DATE ARCHIVES : 2007

Are Sales Professionals the Only Ones Motivated by Leveraged Compensation?

I am working on a project right now where I am implementing a new sales compensation plan that will better align with our new ‘Customer Intimate’ orientation. That being we serve a well defined set of accounts or markets and we bring them solutions, not products, not transactions but complete answers to their problems.

So I want to change the compensation plan from one of reward on margin per transaction to one that rewards revenue and margin for assigned accounts or markets along with a slightly higher base pay. My aim is to keep cost neutral about to about 10% of revenue.…

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Christmas Time – Wisdom Reflections

It seems like every year at this time my person to person spirit grows stronger. I generally have a little more spring in our step and a smile on my face.

I also find myself continously reflecting on the past year(s) and doing what I call ‘wisdom development’ meaning that I make conscious some of my lifes lessons and human operating paradigms. (Had to throw in some business lingo) Below are some widom thoughts that ring true with me as written by Andy Rooney.

  • I’ve learned…. That the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.

    • …

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Hillary Clinton – Not a Toastmasters Graduate

Many of us middle-aged souls spent a good chunk of time honing our public speaking or simple presentation skills at a Toastmasters meeting, usually over breakfast or lunch.

Toastmasters is an organization designed to help individuals improve their speaking skills. One of the things I remember most vividly learning was the need to eliminate fillers in our speaking, sounds such as “Um, uh, you know, like” and so  on. I specifically remember this because, one it is important but second our club had a fine for every filler used of 5 cents and someone was always the “uh” counter and at the end of the meeting would report out on the count and collect the fines.…

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Facts to Trends to Knowledge

I love learning about interesting factoids they help me learn about the world and plan for change. Below are some interesting ones from Chief Executive Magazine.

  • Price of a Venti Mocha in Moscow: $8.98, price in New York City: $4.71
  • Percentage of Japanese women in their 20′s who own an Louis Vitton item, 94.3%
  • Average age of US Senators: 60, the oldest average in history
  • Difference in the number of days in session between the 110th Congress and the 100th, 150 days
  • Price per month that Japanese consumers pay for one megabyte per second of Internet Service: 27 cents
  • Factor by which American internet consumers pay more for the same service: 12 times
  • Frequent flier miles awarded by US Airlines over the last 25 years: 19 Trillion
  • Budget for the University of Florida Athletic Department: $69 Million
  • Budget for the University of Florida English Department: $6.3 Million
  • Ratio of US adults who did not read a single book last year: 25%

    • …

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Social Networking for Business

FastPitch NetworkingAre you looking to dive-in to the social networking world for your business but you want to find a service that is ALL business?

Then you should check out Fastpitch. I have been a member for awhile now and am continually impressed with the continous stream of new features, functions and services they are bringingto members.

Exposure to thousands of other businesses, forums, websites, blogs and more are just some of the features you   get with your membership. Membership is tiered nicely so you can start slow, evaluate and grow as you see results and learn to operate the service.…

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Trust is the Key to Successful Relationships

No kidding, duh. We all know that trust is key to effective relationships, selling, leading a business, marriage, friendships all are anchored on trust. It may not be conscious to us but it is true.

How do you get to a trusted relationship? How do you get it on the table with those you want a relationship with? How do you get them to tell you how and what you have to do to be trusted?

Unfortunately, in my humble   opinion, trust is not a one time transaction. Creating trust in others comes from something deep inside of us, what I like to call a ‘service’ orientation.…

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Sales Compensation Plan Changes

At my office I am in the middle of a compensation plan change for the sales team. Unfortunately I did not anticipate the amount of “static energy” that would be generated amongst the team as a result of my authentic and early communication around the changes.

I have outlined the purpose for the change (based on my full year observations at the company) and how it will actually help us have a plan that is understandable, derived from the bottom up and enable everyone to make more money.

I don’t think people are not supportive it is just there has to be a reaction to any change (granted pay is pretty important) and this is no different.…

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Best Day and Time to Prospect

Source: “Lead Response Management New Research Summary” by Dave Elkington and James Oldroyd.

A recent survey by Inside  Sales and MIT uncovers some interesting stats about when the best time to contact new prospects might be. Among the findings:

  • Wednesday and Thursdays are the best days to contact new prospects. In addition to being almost 50% more effective when trying to make first contact than making calls on Monday, these two days are also much more effective as afar as qualifying prospects for the first time.
  • 4-6 p.m. is the best time to make contact with a prospect.

    • …

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Small Business Healthcare – The Challenge Continues

Healthcare cost growth has slowed slightly in the last few years but the overall cost of providing employees of small businesses healthcare continues to be a BIG problem.

How can small businesses compete for talented individuals when healthcare costs prevent them from offering the best total compensation package available.

Listen to Dawn Rivers Baker of the Microenterprise Journal update us on the state of small business health care and what kind of Federal Government action is being taken to address this growing concern.

Here is what President Bush had to say on the issue:

“And the mission… of government is to make sure that the quality of health care received by our patients around this country remains the best in the world.

…

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All My Faves – A Helpful Website

All My FavesI am always on the lookout for websites that save me time and have found a new one, All My Faves.   This site aggregates on one page hundreds of the best websites by categories.   Categories such as: Email, Maps, Finance, News, Sports, Community, Banks, Car Rental, Jobs, Gaming and many, many more.

I find myself using this page more and more to find, evaluate and use the key websites in each category versus trying to randomly search or by accident discover similar sites.

Check out All My Faves, it might save you time!…

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