Derby Management's "Competitive Edge" Blog

Monday morning I was reading what turned out to be a really stupid HBR article about "professionalism".  It actually started with the interesting question of "Do your colleagues think you’re professional?", which got me to thinking about the perceptions that people have regarding salespeople in general. Unfortunately, the article then went on to attempt to tie "professionalism" to the way one decorates their cubicle and then tie that result into gender and race.  Note to HBR:  you really need to do a better job at screening your writers.

Tags: Sales Best Practices, sales coach, sales effectiveness, sales enablement, sales management training, sales optomization, sales management boot camp, sales producitivity, sales boot camps

Now that we've settled into the actual competition of the Olympics and moved past the media distractions of uncompleted hotel rooms and relentless weather reports of melting snow, the pure athleticism in Sochi is just outstanding.  World records and gold medals are decided in hundredths of a second after skiers and skeleton sleds plummet downhill at 80 miles an hour while hockey teams play repeated rounds of sudden death overtime.  So far, this Olympics has been both exciting and heartwrenching (my snowboarding friend, Lindsey Jacobellis ,falling) to watch.  

Tags: sales productivity, Sales Best Practices, sales, sales effectiveness, sales enablement, sales tools, selling skills, sales training, sales management boot camp

With Valentine’s Day tomorrow, does it ever cause you to ask, “Who?", or maybe more fitting in the world of Sales, "What do you really love?”  

Tags: sales productivity, Sales Best Practices, sales management boot camp

You're one month into the year, and already you should have a pretty good idea as to whether your sales team is tuned up, armed with the right tools and ready for what just might be another rough and tumble year ahead.

Tags: sales productivity, Sales Management Best Practices, sales management boot camp

Last Sunday, I was walking out to the barn and noticed that the big red thermometer read 6. Just by it's naked self...6.   Certainly a lot colder locations over the last couple of weeks. -31 in Fargo, -19 in Albany, and yesterday,-8 in Chicago, but here in the woods of Bondville-Winhall (pop. 725), it was just plain old 6 without the pluses or the minuses.  Just so that I would keep my sanity as I shoveled yet another path for the propane delivery guy to get to the tank, I thought about the relevancy of the number 6.  

Tags: sales coaching, Sales Best Practices, Sales Management Best Practices, sales, sales management effectiveness, sales optomization, sales boot camp, sales management boot camp, sales checklists

Guiding the brand new Subaru carefully out of NH and into Boston through yet another snow storm and blasting cold wind this morning. Steel gray skies and and tough sleddin' everywhere, but that's why they invented 4 wheel drive.  

Even though it seems like we're already two or three months into this winta' season, the calendar technically notes that it's just 30 days. All I know is that I'm burning way more wood than usual in the stove in Vermont, and right now it looks like all my careful planning isn't working out that well.  

Tags: sales productivity, Sales Optimization, Sales Management Best Practices, sales effectiveness, sales enablement, sales tools, Sales quota, sales boot camp, sales management boot camp

Toward the end of a very hectic December, I was facilitating a series of 2014 sales plan reviews for the senior sales team of a new customer.  It was interesting for me to note that in a few of the presentations, even heavily experienced salesguys commented that although this was their plan for the year, there "are a number of factors that are out of my control".   Always the pain-in-the-neck, provoking guy that I am, I asked about those, and the responses were...

Tags: Sales Optimization, Sales Best Practices, sales management effectiveness, sales effectiveness, sales optomization, sales training, sales management boot camp, sales boot camps

Just Three 2014 Things...

If there were just three things that you could improve on and be super successful at during 2014, what would they be?

Tags: Sales Optimization, Sales Best Practices, sales management effectiveness, sales effectiveness, sales enablement, sales boot camp, sales jobs, sales management boot camp, strategic planning, sales checklists

I thought about sending out Christmas cards that provided profound statements about love, humanity, warmth, family and, of course, the ultimate wish for "Peace on Earth & Good Will to Men & Women".  

Tags: Sales Optimization, Sales Management Best Practices, sales effectiveness, sales enablement, sales management training, sales management boot camp

-3 today and more snow, on top of the 18" from Sunday, coming right now. Just the right type of weather for roofing the house, right?  

Tags: sales effectiveness, sales enablement, sales management boot camp, improving sales productivity, best sales practices;