I open each semester at Tufts by asking my students what my job is. After a couple of awkward minutes including... "to teach us about marketing", to which I respond, "That might be a problem because I don't know that much about marketing", my real answer is..."to make sure that you get the highest paying jobs that you're going to find to be the most rewarding". And, at the end of the day, that's really the most important result from any university.
Tags: sales productivity, Sales Optimization, sales management effectiveness, sales plan process, sales management coach, sales effectiveness, sales enablement, selling, sales management training, selling skills, marketing effectiveness, sales training, sales jobs, finding sales jobs, sales boot camps, strategic planning, Tufts university, Tufts ELS
The semester is over. Grades are in... without complaints this semester. Commencement was more than a week ago. Summer is lurking around somewhere, but not here on the beach unless you like 52 degrees, which clearly beats the 12" of snow in VT on Sunday.
Tags: sales coaching, Sales Optimization, sales management effectiveness, sales management coach, sales effectiveness, sales enablement, sales management training, sales boot camp, sales jobs
Back in the day...when I actually read a physical newspaper, I always carried the paper to the treadmill and immediately opened the last page of The Boston Globe and began the day by reading the comics. Today that daily routine has been replaced by my iPad and the digital excellence of experiencing the daily WSJ. I still read the so-so content of the Globe, but only online and although the comics are digitally available, even techy-nerdy-me would say..."it's not quite the same".
Tags: sales productivity, sales coaching, Sales Optimization, sales, sales management effectiveness, sales coach, sales management coach, sales effectiveness, sales enablement, selling skills, sales boot camp, sales listening
I was walking around Kendall Square late yesterday afternoon. A perfect spring day with the added electricity in the rarified air of Cambridge due to the normal abnormality of MIT, multiple graduations happening this weekend, and entrepreneurs doing more deals than I've seen in years fueled by big money happenning on Wall Street. A perfect day...until I realized that I was not hearing my normal, "Hey Jack..." Not at CIC, not at Dunkin's, not even walking through the Cambridge Marriott's lobby.
Tags: sales productivity, sales coaching, Sales Optimization, sales, sales management effectiveness, sales coach, sales enablement, sales planning, sales management training, sales training, sales boot camp
Classes are over, final presentations to the management of this semester's companies are completed and, on Sunday, I finally...and reluctantly...punched the 'SUBMIT" button for submit grades. For me, grading is always the worst part of being a professor. With complex marketing projects this semester from companies such as Black Duck, Accounting Management Solutions, Nameplates for Industry, Paytronix, Boston Financial Management and Fraser Engineering, it's been an exceptional period with a very strong class of students. Hence, my problem with having to define the exactness between a B+ and an A-.
Tags: making great presentations, sales coaching, Sales Optimization, sales, sales management effectiveness, sales management coach, sales effectiveness, sales enablement, sales planning, sales tools, sales management training, sales training, sales boot camp, sales checklists, Tufts ELS
Late Friday afternoon, I managed to squeeze into the Winhall General Store minutes before closing time and found myself waiting in line beside my friend, Mike, to order takeout.
Tags: sales coaching, Sales Optimization, sales management, sales management effectiveness, sales plan process, sales management coach, sales effectiveness, sales enablement, sales planning, sales tools, selling, sales management training, selling skills, Sales quota, sales training, sales plans, sales listening, sales jobs, sales boot camps
When I first began working with the senior command of the Boston Police Department about five years ago, I needed to change everything that I knew about doing strategic planning with companies. Suddenly, I was working with a heavily experienced senior management team where there were no revenue streams to increase. No sales channels to modify or expand. No pricing strategies to think about either outside or inside any boxes. No corporate ROI metrics on gross assets or debt. Just the deliberate strategies and highly practiced tactics of good old community policing and being measured by the reduction rate of violent crime.
Tags: sales productivity, sales coaching, Sales Optimization, sales management, sales management effectiveness, sales plan process, sales management coach, sales effectiveness, sales planning, sales management training, sales training, business tools, business planning, sales boot camps
...Derby Management, Professor at Tufts and Chairman of Common Angels. A perfect imbalance of lots of complex work, high emotional and intellectual involvement and demanding assignments and projects. And, most of all, I really enjoy both the stimulation and the satisfaction from teaching marketing at Tufts. It's complex, rapidly changing, and most importantly, real world work with great students who are eager to prove themselves. All of which blends perfectly both into our Derby Management clients and even into the exciting, crazy and imperfect world of early stage investing.
It’s final exam time in my juniors and seniors Marketing course, where for the entire semester, my students are grouped into six teams which solve complex assignments given to them a month before the semester begins by the senior management of small and middle market businesses.
All of the 13 weeks then get boiled down to a 50 minute presentation at which the team members present their findings, recommendations and implementation tactics to the senior management of their companies. After which, each of the team members need to send me their takeaways from their specific project. Three company presentations last Wednesday, and three coming up this week. Now the tough job of grading, which is always the most difficult part of my job as a professor...ugh!
I thought that Matt Guiness’ comments to me this morning on his takeaways were particularly sound for all of us setting out this week to turn our attention away from the tragedy and celebration of last week and back to focus on our various work assignments and projects:
Tags: sales coaching, Sales Optimization, sales management effectiveness, sales management coach, sales effectiveness, sales enablement, marketing effectiveness, marketing management, sales boot camps, Tufts marketing projects
