LeapComp is a blog run by Julien Dionne who has done a myriad of projects for lots of different companies.
Two posts I really liked:
Oh yeah! Football season starts this weekend.
Thinking about it reminds me of a recent article about Bill Belichick and training camp.
The article contains some relevant lessons for sales and service execs who want to get the most from their teams:
In 9 seasons under Belichick, the Patriots' record speaks for itself:
GO PATS!
Did you know that the average organization overpays incentive compensation by 5-12%?
So, on a $10-15M budget, overpayments could equal one...million...dollars (insert evil laugh here).
If you're responsible for getting the most out of a large sales force or managing incentive comp for them, then this is for you....
Merced Systems is offering a free webinar on Thursday, September 4th at 12pm ET:
There's been a ton of news on how Apple blew the recent launch of its new 3G phone...shortages, long lines, service meltdowns, etc. I won't rehash it here.
If you have a hot, new and scarce product or service, take some advice from Seth Godin.
Even if you don't, he has some good ideas for simply treating your best customers with respect.
Service Untitled brings us a good post about Topgrading, a technique used by companies like GE and Microsoft to hire 'A' players.
If your sales or service organization has low performance and high attrition, it's definitely worth a look.
The following video shows Cisco CEO John Chambers (who is in Bangalore, India) sharing the stage with a holographic Cisco SVP of Innovation Marthin De Beer (who is in San Jose, CA...8,785 miles away).
WOW!
As a salesperson, I can see the immediate benefits.
70% of all communication is visual. Facial expressions, body language and gestures are more important than words. With telepresence, I can be there with my customers without actually being there...and save money and time by not traveling.
But can you imagine this type of technology in the hands of customer service?
Imagine one of your reps can be in the same "room" as one of your customers. Think of how they can solve problems together when they can both see the same things...and each other.
Imagine when this technology becomes cheap enough for all of us to afford it.
Merced Systems provides sales and service performance management software solutions to large companies in the financial services, healthcare, insurance, telecom and high tech industries.
Register for some of the really useful web seminars they are hosting:
You can also view some past webcasts by Merced customers Dell, American Express, DishTV, Carlson Travel and UnitedHealth Group.
Have you ever wondered where all the "stuff" you buy comes from?
And where it goes?
And how it affects your and your family's health and happiness?
The Story of Stuff is the most eye-opening things I've seen in a while.
After you watch it, spend one day noticing what you, your families and your co-workers eat, drink, crave, buy, own and throw away.
It's hard to live the same way again, isn't it?
Time Magazine's recent issue covers 10 Ideas That Are Changing The World.
Idea #2, The End of Customer Service, says that "with self-service technology, you'll never have to see a clerk again."
I'm an independent, time-crunched, reasonably tech-savvy individual, so I love self-service done well:
But I love no-service even more:
But sometimes I like high-touch service. I don't want to learn about interior design. So, my wife and I hired an interior designer to create a plan to decorate our home. She asked us a few questions about our (ahem) style and then told us what to do and buy. We did it and bought it. Ta-da...nice house.
But I wonder someday if someone will invent an "interior design" service that knows my preferences, creates the plan, buys the stuff and has it delivered and installed.
Even thought I liked the service the designer provided, I would still rather avoid the whole interaction.
Sounds far-fetched, doesn't it?
Well, some of the self-service and no-service options sounded far-fetched at one point too.
If your customers would ultimately rather avoid interacting with your employees, what are you doing to provide self-service and no-service options?
Are you a customer service executive for a Fortune 1000 company?
Does your company have more than 1000 call center agents?
Do your customer service employees also sell?
If not, are you thinking about asking them to sell?
If so, take Merced Systems' Service to Sales Best Practice and Benchmarking Survey.
You'll get the chance to benchmark your organization against other Fortune 1000 operations in these categories:
