I got to start my first Monday of the new year without my laptop. It died over the weekend so I come to you via a desktop system that is not my “home.” It is a strange feeling being on another system. It seems like there should be a resolution in here somewhere. In that light, BusinessWeek.com went to the streets looking for input from managers. The survey was literally conducted walking the streets of Boston so keep that in mind. Two items were the winner: Managers want to find a better work/life balance. As you saw in the video, one person is working 16 hour days. So much for… Read More
Continue ReadingObservational Management
I kid you not, this approach comes from a manager of a small company that recently hired a new salesperson. The salesperson traveled to the company for a couple days of training before his official start date. He did this on his own dime so he could accelerate his ramp-up time. The manager of the company was involved in the training since this salesperson would report directly to him (remember-small company). During the training days, there was some confusion about when the salesperson should arrive in the morning. No specific time was set, but a general schedule starting around 9am was the target. The salesperson arrived around 9:20am. A stack… Read More
Continue ReadingIM Is Actually Like Live Email
That is a rather apt description, don’t you think? I believe instant messaging will eventually displace email. I’ve heard many arguments against my position, but I really think it will happen. Of course, I liked New Coke when it came out so consider that point in my prediction. ManageSmarter.com offers this piece – Rethinking Instant Messaging -as a discussion on the use of IM. The article contains 2 points that I think will drive the expansion of IM: He says IM is more effective than e-mail for critical-action items like getting approval on a press release. and IM also pushes out to the customer at Web sites with live-support chats,… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Toughest Topic To Qualify-Money
It’s not really when you know how to do it. Unfortunately, many salespeople have a distinct weakness when it comes to even broaching this topic with a prospect. This weakness leads to compounded expenses in that the salesperson will typically invest time and resources on a prospect who will disappear at the first discussion of price. Many salespeople are aware of this fact so they deem it best to avoid the money topic all together with the hope they can persuade the prospect with an extended dog-and-pony show. The entire sordid affair feeds upon itself. The costs here can be enormous. I’m of the belief that a salesperson’s greatest asset… Read More
Continue ReadingCompany Mission Statement
This BusinessWeek.com article – How to Avoid the Commodity Trap – caught my fancy but I have to admit, it is a bit short on the “How to” part. The main thrust of the article is to treat your customers with respect. That is solid advice, but I was looking for more. But what the article lacks in tactical description, it makes up for with anecdotal stories. The article is a fun read. It closes with the author retelling a personal experience: My last example is personal. Two years ago, I dented my car and took it to a body shop for an estimate. A large tattoo-covered man stood behind… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Slower Web
Here is an interesting prediction for 2008 from The Economist (my editing): PEERING into Tech.view’s crystal ball, the one thing we can predict with at least some certainty is that 2008 will be the year we stop taking access to the internet for granted. The internet is not about to grind to a halt, but as more and more users clamber aboard to download music, video clips and games while communicating incessantly by e-mail, chat and instant messaging, the information superhighway sometimes crawls with bumper-to-bumper traffic. The biggest road-hog remains spam (unsolicited e-mail), which accounts for 90% of traffic on the internet. Phone companies and other large ISPs (internet service… Read More
Continue ReadingThe New Year’s Itch
I’m willing to guess that a majority of New Year Resolutions involve weight loss and career/job changes. If so, then January is the apex of retention within a company. In sales recruiting, we typically see January as one of the premium months for finding sales talent. Salespeople have completed the previous year’s commission plan and are staring at an empty commission plan. In other words, this is an excellent time to upgrade your sales team. The time to hire is still extended right now in spite of the dire economic predictions of the media. This week’s Herman Trend Alert email speaks to this point: The activity of job boards is… Read More
Continue ReadingWelcome 2008!
Happy New Year from all of us at Select Metrix!
Continue ReadingThe Young Guns Of VC-Former Googlers
Most people are aware of the insane amount of money Google keeps earning, but the New York Times (h/t Online Media Daily) offers up an article about what the former employees are doing with it. They are starting their own venture capital firms. What I didn’t know was that this path was blazed by the former PayPal employees a few years ago. Mr. Sacca, 32, joins a growing number of Google millionaires hoping to parlay their newfound wealth into even greater riches by bankrolling technology start-ups. Three years after Google went public, a fast-growing network of company veterans is fanning out across Silicon Valley. Some are joining the venture capital… Read More
Continue ReadingA Headhunting Scam
This story is almost unbelievable. The scam was set up at AIG and involved a VP of HR. From Workforce Management (my editing): Federal authorities have charged a former human resources vice president of American International Group Inc. and three accomplices with defrauding the insurer of $1.1 million with phony bills for employee search services. According to a federal criminal complaint, Falcetta moved from Philadelphia to New York to take his job with AIG in September 2005. His duties included managing contracts with employee search firms, and he had the authority to add firms to AIG’s approved list of vendors and to pay vendor bills up to $50,000. Over the… Read More
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