Monday Mornings with Madison

Category Archives:
Business Development

January 28, 2013

Super Salesmanship

Issue #266

The leadership at every company wishes every employee who interacts with customers was a ‘super salesperson’. Imagine what a company could achieve if all of its employees – that includes anyone dealing with potential customers – did everything possible to convert each potential customer into an actual customer. That is surely every Sales Manager’s dream… or perhaps, they might say, fantasy. Most Sales Directors would likely say “It is easier said than done to make all employees into super salespeople.” After all, there are millions of books, videos, articles, blog posts and consultants touting the best guidance on how to improve sales. If improving sales was easy or if there was a perfect proven formula, there would be no need for so much advice.

Yet, it may be that the best strategies to supersize sales for any company can be found within the company. That is often what managers and leaders find when they step back and observe their own company employees in action. Instead of looking outside to gurus and experts, the best sales ideas often bubble up from within. How might a company begin to identify super sales ideas within their own organization? And how can a company then leverage those ideas to improve sales across the board? Here’s how.
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January 7, 2013

The Amazing Power of Habits – Part 1

Issue #263

Have you ever driven home from work and then realized when you got home that you had no recollection of doing it? Or you got up in the morning and did your morning routine (brush teeth, shave, groom hair, shower and dress, make bed, etc.) but could not remember actually performing some or any of the tasks. It was as if you were on auto-pilot. In a sense, you were. But instead of drawing on information from your memory bank, you were drawing information from a different, deeper part of the brain that doesn’t involve either learning or memory. You were performing a habit.

Until recently, most scholars believed that learning, memory, and habits were all inextricably connected. A person learns how to do something, remembers doing it and then, through repetition over time, becomes habit…. a recurrent, often unconscious pattern of behavior acquired through frequent repetition. Based on this, it stands to reason that without the ability to learn and remember, a person could not form new habits or perform existing habits. But research has proven that that is actually not true. The latest brain research is revealing that learning, memory and habits all ‘live’ in different parts of the brain and are not actually connected. A person can form and perform a new habit even if the person has no ability to learn or remember new information. And research has found that habits are more powerful and persistent in controlling individual behavior than conscious thought. This can be invaluable to business. Continue reading →

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December 31, 2012

A Succession Plan

Issue #262

In business, as in life, there is generally a hierarchy and structure for how things run. Leaders are identified. Departments are established. Managers are appointed. Processes are set. And, if all is as it should be, all of the cogs fit together and run like a well-oiled machine. The best organizations even create redundancies to ensure that when key personnel are out sick or on vacation for a few days, there are other knowledgeable individuals who can step in temporarily to ensure that operations continue smoothly.

However, many companies fall short of actually creating a full Succession Plan in case a vital cog in the machinery breaks and must be replaced. Most organizations do not have any preparations in place that will go into effect if a vital member of the team is suddenly gone either by choice or chance. For example, Business Week magazine featured an article questioning why Herb Kelleher, CEO of Southwest Airlines, had not designated and groomed a successor. This exposed a weakness that exists in many companies’ strategic thinking. Indeed, many companies lack ‘bench strength’ or sufficient ‘ready now candidates’ to replace planned and unplanned losses of key leaders and staff. As a result, the future continuity and performance of the business is at risk. While it may seem grim and cold, a Succession Plan is actually one of the most responsible and considerate things any business can do for the good of the company. Here’s how. Continue reading →

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December 10, 2012

Ten Tips For Giving Gifts To Clients

Issue #260

To gift or not to gift, that is the question. For the last five or six years, companies cut back on the quantity and value of corporate gifts given to clients. It was understood that times were tough and businesses could scarcely justify giving gifts to clients when they were laying off staff, freezing hiring, cutting salaries and increasing workloads. The economy could legitimately be blamed for a reduction in gift-giving. After all, corporate profits in the first quarter of 2009 hit its lowest level in a decade.

