This is your LAST invitation to subscribe to SmartBrief on Sales for FREE to stay ahead of the information curve. Thousands of sales and marketing executives have already subscribed.
Your problems are more complex than they appear Effective leaders need to realize that there is a difference between how they perceive the world and how the world actually is, writes Ted Cadsby of TRC Consulting. This approach, called "constructive realism," encourages leaders to take a careful, thoughtful approach to the complex problems they face. "For business leaders it means engaging as many perspectives as possible before charting a strategic course," he writes. Harvard Business Review online/HBR Blog Network (9/26)
Leaders are responsible for keeping their companies out of legal trouble There is a hefty price to pay for businesses that break the law, and ignorance is not an excuse, writes Nicholas Watkis. Companies should make sure they are in compliance, either by using their own lawyers or by hiring outside help, he writes. Then managers should make sure all employees understand regulations that could affect them, he adds. Marketingweb (9/22)
Sales Strategies
Manage your customers' experience well to increase their loyalty Customer experience management, a process for tracking an individual's interactions with and feelings about a brand, can help companies increase customer loyalty, writes Bob Hayes. The key is to link it with customer relationship management and enterprise feedback management, he writes. Doing so lets employees respond to customers' needs and executives analyze customer behavior to boost loyalty, he writes. BusinessOverBroadway.com (9/26)
John Jantsch invites you to go local As customers continue to rely on the Web to help them screen local businesses, local businesses must take steps to ensure that they pop to the top of online searches. Duct Tape Marketing's John Jantsch offers strategies for local marketing success in this free white paper from American Express OPEN, How to Win at the Local Marketing Game.Download your free copy now, exclusively for SmartBrief readers.
How Much Can You Charge Before Losing the Sale? For a decade, top B2B companies have been using a powerful technology that reveals exactly what their customers are really willing to pay for each order. It's proven to close more deals and maximize margins at the same time. Haven't heard about it? It' so pervasive that it informs nearly 3 transactions every second. Learn why it's a secret in this report.
On the Road
Take matters in hand to avoid laundry-service charges Hotel laundry services don't come cheap, so it may be time to take matters into your own hands and cut costs by doing the light laundry in your hotel room or by finding a nearby laundromat. "Hotel laundry services can really break the bank, so for business [travelers] who don't have big expense accounts, creativity on the laundry front is crucial," this blogger writes. The Economist/Gulliver blog (9/25)
App Update
Facebook may be set to launch long-awaited iPad app Facebook reportedly will unveil its long-awaited iPad application at Apple's iPhone 5 launch event on Oct. 4, and perhaps will also announce a new iPhone application and a mobile-app marketplace. The announcement could heighten tensions between Apple and Facebook, Nick Bilton writes. "[W]hen you have two of the largest companies in technology battling for control and integration of their respective networks, there's definitely going to be some bloodshed along the way," Bilton writes. Mashable (9/26), The New York Times (tiered subscription model)/Bits blog (9/26)
SmartPulse
Would you consider using games to increase your salespeople's interest in training?
Yes, we already have and it's great.
33.33%
Yes, but we haven't done it yet.
32.48%
No.
23.93%
Yes, we already have, but it didn't work so well.
10.26%
Games make for good training: The key to training and motivating salespeople is keeping them engaged and making them feel like a part of the process. Using games is one way to do this, especially because it gives you the opportunity to underscore your key learning takeaways so they will stick. If the game reinforces a training technique and the salesperson has fun engaging in the game, then it's going to increase the odds that the salesperson will apply the technique in the field. At the end, give your salespeople an opportunity to think about how they will use the new skill in a way they feel comfortable doing so -- allow them to "make it their own" and they will put it in practice. --Stephen Pia, sales trainer and coach and founder of COACH MEdia
U.K. farmer to Rihanna: Cover up A farmer in Northern Ireland asked pop singer Rihanna to halt a video shoot when he felt her attire became too provocative while filming in his grain field, according to the BBC. "From my point of view, it was my land, I have an ethos and I felt it was inappropriate. I wish no ill will against Rihanna and her friends. Perhaps they could acquaint themselves with a greater God," the farmer said. BBC (9/27)
Editor's Note
SmartBrief app ranks No. 1 in the Free News App section SmartBrief's iPhone application launched Monday through the iTunes App Store and was downloaded more than 11,000 times in the first 24 hours of release. It's ranked No. 1 in the Free News App section of the App Store, and has a 5-star rating. The app extends our promise to keep you informed and save you valuable time every day. Have you gotten your app yet? Click here to download it today. Or learn more about the app on SmartBrief's SmartBlog on Social Media.
The pressure is intense -- both within ourselves and from other people -- to convert a confusing, messy world into a simple, black and white one. But leaders who resist the pressure are the ones who have learned a lot about managing in the 21st century."
--Ted Cadsby, principal of TRC Consulting, writing in Harvard Business Review online's HBR Blog Network
SmartBrief on Sales Partners
SmartBrief delivers need-to-know news in over 100 targeted email newsletters to over 3 million readers. All our industry briefings are FREE and open to everyone—sign up today!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Keep a civil tongue.