"Take advantage of the opportunity of a lifetime, during the lifetime of the opportunity!" I use this phase in my keynote program on Gourmet Living; I have coined it as a "Thoreson Theorem." In each of our lives we all have special times or events that open the door to unique opportunities. They maybe a business that's taking off and bringing great rewards, or it could be a special time to share with old friends or relatives. The key takeaway of the phase is to recognize the time factor and the act of "taking advantage."
Many times, I have noticed people not recognizing how little they have in their lives or failing to take action -- these people simply exist. While we can't live our lives over again, we do have the freedom to do over the way we live our lives. For instance, Domino's pizza recently faced quality-control issues and it is now "doing over" its recipes and services. More
Posted by Ken Thoreson on July 29, 20110 comments
As I finalize a program for a client of mine, I thought I might share some of my thoughts on sales training. While Acumen isn't a sales-training firm, as a sales leadership consulting firm, we get actively involved in designing course work and helping sales managers develop their sales training programs. Regular blog readers know we believe that sales managers should plan their sales-training programs on a quarterly basis, listing dates, times, topics and individuals responsible. Today, I wanted to share another important aspect in salesperson development. More
Posted by Ken Thoreson on July 22, 20110 comments
Ah, summer. The Fourth of July came and went with parades, fireworks and many family and community get-togethers.
On Saturday, we spent the evening on the dock, cooling off with frequent swims and feeling the light breeze off the lake. At about 6 p.m. I went up to the kitchen and took out my pizza stone and made a pizza (pepperoni, mushrooms, two kinds of cheeses, fresh basil and Italian seasoning). We finished it off as the sun was setting behind the hills of East Tennessee. More
Posted by Ken Thoreson on July 05, 20110 comments
Did you know that when you lose a salesperson, it costs you four times what you paid that person during their employment? These costs include not only salary, but benefits, lost sales/profits, time of management support, training costs and, in many cases, lost market presence and bad company image with repeated new salespeople calling on the same accounts. (If you want the entire formula, send me an e-mail at [email protected] and I will send it to you)
A recent Wall Street Journal column showed a graph depicting the level of discontent among workers who are "seriously considering leaving their jobs." They surveyed 2,400 workers and compared a study from 2005 to 2010 showing the percentages of discontent. More
Posted by Ken Thoreson on July 01, 20110 comments
First let me state this: I did not write this week's blog.
As sales leaders we have three things we must focus on: The role we play, the strategic side of our job, and the day-to-day tactics. The story below describes what the role of our jobs are -- that is, the culture and motivational aspects of sales leadership. I believe reading it will help every salesperson fight through the tough times and mental challenges we face every day. More
Posted by Ken Thoreson on June 27, 20110 comments
As I was refilling my bookshelves, I found the following pointers in a book from Dale Carnegie & Associates (copyright 1967 and updated 1981). All the information is highly pertinent for today's biggest sales management challenges; my whitepaper "The Job of Sales Management" that is located on my Web site is somewhat similar but specific to the job functions of the sales manager.
Successful managers, regardless of what type of organizations they're in, must understand and perform certain functions, concepts and principles to ensure continued success and effectiveness in dealing with their people. The list below reviews management's role in building a high-performance organization. At your next management meeting, I recommend sharing this with your entire management team and discussing how each person is working to accomplish the various suggestions below. More
Posted by Ken Thoreson on June 17, 20110 comments
LAS VEGAS, NEV. -- I have spent the last three days and nights in Las Vegas on vacation prior to speaking at a conference later this week. During this time, I toured a few new hotels, saw a show, dined at great restaurants, viewed the Grand Canyon and visited Hoover Dam. If you haven't been here recently, it's a great spot to visit. However, two things hit me:
- The recession has really affected the area. It's No. 1 in foreclosures, with supposedly more to come; it has the highest unemployment rate in the nation; and some of the hotels and casinos are starting to close! More
Posted by Ken Thoreson on June 06, 20110 comments
On a recent Monday afternoon, I found out that the painters were coming on Wednesday. That meant I had to clean out my office, shuffle furniture around and make room for them to paint the walls.
One of the actions I took was unload three large oak bookcases, each with three to five shelves full of various business, sales and sales management books I have collected over 20-plus years, in addition to various three-ring binders from training programs I had attended or created for our workshops. Most were dusty. More
Posted by Ken Thoreson on June 03, 20110 comments
During the past three weeks, I have visited three partner organizations, each of varying revenue, products/services offered and operational effectiveness. I also had a wonderful conversation with a fourth organization discussing new-hire on-boarding issues, profitability and lead management. All of these organizations had some challenges and various management frustrations in common.
One of the great opportunities I have had over the past 20-plus years is to work with, speak to and consult with hundreds of organizations. This has given me a great level of knowledge on which to base my consulting recommendations and to create the variety of tools that are used by thousands of individuals. More
Posted by Ken Thoreson on May 27, 20110 comments
Generally, most sales teams have until the end of June to achieve their quarterly objectives. These objectives are measured as quota attainment, headcount, CRM utilization or even certain levels of training accomplishment. As sales leaders, your quota achievement could be based upon either "revenue or invoiced dollars" or "booked or sales dollars." If you are focused on achieving your quarterly objectives, time is running out.
If you are evaluated on a revenue/invoiced dollar value, then your sales orders must be in the system with enough time to ship your products and deliver your services. If you are evaluated upon booked orders, you have somewhat of an advantage. It's May 17 -- there are 32 business days left until June 30 (taking into account Memorial Day). Are you on target? How will you maximize your time and that of your sales team to ensure you exceed your second quarter objectives? More
Posted by Ken Thoreson on May 17, 20110 comments
Last week, after I spoke at a conference, an attendee mentioned to me that she really enjoyed the topic, "Why Winners Win." It's also one of my favorite parts of the keynote, and the four points I make in it consolidate many of my own personal beliefs. I thought I would share them with you today.
Point 1: Winners create optimism. One reason is they dare to dream what others can't imagine. In the past, sociologists told us that you needed talent or hunger to succeed and win. In one study of highly talented individuals, researchers found that those who were successful had an additional ingredient: optimism. Not a simple happy-go-lucky feeling, but a real attitude that good things will happen. You can develop this attribute by focusing on the positives of life. More
Posted by Ken Thoreson on May 13, 20110 comments
This week's blog is unique. First, I'm excited to announce that our blog was recently rated No. 19 out of the top 50 sales blogs in the United States. This list is a great resource any salesperson or sales manager -- check it out. Second, I want to make you aware of an exciting five-day event (May 9-13), the "2011 Sales and Marketing Success Conference."
As the most ambitious online event of its type ever staged, this conference will have 35 sessions about succeeding, winning and exceeding expectations, presented by some of the world's top sales experts. More
Posted by Ken Thoreson on April 29, 20110 comments