — felt the name he selected was indispensable and key to branding his company. Surprisingly, not even Starbuck’s co-founder Jerry Baldwin felt the name was essential. Some of the other business leaders I consulted with — such as Ben & Jerry’s Homemade founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, cosmetics expert Bobbi Brown, Wally “Famous” Amos, Kate Spade, and David Oreck — named their companies in part or… Read More
Continue ReadingPersuasive Tips
Persuasion is a key ability of any successful salespeople. Think of the worst car salesperson or door-to-door salesperson you have encountered and you will know why this ability is so critical to success. CNNMoney.com’s article – How persuasive are you? – interviews an individual who runs the Persuasion Institute who brought up this fine point: Let’s take, for instance, how we handle objections, whether from a customer or some other audience, such as a boss we’re asking for a raise. Early on in life, we learn to perceive objections as opposition, so we get defensive. An unskilled persuader, often without realizing it, will show tension, uneasiness, or irritation when someone… Read More
Continue ReadingOnboarding, Onramping
We call it onramping because that is truly what occurs with new sales hires. This area is often overlooked or under-served by sales managers. They often hire new salespeople, offer some product/service training and then turn them loose in the field. It is the sink or swim approach that leads to turnover. SellingPower.com reports on this fact in On-Boarding: The Most Overlooked Part of Hiring. Here is why this topic is so important: Unfortunately, great sales on-boarding programs are still the exception, rather than the norm, says Stakenas. He says that most companies are missing an opportunity in the first three to six months of a new hire’s time to… Read More
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