August 11th, 2008 by Brian Cors
Without the right tools, navigating the files on your PC is like trying to navigate a rowboat across the Atlantic Ocean. There’s simply too much information, too many files and too little time to find what you’re looking for using the built-in file management tools that Windows provides (ever tried using Explorer’s “search” function to find a phrase within a file? Might as well take a lunch break while it’s processing!).
I have two software tools that I use every day to help me manipulate files and find information: VCOM’s PowerDesk and Google Desktop Search.
PowerDesk’s single most useful feature is its dual-pane folder manager…
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July 29th, 2008 by Brian Cors
The handwritten note is becoming a lost art. Within ten short years, we’ve become an email culture, addicted to its ease-of-use and the speed with which emails can be composed1 and delivered to its recipients.
Today, we are overwhelmed with emails and mass-produced marketing materials. In this sea of non-personal communications, the handwritten note stands heads-and-shoulders above the crowd. The handwritten note conveys heartfelt emotion like no other medium, and has the highest chance of being read by its recipient.
I remember several years back when my father – then a senior executive at Corning – described what was perhaps the most distinguishing trait of its then-current CEO, Amo Houghton. Despite Amo’s extremely busy schedule, he would take the time to craft handwritten notes that he would send to customers, colleagues and employees. The impact was palpable. Recipients clearly knew that Amo had taken the time to craft a personal note customized just for them. What a great way to motivate and leave a lasting impression!
Today’s salespeople who are looking to stand above the crowd should incorporate the handwritten note into their repertoire. There are numerous occasions for which a handwritten note is the perfect communication vehicle. They’re great for expressing gratitude when you’ve gotten together with someone or recently obtained a new customer. They are also an ideal accompaniment to an article that you’re sending to a business associate.
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July 16th, 2008 by Brian Cors
CorsPro deals with lots of companies who are resellers of technology such as business telephone systems and computer networks. Many times, the “proposal” efforts of these companies are restricted to schedules of equipment that place the focus on pricing, resulting far too often in customer buying decisions that are based on the best price available and – at the end of the day – low-margin sales.
Companies can use proposals to differentiate themselves from the competition and increase margins by focusing on two basic areas within their proposals:
- The benefit(s) to the customer provided by the proposed hardware/software solution.
- The benefit(s) to the customer provided by the company implementing the proposed solution.
If your company competes in a market where many (or most) of the products or services that you offer are also offered by your competitors – which is probably the case with most companies – then it’s the second area that can truly set you apart from your competition.
How can you go about crafting benefits-oriented proposal template documents? We recommend starting the process by mapping the features that your products, services and company provide against the business benefits provided by those features. For example, a “starter” benefits map for a company selling customer relationship management (CRM software solutions might look something like this (click to enlarge)…
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July 3rd, 2008 by Brian Cors
In many organizations, there is a resistance from sales people to use CRM (customer relationship management) software tools to track and manage customer contact and interaction information. The most common complaint is that the software has been implemented by management as a means of spying on the activities of the salespeople.
While in some cases this may be true, best-in-class CRM implementations focus first on the needs of the users – not management – and most particularly on the needs of the sales people. Such software can benefit salespeople directly in many ways, enabling them to become more effective and productive in their day-to-day sales activities.
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June 20th, 2008 by Brian Cors
I’m losing confidence in email marketing as a primary means of communicating with customers and prospects. Email inboxes are way too full and – despite the best efforts of spam blockers1 – replete with unwanted spam that dilutes the impact of legitimate emails.
All that being said, email marketing is still the least-expensive marketing vehicle available. It’s great for customers and prospects who are already interested in what you have to say (or offer) so that they can stay abreast of your offerings and opinions. To keep them interested in receiving your emails, you must first provide your readers with helpful ideas and information; selling what you have to offer should be a secondary focus.
destinationCRM.com recently published a nice article with 8 tips for sucessful email marketing. They recommend that companies…
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June 7th, 2008 by Brian Cors
The Aberdeen Group has published an interesting white paper entitled “New Approaches to Sales Methodologies and CRM” that discusses the integration of sales methodologies within CRM (customer relationship management) software solutions.
CRM software has always been a great way of tracking customer contact information, customer interaction activities and sales opportunities. However, in many instances organizations are using CRM software to track this information more as a static snapshot of what has happened in the past.
The Aberdeen Group proposes that by integrating sales methodologies within a CRM solution, the CRM solution becomes more of a “dynamic participant” in the sales process by driving sales people through a shared sales process with defined steps and milestones. They propose two ways in which methodologies can improve sales effectiveness and efficiency: opportunity optimization and sales process optimization.
