I came across an interesting article from Selling Power titled “Stop Nodding and Ask.” A far too common mistake I make with my wife is nodding as if I am paying attention, understand and agree with her. This interaction usually occurs when I think I am just too busy to stop what I’m doing and listen to what she has to say. Unfortunately, she always catches me and rightly busts my chops. You would think after 23 years of marriage I would learn. Okay the article isn’t written for the purpose of having better spousal communication. It is written for salespeople to ensure that they don€™t fall into the trap… Read More
Continue ReadingTop 10 Most Annoying Buzzwords
In an effort to stay on top of the hippest trends, I give you this: The top 10 most annoying buzzwords or phrases in the creative industry today: * Outside the box* Synergy* The big idea* ROI* Paradigm shift* Strategy* Integrated solution* CRM* Customer-centric* Voice of the consumer From ManageSmarter.com’s Office Lingo: Buzzwords That Are Losing Their Buzz. The bolded entries are ones I have used in the past 7 days. I will make the proper adjustments to my lexicon, but “ROI” is too important to abandon.
Continue ReadingWant A Better Answer? Ask A Better Question
The title of this post is a statement often offered by my father. The statement can be slightly aggravating in certain situations, but there is much truth in it. Who? What? Where? When? How? and Why? When phone screening or interviewing salespeople, one of those 5 words should be the lead-in to your question. Yes, I crossed out “Why” for a specific reason that we will get to shortly. We have covered this technique before but it is immeasurably important when screening sales candidates. Do not ask questions that leave you “boxed” in a corner. Those questions tend to have a structure that leads with a verb and always elicits… Read More
Continue ReadingA Brief History Of Email
We’ve discussed no email Fridays here before and now this morning I kick up this CareerJournal.com article regarding the use of other communication channels. Instant messaging is popular here at Select Metrix and does work well as a companion tool to email. In case you didn’t know the history of email: Electronic mail was invented in 1971, but wasn’t widely adopted by businesses until the late 1980s, with the arrival of Lotus Notes and other programs. Since then, its use in the corporate world has exploded: Research firm Radicati Group Inc. estimates the average corporate email user sent and received about 171 messages a day last year, a number expected to… Read More
Continue ReadingDistributed Decision Making
We have written much about the flattened org chart that the younger generations subscribe. The extremely veridical, military-like chain-of-command days are waning in the modern work world. The decision-making distribution of authority is having a tremendous impact on slow-to-react companies. I encountered this shift years ago working for a company that was headed up by older managers. My group made a presentation to management to streamline the complex business model we were running. Instead of a near-impossible vertical structure, we recommended distributing the decision process to the different business groups. The approach, which we thought made the most sense in terms of efficiency, was to have managers individually guide each… Read More
Continue ReadingDon’t Wing It
Selling Power published How to Manage Customer Meetings Effectively which offers some sound advice for running an effective sales meeting. There are many salespeople who believe they can wing it through a sales call by simply talking loquaciously. Mistake. Here is some advice found within the article: Hoffman suggests that you begin by clearly defining a personal goal for the outcome of the meeting. Don’t define a weak goal such as, “I want to establish next steps or action items.” Instead he suggests identifying a specific goal €“ is it an order? A trial for your software? Expansion into new markets? Referrals? And yes, says Hoffman, you can have more… Read More
Continue ReadingNo Email Fridays – Part 2
We posted on this topic last November and here it is popping up again. Abcnews.com offers No E-Mail Fridays Transform Office. An interesting stat: The volume of e-mails has exploded in recent years with over 170 billion now being sent daily around the globe, according to technology market researcher Radacati Group. That’s two million every second. I’m not surprised by that stat. But here is the piece of data that spawned the idea: Two and a half years ago, Ellison was receiving an average of 200 e-mails a day, many of which went unopened. After getting cyber-indigestion, he sent out a memo to his 5,500 subordinates. “I’m announcing a ban… Read More
Continue ReadingCold-Calling Numbers Game
Is it me or is the saying “it’s a numbers game” an overly-simplistic statement regarding a grossly inefficient tactic? Weight lifting is a numbers game. Sales and marketing is not. Some instances where this statement is applied: cold-calling networking job searching mailers invitations I’m sure there are other examples but those stand out in my mind. There is a modicum of truth to the statement. Yet, it lacks the strategic aspect needed in today’s market. This throw away line is often the dismissive final comment from a person whom lacks a formal strategy and/or has reached the end of his or her tactical moves. What about adjusting the approach, shifting tactics… Read More
Continue ReadingAnnoying Co-Workers
From abcnews.com’s How to Cope With Annoying Co-Workers: When someone makes a mess of the microwave, don’t say, “You’re such a pig.” Instead, try saying, “To keep the microwave clean for everyone, all of us must pay attention to wiping it down after each use. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case, so I’d appreciate it if you’d try to be more diligent about this.” Honestly, who talks like that? I would tell them they trashed the microwave and the paper towels are over there. The premise of the article is still entertaining. Here is an annoying example from early in the article: At one company I visited, WallSt.net, the employee… Read More
Continue ReadingFeeling Minnesota
Great story from Foxnews.com – Nesting at Work: What Does Your Office Say About You? Recently, a friend forwarded me an e-mail exchange that had kicked off a brief, surreal dustup at Natural Resource Group, a small environmental consulting company in Minneapolis. Here’s how it began: “Rich, I noticed that there is a deer head in the office next to you. Is it yours? If not, do you know whose it is? If it is yours, I will need you to keep the light off in that office and close the door as we have auditors touring the offices today. Also, if it is yours, you will be taking it… Read More
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