In his provocative book The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz warns that giving consumers more product choices actually lowers their purchase satisfaction. Schwartz reasons that having too many options makes…
Common Destructive Management Styles
I’ve helped many new managers to transition from seller to manager, and existing managers to become more effective. One of the recurring issues I’ve discovered is a misunderstanding of what…
Simplicity is the Word
If you think like a customer, retailing is simple to execute. So says Eduardo Castro-Wright, vice chairman of Wal-Mart Stores. What is the most important leadership lesson you’ve learned? Walking…
Realigning Push to Pull in the Selling Organisation
There is much discussion these days on transforming sales organisations from Push to Pull. I can see the reason for this interest. If I had a nickel for every time…
Design a Plan that Pays Off
Compensation is a vexing topic because there are few rules that apply. There are many options when it comes to designing a compensation plan. Because the best ones mirror the…
High Performance: Hindered or Helped by Organisational Structure?
The CEO of a national retailer was very frustrated. His face grew noticeably redder as he told me how he had set up each store as a profit centre and…
6 Questions to Shape Your Finalist Presentation Strategy
The day started just like any other day for Lisa. Then, the call came! It was ABC Company’s procurement officer telling her that he loved the RFP response, selected her…
Strategic Account Management for Loyalty & Profit Growth
The single most predictive indicator of future growth is the level of attachment that your best customers have towards your business. As part of an overall account management strategy most companies will be able to segment…
How to Actually Achieve the Vision?
Once the leader has nailed down the vision and announced it to the troops, he or she needs to quickly follow with the strategies for how that vision is to be accomplished. Objectives In developing the strategies, it…
How to be Interesting (and Useful) to C-Level Executives
More and more, there is an increasing demand that sales people and account managers develop the skills to engage with senior level executives in their client and prospect companies. The level of value we create as a sales organisation is…