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Helping business owners grow their companies and transition with confidence, added value and complete control.
Tag Archives: employees
Another small business owner defrauded
I’ll be in Denver, sharpening my saw all weekend at the semi-annual conference of The Alternative Board®, so I’m posting early this week. I had an evening call from a client last night. He recently discovered fraud in a small … Continue Reading
Stoplight 360
I recently saw a fast and easy way to rate your employees that makes the high performers and low performers stand out in a way that can’t be ignored. It uses Stop light Methodology: a red-yellow-green marking system. The advantage … Continue Reading
The Ghost of Ebenezer
Last week three of my clients implemented staff reductions. All three are financially healthy service companies, but they had far more capacity than they had work to fill it. In a service company, of course, capacity means people. Naturally there … Continue Reading
Gifts are not incentives, and incentives shouldn’t be gifts
I knew a couple who owned a company with about 20 employees who had what may be the worst incentive distribution plan I’ve ever seen. The company gave out large holiday bonuses every year at the company party, which was … Continue Reading
A 35K guy is a 35K guy…
I had breakfast with a client this morning. He was planning a new training initiative for his sales team. “How much do the make now?” I asked. “About $30,000 to $35,000 a year.” he replied. “What are you trying to … Continue Reading
Posted in Leadership, Managing Employees, Sales
Tagged business ownership, employees, management, sales, sales management, small business, small business advice
2 Comments
The Triple Threat: Phase II
Okay, I’m stepping away from the sales compensation series for a day, and admitting something to everyone. I’ve been writing the blogs on sales comp in order to duck the one I didn’t want to write. I am by nature … Continue Reading
Sales Comp II: Are You a Supplier or a Vendor?
The next question to consider when you are designing sales compensation is: “Are we a supplier or a vendor?” Without wasting time on the differences or similarities of the dictionary definitions, here are mine: A supplier provides goods or services … Continue Reading
The Rhythm of the Sales Process
With so many of our clients trying to boost sales in a tough environment, we’ve been having lots of discussions about sales incentives. It’s surprising to me how many business owners create incentives that don’t fit their business, simply because … Continue Reading
Tough Times Call for Tough Tactics
My motto for this recession, quoted previously in this space, is “You don’t have to outrun the bear.” As the recession lingers, and the slow, jobless recovery trickles in with a whimper, my clients are finding it both tiresome and … Continue Reading
Cabin Fever
My mom lives in New Jersey. Around February or March of every year she gets cabin fever. Too many cold and miserable days spent indoors, and she starts climbing the walls. It’s August in San Antonio, and we are in … Continue Reading
You can’t keep a good saying down.
“There are lies, damn lies and statistics.” It’s a great saying, and in the USA is typically attributed to Mark Twain. He, in turn, attributed it to Benjamin Disraeli. That credit is undocumented. What is certain is that it was … Continue Reading
See Spot Run- A simple approach to up and downsizing
In a TAB Board meeting yesterday we were discussing how you know when it’s time to add an employee. I recalled an old method I’ve used, and it occurs to me that it can also work in reverse if you … Continue Reading