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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.
A Dog’s Eye View of Marketing: Six Steps To Ensuring Customer Delight
Thu, Dec 29, 2016 — Dogs, it is said, are man’s best friend. Exceedingly loyal, our four-legged canine buddies want to follow us when we walk, doze when we nap, and sometimes plop themselves at our feet when we are busy writing blogs. But, heaven forbid, if we were to slide over to them a bowl of dog food that they found to be appalling, they become quite single-minded. They protest. They turn away. And all that loyalty? Pfft. Out the window.
5 Ways to Drive Business Growth from the Outside
Mon, Dec 12, 2016 — There are two critical elements to achieving your business growth goals: One, you must successfully run your business from the inside. Two, you must monitor the external environment. While most CEOs know the inner workings of their businesses, they are less in touch with the outside factors that affect it. Case in point: In a recent webinar I hosted, “External Factors that Stall Growth and How to Combat Them,” I asked participants, “Do you have a system to identify and monitor external factors that affect your business?” One-hundred percent of participants responded, “No, but I do want to create a system.” The presentation then focused on helping to identify the external factors businesses should be monitoring and how to monitor them.
How to Survive the 5 Fatal Factors that Threaten Your Business
Fri, Nov 18, 2016 — Understanding the external factors that hinder your growth and survival The Bureau of Labor and Statistics in 2016 reports that only two-thirds of businesses will survive 2 years, half of all businesses will survive 5 years, and a mere one-third will survive 10 years or more. Most of us have heard these statistics, or at least a version of them. In the modern market, the success of a business depends on its growth. But why do some businesses successfully grow and survive while others become a failing statistic?
Timing is Everything: Three Ways to Set the Clock to Your Advantage
Tue, Nov 8, 2016 — Flash back with me for a moment to the 1980s. The decade of big hair, Reaganomics and the DeLorean, the 80s was also the cherry on top for more than three decades of stupendous growth in the music industry.
Insights, Integration, and Impact: A CEO’s Guide to Hitting Targets Every Time
Mon, Oct 24, 2016 — Is it possible to hit our growth targets every time? American sharpshooter Annie Oakley, also known as “Little Sure Shot,” would say it is. In fact, legend has it that the famous markswoman was known to consistently slice a playing card perfectly in half with a single bullet – and as a child, she was so reliably successful at game hunting, that she used her skills to pay her parents’ mortgage in full.
What Does a Fractional CMO Cost?
Wed, Oct 12, 2016 — A Growing Spectrum of Fractional CMO Service Providers Ensures a Range of Fee Levels More CEOs are hiring fractional executives to bring expertise to their management teams, but are they really affordable? And how should a CEO evaluate their value and the quality of work they deliver? These are really good questions! After all, there’s a wide range of skills, seniority and experience from marketing consultants, agencies and firms that call themselves fractional or outsourced CMOs. So, as you’d expect, there’s a wide range of price points from these sources. But to get started, let’s put these into a few oversimplified categories: “Single Shingle” Marketing Consultants “Loose Confederations” of Brokered Marketing Consultants “Professionals” who are Part of a Firm Senior management from a marketing or advertising agency Partners from an “Executives-as-a-Service” firm (such as Chief Outsiders) Partners from a large consultancy (such as McKinsey & Co, Bain)
If Marketing “Leads,” Sales Will Follow: Achieving Alignment For Revenue Success
Thu, Sep 29, 2016 — Travel with me, if you will, back to 2006. It was a time, in the corporate world, when the sales team had all of the power and most of the fun. Company credit card in hand, they would organize meetings at conferences, trade shows, meetings on the golf course, or at their favorite hospitality event. Pleasantries were exchanged, orders were placed – and business kept rolling forward.
Standing in the Middle of the Road
Thu, Sep 22, 2016 — In this VLOG, Deborah takes a perspective from Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister of Great Britain who understood that a middle of the road or half a position was no position at all. As a CEO, being clear on what you stand for, what your position is on important matters and the direction your company should be heading in, is critical to avoiding the kind of decision paralysis that can limit the potential of your business and your team. Check it out!
The CEO's Challenge of Staying Relevant in an Accelerated World
Mon, Sep 19, 2016 — And what to do about it Almost all CEOs face the challenge of maintaining relevancy in the markets they serve. More specifically, what keeps many CEO’s awake at night is the realization that something is materially changing in their company, in their markets, or within what was once a marquee product line. Yet, the rank and file just can’t see it. And if they do see it, they aren’t responding fast enough. Maybe our CEO can’t fully understand it. But their instincts tell them that it’s more than a seasonal blip; it’s something systemic that could rock the company off its foundation. In many instances, the problem boils down to the company not innovating fast enough. The world is seemingly passing it by. Relevancy is lost.