Jack Derby, Head Coach

Jack Derby, Head Coach, Derby Management As founder and Head Coach of Derby Management, Jack Derby and his managers provide strategic planning, and sales and marketing optimization services to growth and middle market companies. Prior to forming Derby Management, Jack served as CEO of Mayer Electronics Corporation, President of CB Sports, President of Litton Industries Medical Systems, CEO of Datamedix Corporation and President of Becton Dickinson Medical Systems. For his work in the entrepreneurial community, Jack was named to Mass High Tech’s All Star Team. He also received the distinguished Pro Bono Publico award from the Smaller Business Association of New England, the Meritorious Service Award for the Association for Corporate Growth, and the Vincent Fulmer Distinguished Service Award from the MIT Enterprise Forum. He is a frequent speaker at numerous sales meeting and business organizations including the Association for Corporate Growth and the MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge, where he was Chairman of both organizations. He is a Professor of the Practice at Tufts University, where he teaches two courses: “Entrepreneurial Marketing” and “The Art & Science of Sales”. In 2015, Jack received the Henry and Madeline Fisher Award given to the best teacher on campus, an award that is voted by the graduating students and the faculty. He is the first faculty member from the Entrepreneurial Leadership Studies Program to be given this recognition. He is also a lecturer at MIT, where for the past nineteen years, he has taught classes in business planning and marketing to undergraduate and graduate students in the Mechanical Engineering Department. Jack is currently an active board member in a number of companies, including the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, Accounting Management Solutions, Aviant Hospice, Brainshark Corporation, Chase Corporation, Rome Snowboards, Reiser Inc, and Tufts University’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Studies Advisory Board. He is also the past Chairman of Common Angels Ventures, one of the most active seed and early stage investment funds, now rebranded by Jack and management to Converge Ventures.
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Recent Posts

Punched in the face...and Sales

Posted by Jack Derby, Head Coach on Fri, Dec 05, 2014

“Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.”                   -Mike Tyson

If your last image of Iron Mike chewing off the ear of Evander Holyfield was a bit too graphic, then maybe some of the following highly positive quotes might be more representative of the reasons for careful planning...just so that you don't get punched in the face.

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Tags: Sales Best Practices, sales and marketing best practices, sales planning, sales plans, business tools, business planning, business coaching, business plans

The Day after the Big Thankful Day...and Sales

Posted by Jack Derby, Head Coach on Fri, Nov 28, 2014

The Day After The Big Thankful Day

Yesterday’s Thanksgiving holiday has got to be the best holiday of the year.  In my own personal book of holidays, it actually ties with the 4th of July.  What sets it apart from all the other holidays is…

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Tags: sales productivity, Sales Optimization, Sales Best Practices, Sales Management Best Practices, sales and marketing best practices, sales, sales effectiveness, sales enablement, sales tools, selling, sales training

22 Days to make a Difference...and Sales

Posted by Jack Derby, Head Coach on Mon, Nov 17, 2014

We're coming down to the home stretch.  

  • The Thanksgiving break is teasing us just around the corner.  
  • The countdown to the end of the quarter is well underway 
  • Only a very short number of days left in the year. 

So, are you ready?  No, I mean- really ready?

These are the 22 most important sales days of the year.  These are the days that can make a difference whether it's by making money the old-fashioned way through blocking and tackling your way down the field like the Patriots last night, or by investing time in a couple of those opportunity bluebirds that have been hanging out there for a while.  Whatever it is, these are the days that will count the most.  And the very good news is that there are still 22 DAYS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

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Tags: sales productivity, Sales Optimization, Sales Best Practices, Sales Management Best Practices, sales and marketing best practices, sales effectiveness, sales enablement, sales tools, selling, selling skills, sales training, sales jobs, finding sales jobs

What Makes a Great Sales Manager...and Sales?

Posted by Jack Derby, Head Coach on Tue, Nov 11, 2014

A 3 Minute Sales Management Course

A Vermont eagle was sitting on a tree resting, doing nothing. A small rabbit saw the eagle and asked him, 'Can I also sit like you and do nothing?'

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Tags: sales productivity, Sales Optimization, Sales Management Best Practices, sales management effectiveness, sales effectiveness, sales enablement, sales tools, selling, sales management training, sales training

Storms on the horizon...and Sales

Posted by Jack Derby, Head Coach on Fri, Oct 31, 2014

Do you remember the Northeasters from last week?

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Tags: sales productivity, Sales Best Practices, sales and marketing best practices, sales management effectiveness, sales coach, sales effectiveness, sales enablment, sales culture

Brands & You...and Sales

Posted by Jack Derby, Head Coach on Fri, Oct 24, 2014

I had the privilege of having David Meerman Scott come to my Tufts marketing class yesterday and talk about the future of marketing.  Actually, to be truthful, his coming to the class had very little to do with me, and 99% to do with my students.

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Tags: sales productivity, sales coaching, Sales Management Best Practices, sales coach, sales management coach, selling skills, marketing effectiveness, marketing productivity, sales listening, sales culture, marketing

Lifting the fog...and sales

Posted by Jack Derby, Head Coach on Thu, Oct 16, 2014

Very early this Monday morning, I was driving out of Vermont, headed back to the NH beach.  

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Tags: sales productivity, sales coaching, Sales Optimization, Sales Best Practices, Sales Management Best Practices, sales and marketing best practices

Fall Leaves, Winter Planning...and Sales

Posted by Jack Derby, Head Coach on Fri, Oct 10, 2014

 

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Tags: sales coaching, sales management, sales management effectiveness, sales effectiveness, sales management training, sales training, sales plans, sales effictiveness, sales culture

Take Your Own Time Check...and Sales

Posted by Jack Derby, Head Coach on Sat, Oct 04, 2014

The quarter's over.  Congratulations for making it through one of the most difficult periods of the year.   To me, it's always that time of year when there are more distractions of both my and my customers' time because of the natural rhythm of the summa', vacations and travel.

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Tags: sales coaching, Sales Best Practices, sales effectiveness, sales enablement, best sales practices;

Connections Should be Easy...and Sales

Posted by Jack Derby, Head Coach on Thu, Sep 25, 2014

3 Simple Tips for More Effective Sales Connections.

As a sales guy, I have no problem with making connections.  For my business associates.  For my MIT and Tufts students.  For our customers of the firm.  It's part of the process of living and working in a tight ecosystem like Boston...or in any other city for that matter.

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Tags: Sales Optimization, Sales Best Practices, Sales Management Best Practices, sales and marketing best practices, sales, sales management effectiveness, sales effectiveness, sales enablement, sales planning, selling, sales management training, selling skills, sales training