How to Fix a Sales Problem [5 Second MBA] | Gruzzles | Fast Company

Have you seen this 5-Second MBA feature in Fast Company? This is a WONDERFUL image, and oh so true. Simple but not easy to execute.

How to Innovate in a Downturn – WSJ.com

What do nylon, Hewlett-Packard and the iPod have in common? Would you believe they all launched during a major financial downturn?

Excellent article by Harvard B School Prof and McKinsey partner Bhaskar Chakravorti from the Wall Street Journal, chastening entrepreneurs that this is NOT the time to hunker down. Rather, “There is considerable anecdotal evidence that crises can be catalysts for creativity.”

Need help “making lemonade”? Chakravorti’s article will do it!

Have you heard the quote by our 34th President, Dwight Eisenhower while he was Supreme Allied Commander? Good advice for soldiers as well as business owners.

“The plan is useless, but planning is essential.”

And there couldn’t be a better time than right now. During a recession, pragmatic business planning is vital. Strategic plans are important but tactical operating plans might be your most valuable management tool during this recession. Here’s the perfect opportunity to focus in on your business fundamentals, especially before you make any sweeping decisions such as cutting expenditures, delaying product launches or layoffs.

What are the key components you should be watching? Cash flow to be sure, sales revenue, expenses, new products, customer relationships, marketing and advertising plans: your industry vertical will determine what indicators are most critical. For instance, in B2B industries you can anticipate that business customers are extending payment cycles which influences your cash flow directly.

Need help setting out a simple but effective plan for your business? We can help. Contact us (RBOP@CSuiteAdvisors.net) or CLICK HERE for more information about our Special Recession Business Operating Planning Program and a no-obligation consultation.

Making the Most of a Trade Show

One of the largest expenses you will find in any marketing budget is the line for trade shows. Often these are critical interludes to meet face-to-face with your customers and vendors. But do you prepare and plan to maximize the investment? Are you “too busy” to send invitations to their exhibit? Is your schedule “too full” upon returning to the office to follow up promptly? (And finally is it “too late,” so you never follow up at all – that’s an actual experience related by a client!)

Let’s see, what did it cost you to go to that last conference? Airfare, hotel, meals, taxis…if you go out of the country, then add in the sinking exchange rate. Now, multiply it by how many staff attended. Bottom line: it costs a LOT to attend these, much less to an exhibitor. That’s when you pay beaucoup bucks for AIR (with your booth space), and “get nickeled and dimed” for carpet, drapes, tables, wastebaskets, etc by the exhibit companies. (Do you ever want to protest, “I don’t want to BUY this chair, but just rent it for a couple of days!”)

Now. Go back and remind yourself just how busy you have to be to throw away this 5-figure investment.

This article has a simple checklist of key ways to make your time and investment pay off. Read it. Remember it. Do it.

Some business owners think that the only people who need Sales Training are their salespeople. Think again! Who does business development? YOU do! Are you tired of trying to reach decision-makers by phone? Did you know there are some simple tips to get people to return your voice mail messages? And open your emails?

Someone who has written the book – literally and figuratively – is Renee Walkup, Owner and Founder of SalesPeak. (Did you catch that? SalesPeak and SaleSpeak.) We strongly recommend her best-selling book based on her American Marketing Association course: . She also has a brand new book coming soon, “The Naked Salesperson: A Stripped Down Approach to Selling with Confidence“. These are eminently practical guides that help you see results immediately.