However, the economy seems to have turned a corner. According to a recent report from the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. corporate profits for the third quarter of 2012 reached a record high, even adjusted for inflation. Moreover, the increase was entirely a result of stronger business at home. Likewise, the real estate sector seems to be bouncing back. The current share of non-distressed sales is at its highest level since August 2008. With these positive signs, businesses are once again contending with the annual discussion around client gifting. Should we or shouldn’t we? If we should, to whom do we give? Who will compile the list? How much should we spend? What level of gift should go to which people? Must we match or up the ante over what we gave last year? These can be tricky questions. Here are some suggestions for creating and fulfilling the shopping list for clients. Continue reading →

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December 3, 2012

Does Practice Make Perfect?

Issue #259

The old adage of ‘practice makes perfect’ conveys the idea that with enough practice a person’s performance can achieve perfection. Yet, the term ‘perfection’ itself seems to fly in the face of the essence of being ‘human.’ It is universally understood that to be human is to be imperfect. So if that’s true, just how much can practice improve a person’s performance at any given task or skill?

The issue of ‘practice’ has been examined and re-examined by teachers, industrial psychologists, and coaches the world over. Does practice make perfect? It is certainly the question that anyone trying to achieve an exceptional level of success would want to know. And certainly any business owner or entrepreneur should wonder just how much ‘practice’ do skilled employees need to achieve mastery in their profession. If practice makes perfect, just how much practice is that? Continue reading →

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October 29, 2012

How A Company’s Reputation Impacts Its Ability to Attract and Retain Top Talent

Issue #255

Coca Cola. Google. IBM. Apple. Starbucks. Microsoft. Mercedes Benz. Zappos. Amazon. What do all of these companies have in common? Besides having a global market following and a very healthy balance sheet, these companies have at least one other thing in common: the ability to attract top talent just based on reputation. Companies that attract top talent are likely to stay at the top of the Fortune 500 list because human potential is the one thing that cannot be forged, copied, imitated, duplicated or easily replaced. So attracting top talent breeds success and success attracts top talent.

Indeed, human resources are probably the most important asset of any company. Employees are responsible for the quality, quantity and consistency of its products and service. Employees bring creativity to bear on behalf of employers. Employees do all the heavy lifting that keeps a business running. And ultimately it is the workers who interact with, win and retain customers. It is their ingenuity, skills, effort, passion, work ethic, and attitude which largely determine the success, mediocrity or failure of an organization.

That is why, every day, companies are not only competing to generate sales and win customers, they are also in a race to attract and retain the most talented workers. From entry level employees to C-suite executives, every company wants – or should we say needs – to employ the best and brightest. When the economy was in a tailspin, the most talented, skilled and experienced employees hunkered down and stayed put even in companies where they were no longer satisfied, appreciated and/or challenged. The best and brightest kept from changing jobs even when they were overworked, underpaid or both. But with the economy ‘turning a corner’ and the unemployment rate slowly dropping, companies will soon – if they aren’t already – need to compete to attract the best workers. The most qualified candidates are likely to look first to companies with a solid reputation. So just how much does a company’s reputation impact its ability to attract top talent? Continue reading →

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September 24, 2012

What is Brand Social Currency?

Issue #251

In recent weeks, we looked at reputation, brand and brand value as variables that impact a company’s worth in the global marketplace. We reviewed the various brand ranking reports that determine and monetize the value of the biggest brands in the world annually, including Interbrand’s 100 Best, Brandz’s Top 100 and Credit Suisse’s Great Brands. Those annual lists use a myriad of criteria to assess each brand’s value.

However, there is now a new report that examines ‘Brand Social Currency’, rather than brand value. Is there a difference between brand value and brand social currency? Apparently so. Brand value is about determining the worth of a brand based on internal factors such as clarity, commitment, protection and responsiveness, and external factors such as authenticity, relevance, differentiation, consistency, presence, and understanding. It looks at a company’s financials, sales, marketing, operations and reputation to monetize a brand’s worth.

