Managing Information To Support Strategic Planning

Relevant and accurate information is an essential foundation stone of successful strategic planning. In this article we look at the need for leaders to implement and manage an effective process which gathers data and information that supports and enhances the strategic decision making activity.

Keywords:
distance learning,strategy,management,business,courses,HND,HNC,Project,diploma,foundation,DMS,CMS,studies,degree, postgraduate,certificate,

Establishing An Information Management Policy, by: acknowledging the importance of information to the strategic planning process and to the operational performance of the organisation; implementing an information management policy that will ensure a continuous flow of appropriate information to all levels of the organisation; allocating responsibility for the maintenance and improvement of the policy to an executive level manager; allocating level-specific responsibilities for the maintenance of the information flow.

Implementing an information management policy that is robust and rigorous is essential, not only at the strategic, corporate levels, but operationally as well. In the case of strategic planning, the quality of the information gathered, the channels used to distribute that information laterally and vertically throughout the organisation, and the interpretation of the information gathered, is vital. Without a sound foundation, the policy and its procedures, the information that is fed into the strategic planning process will be flawed, in parts at least. This will, inevitably, be damaging to the chances of the chosen strategies being successful.

Identify Information Needs, by: discussing information needs with the strategic planning team; using scenario building techniques to identify potentially differing information needs; identifying information needs of partners and key stakeholders who will be involved in the planning process; forecasting information needs for the strategic planning process; forecasting post-implementation information needs; reviewing existing information, channels and flows and identifying gaps and inadequacies; drawing up a list of information needs. This is another crucial early stage in the use of information in the strategic planning process. The leader(s) and other members of the planning team must be clear about their information needs. Whilst at this stage it is not possible to identify all the specific details, it is essential to draw up a list of categories of information that will lead to sufficient information being gathered. For example, one of the categories will be information on forecast changes in the external environment, another will be information on current and predicted competitor behaviour, another may be information on potential manpower resources, and so on. For public sector organisations one of the categories will be predicted government actions, such as in the setting of financial targets or other performance indicators. The role of the planning team is to ensure that their needs are understood and satisfied.

Establish Effective Gathering Methods, by: evaluating methods of information gathering currently used in the organisation; evaluating methods of information gathering not currently used in the organisation; selecting an appropriate range of methods for use in the strategic planning process; selecting individuals and teams to carry out the information gathering activities; providing training, financial and physical resources, to support the information gathering activity; implementing a monitoring and control procedure to ensure the process continues to be productive. There is a range of well established methods used internally by organisations, and well established commercial companies, that will provide the required information. In both cases, the methods used in gathering information must be appropriate and effective, in terms of being cost-effective and in terms of the quality of information gathered. In addition, particularly in the case of the commercial providers, the methods should be ethically sound. Whilst information gathered through unethical methods may not directly damage the strategic planning process, damage may well be caused to the reputation of the receiving organisation, and this may well then damage the chances of the strategies being successful. Obtain Required Information, by: obtaining primary and secondary objective information from internal sources and external providers; obtaining subjective information from analytical techniques such as PEST and SWOT analysis; obtaining subjective information from Competitor Analysis techniques.

Validating Information Obtained, by: vetting the quality of all sources and providers of information; testing the validity of information received; replacing unsafe information or at least acknowledging the weaknesses in it and highlighting this when it is used in the planning process. It is critical that the information used in the strategic planning process is valid. Plans based, even in part, on inaccurate, invalid, or in any way inappropriate, information, are inherently flawed and will almost certainly fail in part or totally. Internal sources of information, and the process of gathering that information, must be rigorously checked on a regular basis. External providers of information, such as commercial companies that carry out surveys or other information gathering activities, must be treated in the same way as other suppliers, in that they must be vetted for appropriate expertise and experience, for their operational quality levels, for financial standing, as well as for their ability to understand and interpret the needs of the purchasing organisation. Regarding the analytical techniques used, there are a huge range of tools and techniques that can be used to analyse information. The techniques mentioned above are named because they are common ones, familiar to most senior managers. There are many other proven methods, and these should be evaluated and used where appropriate. It is however, important to be aware that the quality of the output, the findings, from these analytical techniques are dependent on the skills of those using them and the interpretation, the conclusions, made by the analysers, and then by the end users.

