Your Definitive Sales Career GuideWe discuss and prepare you for a career in sales, why you should, or should not pursue this career, how to get it, and how to make the most of it once you start. The book is broken up in to those sections, and we take a deep dive in to each topic. Imagine you got to tap in to the brain of a successful coach and mentor, and learn from them everything about what a career in sales is all about, the best practices to get one, and how to start off on the right foot. This is your chance, this book is your mentor and is the answer to all your potential sales career questions.
Every high-tech sales team today has technical pros on board to “explain how things work,” and this success-tested training resource is written just for them. This newly revised and expanded third edition of an Artech House bestseller offers invaluable insights and tips for every stage of the selling process. This third edition features a wealth of new material, including new chapters on business-driven discovery, white boarding, trusted advisors, and calculating ROI. This invaluable book equips new sales engineers with powerful sales and presentation techniques that capitalize on their technical background—all spelled out step-by-step by a pair of technical sales experts with decades of eye-popping, industry-giant success under their belt.
The Complete Guide to Human Resources and the Law will help you navigate complex and potentially costly Human Resources issues. You'll know what to do (and what not to do) to avoid costly mistakes or oversights, confront HR problems - legally and effectively - and understand the rules. The Complete Guide to Human Resources and the Law offers fast, dependable, plain English legal guidance for HR-related situations from ADA accommodation, diversity training, and privacy issues to hiring and termination, employee benefit plans, compensation, and recordkeeping. It brings you the most up-to-date information as well as practical tips and checklists in a well-organized, easy-to-use resource. The 2019 Edition provides new and expanded coverage of issues such as: The Supreme Court held in March 2016 that to prove damages in an Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) donning/doffing class action, an expert witness' testimony could be admitted Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo, 136 S. Ct. 1036 (2016). Executive Order 13706, signed on Labor Day 2015, takes effect in 2017. It requires federal contractors to allow employees to accrue at least one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours they work, and unused sick leave can be carried over from year to year. Mid-2016 DOL regulations make millions more white-collar employees eligible for overtime pay, by greatly increasing the salary threshold for the white-collar exemption. Updates on the PATH Act (Protecting Americans From Tax Hikes; Pub. L. No. 114-113. The DOL published the "fiduciary rule" in final form in April 2016, with full compliance scheduled for January 1, 2018. The rule makes it clear that brokers who are paid to offer guidance on retirement accounts and Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) are fiduciaries. In early 2016, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced it would allow charging parties to request copies of the employer's position statement in response to the charge. The Supreme Court ruled that, in constructive discharge timing requirements run from the date the employee gives notice of his or her resignation--not the effective date of the resignation. Certiorari was granted to determine if the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) preempts consideration of severing provisions for unconscionability. Previous Edition: Complete Guide to Human Resources and the Law, 2018 Edition ISBN 9781454884309
The Complete Guide to Software as a Service is truly "everything you need to know about SaaS." This is the only book available today that covers the multiple facets of the SaaS model: functional, operational, technical, security and financial. Starting with the definition and the origins of SaaS, it gives a 360-degree view of the inner workings of a SaaS business. This book is a must read for entrepreneurs who are launching a SaaS company. Learn the six ways to fail your SaaS start-up. It will also guide any software company who is transitioning from an on-premise license model to SaaS. Learn what IT and business functions must evolve when moving from one business model to the next. It also provides useful information and insight to different functional managers within a SaaS company. As well, users of SaaS software will become more knowledgeable clients of their SaaS providers after reading this book. Learn how to "read between the lines" of your SaaS contract and focus on the clauses where you have real negotiating power. For anyone interested in learning more about this important shift in the software industry, this book fills a void that exists today in the world of SaaS.
The non-technical guide to building a booming tech-enabled business Thinking of starting a technology-enabled business? Or maybe you just want to increase your technology mojo so you can do your job better? You do not need to learn programming to participate in the development of today’s hottest technologies. But there are a few easy-to-grasp foundation concepts that will help you engage with a technical team. Starting a Tech Business explains in practical, actionable terms how to formulate and reality test new ideas package what you learn into frameworks that are highly actionable for engineers understand key foundation concepts about modern software and systems participate in an agile/lean development team as the ‘voice of the customer’ Even if you have a desire to learn to program (and I highly recommend doing whatever unlocks your ‘inner tinkerer’), these foundation concepts will help you target what exactly you want to understand about hands-on technology development. While a decade ago the barriers to creating a technology-enabled business required a pole vault, getting started today only requires a determined step in the right direction. Starting a Tech Business supplies the tools prospective entrepreneurs and business enterprises need to avoid common pitfalls and succeed in the fast-paced world of high-tech business. Successful execution requires thoughtful, evidence-based product formulation, well-articulated design, economic use of systems, adaptive management of technical resources, and empathetic deployment to customers. Starting a Tech Business offers practical checklists and frameworks that business owners, entrepreneurs, and professionals can apply to any tech-based business idea, whether you’re developing software and products or beginning a technology-enabled business. You’ll learn: 1. How to apply today’s leading management frameworks to a tech business 2. How to package your product idea in a way that’s highly actionable for your technical team 3. How to ask the right questions about technology selection and product architecture 4. Strategies to leverage what your technology ecosystem has to offer 5. How to carefully define the roles on your team, and then effectively evaluate candidates 6. The most common disconnects between engineers and business people and how to avoid them 7. How you can apply process design to your tech business without stifling creativity 8. The steps to avoid the most common pitfalls tech founders encounter Now is one of the best times to start a technology-enabled business, and anyone can do it with the right amount and kind of preparation. Starting a Tech Business shows you how to move a product idea to market quickly and inexpensively—and to tap into the stream of wealth that a tech business can provide.