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May 25th, 2008 by Brian Cors
Are you stuck in a creative rut, either as an individual or as a team? Does your linear thinking stifle your capability to come up with breakthrough ideas?
Unleash your creativity using a concept called “mind mapping.” Around since the 1960s, the concept of mind mapping utilizes several elements within the brain to stimulate more creative thinking. Mind maps combine words, images, colors, numbers, logic and graphical relationships to encourage non-linear, visual approaches to thinking and solving problems. The Mind Map Book by Tony and Barry Buzan (see our review) explains the scientific reasoning behind the approach, and provides examples of how mind mapping can be used for different purposes.
Until a few years ago, mind mapping was just a curiosity to me. For those (like me) who are artistically challenged, a graphical approach to thinking presents some challenges when those graphics must be hand-drawn. Moreover, hand drawings are very difficult to modify; adding content to a mind map generally requires squeezing in the new information using teeny-tiny print. Finally, for a person like me who likes to store (and back up) every piece of information electronically, hand-drawn mind maps don’t fit well into my filing methodology.
MindManager – developed by a company called Mindjet – eliminates all of the shortcomings of hand-drawn mind maps, and provides capabilities that extend mind mapping way beyond what could be done by hand.
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May 12th, 2008 by Brian Cors
In its March 20, 2006 issue, Fortune magazine interviewed several individuals renowned for their incredible productivity. Instead of focusing on productivity theories, the article’s authors spent significant time with each person to determine their day-to-day activities and how they really spent their time.
Each individual had their own approach to optimizing productivity and how they managed their day. I was able to read all of the profiles and glean good ideas from each of them. Some of the profiles also revealed bad productivity practices (in my opinion), but at least they allowed me to pick and choose what works for me.
What did they all have in common? As high-profile individuals, they are all over-saturated with information and requests for time. What differentiates them is their ability to focus on what’s important.
Some of the key highlights for me include the following:
- Meetings on a single-topic should be strictly limited to 90 minutes, with 50% of the time reserved for presentation and the rest for discussion (from Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Renault and Nissan).
- Determine the time of day when you do your best thinking and schedule that time to tackle activities requiring the heaviest-duty thinking (also from Carlos Ghosn).
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April 29th, 2008 by Brian Cors
Several years back (1993 to be specific), Tony and Barry Buzan wrote a landmark book regarding the concept of mind mapping, which is a graphical technique for boosting creativity, decision-making and other “thinking” activities. Although somewhat dated, the book has become relevant again because of several mind mapping software applications that have recently been developed (and reviewed elsewhere on this site).
The Mind Map Book complements these software packages by explaining the scientific basis for mind mapping. It also explains the philosophical approach to mind maps in general, along with specific approaches to different situations where mind mapping could be applied (e.g., note taking, problem solving, memorization).
The book starts out by describing the “amazing brain” and how our normal linear approach to thinking stifles our creative capacity. The book proposes that “randiant thinking” is the natural approach to thinking. After all, the brain’s synaptic connections don’t proceed in a linear fashion, but rather connect in a web-like or randiant fashion whereby a central thought conjures multiple associations and connections, which in turn conjure multiple associations that continue to branch out.
Mind mapping techniques reflect the randiant thinking concept. The mind mapper places the central idea at the center of a map and “radiates” ideas graphically as a series of branches that emanate from the central idea. More detailed thoughts for each of the main branches can then be addressed by adding branches that are attached to the first-level branches. As many levels of detail can be added to the mind map simply by connecting new, lower-level branches to higher-level branches.
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April 16th, 2008 by Brian Cors
At the end of the day or the week, do you often ask yourself “what have I really accomplished?” The reality is that you’ve probably accomplished lots of tasks. But you probably haven’t completed the tasks that help you to achieve your most important personal and professional goals. Why? Most likely, it’s a lack of FOCUS.
As humans, we naturally gravitate toward pursuing activities that fall into one of two categories. We do what’s easy and comfortable, or we pursue the “shiny object” that’s fun and exciting but, truth be told, is truly beyond our reach or doesn’t help us achieve our critical goals.
Companies fall into these same traps. They continue to plod along, doing the things that are easy and comfortable. Companies are also tempted by the “shiny object,” pursuing strategies that other companies have found successful or that are “hot” at the moment. Similar to the “what have I really accomplished” question that individuals ask themselves, companies find themselves asking: “where did the money go?” Often, in the end, it’s the lack of focus that has drained the company’s coffers.
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