Recent surveys find that next-gen, B2B, digital-first buyers want only-scheduled-as-needed sales rep calls. They prefer, initially, maximum e-information and real-time e-support: 24/7/365. And, texts about real issues are preferred over “how’s-it-going”, outbound phone calls. Continue reading 178. 2020 Sales Force Plans/Questions (B*)
Calendar-year distributors: what’s your planning routine for 2020? Is it forecasts, goal setting and budgets, to beat last year by trying harder? Plus, what big-new-competitive-advantage experiments will you be trying? If you aren’t planning something a bit scary, then you are doing same old stuff in new clothes to get fading results. Continue reading 177. Scary Strategic Questions for 2020 (A)*
Calendar-year distributors: what’s your planning routine for 2020? Is it forecasts, goal setting and budgets, to beat last year by trying harder? Plus, what big-new-competitive-advantage experiments will you be trying? If you aren’t planning something a bit scary, then you are doing same old stuff in new clothes to get fading results. Continue reading 177. Scary Strategic Questions for 2020 (A)*
Google: “Amazon’s 14 Leadership Principles”. Here’s how a distributor put them to work.
(CEO speaking): We subscribe to a customer/SKU, net-profit analytics service. We were initially shocked by the net-profit winners and losers. But, if we were going to reinvent service-value in a Frugal (P#10) way, we should start obsessing about our most net-profitable customers and customer niches. Continue reading 176. Distributor Puts Amazon’s 14 Principles to Work
Valuations for WeWork, Uber, Blue Apron, etc. have been tanking. They all prove that a company’s business service-cost model can’t spend more costs on a unit of activity than the unit’s margin-dollar content, and then make it up on volume.
The same economic reality hit many retail dotcoms back in 2000. Remember eToys? In ’99, they were averaging $20 in margin per order while spending an all-in cost of $300 per order for fulfillment.
Continue reading 175. Melting-Unicorn Wisdom for DistributorsWhen decisions are made at Amazon, “the best data and innovation metrics” win. No hearsay, golden-gut, follow the herd, or political self-interest beliefs. The HiPPO (Highest Paid Person Opinion) in the room doesn’t win with suck-ups bobbling in agreement. Continue reading 174. Doctors Prescribe: “Evidenced-Based Management”
The global economy is slowing down. Will you freeze investments, do cost trimming and wait for the next upturn? With what future hopes? To get back to mediocre profits with hopes that:
Or, will you follow “The Pumpkin Plan”? Continue reading 173. Solutions for a Stalling Economy