Rising through the ranks from Manufacturing to Engineering to Operations and then through a battlefield promotion to division president, I never stopped along that path to learn anything about Sales or Marketing. I've always been a process, tech, time-management and metrics guy, and back-in-the-day, the world of Sales seemed to revolve around travel, food, and golf, none of which I do very well. Marketing to me back then was even more confusing since it was simply expensive black magic.
just how do you want your spaghetti cooked?
Tags: marketing productivity, marketing management, how to write a sales plan, marketing planning, Selling Successfully in a Covid World, planningsalestodayinacovidworld
Who are your most valuable salespeople?
Darn cold at 29 last Saturday out by the Vermont barn. Jumped on the ATV to work through the woods and get up to the pond where I noticed that the swamp maples were already turning even though the big foliage week is still a couple of weeks from now. Always good for the Vermont economy when leaf-peeping ties into a long weekend.
Tags: sales and marketing best practices, sales coach, sales effectiveness, marketing effectiveness, sales management boot camp, how to write a sales plan, sales management productivity, writing sales plans, Selling Successfully in a Covid World
The Plan is the Plan except when it isn't
After college at BC, I went into the Peace Corps returning to the world from Tanzania three years later to face the reality of finding a job. A couple of twists and turns, and I found myself working as a purchasing expeditor for Honeywell as the company attempted to shift from manufacturing and selling heating systems into what was then called the first "mini-computers". It was a brave attempt that failed when a little local company called Digital Equipmentdid it better. Most of the time I've come to learn that the phrase "first mover advantage" is a startup myth more often eclipsed by the truer phrase that "most pioneers get shot in the back."
Tags: the economy, Sales Optimization, improved sales management, sales boot camp, small business management, strategic planning, best sales practices;, sales management productivity, writing sales plans, Selling Successfully in a Covid World
Rarely, as in never, do I get into a discussion in this blog about politics, and to a large degree this post is not about politics, it's just about the science, the data and the sources of the truth behind the pandemic and its impact.
What each of us should be doing at this time is to identify our own "single sources of truth" regarding the disease, the impact that it's making on our physical and mental health, and the devastating effect on our businesses and our jobs.
The only way we can fight back is with discipline in what we do, how we act, and how we sell and market our products
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Six months into this, we clearly know the facts...
Tags: Sales Management Best Practices, sales enablement, sales management boot camp, sales boot camps, how to write a sales plan, 2020 sales plans, Selling Successfully in a Covid World