Apply Outcomes To Strategic Planning Process, by: interpreting and applying the findings to the deliberations and decision making activity; regularly reviewing the validity of information and interpretations used, during the process; refreshing the information and interpretations as necessary. Using the information in the decision making activity, in building up the strategic plan, must be seen as a continuous process and one that must be monitored and controlled. If, for example, information is gathered and interpreted at the start of the planning process, and is only applied at a later stage (some annual strategic planning processes can last for many months) then the validity, the currency, of that information and its interpretation, must be challenged and if necessary discarded and replaced.

Review Effectiveness Of Process, by: carrying out regular audits on the effectiveness of the methods, tools and techniques, used in the information gathering process; carrying out regular audits on the relevance, accuracy, and value of information used in the planning process; regularly reviewing the value of the information inputs as part of the strategic planning review sessions; taking corrective action where necessary. The whole information gathering process must be reviewed on a regular basis. Ideally this should be an agenda item on all the scheduled strategic level team meetings. An additional review should take place before each distinct strategic planning process starts. In addition, the Information Management Policy itself must be reviewed and refreshed annually. To rely on outdated, inappropriate, invalid, information gathering processes would be highly damaging to the chances of future success.

Establish Future Information Needs, by: implementing a continuous development approach to information gathering, whereby the information needs of the organisation, at strategic and operational levels are continuously assessed and action instigated to satisfy those needs. In today’s fast changing world of business the strategic planning process is one that is repeated at least annually, often more frequently to the point where for many organisations it is now a continuous process. Satisfying future information needs cannot be carried out as a discrete pre-planning activity. Information gathering must be continuous, and therefore future information needs must be identified on a regular basis, and these needs must then be satisfied by the information gatherers. In this way the planners have access to the necessary information as and when they need it.

In High quality information is critical to the success of the strategic plans of any organisation. All other factors can be in place, but if the information is flawed in any way, then success is much less likely. If success is achieved it may well be at a high cost. High quality information must be acknowledged as one of the organisation’s top priorities. Adopting a continuous development and improvement approach to the information gathering and interpretation process is essential. A complimentary approach that should be implemented in parallel with this is that of Knowledge Management. This relatively new approach is in response to the recognition of the increasing importance of identifying and gathering the internally generated information and the accumulated knowledge held within the organisation, and making effective use of these. The leader(s) of the strategic planning activity should combine the established principles of continuous development and improvement with the techniques of knowledge management, and build this into the strategies of the organisation. In this way the organisation is generating a continuous flow of high quality information, and making the most effective use of that information to support its chosen strategies.

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Planning a Team Building Day of Fun

Planning a team building day revitalizes your group’s energy and enthusiasm and leads to improved communication and problem solving skills.

Keywords:
team building, team building day

Planning a team building day of fun is a great way to revitalize your group’s energy and enthusiasm, as well as improve communication and problem solving skills. There are many ideas for fun ways to increase your team’s cohesiveness and establish better working relationships.

Team building activities span the breadth of the imagination, from cooking to sports, wilderness survival type adventures, music and dance, and a wide variety of other games and group exercises. For the best results, try to choose something in a subject area that is likely to be enjoyed by everyone in your group. However, if picking a common interest is too much of a challenge, most team building activities can be adapted to suit your needs, and are designed to provide lighthearted entertainment, rather than overly daunting challenges.

Find an activity that will require everyone’s participation and interaction, but without putting too much pressure on individual performance. The idea is to foster cooperative teamwork, not competition, and each person’s contribution needs to be recognized as a valuable part of the combined effort.

There are a number of reasons to consider bringing in an expert from outside your organization to lead these team building activities. It will put everyone on equal ground, and the consultant you choose should be experienced at putting people at ease, a necessity if the day is to be a success. They should also be able to help maintain a focus on the ultimate objective of the day, which is to both have fun and improve your ability to function as a team.

