I have been known to use the phrase, “Lipstick on a pig.” So this blog post on Sales Enablement below got my attention. Check it out: Is Sales Enablement just Lipstick on a Knowledge Management Pig?
My first exposure to chilled coffee drinks was the ubiquitous Cold Coffee in Australia. I was on a backpack trip and could not stomach the stuff. I was young. What did I know?
Record setting heat in Seattle has brought me back to ice-cold coffee. Like many people out here, we do not have air conditioning. The thermometer has hit 100º+ Fahrenheit. A hot cup on a hot day is just not doing the trick. Iced-coffee is simple to make. Let the French (Freedom) Press steep overnight in the fridge. Serve over ice. It is delicious.
Stay cool.
Like many baseball fans, I was disappointed to learn about this article: Ortiz and Ramirez Said to Be on ’03 Doping List. The intent was never to make this list public; however, it was never destroyed. This list needs to be made public for the good of the game.
I had been fortunate to attend the All Star Game in ’83, ’90, ’01, ’03, ’04, and ’05. My camera was able to catch most of the action in ’04 and ’05. How many All Stars have been tainted in some form by PEDs? Take a look…
Clemens pre-game, 2004 ASG
Manny being Manny, 2004 ASG
Sammy and Bonds, 2004 ASG
Big Papi, 2004 ASG
Eric Gagne, 2004 ASG
Rumors haunt Piazza, 2004 ASG
Migel Tejada, 2005 ASG MVP
Rumors haunt Andruw Jones, 2005 ASG
Alex Rodriguez, 2005 ASG
These are not players on the fringe. These are the best in the game. All Stars. The sad part is that there is likely more. Baseball has reinvented itself time and again. Gambling scandals in the late 19th century were way to common. The American League was started in response to a gambling scandal in the National League. PEDs are a black eye and have tainted the game today. Baseball will endure and survive. Will the MLB?
Recently I was asked about Sales Enablement providers. I knew of a couple but had mainly thought that the whole area was lipstick for sales/marketing content management systems (CMS). What I have since learned while doing some research for a project is that the capabilities of sales enablement have evolved to include market and competitive intelligence as well as insights from the field and subject matter experts.
Worthwhile blog on Sales Enablement @ http://salesenablement.wordpress.com/
Three main Sales Enablement players of interest:
Why this is important to CRM? It will drive user adoption.
Max’s CRM Rule #1: Give Sales a reason to use CRM.
Many companies take great lengths to document and implement support processes. This is good. A documented process can provide metrics. When coupled with cost, it can provide cost per call help determine ROI. There is one support process that almost always goes overlooked and costs companies plenty. Email to the CEO.
Nothing rolls down hill faster than an angry email to the CEO. The actual severity of the issue can vary wildly, and it puts unnecessary strain of time, attention and resources on customer service. Amazingly, this process is rarely, if ever, documented. The costs are tremendous.
Think about what happens to your team when that angry email to your CEO comes down the pipe. What does this cost your company?
Maybe it is the record setting heat in Seattle today, but my mind is wandering over various experiences of my career. “Know your customer” is the mantra.
When you know the customer, good things happen.
– Example, Client A increased user adoption to 70% of total call volume. ROI increase 25% in one quarter.
When you know your customer, you can spot trouble a mile away.
– Example, Client B re-organized and has a new executive sponsor. He has called the ROI model into question.
When you know your customer, the relationship goes beyond business.
– Example, Client C asks for advice on improving the ROI model and photography equipment for his vacation.
The big news today was IBM’s purchase of SPSS. The implications are big in the predictive analytics space and for business intelligence in general.
But there is another reason for this post. Back in 1994, I had interviewed at SPSS. My father suggested I send Jack Noonan a resume directly. It worked. I was in the door and interviewing for an inside sales position. This was 1994. There was a recession. Being a new college graduate, interviews were tough to come by. I was pumped and over anxious. I even remember the receptionist telling me to relax before when I arrived. The face to face went great, and I was asked for a secondary phone screen to test my phone skills. I crushed the interview. I thought. When asked if I had any questions I said simply with overconfidence, “Well, how did I do?”
“You said the word ‘like’ 37 times and the ‘ya knows’ are not what we are looking for.” I was told. I was crushed. Stunned. Deflated. Important lesson. I never forgot it.
Congratulations to Jack Noonan and the SPSS team. Thanks for that lesson many moons ago.
Coverage @ TechCrunch: Monster Merger: IBM Buys SPSS For Approx. $1.2 Billion In Cash Deal
This great example of “Know your customer” was just sent to me.
Check Most expensive javascript ever? at Hallvord R. M. Steen’s blog. Hallvord is on the Opera Core Quality Assurance team.
It is pretty hard to make a simple mistake as big as this. Millions in lost revenue.
Happy Monday.
One of the great baseball traditions happens today at the National Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Cooperstown, New York. I have been fortunate to attend several. Some great road trips and memories with my father. One year we were able to buy tickets to the Hall of Fame game from Carl Hubbell’s son and then later got an autograph from Ted Williams. Even met Fay Vincent and Mel Allen that afternoon. Pretty amazing stuff. If you are any type of baseball fan, plan a trip to the Induction Ceremony at least once.
Congratulations to Jim Rice and Rickey Henderson. Two fantastic players on my prized 1983 All Star Game AL autographed ball.
Because I cannot get enough of the Amazon/Zappos deal, check Read Write Web: Getting the Goods: The New Amazon/Zappos Supply Chain Story.
I touched on some of this via the customer experience lens in my post: Amazon buys Zappos.