The role of strategic selling in an organization is one of the toughest and most difficult. It is also one of the most expensive line items in any company’s financials. In my role as a strategic advisor, I get to see a lot of sales teams and their go-to market skills. There are a lot
As we enter this New Year, we do so with the realization that we still suffer from the economic hang-over left from the 2008 downturn. Long gone are the days of abundant resources. Our current and future economic reality consists of scarce resources and a shrinking opportunity base. Even the best managers are having sleepless
If you are the CEO of your company, a business unit manager, or an executive tasked with developing your company’s strategic plan, it’s likely that you have learned that from time to time you need to rely on an expert to help tackle the business problems that can “make or break” your year or your
During the fall quarter, most companies start focusing on how they will close their year (in terms of revenue and gross profit) as well as beginning the process of updating their sales (revenue) targets for the following year. It’s also the time that management drops the “stretch-goals” bomb or what one mentor of mine used
The closing of the democratic and republican national conventions these last weeks mark the beginning of the final push of this presidential election season. More than likely, the primary election issues that will be on everyone’s mind are the economy, employment, the debt, and healthcare. These topics as well as other important issues will be heavily
It’s safe to say that the clients I engage with fall into two categories when it comes to business data; those that are drowning in it and those that ignore it altogether. The ones that are drowning in data know all the relevant facts that keep them out of trouble with their Boards or their
It can happen to good companies as well as weak ones. Your organization makes a “relationship defining” mistake with a new customer or even worse, one of your best customers. How do you handle it? On a recent client engagement where we were retained to increase sales force effectiveness, we got to see firsthand our client
I read an interesting article in the Harvard Business Review that was written by Jody Greenestone Miller and Matt Miller titled The Rise of the Supertemp. The article does a really nice job of positively exposing and exploring the growing numbers and interest in what they term “the free agent nation”, a/k/a “The Supertemps”. Supertemps are top
I have had the opportunity to sit on several boards as well as be part of some amazing management teams, both in the profit world as well as non-profit. I have enjoyed the opportunity to participate. One characteristic that is universal in what I would term “effective” boards or management teams is the ability to recognize a
I think it is safe to say that with Avnet’s latest announcement regarding their introduction of Avnet Integrated Resources , that the aftermarket logistics business just got a little more crowded, a little more consolidated, and a lot more recognized. The terms aftermarket services, integrated logistics, and product lifecycle managementare by no means new. They encompass the services commonly referred to
The focus of my last post (from March 20th), was collecting customer data and how to use that data to drive higher levels of service, customer differentiation and profits for your organization. After posting, I got a lot of feedback both good and bad (that’s OK, I can take it). Most of the “constructive feedback” I received centered
I recently wrapped up a customer engagement that was centered on marketing effectiveness and sales force optimization. Two big words that represent the quality of a company’s message and the successfulness of their sales force. I began the engagement like any other, by looking at the data. The company I was working with had really good