A fun day of team building can serve many purposes, including:
- an icebreaker for a new team, to quickly establish comfortable and effective work relationships
- a break from boredom and routine for a group that could use some new energy
- a non-threatening way to address interpersonal conflicts or other barriers to productivity
- a treat for a job well done
- a way to facilitate a smooth transition during a time of restructuring
- preparation for a big project that will require enhanced teamwork
- creating a more cohesive team out of talented people who just are not functioning effectively as a group

If any of the above applies to your team, don’t hesitate to investigate your options to kick start productivity and renew enthusiasm in your workplace. Team building is a worthy investment in your organization’s present and future, and can help overcome difficulties of the past. Many great services and products are available to help you and your group get back on track and has fun at the same time. Take the initiative to improve workplace morale and productivity, the results will speak for themselves.

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Growing Your Business Online With Loyalty Programs

This is the first in a series of articles we will be publishing relaying thoughts and ideas from the Internet Retailer Conference in Chicago, which occurred June 5th through June 7th. Mark Goldstein, CEO of Loyalty Lab (a company that implements loyalty programs for merchants), and Gary Korotzer, CMO of Red Envelope (a company that specializes in selling gift items), delivered a presentation about loyalty programs. Red Envelope currently has a loyalty program managed by Loyal…

Keywords:
internet, marketing, relationship, loyalty, program, retail, web, sales

This is the first in a series of articles we will be publishing relaying thoughts and ideas from the Internet Retailer Conference in Chicago, which occurred June 5th through June 7th. Mark Goldstein, CEO of Loyalty Lab (a company that implements loyalty programs for merchants), and Gary Korotzer, CMO of Red Envelope (a company that specializes in selling gift items), delivered a presentation about loyalty programs. Red Envelope currently has a loyalty program managed by Loyalty Lab.

Loyalty programs are taking off. If you have a retail web site and you don’t have some kind of loyalty program…chances are that by the end of next year you will. Jupiter Research expects that by the end of 2009, 78% of retailers doing business online will have a loyalty program, compared to 24% now. So what’s the big deal?

It costs a lot more to generate a new customer than to sell to a repeat customer. Loyalty programs allow you to build a customer base that is loyal to your products, and will continue to purchase from you, rather than your competitors. A loyalty program is some kind of program that allows your customers to build up credit to apply to further purchases, or to redeem for cash. For example, a retail web site could grant a customer “points” for every purchase he makes. When he has enough points, he can redeem them for a discount on more merchandise, or possibly redeem them for cash.

To implement a loyalty program, you need some way to keep up with your customers’ accrued points (or whatever kind of measurement you use). This should be done by keeping records of a customers’ transactions in a database. Goldstein and Korotzer recommended tying the information to a customer’s credit card number. Every time a customer makes purchases with a particular credit card, a record of the purchase is recorded along with the credit card number. In this scenario, if a customer used a different card than in previous purchases, her existing loyalty account would not receive additional credits.

You should try to make it easy for a customer to know how many points they have. Out of sight, out of mind, as the old saying goes, so make sure your customers are aware of how many points they have and how many more they need to redeem their rewards.

When you begin the process of deciding on the details of your loyalty program (exactly what participants will receive, and how much they have to purchase for redemption), Goldstein and Korotzer argue that you should explore your company’s economics as deeply as possible. Two important statistics to examine are the lifetime value and acquisition cost of your customers. This will better help you determine how much you can afford to give to your customers. Another critical consideration is exactly who gets to participate in the program. You may choose to only extend an invitation into the program to the top 20% (or whatever percentage generates the majority of your revenue) of your customers. If there is a segment of your customer base that represents the majority of your income, then it makes sense to concentrate your marketing dollars on that group.

Another point that Goldstein and Korotzer emphasized is that your loyalty program should be cross-channel. In other words, if you operate a physical retail location and take orders by phone in addition to your web site, the loyalty program should extend to all of the channels. Avoid confusing your customers. Make it easy for them to gain credits and cash in on their loyalty regardless of what channel they use to make purchases.

Loyalty programs have been around for years in certain industries (i.e., airline frequent flyer miles) but are just starting to gain traction with a lot of retailers. If you sell retail, you should begin the process of researching the implementation of a loyalty program now – before your competition does. Feel free to contact Work Media for information on implementing a loyalty program for your web site.

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Forums – The Business Gold Mine?

If you visit forums frequently, you can use them to promote your business without worrying about spamming. This doesn’t mean that you go there solely with the intention of promoting your business. However, if you’re subtle in your approach, there are a few things that you can do that may land you some new customers. This can be one of the simplest ways to draw business to your website without much effort, as your just engaging in normal everyday conversations.

