The Ideal Pipeline
Startups and big companies can both learn a great deal from one another about how to improve their sales cycles and pump up their pipeline. Learning how to both assess deals and focus your time on the highest returns in your pipeline should be a primary concern for all sales leaders. Can you drive more deals through your pipeline? Yes, you can….
Bigger sales come from crafting a story that tells why your solution is different, better, and worth more to your customer. But that’s just part of the equation.
Lesson # 3 for Sales Teams: The Danger of RFPs: Why write long RFPs when there’s a better way?
Lesson # 2 for growing a sales team: Never negotiate service-level agreements (SLAs) and terms and conditions (T&Cs)
Growing a sales team: Moving from a concept-driven entrepreneurial company to a mature process-centric organization requires many changes. Along the way the sales team has to change too. Teaching process to your sales team is one of the most important things you can do.
Corporate battles are won and lost, not through poor product but most often through poor client experience. Any engagement should have a plan that addresses how the client will perceive the services offered and assure their continued satisfaction. Following is my model for a repeatable process that promises both happy clients and long term advocates.
When I first learned of the principles of Agile software development I thought the entire globe had turned upside down… and I loved it. Little did I know there was a better way.
True leaders encompass the aspects of leadership into every part of their life. Leadership isn’t a mask they wear, but is engrained into their very DNA. Following are my personal rules for everyday living.
Can you sell like John Cleese? Creating contrast between what you offer and what your customer has or is considering is crucial to the sale. Show your customer where the real value lies, just like John.
The next big changes include not just what your device looks like but what it can interact with
Your digital life is about to change in ways you haven’t yet dreamed of. The next few years will bring about unprecedented and fundamental shifts to nearly everything we do online. We’re entering a period of unheard of technological growth and it all centers around your smartphone. Read more
The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow.” William Pollard
What happens when a company fails to innovate?
RIM, the maker of BlackBerry, is in big trouble. Sales of its handsets are down 30% over the last year and recently released earnings show them missing their projections by $1 billion (that’s with a “B.”) The media and investors have been merciless in their criticism of the company’s operations and it’s not without merit.
Why has a phone synonymous with business failed to remain competitive in what was previously thought of as a one market space?
Vendor Selection Best Practices – Key Considerations, Sourcing Strategy and Evaluation Process. These are “Must Have” tips when selecting third-party providers.
What can managers do to minimize the chances of losing valued employees or to stave off the attrition levels of outsourced teams? Should any action be taken or is attrition just part of the environment? Employee retention strategies should be a part of your operations plan.
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Summary:
This presentation is an excerpt from a speech delivered in September 2011. The topic was on shaping leaders to manage globally.
Innovation has been a hot topic for business leaders for several years but for too many people it can mean different things. I define innovation as the introduction of a new idea that forms a product, process or service. For organizations, innovation is the enabler of growth and is the stepping stone to new frontiers on the web, across the globe and in a variety of partnerships and relationships. But many organizations are overwhelmed with work and face a talent shortage in the key aspects of their business.
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“Hey, Jerry,” I said as I saw him leaving a meeting. “What’s the status on our vendor’s first delivery for next Tuesday?”
“Oh, it will be fine.” he said. “They always deliver.”
“Have you reviewed the updated functional specs with them?”
“I haven’t had time to finish the document, but I talked about it with them over the phone. I’m sure if there were any issues they would have told me. I trust those guys.”
“Jerry, this is the first delivery for a year long project. If it isn’t up to par, you’ll spend the rest of the year scrambling to make it up. You’ll also spend that time trying to earn back our customer’s trust….. and mine.”
“ Don’t worry.” He replied. “If there was a problem I could smell it a mile away.”
A subject that never ends with Project Management Professionals is that of re-certification. Continuing education in the form of seminars, formal training and online classes are all a part of becoming better leaders and managers. Following are some down and dirty tips on keeping your certification active and assuring compliance.
Here is just an example of what I did:
In 2008 when the world was crashing, projects were dying, and budgets were drying up I started a WordPress blog under my own name. The original intent was to connect and share observations and insights on project related work in the tech space and how readers could remain successful in such challenging times. Since then, a lot has changed including my focus and it’s been obvious for some time that I needed to embrace a new approach. I’ve struggled with plagiarism from other sites (flattery, right?), a diverse audience whose needs weren’t always met and a limited message that didn’t always identify with my personal brand.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
