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Category September 11, 2009 See the 2012 edition: 10 Must Read Blogs for Entrepreneurs (2012 Edition)
10 Blogs Entrepreneurs Need to Be Reading | |
Make the Most of Your Sales Call - Lynette Ryals
by Lynette Ryals | 11:05 AM June 29, 2012 Over the last decade, the world of business-to-business selling has changed beyond recognition. Face-to-face, transactional selling is dead; where customers want to do transactional business, it is far more effective for both buyer and seller to use the Internet or telephone. Increasingly, customers resent having to spend time in sales calls purely to make standard transactions, and some customers are even beginning to measure the cost of spending their time in this way.
by Ben Dattner | 3:16 PM March 27, 2012 You might remember the FedEx commercial "Stolen Idea" . A boss asks his team for cost-cutting ideas and a young staffer suggests opening a FedEx.com account. Everyone is silent. The boss then repeats the suggestion, without crediting the staffer, and the rest of the team congratulates him on his brilliance. The commercial is funny because it reveals an all-too-common dynamic in team meetings: misallocation of credit (or blame).
Give Credit Where It's Due - Ben Dattner
by Daniel Gulati | 3:33 PM May 10, 2012 The professional world is powered by favors — busy individuals helping those in their extended networks land highly contested roles, get feedback on ideas, or connect with influencers, typically without the expectation of either compensation or reciprocation. I've been on the receiving end of many professional favors , the givers of which I'm deeply indebted to. I believe that in today's world, if you don't ask, you don't get, and that's why I'm more than happy to extend favors, large and small, to others whenever I possibly can.
When Someone Asks You for a Favor - Daniel Gulati
by Peter Bregman | 3:29 PM May 31, 2012 It had been three weeks since my throat started to feel sore, and it wasn't getting better. The pain was most acute when I spoke. So I decided to spend a few days speaking as little as possible.
How to Speak More Strategically - Peter Bregman
89 Simple Swaps That Could Change Your Life
Whole grains for white, quality for quantity, Wii Fit for Mario Kart— just one smart swap can lead the way to a healthier and happier life. We decided to go all out and provide 89 “this for that’s,” so there are no excuses when it comes to making healthier choices! See Also: 54 Unexpected Ways to Hack Your Health
Skip the Phone Support Queue by Calling Sales and Acting Confused
Apps like FastCustomer and LucyPhone can wait on hold for you, but when they're not an option there's a trick you can use for skipping the queue: just call sales line instead and act confused. Because companies essentially exist to make money, they're generally going to have a larger staff available to help with sales calls. That means less people are available for customer support and you're stuck with longer wait times. For this reason, you can often expedite your support call by simply calling the sales line instead. At the very least this will prevent you from dealing with the telephone tree as you can ask the sale rep to transfer you to the proper department. In some cases, if you act confused, you can request that the sales rep stay on the line with you until you get to the correct department.(Photo: Ruthie Hansen) There’s a new iPad app for parents to incentivize children to do chores. HighScore Hou se!
How to Get Your Kid to Do Chores
All Hail the Stand-Up Meeting!
(Photo: petecocoon) I’m so pleased to see that stand-up meetings are gaining ground (or at least exposure, in the Wall Street Journal ). I am on the record as someone who dislikes meetings in general ; I also work much of the day standing up (at a great adjustable desk that Ikea unfortunately no longer makes). As Rachel Silverman writes:Driving Tips to Save Gas - Save Gas This Summer
Tactic No. 1: Coast to a Stop Brakes are necessary (duh!), but they're inherently wasteful: They take the kinetic energy of a moving car—energy it took pricey gasoline to generate—and turn it into heat that's lost to the air. Everyone knows that accelerating until the last moment then braking hard to stop is less efficient than slowly coasting to a red light. But PM's test data (illustrated below) prove what a huge difference coasting makes. The lesson: Whenever possible, anticipate that a light will turn red and ease off the gas.