Brand social currency, on the other hand, focuses on the point at which a brand intersects with, speaks to and integrates with customers within their daily life. Due to the increasing social nature of the Internet and mobile technologies, consumers and customers adopt these technologies and platforms and integrate them into daily life routines and contexts, such as using a phone to identify the closest store that carries a desired product at the best possible price. In order to survive and thrive, companies are finding new ways to allow their brands to interact with customers. Those efforts, in short, are what build brand social currency. Continue reading →

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September 4, 2012

All In A Day’s Work: Valuing Workers By Understanding What Workers Value

Issue #248

According to a 2011-2012 Towers Watson North American Talent Management and Rewards Survey, despite a volatile economy and a stubbornly high unemployment rate, almost 60% of U.S. companies are having trouble attracting critical-skill employees. This is an increase over 2010. Those companies also have to balance that against strong pressure to manage costs, a growing trend of expecting employees to work longer hours, and a steady drift toward decreasing the rate of merit pay raises.

Having just commemorated Labor Day, it is a good time to consider the meaning and purpose of this holiday, often referred to as “the day of the worker.” What are the most important factors that companies and managers should consider as they celebrate their organization’s greatest asset: its workers? Do companies do a good job of demonstrating that they value their employees? And does leadership understand the things employees value most?
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August 27, 2012

What Drives A Brand’s Value?

Issue #247

Given the global marketplace and the pervasive impact of technology on reputation, a company’s brand is increasingly becoming a major factor in its success. While most business owners and managers understand the general importance of a company’s brand, they are a little less clear on what can increase or decrease a brand’s value. Most business owners don’t know how to go about increasing and leveraging the worth of its company’s brand.

To better understand brands, let’s consider what factors are used to evaluate the biggest mega-brands. There are now a number of brand consultants that conduct surveys to identify and rank how the top brands are doing and how those brands are impacting corporate bottom lines. For example, Interbrand conducts an annual survey entitled 100 Best Global Brands. Milward, Brown also puts out an annual ranking of brand value entitled BrandZ’s Top 100 most Valuable Global Brands. Credit Suisse also issues an annual report called Great Brands. There are many other such reports.

Each of the rankings looks to monetize the value of a company’s brand. The factors assessed vary from survey to survey. They are also weighted differently according to industry or category. That said, the major surveys are based on hundreds of thousands of interviews examining tens of thousands of brands globally. They parse billions of pieces of data that are then calculated to generate a brand value score for each company. They examine the point where a company’s sales, marketing, operations and financials collide with public perception. So what factors do these brand experts consider in calculating a brand’s value? Continue reading →

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August 20, 2012

Brand Reputation: Ruins, Revivals and Damage-Resistant Part 2: Brand Redemption vs. Teflon Brand

Issue #246

A company’s brand is the class of goods or services identified by name as belonging to that particular company. Like an invisible branding iron, a company’s brand is the personification of its reputation and public cache. A positive brand can be leveraged — much like cash reserves — to take a company to new heights. A negative brand is like a ball and chain around the company’s every move.

Sometimes, when a company’s reputation takes a beating – usually due to their own mistakes or wrongdoing – they opt to dump their brand and start fresh. As we saw last week, sometimes it works. But if the problems that caused the brand to tarnish continue, then rebranding is futile. That is why some companies choose to stick with their brand – troubles and all – and work to restore the brand’s reputation and image. It is usually not an easy task.

Interestingly, not all corporate wrongdoing causes brand damage. There are companies that do wrong or cause harm and yet their reputations and brands continue practically untouched. For marketers, it can be puzzling to grasp why some brands are more easily damaged than others. To get a better picture of how brands can rise from the ashes or manage to go through a firestorm unscathed requires analysis. Let’s take a look at two companies that were caught doing wrong. For one company, its reputation plummeted and it took a lot of time and effort for the reputation to be restored. For the other company, its reputation was hardly affected. Continue reading →

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