Archive for the ‘Sales & Marketing’ Category
Josh Margolis
Owner at CRM Insights
Greater Chicago Area
Evolution
I’m a pre-baby boomer, i.e., I was born just before the end of the War, not after. Until I was ten I lived in a three-story courtyard building in Chicago. The Fuller Brush Man would come around knocking on doors. Every few months the knife sharpener would drive his horse-drawn wagon down the alley calling out his presence. Peddlers setup their suitcase on a folding stand on the street corner. We had a party line and the phone itself was a box with a slot for a nickel. Drop in a nickel and the operator would ask “Number please.” My parents owned a women’s and children’s clothing store. Salesmen came to the store with merchandise samples and my mother would pick what she wanted to carry. Selling by phone was not an efficient option.
Alan Prefer
Director of Business Development at Calence
Greater New York City Area
When was the last time that you called up a client and thanked them for an order?
I have been in sales many years and when I first went into sales, I had some excellent mentors. I would often ask them how I could ever pay them back. Their reply was simple, “Sales is a lost art, pass on the skills” I have never forgotten this and I always attempt to pass on my skills. Everything that I say, may sound like a cliché but in reality, it’s a way of life when you are a professional sales person.
Sales is an art, a professional set of skills. If you are a professional salesperson, you will know and understand exactly what I am saying. TREAT every client the way that you would like to be treated.
Jim Malcolm
President at Aperture 360 Interactive
Greater Denver Area
It should be no big surprise to recognize the role of your organization’s marketing team is evolving. Consider recent world events when governments are toppled without a firing a shot except through the power of what has become known as “Social Media”. For the majority of us gone are the days of traditional 30 second media spots, blanket print media plans and banner ads on the internet. So, if you haven’t already done so, say “hello” to Direct to Consumer (D2C) marketing!
In this new world of advertising, brand or otherwise, you and your company will talk directly with consumers. This means finding a way to appease your C-Suite executives, legal department , agencies, and perhaps even changing your PR agency if they are not willing accept the new realities, thus inhibiting your organization’s progression.
Bill Penczak
Global Chief Marketing Officer at LECG
Greater Philadelphia Area
There’s an old Sicilian saying, “the fish rots from the head down”, and that’s nowhere more evident when it comes to proper marketing focus and discipline. If your CEO doesn’t get it, as a marketing professional, you’re screwed. Maybe that’s why the average tenure of a CMO is 23 months (I’ll hit 24 in about two weeks, so stay tuned).
A 2004 study by Stuart Spenser indicated most Fortune 500 CEOs rose in their ranks via finance, operations, and marketing, with finance being the most prevalent for the past 15 years. Most CEO’s in the study earned engineering degrees. And according to a study published by two professors at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas, companies with higher advertising budgets were more likely to have CEO’s with marketing backgrounds.