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Author Archives: David Shedd
Let’s Train Our Sales Managers
The all too common refrain in sales and sales management is: When you promote your star salesperson into a sales management position you lose a good salesperson and gain a lousy sales manager. But why? Why do we have so … Continue reading
Posted in Sales and Marketing, Team / People
Tagged Sales Coaching, Sales Management, Sales Training
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Metrics in Business – User Beware
“I used to believe that if it doesn’t get measured, it doesn’t get done. Now I say if it doesn’t get measured it doesn’t get approved… you need to manage by facts, not gut feel.” General Jon Michael Loh, USAF … Continue reading
Clarity
With so much going on in our companies today, our employees have a large number of competing priorities as they do their daily tasks. What is most important? What should they focus on first?
Posted in Leadership, Perform / Execution, Personal Success
Tagged Business Leadership, Clarity, Communication, Consistent Execution, Focus, Goals, Objectives
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We’ve Gotten the Sale…Now What?
The customer has said yes. He or she will buy our product and service. Now what do we do? 1. Shut Up and Get Out As Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire Mayor of New York City, puts it so well: First, … Continue reading
To Communicate Better, Communicate Less
Today, we are all overwhelmed with communication of one type or another– too many and too mixed messages from our supervisors, too many E-Mails, too much information. In trying to absorb and process the daily blitz of messages and communication, … Continue reading
Posted in Communication, Leadership, Team / People
Tagged Communication, E-Mail Management, Leadership
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Employee Training and Managerial Development for Free!!
More than ever, companies need to train and develop their employees and managers. As such, countless billions of dollars are spent on seminars, executive education, speakers, etc. The results, however, have been underwhelming. The dirty little secret is that, done … Continue reading
Determining the ROI of Product Development
This is a guest blog by K. Armen Miamidian, a time-tested CFO for successful mid-market companies. What’s Pumping Your Profits: An Internal Look at the ROI of Product Development? When are expenses not just costs? Why do risky assumptions become … Continue reading
Posted in Business Acumen, Growth and Strategy, Sales and Marketing
Tagged Financial Analysis, Product Development, ROI
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Instilling Passion Back Into Our Businesses
For many companies, the last few years have been a long, hard slog for the leaders and employees alike. Raises and bonuses have been minimal. It is more difficult to make good profits and win. Anxiety is high as there … Continue reading
Social Media for the B2B Executive
Social media – Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, blogs, etc. – usually revolves around business to consumer (B2C) efforts. In it, companies are trying to reach many possible customers through their social media effort. For business to business (B2B) companies, the situation … Continue reading
Posted in Communication, Growth and Strategy, Sales and Marketing
Tagged Brand, Marketing, Sales, Sales and Marketing, Social Media
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Data Analytics 101
Data Analytics…Big Data…Sabermetrics With the success of the book and movie, Moneyball, a few success stories in the retail world (Amazon and Wal-Mart), and a lot of hype from the consulting and technology industry, data analytics has become a buzzword … Continue reading
Three Paradoxes of Leading Multiple Business Units
As your company expands or as you progress up the ranks in your company, you will likely move from having P&L (profit and loss) responsibility for one business unit to having P&L responsibility for several different business units (usually located … Continue reading
The Goal – Operational Excellence Made Possible
In their book, The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement, Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox introduced their Theory of Constraints as a primary method to realize operational improvement. Key Concepts Global Optimization: The key in any process and any … Continue reading
Master These Three Processes First in Order to Thrive in 2013
Every year, countless companies undertake process improvements and change initiatives. Most fail. Generally, they fail for one of three reasons:
Manufacturing Made Simple
In their book, All I Need to Know About Manufacturing I Learned in Joe’s Garage: World Class Manufacturing Made Simple, William B. Miller and Vicki L. Schenk lay out the basic principles of low cost, high quality, on-time manufacturing. The … Continue reading
Sales and Marketing in a Time and Attention Starved World
In today’s over-saturated world of twenty four hour media, advertisement, and promotion, we are drowning in too much data and too many messages. Our brains are full, and our attention span is depleted. Paradoxically, despite this flood of information, we … Continue reading
Posted in Growth and Strategy, Sales and Marketing
Tagged Attention Starved, Customer Service, Growth, Marketing, Sales, Selling, Time Starved
High Impact Selling – Timeless Sales Advice
My re-reading of William T. Brooks’ 1988 book, High Impact Selling: Power Strategies for Successful Selling, reminded me that the keys to successful sales have been known for years. They just need to be implemented and followed. Fundamentals of High … Continue reading
Posted in Growth and Strategy, Sales and Marketing
Tagged Customer Service, Sales, Sales Coaching, Sales Success, Sales Training
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We Need Less Leadership!
In her thought-provoking book, The End of Leadership, Barbara Kellerman writes: One of the problems plaguing the leadership industry is its fixation on developing good leaders, while ignoring completely the problem of stopping or at least slowing bad leaders. Stopping … Continue reading
Hire Smart or Manage Tough – Sound (But Often Forgotten) Hiring Advice
“No management style can undo the damage of a poor hiring decision.” Red Scott In the quick read, Hire Smart or Manage Tough, Red Scott, the former Vice-Chairman of Pier One Imports and a grand-nephew of legendary tough guy, General … Continue reading
Posted in Leadership, Perform / Execution, Team / People
Tagged Hiring, Human Resources, Leadership Development, Team Development
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The 4 Innate Qualities of Great Employees
With title inflation, clever wordsmithing, and self-marketing campaigns, every employee or potential employee appears to be a great employee. However, we all know the truth; few people are stars. In order to differentiate people and find the gem, seek out … Continue reading
Fast Track to Waste-Free Manufacturing – Appropriate for Any Process
In his still-insightful 1999 book, Fast Track to Waste-Free Manufacturing: Straight Talk from a Plant Manager, John W. Davis discusses how to improve a manufacturing operation by a simple and relentless focus on waste. The methodology he describes is really … Continue reading