Keywords:
forum, online marketing, seo, marketing, business advertising, advertising

In most forums registered users are allowed to add a signature line underneath their name. Your signature will show up each time you make a post, which works in your favour, because in this way you will be subtlety promoting your business without spamming anyone. It is important that you post to the forum frequently, some forum posters don’t bother to look at the websites of users unless they are regular users of the forum, and then they may eventually get curious. You have to build your reputation at a forum as a trusted reputable source, someone who is in tune with the online business world. Another thing is if there was a discussion and you just happened to mention that you have a website, some people may decide to check it out just out of curiosity. It doesn’t matter why they chose to do it, the important thing is that you provided enough interest to make someone want to check your website in order to obtain more information. But you must be careful when doing this, some chat forums may consider this to be spamming, your best bet may be to ask the person if you could pm (private message) them the information about your website, this way you won’t run the risk of spamming anyone.

Another way a forum may help you draw traffic to your website is to casually weave your business into conversations as appropriate. For example, if you’re promoting website domains and hosting, and someone posted that they want to create their own website, but they didn’t know where to begin, you can casually mention you know of a place where they can get reasonably priced domains and hosting, you can then just ask the poster to pm you for more information, when they pm you can than give them your website. Also you don’t always have to promote your product or website. If you show that you are knowledgeable about business, the other chat forum posters will take note which works to your advantage because now the posters are more likely to want to click on the link in your signature. Posting Blogs and articles are a great way to drive traffic to your website. They create back links to your website. Blogs, articles, and forum posting are all very subtle but powerful forms of marketing. Chat forum posting is a very effective form of marketing, you just have to stick to the rules of the chat forum, especially the main rule NO SPAMMING! Build your reputation of someone that’s knowledgeable and experienced, keep your marketing approach subtle but informative, let your signature do most of your advertising, make sure you signature line grabs the people’s attention. Just remember subtle yet powerful.

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Rewarding Work Well Done with Fun

Has your sales team just completed its third record-setting month in a row? Did your advertising team pull off a spectacular campaign under a tight deadline? Have you just closed the books on your most successful year ever? One of the best ways to motivate your employees to continue working hard is to reward work well done with fun.

Keywords:
corporate event, team building, team building activities

Has your sales team just completed its third record-setting month in a row? Did your advertising team pull off a spectacular campaign under a tight deadline? Have you just closed the books on your most successful year ever? One of the best ways to motivate your employees to continue working hard is to reward work well done with fun.

It’s a simple enough concept, and one that is central to the concept of team building. People work harder when their hard work is noticed and appreciated. While a little extra in the pay cheque is always appreciated, there are other ways to show appreciation and recognition that can help cement the team spirit you’ve been working so hard to foster. One of the best of these is to offer special corporate event weekends for your hardworking team.

Corporate events have come a long way since the old fashioned company picnic. These days, companies are taking advantage of travel and networking to offer corporate events that are fun, productive and memorable. Many companies these days make their annual meetings and other corporate events do double and triple duty – a business meeting, a recognition and appreciation reward, and a strategic team building event all rolled into one.

Want to reward your most prized team members? Why not treat them to full weekend of activities to go along with the annual meeting? A professional corporate event planner> can put together a multi-activity day with program of activities that will please everyone on your staff – including corporate headquarters. When you work with a professional planner, it’s easy to combine high profile fun activities like wind surfing or quad biking with team building activities designed to promote and foster the team relationships.

Whether you’re looking for a way to reward your hardest workers, impress your clients or cement relationships between key team members, a bespoke design corporate event weekend can be just the thing you need. From a day on the golf course to a night on the town, professional corporate event planners can help you design the perfect event for your company.

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Recruiting a Diverse Workforce: Don’t Making Two Common Mistakes

To be a successful business in today’s culture you need to create an environment of inclusion where people feel valued and integrated into a company’s mission, vision and business strategy at all levels.

