BCA

Are you scratching your head yet wondering what I am talking about? You’d  really think top salespeople would make the best sales managers, would you not?  I can hear you all now, “Come on Rich I want my best guys running the whole  squad.” They understand the sales personality; they understand the sales job  requirements; and if they come to the position of sales manager by promotion  they understand the company they work for.

So why don’t they make great sales  managers?

 A salesperson has to be on the hunt constantly

Well this is certainly not an absolute. Some sales people have made great  sales managers, but by and large the best sales managers are not the best sales  people and vice-versa. The reason for this can be found in the shark. Sharks  have to swim to live.

They must keep moving constantly just to be alive.

A great  sales person is the same in many ways: they must prospect and develop business  and be on the hunt constantly; and their competitive spirit and drive to  constantly win must fuel them every minute on the job.

A sales manager has to think like a chess player

A great sales manager on the other hand must have a steady hand on the  tiller. They have to think like a chess player, always many moves ahead. They  don’t get to experience the hunt, let alone the thrill of the kill (if you  will….too much right?).

In other words they have to possess a much more even  keeled personality, less like a shark and more like a tiger, effective at steady  leadership and able to handle any situation from a customer turn-over, to a team  member’s personal troubles.

Yes they understand the sales personality, but typically only their own. And  usually top sales people have trouble with empathy, a necessary trait in any  good sales manager. Yes they understand the job requirements but every  salesperson is different and they may not understand what motivates someone  other than themselves, or how to get the best from someone struggling to get to  the middle of the pack.

Finally that point about understanding the company,  aside form understanding the market in which they compete, it’s much more  important for a quality sales manager to understand the dynamics of his or her  team. What makes them tick? What keeps those sharks swimming?

Look at the personality and character make-up first

To sum up, if you’re hiring a sales manager look at personality and character  make-up first and sales results second…you’ll thank yourself later.

Richard Garvey is the owner of Sales Results Fast, a Minneapolis, MN based  sales training and consulting firm. He has been featured in articles of the  Minneapolis/St Paul Business Journal and works with companies from a hundred  thousand dollars to a hundred million dollars in annual revenue. Sales Results  Fast offer engaging and interactive classroom training, sales team consulting  and building, and individual coaching.

Set more appointments, close more sales and make more money. You can start  today with our classroom training. Read what our raving fans have to say about  us at http://www.salesresultsfast.com/raves or for information on  classes and event schedules please visit us at:
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There’s no longer any question that digital has a seat at the advertising table, although the dollars spent there don’t yet compare to the money spent on traditional media like television.

According to Q3 2011 research from media buying solutions provider STRATA, clients are becoming just as focused on digital media as they are on spot TV. US ad agencies reported 34% of clients were thinking most about online advertising in Q3, compared with 24% the previous quarter. Meanwhile, the number of clients whose primary focus was on spot TV dropped from 41% to an almost-even 35%.

The online marketing tactics in use by the agencies surveyed did not change much, with online display, search and social media coming out on top, their usage rates stable from quarter to quarter. On social media, similarly, priorities remained the same, with Facebook, YouTube and Twitter the clear leaders, though LinkedIn, in fourth position, gained ground.

The number of agencies purchasing mobile advertising for their clients also stayed relatively stable, at 23%, but the types of ads they were creating began to change. In Q3, display advertising took an even larger lead over SMS. More than half of agencies said they are now creating more mobile display ads for their clients than other mobile formats, compared to just 16% of agencies that are still mostly creating SMS ads.

The mobile devices being targeted by those ads were changing, too. Agencies cut their interest in BlackBerry by half between Q2 and Q3, according to STRATA. Still, Android-targeted efforts lagged behind iOS-focused ones.

eMarketer forecasts display will take 33% of mobile ad dollars in 2012, pushing it ahead of SMS and even with mobile search spending. It also estimates that the iPhone will lose its spot as the No. 1 smartphone in America by the end of this year, when Android’s share will far surpass it.

For complete data charts and story, go to e-Marketer.com

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By Xavier A. Rault

Once upon a time, women managed the family finances, making decisions about  home purchases, clothing, food and other necessary items. If a store owner  provided poor service, there wasn’t much the customer could do. She might gossip  with the neighbors about it, or perhaps discuss it over a cup of coffee. But  ultimately, there was little competition for the store owner’s goods and the  complaints of one person had little impact. Life and profits – for the store  owner went on as usual.