With the recent digital developments within marketing, the alignment between sales and marketing has become increasingly important as it has the potential to improve sales, customer relations, and customer satisfaction. The evolution of technology has also been promoting changes in the sales process, which provides new opportunities and challenges for enterprises at various levels. Sales Management for Improved Organizational Competitiveness and Performance highlights the influences of management, marketing, and technology on sales and presents trends in sales, namely the digital transformation that is taking place in organizations. The book also considers innovative concepts, techniques, and tools in the sales area. Covering a wide range of topics such as digital transformation, sales communication, and social media marketing, this reference work is ideal for managers, marketers, researchers, scholars, practitioners, academicians, instructors, and students.
A well-designed and implemented incentive program is an essential tool for building a motivated, highly effective sales force that delivers the results you need. Incentive programs are seductively powerful but complicated instruments. Without careful planning and implementation, they can be too stingy to motivate, too complex to understand, too quick to reward mediocre results, and too difficult to implement. The Complete Guide to Sales Force Incentive Compensation is a practical, accessible, detailed roadmap to building a compensation system that gets it right by creating motivating incentives that produce positive outcomes. Packed with hundreds of real-life examples of what works and what doesn't, this important guide helps you: Understand the value of building an incentive plan that is aligned with your company's goals and culture. Avoid the common trap of overusing incentives to solve too many sales management problems. Measure the effectiveness of your current incentive program, employing easy-to-use tools and metrics for pinpointing its weak spots. Design a compensation plan that attracts and retains successful salespeople, including guidelines for determining the correct pay level, the best salary incentive mix, the proper performance measures, and the right performance payout relationship. Select an incentive compensation plan that works for your organization -- then test the plan before it is launched. Set territory-level goals that are fair and realistic, and avoid overpaying the sales force or demoralizing salespeople by having difficult goals or not fairly assigned. Create and manage sales contests, SPIFFs (Special Performance Incentive for Field Force), and recognition programs that consistently deliver the intended results. Manage a successful transition to a new compensation plan and build efficient administration systems to support your plan. Filled with ready-to-use formulas and assessment tools and a wealth of insights from frontline sales managers and executives, The Complete Guide to Sales Force Incentive Compensation is your hands-on, easy-to-read playbook for crucially important decisions.
The big stories -- The skills of the new machines : technology races ahead -- Moore's law and the second half of the chessboard -- The digitization of just about everything -- Innovation : declining or recombining? -- Artificial and human intelligence in the second machine age -- Computing bounty -- Beyond GDP -- The spread -- The biggest winners : stars and superstars -- Implications of the bounty and the spread -- Learning to race with machines : recommendations for individuals -- Policy recommendations -- Long-term recommendations -- Technology and the future (which is very different from "technology is the future").
Boost sales results by zeroing in on the metrics that matter most “Sales may be an art, but sales management is a science. Cracking the Sales Management Code reveals that science and gives practical steps to identify the metrics you must measure to manage toward success.” —Arthur Dorfman, National Vice President, SAP “Cracking the Sales Management Code is a must-read for anyone who wants to bring his or her sales management team into the 21st century.” —Mike Nathe, Senior Vice President, Essilor Laboratories of America “The authors correctly assert that the proliferation of management reporting has created a false sense of control for sales executives. Real control is derived from clear direction to the field—and this book tells how do to that in an easy-to-understand, actionable manner.” —Michael R. Jenkins, Signature Client Vice President, AT&T Global Enterprise Solutions “There are things that can be managed in a sales force, and there are things that cannot. Too often sales management doesn’t see the difference. This book is invaluable because it reveals the manageable activities that actually drive sales results.” —John Davis, Vice President, St. Jude Medical “Cracking the Sales Management Code is one of the most important resources available on effective sales management. . . . It should be required reading for every sales leader.” —Bob Kelly, Chairman, The Sales Management Association “A must-read for managers who want to have a greater impact on sales force performance.” —James Lattin, Robert A. Magowan Professor of Marketing, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University “This book offers a solution to close the gap between sales processes and business results. It shows a new way to think critically about the strategies and tactics necessary to move a sales team from good to great!” —Anita Abjornson, Sales Management Effectiveness, Abbott Laboratories About the Book: There are literally thousands of books on selling, coaching, and leadership, but what about the particulars of managing a sales force? Where are the frameworks, metrics, and best practices to help you succeed? Based on extensive research into how world-class companies measure and manage their sales forces, Cracking the Sales Management Code is the first operating manual for sales management. In it you will discover: The five critical processes that drive sales performance How to choose the right processes for your own team The three levels of sales metrics you must collect Which metrics you can “manage” and which ones you can’t How to prioritize conflicting sales objectives How to align seller activities with business results How to use CRM to improve the impact of coaching As Neil Rackham writes in the foreword: “There’s an acute shortage of good books on the specifics of sales management. Cracking the Sales Management Code is about the practical specifics of sales management in the new era, and it fills a void.” Cracking the Sales Management Code fills that void by providing foundational knowledge about how the sales force works. It reveals the gears and levers that actually control sales results. It adds clarity to things that you intuitively know and provides insight into things that you don’t. It will change the way you manage your sellers from day to day, as well as the results you get from year to year.