How customers' needs should figure into your compensation planning

Reading this on a mobile device? Try our optimized mobile version here: http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dygmCcrEfWCcrjiLCidbcTBWcNtKLd

March 5, 2012 CONNECT WITH SMARTBRIEF Share | Sign up | Archive | Advertise The Leaderboard    4 signs there's leadership in your blood Some people feel drawn to leadership, and they would want to do it even if the financial benefits involved went away, Dave Logan writes. "Leaders lead because they can do no other." One way to determine if you are one of these people is to re-examine your e-mails and other writings for signs, he writes. CBS MoneyWatch (2/29)      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. Sales Strategies  The connection between your team's morale and its performance If your sales team isn't meeting its goals, representatives should be upset, writes Dave Kurlan. "You want them to feel good about the company and themselves, but don't overcompensate when they fail to perform or you'll find them falling even further behind," he writes. Also, when your team isn't performing up to expectations, you must avoid making incorrect assumptions about what the problem is, he cautions. OMGHub.com/Understanding the Sales Force blog (3/2)      How customers' needs should figure into your compensation planning Just as companies are accounting for customer buying cycles in their sales processes, businesses should also consider their customers when developing sales-compensation plans, writes Ryan Tognazzini. To accomplish this, survey your customers about what they want from the sales force, and then figure out a way to make sure representatives meet these desires. Sales Benchmark Index/Sales Force Effectiveness Blog (3/2)      Customer needs will drive the sales-marketing alliance A strong CEO might be able to get sales to align with marketing, but it's unlikely to happen on its own, writes David Brock. More likely, the impetus will be market-driven, propelled by customers who are tired of companies that waste their time and are seeking a "seamless customer experience." Partners in Excellence Blog (3/3)      Daily Data Points    U.S. wages increase; consumer spending expected to follow American paychecks increased $197.3 billion in the third and fourth quarters of 2011, which should help to bump up consumer spending and boost the economy, experts say. It was the largest six-month increase in wages and salaries since March 2007. "Consumers have a lot more firepower than we thought," said Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank Securities. "We should see stronger consumption over the course of the year. Things are moving in the right direction." Bloomberg (3/2)      Other News Ad sales volume uncertain as Internet mounts challenge MediaPost Communications/On Media blog (3/2)      China scales back its target for 2012 GDP growth to 7.5% Xinhuanet.com (China) (3/5) Bloomberg (3/5)      Institute for Supply Management index dropped unexpectedly in February Reuters (3/1)      How can you help your company get well sooner? Visa Healthcare cards reduce paperwork, reimbursement checks and mailing costs, making your job go faster and more streamlined. They also provide employees convenient access to health-benefit funds, which means happier employees and increased enrollment. Visit visa.com/healthcare to learn more. Strategies from Sales & Marketing Management    Success starts by showing your team "RESPECT" Research has shown that happy employees help cultivate happy customers. Authors Jack Wiley and Brenda Kowske have created what they call a RESPECT Index that shows how businesses can make their employees happy and profit from their satisfaction. Sales & Marketing Management (2/28)      Is Your Business Listed Correctly Online? Online business listings give you the ability to get found by millions of potential customers online. If your listings are missing or incorrect then you're costing yourself business. Check to see how your business is listed by using our scan. On the Road  Cutting through the complexity of frequent-flier programs The number of frequent-flier miles is at a staggering all-time high, yet many airline rewards program members are feeling low because of the complexity of the plans and a scarcity of seats. Savvy fliers can cut through the craziness by calling in the cavalry, the rewards program specialists who can get you in a free seat ... for a price. The Seattle Times (2/29)      Earn 2X rewards points on advertising costs with The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN. Designed to earn Membership Rewards® points faster: • 3X points on airfare • 2X points on advertising, gas, shipping • 1X points on everything else LEARN MORE AND APPLY App Update  Why you should consider getting a BlackBerry Apple and Droid smartphones may get all the attention, but there are still some advantages to the BlackBerry, writes Lynn Greiner. BlackBerrys may have better battery life and their keyboards are ideal for high-volume users. Also, BlackBerry has built in strong security features. The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (3/1)      Most Read  Top five news stories selected by SmartBrief on Sales readers in the past week. Top iPad apps for sales organizations (MarketingProfs) Stop tolerating your worst-performing reps (Sales Benchmark Index) 5 ways to help your reps achieve their full potential (SalesTrainingConnection.com) 6 tips for boosting your own leadership skills (KevinEikenberry.com) How an upbeat attitude can make you a better leader (ArtPetty.com) Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers. Featured Content    Entrepreneurship's Leading Ladies: 9 Inspiring Businesswomen Scott Gerber What Employees Really Want-and 4 Ways to Deliver it Rieva Lesonsky 3 Reasons Effective Design Plays a Role in Your Success Matt Mickiewicz Non-Scientists Use Business Savvy to Launch Med-Tech Product Susan Kuchinskas Change the Bra or Change the Job? Courtney Rubin Most Popular Headlines from Last Week 5 Things Women Should Never Say When Negotiating Katie Morell Why You Lose VCs at "Hello" Courtney Rubin 17 Best Tools and Apps for Building New Habits and Goals TJ McCue Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers. Making Small Talk  U.K. teenager finds winning lottery tickets while cleaning his room A U.K. teenager discovered that he had won the lottery after finding some old tickets in his room. He found the tickets while cleaning, and he was about to throw them away before he thought better of it. "[A]t the last minute I got this strange feeling that I should get them checked," he said. He won about $84,000. The Telegraph (London) (3/1)      Position Title Company Name Location Sales Engineer WSI Hamamatsu Corporation San Diego or San Jose, CA Senior Sales Manager Mariott International Washington, DC Click here to view more job listings. SmartQuote  You need to know if you are called to leadership. If you are, acting on the call will benefit you, your family, and most of all, the people you lead. If you're not, you'll be wasting your time, frustrating people, deluding yourself, and neglecting some other call that is your true path." --Dave Logan, author of "Tribal Leadership" and "The Three Laws of Performance," writing at CBS MoneyWatch      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! Accounting Advertising Automotive Aviation & Aerospace Biotechnology Business Chemicals Construction & Real Estate Consumer Packaged Goods Distribution Education Energy Finance Food Service Health Care Insurance Legal Manufacturing Media & Entertainment Nonprofit Retail Technology Telecommunications Travel & Hospitality   This SmartBrief was created for cpgbrokers@gmail.com Subscriber Tools SIGNUP   SEND FEEDBACK   E-MAIL THIS BRIEF Today's Brief - Permalink | Update account information | Change e-mail address | Unsubscribe | Print friendly format | Web version | Privacy policy Advertise Sales Director:  Jim Pataki (212) 450-1682 Job Board:  Jackie Basso (202) 407-7871   SmartBrief Community: Most Clicked Facebook Twitter Publish your Press Release Who's Hiring LinkedIn Get this RSS Feed Search Archive About Download a SmartBrief Mobile app today     Recent SmartBrief on Sales Issues: Friday, March 02, 2012 Thursday, March 01, 2012 Wednesday, February 29, 2012 Tuesday, February 28, 2012 Monday, February 27, 2012     Lead Editor:  Brooke Howell       Mailing Address: SmartBrief, Inc.®, 555 11th ST NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20004     © 1999-2012 SmartBrief, Inc.® Legal Information