Keywords:
diversity, Diversity Training, Cross-Cultural Communication, diverse workforce

To be a successful business in today’s culture you need to create an environment of inclusion where people feel valued and integrated into a company’s mission, vision and business strategy at all levels. When employees’ skills and knowledge are recognized, appreciated and utilized they are more engaged in contributing to an organizations’ success. They are more willing to go the ‘extra mile’ and share ideas and innovation. The visible and invisible dimensions of diversity that they bring are used as resources for success and growth. In order to create an inclusive work environment you need a diverse workforce.

Organizations make two common mistakes in recruiting a diverse workforce that cause them to fall behind their competition and even lose market share.

1. “Company photo diversity”

The organization only considers the visible dimensions of diversity primarily race, and gender. The company photo looks good but everyone thinks the same. Differences that include sexual orientation, geographic background, thinking and communication style, work function, ability and disability, religion, and work style are not valued and are even discouraged. This is a very narrow definition of diversity and offers little or no value to the organization in terms of new ideas, creativity and innovation.

2. ” Diversity by Numbers”

Again diversity is defined by what you can see. Demographics reflect the outside community but it is only at the lower levels. (Production, and unskilled labor) There is little or no diversity as you move up into management. When questioned about diversity in their organization, they point to all the numbers. Every year they have good “numbers”, but the people are constantly changing. Employees leave and get jobs where there is a value of diversity at all levels and they are encouraged to move up in the ranks.

Addressing the Issues

To be a successful business in today’s culture you need to create an environment of inclusion where people feel valued and integrated into a company’s mission, vision and business strategy at all levels. When employees’ skills and knowledge are recognized, appreciated and utilized they are more engaged in contributing to an organizations’ success. They are more willing to go the ‘extra mile’ and share ideas and innovation. They spread the word that your organization is a great place to work. They are enthusiastic about recruiting their talented colleagues to fill open positions who bring new ideas and diverse ways of thinking, solving problems and expanding market share.

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Reap The Benefits Of Logistics Management

It is important to know the processes that a company is involved in and master them for a more efficient production output. Logistics management, on the other hand, is a critical component to achieve business goals. This is defined as the organized movement of materials, and sometimes, people. The term logistics was originally associated with the military. Eventually, the term has gradually spread to cover business activities and processes. In terms of transportation, for exa…

Keywords:
chain logistics management supply,logistics management system,knowledge logistics management,council logistics management,logistics management services

It is important to know the processes that a company is involved in and master them for a more efficient production output. Logistics management, on the other hand, is a critical component to achieve business goals. This is defined as the organized movement of materials, and sometimes, people. The term logistics was originally associated with the military. Eventually, the term has gradually spread to cover business activities and processes. In terms of transportation, for example, this is a vital cost-containment key that one should consider. If a company is working with carriers and couriers, the products should be transported in a timely, safe and efficient manner, thereby managing company costs. There are certain companies and establishments who offer logistics management services. If you want your company to run in a timely and efficient manner, you have to choose a company who provides logistics management services and make sure that they can meet your business’ transportation needs. You must coordinate and tie together your firm’s logistics system. It is good to consider the five elements or functions of logistics and how important they are to your company.

Business logistics is a series of separate activities or functions which all fall under a business firm’s logistics umbrella.

- customer service
- demand forecasting
- documentation flow
- inter-plant movements
- inventory management
- order processing
- packaging
- parts and service support
- plant and warehouse site selection
- production scheduling purchasing returned products

1. Supply

Consider the supply of materials that you have as this would help meet your self-imposed quota for the company to profit.

2. Transportation

This is where logistics management applies. A company should have the transportation services needed to move the products and deliver them in a timely and efficient manner to the customers.

3. Facilities

Different companies employ different services according to their needs. Each of them has a different facility which helps produce the products and services which they eventually offer to customers. These facilities should be tailor-made and fit the client’s and customer’s specifications.

4. Services

From customer service, to delivering an order on time, to resolving order-related problems, a company should employ a logistics management service provider which will provide all of these services.

