Just Give Me Doonesbury...and Sales

Posted by Jack Derby, Head Coach on Thu, May 23, 2013

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 Today that daily routine has been replaced by my iPad and the digital excellence of experiencing the daily WSJ.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". 

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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

Lessons Learned from my Students #2...and Sales

Posted by Jack Derby, Head Coach on Thu, May 16, 2013

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-.

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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

The Winhall General Store, my friend, Mike...and Sales

Posted by Jack Derby, Head Coach on Thu, May 09, 2013

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.

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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

The Boston Police...and Sales

Posted by Jack Derby, Head Coach on Thu, May 02, 2013

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.

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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

"Lessons Learned" from my students…and Sales

Posted by Jack Derby, Head Coach on Mon, Apr 22, 2013

I love my jobs...

...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:

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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

"Deliberate Practice"...and Sales

Posted by Jack Derby, Head Coach on Thu, Apr 18, 2013

Click for Video on our Sales Management Boot Camp:  Oct. 6th-8th

 

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Tags: sales coaching, sales management effectiveness, sales coach, sales management coach, sales effectiveness, sales enablement, selling, sales management training, selling skills, sales training, sales boot camps, sales checklists

Snow Metrics...and Sales

Posted by Jack Derby, Head Coach on Thu, Mar 28, 2013

Impossible now to look out my home office windows in Vermont.  Snow drifts cover the window, and even if I were crazy enough to try to shovel them away, the 50 feet between the windows and the driveway is one giant ice cube of snow packed 3 feet deep.  Spring?  Maybe in August.  My great-grandfather Horace, who lived up the road a piece in the town of Poultney during the late 1800's , wrote often about living in Vermont with its 11 months of winta' and one month of damn poor sleddin'.

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Tags: sales productivity, sales coaching, Sales Optimization, sales, sales management, sales management effectiveness, sales plan process, sales coach, sales management coach, sales effectiveness, sales enablement, sales planning, sales tools, sales management training, selling skills, sales training, sales plans, sales listening, sales jobs, sales boot camps, sales checklists

Town Meetin'...and Sales

Posted by Jack Derby, Head Coach on Wed, Mar 20, 2013

 The 2013 Sales Management Boot Camp

We're dialed in for another exciting, engaging, and exhausting Sales Management Boot Camp from late Sunday afternoon, October 6th through Tuesday afternoon, October 8th at the MIT Endicott House.
-Six years, 350+ highly satisfied graduates!
-Everyone attends is focused on two simple questions:

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Tags: Sales Optimization, sales management, sales management effectiveness, sales plan process, sales management coach, sales effectiveness, sales enablement, sales planning, sales management training, sales plans, sales jobs, sales boot camps, sales checklists

Vermont Metrics...and Sales

Posted by Jack Derby, Head Coach on Thu, Mar 14, 2013

Vermont this past weekend probably had the best back-to-back two days on the hill for this season. 

Superb blue skies, warm temps, perfect snow, smiling faces, barbecue on the deck. Exceptional! There was nothing better than Saturday...except Sunday. 

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Tags: sales productivity, sales coaching, Sales Optimization, sales, sales management, sales management effectiveness, sales plan process, sales coach, sales management coach, sales effectiveness, sales enablement, sales planning, sales tools, sales management training, sales training, sales plans, sales boot camp, sales checklists

Red, Yellow, Green...and Sales

Posted by Jack Derby, Head Coach on Fri, Mar 01, 2013

Here it is the beginning of March and time for me to figure out our Red, Yellow & Green dashboard relative to where we expected to be in the quarter.  Right now, it looks like... 

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Tags: sales productivity, Sales Optimization, sales, sales management, sales management effectiveness, sales plan process, sales coach, sales management coach