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Can we? Of course! An advertisement does exactly what a sales person is expected to do. In fact, some of the best advertisements use time tested sales steps that work at the psychological level to unfailingly convince a buyer. Let’s visualize, for e.g., the popular TV ad of Colgate toothpaste: A young mother looks dotingly at her playful child eating away chocolates. And she exclaims to her husband, “I am worried about cavities”. The scene cuts to a doctor who says “Such food can cause cavities. That is why you need Colgate. Its Calci-lock protector ensures strong teeth and no...

Are you one the guys who is unable to understand why some people find favor with the bosses, while you don’t? Does it irritate you no-end when you work hard and smart, and yet you are not in your boss’s favorite books? Are you at wits-end to understand what else to do for that promotion? That bonus? That corner office? That favorite seat next to the boss? I draw upon Mahabharata for some priceless lessons in “Boss-Management”. The glorious Pandavas, the good guys, have lost it all to the evil Kauravas (their cousins) in a series of game of dice....

When you seek candidates for a business development / sales position, I am certain you will be inundated with hundreds of resumes. If the count failed to kill, the quality almost certainly will. Most resumes will actually be just rehash of job descriptions. They would include phrases such as “In-charge of northern region sales”, “Responsible for analyzing and contacting new leads and converting them into B2C sales,” and my favorite from a Wharton student “Undertook market trips to various cities”. Worse, I have noticed entrepreneurs / recruiters getting totally conned into hiring them, believing what the candidates have typed in...

For long I have been closely observing sales guys who perform and those who don’t. And in sales reviews galore. I bet you would have heard the following from both the good sales guys and the bad ones: The product is not up to the mark and customers are unhappy The competition is several times better and their price too is lower There is no marketing support The leads that we have are bad, old, etc. The targets are unrealistic There is politics in the office that undermines sales Firms, successful or unsuccessful, big or small, national or international, or...

I was recently invited to speak at the CXM Conference in Mumbai on the theme “Creating World – Class Customer Experience For Your Digitally Inspired And Demanding Customers”. My session was backed up with research and other support by Xerago and IBM. And my theme is what you see in the header. I have been receiving requests from the attendees to transcribe the talk. At least, I can provide a gist. Most understand the importance of customer experience. They know without it no business is done. However, there is little idea on how to create programs that improves it systematically....