Spring, Breaking Up...and Sales

Posted by Jack Derby, Head Coach on Thu, Mar 07, 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.
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Six years, 350+ highly satisfied graduates!

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Tags: sales productivity, sales coaching, Sales Optimization, sales management effectiveness, sales plan process, sales effectiveness, sales enablement, sales management training, sales boot camp

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

The Storm, Checklists, Vermont...and Sales

Posted by Jack Derby, Head Coach on Fri, Feb 08, 2013

-Snow shovel?  
   Check-all three shovels
-Snowblower?   
   Check-tuned, gassed, extra gas in the cans
-Rocksalt?         
   3 full bags in the garage
-Generator? 
   Ready to go.  Probably could power half of VT
                                        

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Tags: sales productivity, sales coaching, Sales Optimization, sales, sales management effectiveness, sales plan process, sales effectiveness, sales enablement, sales management training, sales checklists

Woodpiles...and Sales

Posted by Jack Derby, Head Coach on Fri, Jan 11, 2013

Surviving January in Vermont means taking a long look at the woodpile and measuring what's left balanced against the need to heat the house for the next three months on one hand and, on the other, making sure that all of the wood gets consumed so that I'm not hauling unused wood back to the woodlot up on the ridge.

The good news about last winta' is that we did not use a lot of wood-maybe only two cords. The bad news is that I ended up having to haul three cords back into the woodlot and restacking it up on the ridge since the LP will not allow the ugly wood tent to stay up during the summer.  Must agree with the LP on this; the grey tarped wood tent really is ugly.

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

Building the Best Sports Teams...and Sales

Posted by Jack Derby, Head Coach on Wed, Nov 28, 2012

With a long weekend of maxed-out football from Thanksgiving Day high school to the Pats, I realize that I'm constantly comparing professional sports teams to professional sales organizations on the basis of....

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

No such thing as 5 minutes...and Sales

Posted by Jack Derby, Head Coach on Tue, Nov 20, 2012

How many times a week do you hear that request for "just five minutes" of your time?  Maybe it's from your boss or a co-worker, or maybe it's a non-business friend or your spouse as in... "Can you help me for just five minutes?" (spouse translation: "Can you go to the drug store/shopping/cleaning out the closet for me?")

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

The Number 6...and Sales

Posted by Jack Derby, Head Coach on Sat, Oct 27, 2012

Off to the woods this morning to bring in the last of the wood before this incoming storm on Monday.  The Boys on the Bench having coffee this morning down at the general store are predicting heavy snow here in our little valley, so I know that unless the two cords that are still piled on the upper ridge come in right now, it's highly likely that the next time I'll be able to get the tractor and cart up there will be next April.  Just the same time 9 months ago, that I stacked the same pieces of wood up there...one stick at a time, after one stick at a time, after one stick at a time.

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Tags: sales coaching, Sales Optimization, sales, sales management, sales plan process, sales coach, sales management coach, sales effectiveness, sales enablement, sales planning, sales tools, improved sales management, sales jobs

Can't Catch Fish with a Rubber Hook...and Sales

Posted by Jack Derby, Head Coach on Fri, Oct 12, 2012

Most days, I commute back and forth from the NH beach on the left to our sales office in Boston.  For most of the year, the commute is not an issue since I leave early and can usually squeeze in a quick walk on the sand at dusk.  For the rest of the year, I come and go in the dark, but since that particular seasonal shift also marks the snowboarding season, I know I'm headed to the mountains at the end of the week anyway, which takes the edge off the commute. 

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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, selling, sales management training, selling skills, Sales quota, sales training, sales plans, sales enablment, sales jobs

I am Vermont Strong...and Sales

Posted by Jack Derby, Head Coach on Wed, Oct 03, 2012

With the big Vermont “Cut Down Day” behind me last weekend and a refrigerator list of only 14 items to complete before the end of the month and the first of the November snows, the daunting tasks of getting ready for another Vermont winta’ seem to be relatively contained.   But then, this is Vermont, and just like my perfectly-planned schedules at the beginning of every month always look, well… “perfect”, shortly into the fall season or into every business quarter, there’s always reshuffles and “squeeze-me-ins”, and the only thing that I can really control is how many hours I can work.

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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, selling, sales management training, selling skills, Sales quota, sales training, sales plans, sales jobs

Tension...and Sales

Posted by Jack Derby, Head Coach on Thu, Sep 27, 2012

Every good sales organization is charged with tension...especially right now.  Here we are only a couple of days away from closing Q3.  Friday night will define the tale of the tape against which we measure both our company's objectives and our own personal quotas.  Then, just to punch the tension up a notch, next Monday morning, at the crack of dawn, with a turn of the page and a click of the mouse, we're immediately thrust into the super-critical 63 selling days of Q4. 

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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, selling, sales management training, selling skills, sales optomization, Sales quota, sales training, sales plans, sales jobs