Trust is elusive, and it is one of most critical components of why people buy. Buyers must trust that what they are buying provides the expected value. However, trust plays a different role based on what the buyer is purchasing and how that purchase provides value. For example, when it comes to purchasing simple commodities value is often tangible and … Read More
Establishing a Culture of Performance
Having discussed the internal drivers of sales culture, the next step is to explore what leaders can do to establish a culture of performance. Since culture is largely defined by human behavior and decision making, it’s important to understand there is no one size fits all approach. The variability within the three internal drivers makes that clear. Companies have unique … Read More
What Drives Your Sales Culture?
In the last blog article, I discussed how the Global Workforce Study on workforce culture reported the highest level of employee dissatisfaction in the study’s 23 year history. Employee dissatisfaction can be especially damaging to a company’s sales culture, threatening client relationships and overall company growth. There are many companies that have compelling products and services and good people to … Read More
Attitude Reflects Leadership
Anyone in management who has seen Remember the Titans should remember this exchange: Big Ju: Why should I give a hoot about you, huh? Or anyone else out there? You wanna talk about the ways you’re the captain? Bertier: Right. Big Ju: You got a job? Bertier: I’ve got a job. Big Ju: You been doing your job? Bertier: I’ve been doing my job. Big Ju: Then why don’t … Read More
The BP Spill: A Consequence of Bad Strategy
“A company can’t prioritize everything, and while BP was prioritizing PR and acquisitions, it wasn’t prioritizing operations.” Holman Jenkins, WSJ A preventable catastrophe is unfolding along our Gulf shores and much of the region is going to suffer for years. Who’s to blame? The easier question may be who isn’t to blame. However, one thing is clear; a combination of bad … Read More
Why You Should Support Staffing Associations
The audience I am speaking to today are executives and managers that question the value of being involved in industry associations. There are times when I would have been a member of that audience through my years as a staffing executive. However, associations have not only done a better job of providing measurable value to staffing organizations they also play … Read More
Beware the Cassandra Complex
Cassandra was a princess of Troy, who had the gift of prophesy, but who could not persuade anyone because was cursed with a severe credibility gap. Can you imagine her frustration? She knows she is right, but lacks the credibility to persuade anyone. Why should staffing executives be aware of the Cassandra complex? Because they are responsible for defining the … Read More
Are You Selling to the Right Accounts?
An effective sales strategy starts with well defined segmentation of your current and target accounts. However, many companies struggle with defining the right criteria to build an effective account pipeline, which then significantly reduces the productivity of their entire sales process. This post will discuss three examples of how to qualify the accounts you decide to pursue; the existence of … Read More
Sales Management or Micromanagement?
Are you a Micromanager? I conducted an informal survey the other day discussing the roles of sales process within the staffing industry. Most of the respondents responded positively to the need for greater structure within sales organizations in order for sales people to maneuver through an increasingly competitive environment. One respondent caught my eye, primarily because he captured the downside … Read More
Change: Your Future Depends on it
Most companies embrace change when they first enter the market, because change presents opportunities for start-up companies to outmaneuver larger organizations that are less adaptable and more reliant on the status quo. Anyone who has been part of a quickly growing start-up organization knows the feeling of stealing away market share simply because it’s more in tune with the buyer … Read More