How Your Customer Can Be Your VP of Sales

Here’s food for thought.  Ever think that your best sales people and your customers have a great deal in common?  Here at Zephyr Strategy, we have uncovered the value of this commonality and how to use it to your advantage. 

Your customers know the truth about your company.  They know how well you sell yourselves, provide services and follow up. They know if they are being served by your A-team or not. Your customers see how your company responds when mistakes are made. They know who your competition is and how they market themselves. And, your customers are aware of other sales opportunities for your company. 

Some of your best sales people already have this knowledge. Both your best sales people and your customers know the true value of the services and products your company provides.   However, only your customers know where they feel there might be room for improvement.  Customers are the mirror every company needs to see its true reflection. 

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Ho Hum Women’s Initiatives

A well-respected, senior-level businessman recently asked me, “What’s a women’s initiative?” That is a good and honest question! Women’s initiatives have been initiating for decades now, so I’m surprised he had to ask; however, this businessman truly didn’t know. This lack of understanding is only one of the obstacles companies face when starting an initiative for their women.

Women’s initiatives continue to crop up in corporations, professional services firms, non-profit agencies and communities. The intentions are certainly admirable, yet most women’s initiatives have the same Ho-Hum quality.

Here’s what I’ve observed about why these initiatives are often Ho-Hum:  Read more

Sales Comp - a Moving Target

I often get asked if I know of any best practices on how to compensate sales and business development professionals. This topic has been a moving target since the first sale of anything ever happened! How do companies balance their need for more sales against the motivations and drivers of their sales and business development people in order to get what everyone wants?

You won’t get the silver bullet in this post, however, we’ve made observations worth sharing. Part of the problem is that the One-Size-Fits-All-Sales-People Compensation Program that companies adopt creates that moving target that makes you crazy. If the “one size fits all” doesn’t work, then a more flexible structure could be explored. Read more

Partnership with SpringCM

We recently announced a Partnership with SpringCM. This is a big event for Zephyr, as it marks the first time we’ve entered into a formal relationship with a software company. We were so impressed with the Privia product and how it can help our clients manage their federal proposal efforts that we approached SpringCM for training on implementing and using the software solution. If you are involved in federal proposal work, then you should definitely take a look at this online solution. Read more