Technology has changed the face of consumerism 

Fast forward to 2007. Technology has changed the face of consumerism,  empowering shoppers to be smarter, more demanding and more resourceful.

With  literally hundreds of retailers providing the same products at similar pricing,  today’s consumers have endless options and can tailor purchases based not just  on price or product availability, but on other variables like return policies,  ease of online purchasing and payment options.

Anger a customer today, and chances are the news will spread like wildfire  through YouTube, Myspace, Yelp, Angieslist and Amazon, as consumers “take to the  airwaves” to let other unsuspecting shoppers know of their experience.

According  to iProspect and Jupiter Research, 25 % of the U.S. population visits sites like  these at least once each month, sharing complaints and compliments about  retailers with other shoppers.

People rely on recommendations of other customers

In an online retail world where products can’t be  touched and the store owner has been replaced with a web page and Shopping Cart,  people have come to rely on the recommendations of other customers. Like the  shot heard “˜round the world, consumer complaints can and do make a  difference.

In just the past ten years, technology has turned most of us into savvy  Internet shoppers and driven prices downward, as consumers are able to purchase  24/7 and have their purchases delivered immediately. While this ability does not  negate the need for the human touch, many experts believe today’s technology is  just the tip of the iceberg.

Al Myers, senior vice president of TNS Retail Forward Inc., believes that  “for those consumers and companies who can handle it, technology will continue  to improve the whole proposition. It has to, because the industry can’t find  enough people, train enough people and the customer isn’t willing to pay for  better service when a competitor has it for a lower price.

Service with people makes it harder to compete

We’re not saying the  trusted salesperson will be replaced at Saks, Neiman’s or Nordstrom’s, but in  most of retail, providing service with people is going to make it harder for  them to compete.” Myers concluded, “It won’t be long before we are scanning  entire grocery carts and paying for its contents with a thumbprint. Mirrors will  send images to friends from dressing rooms, replacing the salesperson with the  vested interest in telling you it looks good.”

As retailers move from bricks  and mortar locations to Internet-driven environments, the balance between  operational needs and profits and customer demand for low prices and excellent  service will continue to be a difficult one. But will the customer experience  improve for those retailers who struggled with it to begin with?

As Myers noted, “The same companies that provide bad customer service will  provide bad technology and vice versa.”

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By Roses Mark

Due to arrival of Social Media everything has altered. An online community of  Twitter or Facebook users can make or break your business with their mobile  platforms. Your company or service may be getting hundreds or thousands of good  or bad reviews on the new mobile sites like Gowalla or Foursquare. Social  Network management is growing exponentially.

Social Media tools help integrate activities

It’s in a more efficient manner manages outbound & inbound interactions  along with other small business marketing activities. They rationalize and  strengthen how to participate in significant conversation happening around in  different platforms like blogs, networks, and other public or private web  communities and sites.

SMM tools also helps you integrate activities with your other business  marketing campaigns. Here are five tools that can make your life easier:

1. TweetDeck

TweetDeck is your best (free) tool if you’re looking to administer all your  personal social profiles. TweetDeck allows you to connect across Twitter,  Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Foursquare and Google Buzz. You can update all or  specific networks with the same status at one time.

TweetDeck is probably best when dealing with four or five accounts at a time,  though the dashboard is generally easy to use.

2. CoTweet

CoTweet is a brilliant tool for small businesses or division of larger  businesses that thrive social media duties among team members and have a  customer-service approach to engagement.

CoTweet allows follow-up messages to be assigned to specific managers. This  can make responses more pertinent as team members with upbeat knowledge bases  can handle appropriate questions and comments from followers.

3. HootSuite

HootSuitefree version allows you to add five networks and supports Facebook,  Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare, MySpace, PingFm and WordPress.

HootSuite is best for actively-managed accounts because its design focuses on  streams, which are housed in customizable tabs. You have the elasticity to  organize tabs by account, network or content, making it easier to monitor a  definite type of feed.

4. Spredfast

Spredfast has everything you need for agencies managing social media with  high ROI demands.

