YourSalesManagementGuru by Ken Thoreson, Acumen Management Group
Blog archive
Building the Right Culture in Tough Times
Besides
this blog and my regular
RCP column, I publish a newsletter associated with my company,
Acumen Management Group. In my latest newsletter, I mention the concept of creating a continency plan in case you have not built adequate pipelines/sales/marketing strategies to compete in more challenging environments. We recommended a plan if revenues drop 25 percent for what specific actions you might take. It's a good time to rate/rank each employee in each department, etc.
However the most critical aspects from a leadership position are to:
- Communicate often. Hold monthly employee meetings, send weekly presidential e-mails that address the rumor mill and provide insights into your thinking, and give some positive news.
- Avoid negativity. You need to bring energy to any situation, not drain it. Remember your body language, eye contact, voice and words are being carefully weighed by everyone.
- Take the initiative. Look for actions to take that are meaningful and show your focus.
- Promote teamwork and collaboration. When departments are combined or when you need two departments to work together more closely (sales/delivery), schedule regular meetings to discuss issues and address inefficiencies.
- Confirm all new business priorities and plan to explain/sell them to all employees often.
Have you added this blog to your RSS feed or passed it to a friend? I am looking for ideas that you might want addressed in future articles, blogs or newsletters. Write me or check out my Web site.
Posted by Ken Thoreson on February 13, 2009