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Outsider Insights | From Hustle to System: Why More CEOs Are Rebuilding Their Sales Function
Outsider Insights
Across Chief Outsiders, we talk to hundreds of CEOs every month. In this new series, we explore the trends and challenges we’re hearing from these discussions – and what you can do if you’re facing the same issues in your business.
Positioning for Explosive Growth: A CEO’s Guide To Enthusiastic Leadership - Part Six
Mon, Mar 22, 2021 — Creating Like No Other There’s no body part more popular these days than the human eyeball. Marketers invest millions of dollars in a competition for its attention; technology companies plunk down billions in development costs to wow it with the latest devices and apps; and content creators seek to create visually appealing potions with just the right amount of sizzle to keep it pointed in their direction. This never-ending bid for eyeball-inducing superiority has created a crowded, cacophonous landscape unlike anything we’ve ever seen. For businesses, we must find a way to elbow and muscle aside competitive interests and earn an interested gaze that could, with a little luck, lead to buying behavior.
Positioning for Explosive Growth: A CEO’s Guide To Enthusiastic Leadership - Part Seven
Mon, Mar 15, 2021 — Measure, Measure, Measure There are many things in our life that would fall flat if we opted not to use measurements: Everything from home construction to a load of laundry would be a bit off kilter if not for the rulers, cups, and spoons that allow us to be precise with our intentions. Strange that for several generations, then, that in the advertising and marketing arena, the only measurement used was in dollars and cents. Along the way, there would be creative campaigns, print ads, billboards, and radio commercials, with no means to really measure whether they were hitting the mark.
Positioning for Explosive Growth: A CEO’s Guide To Enthusiastic Leadership - Part Eight
Thu, Mar 4, 2021 — Celebrating Success At a time when it seems that employee pay has been increasingly in the spotlight, there lies an interesting conundrum that might be just as shocking as it is contrarian. Money, it turns out, for today’s employee, isn’t everything. Though our present-day landscape is dotted with discussions about a K-shaped economic recovery from COVID-19, and the push for a $15 federally mandated minimum wage, it just so happens that there’s a lot more that motivates today’s employees besides the bi-weekly take-home check.
Focusing Your Sales Force During an Economic Downturn
Thu, Oct 1, 2020 — By Aurora Toth and Ann Anderson During times of business volatility, companies are forced to make quick decisions about how to deploy their resources – financial and human. While we acknowledge that Sales is an expensive function within an organization – it is a critical one. Times of crisis provide an opportunity to look at how the salesforce is deployed, where it creates the largest impact, areas you may be missing and how to either refine or completely redesign Sales to achieve your business objectives. My colleague, Ann Anderson is the founder at Retail Partner Solutions. Ann has spent 25+ years partnering with America’s largest retailers such as Target, Walmart, Walgreens, Barnes & Noble, Sam’s Club, Costco and more to help CPG brands thrive in-store and on store shelves.
Why Now is a Great Time to Build Customer Loyalty – A Guide for CEOs of Mid-Sized Companies
Thu, Sep 24, 2020 — Companies should always be concerned about loyalty and growing the value of existing customers. But now, perhaps more than ever before, as we navigate through the disruption of the pandemic and the resulting economic volatility, reactivating existing customer relationships is a critical path to restoring revenue. I spoke recently with Tres Tronvold, a strategist and customer loyalty expert. Tres states that at a macro level there are three broad things companies should think about when it comes to reactivating their customers -- Safety, Creating Occasions and Driving Sales.
Supply Chain Savvy
Fri, Sep 18, 2020 — How CEOs of mid-size companies should think about their supply chains during any crisis As CEOs grapple with managing through the current economic volatility wrought by COVID-19, another area we dive into in this series of articles is supply chain management. My collaborator on this subject is Juli Lassow of JHL Solutions who spent her career at Target, Inc. in Merchandising and Global Sourcing roles. Juli now helps companies plan and navigate the intricacies of a modern supply chain and adjust strategy during times of change.
Pandemic Prowess: A Leadership Playbook for CEOs of Mid-Size Companies During Challenging Times
Thu, Sep 3, 2020 — Saying that leadership is a challenge right now is an understatement. From the global pandemic, to the recent civil unrest impacting business in a myriad of ways, to attempting to ensure your business is weathering the ensuing economic volatility, how can a CEO demonstrate the sure-handed, consistent approach stakeholders expect? Particularly when the playbook is being re-written daily? I turned to David Stark, known for his Executive coaching skills and level-headed approach to guiding CEOs and other leaders through difficult situations. Here are Dave’s Top 5 Leadership Actions that form a toolkit for navigating any crisis.
No Stakeholder Left Behind: A Quick Communication Guide for CEOs of Mid-Sized Companies to Use Now
Thu, Aug 27, 2020 — During any crisis, communication from a CEO drives perception of the company and serves as a source of guidance for multiple stakeholder groups. Done well, the content and delivery may impact how quickly an organization emerges. With the global pandemic an ongoing reality, and the added impact of a volatile economy, it’s a crucial time to think about the audiences who need to hear from you as conditions continue to evolve, as well as how and when you’ll communicate with them to achieve your desired outcome.
How to Right-Size your Marketing Budget and Get C-Suite Alignment – Part Two
Tue, Jul 7, 2020 — Part Two: Aligning Priorities and Spending with the CEO and CFO Part 1 of this article looked at best practices for determining optimal marketing spending levels. In part 2, we look at how marketing leaders need to align with the CEO and CFO on marketing spending priorities. To help answer this question, I’ve turned to marketing strategy and budget expert Peter Mahoney, CEO of Plannuh, Inc. Peter has decades of experience managing marketing teams, strategy and budgets, including managing a $150M annual budget at Nuance. Peter started Plannuh in 2017 to address the pain and suffering companies experience managing marketing budgets and plans with disconnected tools.