Derby Management's "Competitive Edge" Blog

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 4^th of July.  What sets it apart from all the other holidays is…

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

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

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

Do you remember the Northeasters from last week?

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

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

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

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.

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

And so, the rhythm of the fall has begun....

Tags: Sales Optimization, Sales Best Practices, Sales Management Best Practices, sales and marketing best practices, sales effectiveness, sales enablement, sales boot camp

Been an interesting summer so far what with lots of hospital visits, more docs than I want to know, surgery and now recuperating through Labor Day.  As my Facebook friends know, I decided to reward making it through the surgery and receiving very good news from pathology by buying a new Corvette Stingray.  Seemed to be fitting in keeping with the whole beach and ocean thing, plus I've always wanted to own a sports car.  Not to worry, the garage still houses the Subaru Outback and the Acura MDX since the Stingray will never see one flake of snow or ever travel on an ice covered road.

Tags: sales productivity, Sales Optimization, sales and marketing best practices, sales effectiveness, sales management training

Sometimes we make this strategic planning stuff much too difficult, too mysterious and too complex to be useful in the real, rough and tumble world of scaling a profitable growth business. 

Tags: sales and marketing best practices, sales management effectiveness, sales plan process, sales effectiveness, sales management training, business planning, strategic planning, improving sales productivity

Perhaps you're a weekend athlete and chase the little white ball around on Saturdays. Maybe, you're on the other end of the spectrum like my friend, John Sohikian, back on the bike clocking 30 miles runs just two weeks after major surgery. James Geshwiler, one of the two Managing Directors of Common Angels, is out rowing on the Charles most mornings in every possible weather condition, including a little ice now and then.  Me?  I'm somewhere north of the center, in the gym promptly every weekday morning at 5, thinking through the day and typically counting the minutes until breakfast.
 

Tags: sales productivity, Sales Optimization, Sales Management Best Practices, sales and marketing best practices, sales effectiveness, sales enablement, sales planning, sales culture

This is the final week! Or, more appropriately...this is Finals Week.

Tags: Sales Best Practices, Sales Management Best Practices, sales and marketing best practices, sales, sales effectiveness, sales enablement, best sales practices;