8 signs your company can't handle a key account program

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April 12, 2012 CONNECT WITH SMARTBRIEF Share | Sign up | Archive | Advertise The Leaderboard    Find innovation in what customers do, not what they say Customers can't tell you what new products they want because they've never seen them, Douglas Merrill writes. That means focus groups are all but useless, but it's often possible to mine your customers' real-world behavior for inspiration. "There are dozens of examples of where studying user behavior has yielded new products," Merrill writes. Forbes (4/11)       What Every Small-Business Owner Needs To Know For Tax Season Small-business owners can seize many opportunities to reduce their taxes, lower their expenses and invest in employees and equipment this tax season. It’s important to understand the credits, deductions and strategies you can use to help maximize your business’s tax advantages. Download your 2012 Small Business Tax Strategy white paper now, exclusively for SmartBrief readers. Sales Strategies    Sleazy strategies that cut costs and fuel failure Sure, there are plenty of time-honored strategies for getting more work out of your sales team while spending less money, but they aren't going to help you achieve any real success, writes Geoffrey James. You need to forget about sleazy strategies that do nothing but cut necessary costs, such as setting goals no one could possibly meet, trying to disguise more work as a perk and delaying paying sales reps the money they've earned. Inc. online/Sales Source (4/11)       8 signs your company can't handle a key account program When considering whether it is the right time to enact a key account program, you need to investigate the state of your entire organization, writes John Staples. He outlines eight problems that need to be fixed before such a program will be a success, including silo mentality, short-term thinking and lack of buy-in. Sales Benchmark Index/Sales Force Effectiveness Blog (4/9)       How consumers are changing and taking B2B sales with them Changes in consumer behavior tend to foreshadow changes in business behavior to come, writes Donal Daly. B2B companies are setting themselves up for trouble if they ignore these changes and fail to prepare for them because they are going to happen, he explains. "If you're hoping that today will be the day it doesn't change, then I expect you are out of luck, and the best you could hope for is that the rate at which change is happening will find cause for pause, and you might get a chance to catch your breath." Dealmaker365 (4/10)       Leveraging Cloud Security to Weather Threatening Storms Web attacks and retribution campaigns are on the rise, and they have become more frequent, more random and more extreme. This paper assesses the current cyber threat environment and discusses the use of distributed cloud services as an effective means to protect against evolving, modern-day IT threats. Daily Data Points    Workers endorse employment market by quitting More than 2 million U.S. workers quit their jobs in February, the most since November 2008, the Labor Department reported. Workers tend to hang on to jobs in weak labor markets in fear they won't land a new one, say strategists at ConvergEx Group, so the data are a signal of confidence in the economy. The Wall Street Journal/Real Time Economics blog (4/11)       Other News Pew: Policy uncertainty may cost U.S. lead over China in renewables Bloomberg Businessweek (4/11)       Sales Forecasting: Turning Data, Analysis and Process into a Realistic View of your Business's Future - Sales forecasting is often looked upon as a black art. The wide variety of approaches and strategies used for forecasting does little to dispel that view; approaches vary from business to business and from division to division, and can vary from a sales manager's best guess to a process highly reliant on analytics technology. On the Road    6 tips for hassle-free travel There are several techniques you can use to lessen the hassles of traveling. It's a good idea to bring extra batteries, to keep toiletries and other necessities at the ready and to keep copies of important documents, according to experienced travelers. Also, try to find ways to relax, they advise. Inc. online (4/10)       Other News Airlines offer "incredible" options for unredeemed miles CNBC (4/11)       Word-of-mouth can be a salesperson's best friend. Get your customers talking! - Join this April 16 teleconference with WOM legends Andy Sernovitz and Guy Kawasaki on the secrets of buzz for just $35 - and get Sernovitz's book "Word of Mouth Marketing" and Kawaski's e-book "What the Plus!" free. Sign up now! App Update    IT pro explains the difference between cloud, Web apps The main difference between cloud and Web applications is that a cloud app is used to access services via the Internet but doesn't require a working Web browser to operate, IT pro Tajudeen Abubakr writes. On the other hand, Web apps are dependent on Web browsers to be able to run, he explains. TechRepublic/The Enterprise Cloud blog (4/10)       Download our free report “How to Stop Webpage Speed from Killing Your Marketing” and see how decreasing the time it takes to get customers interacting with your online campaign can increase engagement, response, and conversion. SmartPulse    Does your company have a client advisory board? No, and we're not considering it  57.58% Yes  24.24% No, but we're considering it  18.18% Does your company have a key account program? Yes No Relax with the “Beyond Breakfast” package at The Benjamin. Indulge with breakfast for two each morning at celebrity Chef Geoffrey Zakarian's newest restaurant–The National, and enjoy 20% off spa services. Sample our renowned 12-choice pillow menu before dozing off with a satin eye mask for a great night’s sleep. Call 1.866.222.BENJ. Use code BFAST. Featured Content    Which Do You Fear More: Losing Customers-or Your Whole Business? Courtney Rubin How a Real Estate Developer Rode the Economic Roller Coaster Melanie Hicken 9 Easy Ways to Remember Your Presentation Material Bruna Martinuzzi 3 Ways to Make Procrastination Pay Off Rieva Lesonsky Making Small Talk  British woman says poltergeist got her evicted A U.K. woman was evicted from her home after neighbors complained of noise from late-night parties and trash strewn about the property. The woman, Leanne Fennell, 20, said a poltergeist was to blame for the loud noises and she was in bed the whole time. The Telegraph (London) (4/9)       Editor's Note  Win free passes to a word-of-mouth marketing master class Want to get in-depth secrets on Google+ from former Apple chief evangelist Guy Kawasaki -- along with word-of-mouth marketing tips from Andy Sernovitz? SmartBrief has you covered with two easy ways to win a free pass to a webinar scheduled for Monday. Your pass could be just a tweet or a blog post away. Check out our blog for details. Entries due Friday.       Position Title Company Name Location Director of Sales – eDiscovery Corporate Recommind Washington, DC Director, Federal Sales PC Mall Gov Chantilly, VA Click here to view more job listings. SmartQuote  Not all consumers are B2B buyers, but all B2B buyers are consumers." --Donal Daly, CEO of The TAS Group, writing at Dealmaker365       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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