5. Management and Administration

This is an aspect of logistics management which is common to all organizations. A well-balanced and knowledgeable staff and leaders make for a better, service-oriented company. In relation to this, here are the important factors that you should consider when employing a logistics management service provider that will best benefit your company:

6. Inbound Transportation

- You should choose a logistics management service provider who will give out quotes for the inbound transportation costs of components
- This might include the delivery of individual components to your production line
- For a better price comparison, you may also ask if they can deal with clients who buy some or all of their components from a particular supplier
- You can look for cost and time frame quotations that you can use to consider the service provider that is most cost-effective

7. Outbound Transportation

Outbound transportation refers to the carriers who meet the customer’s needs. Different clients need various freight and carrier services, and a logistics management service provider should be able to provide these individual needs. The deal can either be on an over-all operational basis, or on a per-shipment basis. This provides a comprehensive solution for a company’s primary need for logistics. Choose a logistics management service provider who will provide rate comparisons from different couriers to meet and handle the customer’s goals. The main point here is that you need to have somebody to handle and ship out your main products in a safe and timely manner.

8. Troubleshooting Capabilities

A logistics management service provider should know how to handle unusual and day-to-day complications and problems. If a customer has a specific shipping need, would they be able to deliver and solve the problem? Should a serious delivery or shipping problem arise, they should be able to troubleshoot and come up with the perfect solution and at the same time soothe a customer’s ruffled feathers.

9. Keeping Customers Informed

The customers have the right to know the details about a particular order shipment. They should be informed of when the products were shipped, how it was shipped and who shipped it. Some logistics management service provider give out their contact numbers directly to their client’s customers. This would avoid a pointing of fingers should problems arise. Also, there is online tracking information available for most couriers and carriers. All in all, you have to choose a logistics management service provider that would fit your company’s needs to a tee so that both of you will reap the benefits in the end.

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Is It Time To Start A Perm Practice?

Compelling reasons and helpful tips for starting a permanent placement division.

Keywords:
staffing software,recruiting software

The national unemployment rate is dropping. Your temp staffing operation is starting to take off. You often hear that the direct hire business is on the move. What should you do? Consider starting a perm placement division. Here are some compelling reasons to do so and some helpful tips to start you on your way.

Why now?

The time is right.
With unemployment dropping and the demand for qualified workers outstripping supply, it’s the best time to do this. Many of your existing clients will likely be interested in this service.

You can make a lot of money in a short amount of time.
The industry standard fee (depending on your industry) is any where from 15 to 30 percent of the first year’s salary. This means a $50,000 placement could translate into $7,500 to $15,000 in new revenue, and that’s a lot of billable hours.

You have relationships in place that can be instantly leveraged.
You already have relationships with a lot of hiring managers. Even if these people don’t handle the direct hiring for their companies they’re in a good position to connect you with the right person. And, if you’ve done a good job for them, the introduction may come with a recommendation. You’re also already an expert at recruiting, matching, negotiating, etc., so use these skills for additional profits. You also have relationships with a lot of the people who will become direct hire candidates for another firm. By offering this service to your temp employees you can get one last big revenue hit instead of just wishing them well when they leave.

Some helpful hints:

Do it with a team.
It’s probably best to tackle this with a team instead of with a guy. As tempting as it will be to minimize the start up expense, a three person team offers several advantages:They can share relationships. What we don’t want to see is the new line of business getting off to a good start, and the person bolt to start his or her own firm. As much as any business, this is a relationship sale. We want that relationship to be the property of the firm, not the employee. It shows you’re serious. One person all alone may not adequately convey your intentions to be in it for the long haul (even if you’re not sure yourself).They can feed off of each other. Without someone to compete with many sales people become complacent. Having a friendly competition in the perm placement division will benefit everyone. The weekly meetings will become much livelier if they’re all vying to be the top dog. One of them can emerge as the manager. It’s a good idea to hire at least one person with experience. The job of manager of a growing division is the carrot.
What’s in a name?
This is a tougher issue. Should this perm division operate under the same brand as your established temp business? Or should it brand itself as a new entity. The answer is: “I don’t know”. By using the existing name, you have a chance to capitalize on all the good work you’ve done with your temp business. This will lead to more instantaneous brand recognition. On the other hand, if the perm thing doesn’t work out, it could have a negative impact on you brand. You should consider this carefully before starting.

Have the right system in place.
While you probably have a system in place to manage your temp placement effort already, it may not be suited to the nuances of the perm placement process. It will not be good enough to fill out a job order and check a box or add a code to indicate that it’s a perm order. The actual data you have to collect is different. The search and placement processes will be different. You’ll even find that the things you want to search on are different. Also, since you’re hoping to leverage your temp placement data into perm placements, the best system is one that offers a side-by-side temp and perm placement capability. The system must offer more in the document management area as well.

