Acronyms, we are surrounded by them! It’s because people remember acronyms, and they have been widely used for thousands of years, e.g. the official name for the Roman Empire, and the Republic before it, was abbreviated as SPQR (Senatus Populusque Romanus). Acronyms act as a mnemonic device to greatly assist in memory retention and learning. When I think about methodologies for sales and marketing processes, a plethora of acronyms spring to mind, e.g. SPIN, IDEA, ABC, ALF, AFTO, as well as a host of others. Now I’d like to introduce another: PPPPPPPPPPPP.

The Frontline Perspective - How to Attract Great Salespeople

Recently, we talked about factors to consider when properly assessing sales talent and the numerous benefits they bring to your sales organization. This article will focus on what you need to do to attract the right sales talent. 

CyberSecurity has captured Top 10 billing in most political, commercial, and even military related circles in the past year. The fact is, you are under attack and you don't even know it. People around the world who don't share your values are accessing your data - or at least trying to - and most of us don't even know it. Because we can't see it or feel it, we're blissfully unaware. That is, until we go to use our credit card and find that it's been maxed - by someone else. Or, we check in with our bank - and our money has been stolen with our ID.

Most business owners follow a somewhat reliable leadership pattern in the lifecycle of their business. They go from working FOR, then IN, and finally, ON their business(es).

Recently, I attended a Business Leaders’ meeting called Kiros in our community. The speaker, Otto Haugland, gave an impressionable and great lesson about "Old School" methods that continue to drive business today. We all talk about how to drive business through technology tools and pay an incredible amount of money continuing the development of these tools to drive people to our website, track them through the funnel and manage them in our CRM; but what about the relationship?

The Frontline Perspective: It is a familiar refrain. The ability to hire great people allows you, as a company, to go out and have outstanding execution as a sales organization. The reason for that is simple. It is people who animate your sales process and give it meaning. The vitality of having a dynamic sales team to implement results within your sales organization cannot be underestimated. While an effective, disciplined sales process is commonly underestimated as a function of driving increased revenue, most companies do, in fact, place an emphasis on trying to hire the best talent they can. 

In my last article we looked at whether your company should have a Board of Directors. Although there is no prescription for the right time to put one in place, as many start-ups wouldn’t be here if they didn’t have a board on day one, concurrently, there is no “Expiration Date” on a well-run company that does not have a board by, for example, $10mm in revenue.

In the evolution of companies there arise critical junctures when the ability to choose one path or another can mean the difference between success and failure.

Do you remember your youth when you bantered about the merits of a ball club or particular player? Regardless of the qualitative or subjective measures you wanted to espouse on the playground, the bottom line always came back to “scoreboard”.

You've built your business - now you're thinking about the transition. Is your future and place in history secured? Baby Boomers are the most entrepreneurial generation in American history with more than 10% of the boomer population owning their own companies. This represents more than 4 million business owners employing nearly 50% of our country’s workers. The first “BoomerPreneurs” started turning 65 in 2011, and these individuals are starting the process of retiring or transitioning their businesses at a rate of 1,000 per day.