How to manage a strong-willed sales staff

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January 16, 2012 CONNECT WITH SMARTBRIEF Share | Sign up | Archive | Advertise The Leaderboard  How to lead like Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a great leader in part because he knew how to channel his anger productively, writes Hitendra Wadhwa. "Great leaders often have a strong capacity to experience anger. ... Without anger, they would not have the awareness or the drive to fix what is wrong," he writes. Inc.com (1/15)      The Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN Spending power for your business. Premium benefits for you. Access a portfolio of 30+ premium benefits, including: • Complimentary Airport Club Access • Annual $200 Airline Fee Credit for any airline • Built-in upgrades at FINE HOTELS & RESORTS Business Platinum Card APPLY NOW Sales Strategies    How to strengthen your relationships with your channel partners It's important to focus on building relationships with your channel partners, writes Drew Zarges. Zarges lists four ways to improve such relationships, such as by going on sales calls with some of your partners' representatives and having your partners work with your manufacturing and marketing departments. Sales Benchmark Index/Sales Force Effectiveness Blog (1/13)      Show prospects the cost of inaction to close the sale To get business-to-business prospects to buy a solution offered by your company, you must show them the costs associated with inaction, writes Bob Apollo. "[T]hey need to come to believe that doing nothing is actually the most expensive -- and risky -- option," he writes. This approach requires that your sales team learn more about the prospect's problem, such as whether the issue has been addressed before, he writes. Inflexion-Point.com (U.K.)/Accelerating Revenue Growth: The Inflexion-Point Blog (1/11)      How to manage a strong-willed sales staff Strong salespeople are often social and adept at resolving issues, but they might also be impulsive and disorganized, Katherine Graham-Leviss writes. To successfully manage these types of professionals, offer coaching on how they can improve without creating strict rules. "Don't ever tell them what they can't do, because they will simply focus their creativity on finding ways to overcome your rules," she advises. Entrepreneur.com (1/12)      Organizational Privacy Architecture and Assessment This checklist for Ecommerce, Web Development and Design, and Direct Marketing professionals enables you to gauge your organization’s privacy compliance and best practice levels. Thousands of companies leave the intricacies of privacy management to TRUSTe, the 13-year-old leader in online privacy. Gain an overview of the program today. Daily Data Points  Report: U.K. manufacturers optimistic about 2012 U.K. manufacturers are worried that a deepening economic crisis, and the possibility of shortages of raw materials could have a negative effect on the sector this year, but four-fifths are optimistic about their own companies' prospects for meeting or exceeding 2011 sales, according to trade group EEF. "Most manufacturers continue to grasp the opportunities in untapped markets for services and in faster-growing emerging markets," said EEF chief economist Lee Hopley. The Guardian (London) (1/15)      Other News Fewer ship deployments in 2012 mark slowdown in economy The Miami Herald (free registration) (1/15)      Consumer confidence beats expectations in January index Bloomberg Businessweek (1/13)      Strategies from Sales & Marketing Management    Why "efficiency" and "sales" rarely appear in the same sentence If you calculated exactly how much time salespeople actually spend on selling, it may shock you that anyone ever gets them to "sign on the line which is dotted," as Alec Baldwin's character in "Glengarry Glen Ross" stated so famously. Author and consultant Neil Mahoney offers some insights on how to enhance your sales team's efficiency, including knowing each member's personality and playing to their strengths. Sales & Marketing Management (1/13)      Out of toner? Need technical support on multiple printer models? Avoid the time-consuming hassle of managing those needs manually. Xerox eConciergeTM delivers automatic alerts when supplies are low, manages online orders and allows you to check shipping status all through a user-friendly desktop interface. Get started today and you could receive a free service reward. On the Road  Federal rule forces airlines to change the way they advertise fares Airlines will have to factor in taxes and fees when they advertise prices under new regulations from the U.S. Transportation Department. Southwest, Allegiant Air and Spirit Airlines have launched a legal challenge against the rule. Richmond Times-Dispatch (Va.)/The Associated Press (1/15)      Other News New hotel search platform to list 80,000 properties by mid-2012 TNooz.com (1/11)      App Update  How touch screens can harm your health Using tablets, smartphones and other devices can hurt your health in unforeseen ways, Franklin Tessler writes. One health risk involves the use of upright touch-screen devices, which can take their toll on your body. "Vertically oriented touchscreen monitors require you to reach forward and lift your arm against gravity, which tires your muscles rapidly," he writes. InfoWorld (1/11)      Most Read    Top five news stories selected by SmartBrief on Sales readers in the past week. 6 ways to impress your CEO (Sales Benchmark Index) 2 things to ask yourself before posting to LinkedIn (SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Social Media) 7 personal-development pairs to boost your leadership largess (Harvard Business Review online) How to tell if your managers' coaching skills are stifling sales (Sales Benchmark Index) Teach an old team to sell new products (Sales Benchmark Index) Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.   Pi Sigma Epsilon is the only national, professional fraternity for college students looking to improve their sales, marketing, and management skills Since our founding in 1952, we’ve impacted the lives of over 50,000 people on campuses across the U.S. To learn more about how we can give you a business advantage for life, visit pse.org   Featured Content    5 Tips for Writing a Good Press Release Carey Jones How Much Would You Pay for a Twitter Follower? Anonymous 4 Ways to Tweet as a Visual Brand Stephanie Buck The Winners and Losers of CES in Las Vegas Steve Kovach Top 7 CES Gadgets for Your Small Business Lauren Drell Most Popular Headlines from Last Week 14 Ways to Make Work More Enjoyable in 2012 Tom Harnish 5 Firefox Add-Ons for Increasing Productivity Zachary Sniderman Plan a "Hack Day" to Boost Morale and Improve Your Business Glen Stansberry Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers. Making Small Talk  Thieves disappointed when "months"-long dig results in a tiny haul Thieves dug a 100-foot tunnel to steal money from a cash machine at a shop in Manchester, England. It could have taken as long as half a year to complete the 4-foot-tall tunnel, but they managed to take only a few thousand pounds. "In all my years of service, I have never seen anything quite as elaborate as this," one official said. The Telegraph (London) (1/13)      Position Title Company Name Location VP, Sales Operations & Pricing TravelClick New York, NY National Sales Manager Hargrove Experience Washington, DC Regional Sales Director Regenesis Biomedical, Inc. Multiple Locations, United States Click here to view more job listings. SmartQuote  If you have employees who are not great at details and writing proposals but they're great at selling, then let them sell. Find someone else to compensate in some way to support them on the detail." --Katherine Graham-Leviss, author of The Perfect Hire: A Tactical Guide to Hiring, Developing and Retaining Top Talent, writing at Entrepreneur.com      SmartBrief on Sales Partners SmartBrief delivers need-to-know news in over 100 targeted email newsletters to over 3 million readers. All our industry briefings are FREE and open to everyone—sign up today! 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