Its biggest advantage over other SMM tools is analytics. Measurement is  determined by the amount of content distributed, how many people were reached  and whether the intended audience was engaged.

5. Engage 121

Engage121 is best in its class at encircling monitoring, broadcasting and  engagement.

The tool is extremely customizable and can support just about any site with a  community presence. Permissions may be set to allow & approve a message from  corporate before it is distributed to area followers, maintaining a local voice & brand consistency at the same time.

The process needs be sustained to maximize opportunities

In conclusion, follow these procedures and you will be successful in social  networking and marketing that will drive profits in your business. Using  networks includes making use of a process. Therefore, you need to remember to do  this on a regular basis so that you take full advantage and attract more  followers in the future.

Roses Mark is a Social Media enthusiast and an Internet entrepreneur. Spent  over 10 years working professionally with Internet business employers worldwide,  he frequently writes articles involving new-age, social media and personal  motivation. You can find him all around the web via Facebook, Google & on  Twitter as @Socialcubix

Men in the cosmetics industry are savvier with online networking than women,  but would you believe the reverse is true in the fields of ranching and  tobacco?

Although those statements may seem counterintuitive, that’s exactly what the  surprised data researchers discovered recently after analyzing the activities  and networking ratios of LinkedIn’s 100 million members worldwide. These same  members are 97 times more likely to have a college degree and 80% more likely to  influence business decisions at their company. Does that sound like the kind of  people you’d like to connect with?

LinkedIn: the way to stay connected with people in your professional life

Since ancient times people have used networking as a way to move ahead in  their business and personal lives. Launched in May 2003, LinkedIn is the 21st  century’s way to stay connected and connect with people in your professional  life whether you are looking for a job, doing research on people or companies or  just want to have a safety net of contacts should you need to make changes in  your career.

If you Google LinkedIn you’ll find hundreds of articles on how to join, why  it’s a good tool along with the features and benefits. In this brief article I  will assume you are already a member and touch on the do’s and don’ts of using  it.

What to do

• To look as professional as possible, complete your profile 100%. As you  fill in the information it will tell you how complete your profile is and taking  the time to fill out all the areas will give you the best results.

• Add a professional looking picture so people can see what you look like.  Make it a recent picture and although not required, this will make you more  personable and looks better than the blank space that will automatically  populate if you don’t have one.

• The Summary is where you can highlight what makes you unique from the 100  million other members. Take some time and think of it as your:30 second elevator  speech. This will be one of the first things people see and needs to stand out  and help them remember who you are and why they should care.

• Be accurate in all of the information you post. This is your online resume  and it’s important your work experience, job titles and employment dates are all  correct.

• To stand out, fill in those sections that most don’t: what books you are  reading, a link to your blog if you write one, a link to you or your company’s  website (if applicable) and recommendations you may get from colleagues and  friends.

What Not To Do

• Don’t put a picture of you with friends or with a drink in hand, alcoholic  or not. If you show up for an interview and you look drastically different then  the picture it can create doubt about the rest of your profile.

• Don’t lie. As with any of the social media venues you never know who is  looking at your profile and misinformation of any kind will eventually be  discovered and it could lead to consequences that won’t play out well.

• Don’t list any sort of personal information on your profile. Home  addresses, social security numbers and year of birth could open you up to  identity theft and there is no business reason to add them.

• Don’t spam your contacts with business offers or MLM schemes. Don’t ask to  connect with others unless you have a valid business reason and don’t share your  thoughts moment by moment. This isn’t Twitter or Facebook and your connections  most likely don’t care that you are going to bed or attending a birthday party  for your best friend.

Keep your business and personal lives separate

Remember, LinkedIn is a network for people to connect professionally. Keep  your business and personal lives separate and remember the people on LinkedIn  are typically more affluent, better educated with higher household incomes. Your  profile is out there for the world to see, literally, so make sure what others  see is a true reflection of your career and professional interests.

I work with my customers to evaluate their promotional marketing needs and  develop creative and measurable solutions based on those needs. I build  long-term relationships to become a trusted advisor my clients turn to for their  brand extension, promotional product, incentive and other branding needs.  Contact me at stephen.woodburn@staplespromoproducts.com