Derby Management's "Competitive Edge" Blog

Happy 2015!  

And, with the coming of this new calendar year...of life, of Sales, of relationships, of exploring, and, most importantly, of learning, also comes the requirement to take a look around and assess where you personally are in your sales and marketing career.  Part of this personal responsibility comes merely as a result of turning the page in the calendar and being able to broadly look out over the landscape of the next 12 months that are about to unfold...whether you're ready or not.   Make a few resolutions if you must, but, most importantly, place a firm stake in the ground now, and take control of where you want be and what you want to have accomplished at this exact time in January, 2016.  

Tags: sales productivity, Sales Optimization, Sales Management Best Practices, sales management, sales effectiveness, sales planning, sales tools, Sales quota, sales training, sales plans, sales effictiveness

The semester is just about over.  11 weeks of classes and then two weeks of final presentations came to a close Wednesday.  

Tags: sales productivity, Sales Management Best Practices, sales management, sales effectiveness, sales tools, sales management training, selling skills, sales plans, sales listening, sales management boot camps

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

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?'

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

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.

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

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

Back to school, back to work, and back to all of the craziness and excitement between now and the end of the year closing deals and beginning the 2015 planning process.

Offsites with the team for a day or two at the Marriott, mini sessions in the big conference room out near the lobby, and then countless push & pull "discussions" with the accounting guys who always seem to be single minded-more results with less expense.  Maybe it's just part of earning the CFO badge, but, as keepers of the budget, CFOs orchestrate the annual dance trying to balance greater revenue growth while keeping expenses in check.

Tags: Sales Optimization, Sales Management Best Practices, sales management effectiveness, sales effectiveness, sales tools, sales training, strategic planning