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Selling to the C-Suite

Having trouble gaining access to the C-Suite? There’s a good reason why…

Keywords:
Selling Skills

According to the 2001 U.S. Census Bureau survey, there are over 10 million non-retail sales representatives in the United States. As there is no listing for C-Level Executive (hereafter, CLE) in the Census, let’s estimate the number of CLEs in the B2B selling world using the Global 2000 list of companies. If we estimate an average of five CLEs (CEO, CFO, COO, CIO, President) and seven additional “close to C-Level” executives” (i.e., EVP Sales, SVP marketing, SVP HR, Divisional President, etc.) then we arrive at a total of approximately 24,000.

That’s 417 sales professionals for each C-Level Executive! How can you possibly differentiate yourself in this crowded market?

And let’s face it, few in the C-Suite care to spend much—if any—time with salespeople. Nonetheless, you are told by your boss that in today’s selling environment it is imperative that you reach the C-Level.

Huthwaite’s research has revealed that getting into the C-Suite requires three very particular skills:

* The ability to identify when a CLE would be most receptive to your request for time
* The ability to navigate the most effective route to obtain an audience with a CLE
* The ability to properly execute a meeting with a CLE to increase your chances for success

Our research reveals that the optimal time to approach a CLE is at the beginning of the buying process. It is the time when senior managers are looking for diagnosis and are open to new insights about their business. After that, the C-Level will take little to no interest in the buying process until his buying team has evaluated various options and made a tentative decision.
To learn more about the ideal time to reach out to a C-Level Executive, the best method to secure a meeting with a CLE and how to execute a C-Level sales call, please download our latest free whitepaper: Selling to the C-Suite

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It’ll Be All Right On The Night

There was only a week to go before the major product launch and Sara had a “concern”; a phrase she used when she was shaking in her boots with sheer panic. She had been checking with all of the presenters to make sure that their presentations were well into development, if not complete and, although she had not heard or read them all from end-to-end, she could tell that there was an unacceptable amount of repetition. The audience was in danger of walking out after the first h…

Keywords:
online booking, event managment,booking mananger, booking, registration

There was only a week to go before the major product launch and Sara had a “concern”; a phrase she used when she was shaking in her boots with sheer panic. She had been checking with all of the presenters to make sure that their presentations were well into development, if not complete and, although she had not heard or read them all from end-to-end, she could tell that there was an unacceptable amount of repetition. The audience was in danger of walking out after the first hour if she could not convince these high-flying executives to modify their approach.

Originally, Sara, as the event organizer, thought she could avoid a rehearsal to save cost and time, she now saw that this might be the only way to rapidly convince the presentation team to “adjust” their material. “Adjust”, in this case, might mean “completely rewrite” but it sounds less challenging.

Wherever possible, it makes sense for the entire event team to assemble before the event to run through the complete timetable. If this cannot be done at the venue, then find somewhere that is a close approximation to the venue in size and shape. Lay out the audience seating as you believe it will be and provide the equipment that will be available on the day. Invite along a few colleagues who can spare the time to act as the audience and provide valuable feedback.

As the event organizer, you should be most interested in the timing of each activity and, if elements of the program turn out to be too long or too short, don’t try to debate how to change them there and then. Let the entire event run its course, take copious notes about areas for improvement and then once the final words of the event have been spoken, hold a formal review meeting to discuss how the program or the timetable should be modified in order to better fit the time available.

Other review subjects may include:

• presentation content

• quality, consistency and clarity of slides

• segue design between elements

• energy levels in the audience throughout the event

If you have not run an event before, this is a useful opportunity to gauge how much time you will need to set up and dismantle everything that is to be used on the day and to plan any last minute changes that might need to be made.

Sara’s “concern” was quickly taken on board by the entire presentation team when they were given an opportunity to sit and listen to each other’s scripts during the rehearsal day and they quickly decided on a recovery strategy. As a result, on the day the event flowed effortlessly from beginning to end without noticeable repetition. According to the audience feedback, they were entertained and informed and they found the presentations to be slick and professional. Although Sara may not have been fully recognized for saving the day, she was praised for her quiet efficiency as event organizer.

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