Monthly Archives: March 2009
Blown to bits: cultural time-space for contemplation
Artist: Parastou-Forouhar http://www.parastou-forouhar.de
Nicholas Carr has two good posts (here and here) about the hegemony of “realtime.” The upshot is that technology is eradicating the cultural time-space for contemplation.
via Realtime and realspace | Marginal Utility | PopMatters.
Artist: Parastou-Forouhar http://www.parastou-forouhar.de
Gary Conover reflects living in these days somewhere in the city
Great pics by Cary Conover reflecting these times at http://www.caryconover.com/feb092.html
Oops, remarkable! 03/14/2009
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Currently living in Loughborough, UK.
Exhibitions
2007 Group Show: Stop or I’ll Shoot at Falmouth Arts Center
2006 Group Show: Derby City Open at Derby City Museum And Art Gallery
2006 Group Show: Constructed Photography at Q-bar, Falmouth
2006 Group Show: Cornish Shipwrecks at Falmouth Maritime Museum.Education
2005-2008 University College Falmouth Photography BA Hons 2:1
2004-2005 Nottingham New College Foundation in art and design. Distinction:
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
Blown to bits: salesman
Artist: Kevin Bewersdorf
Read it to day, for the second time this year Friday the 13th.
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Mar. 13, 2009 Death of a salesman – Version 2009
By Axel Schultze, Social Media Academy
I’m sure you know Arthur Miller’s “Death of a salesman” (1949).
WHY SALES IS IN DANGER – AGAIN
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“Customers don’t ask sales people any longer for their VALUED opinion. People check everything in the Internet and sales people are soooo misunderstood”… my car dealer tells me.
So what has changed between 2005 and 2009?
THE CUSTOMER EDUCATION PROCESS has changed.
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Customers never trusted sales people – not in the last 5,000 years but they dealt with them in a symbiotic way.
It was basically “Educate me and I will work with you”. “Help me introduce me to your engineers or experts and I talk to you”. “Help me….
BUT THAT IS O V E R.
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Customers – including you as a sales person – found a new more powerful way to get educated: The social web.
We read blog posts, we participate in discussions, we talk to the customers who YOU MR. SALES MAN never allowed us to talk to – actually tried to avoid the conversation. We explore our social networks and find the real users, the real stories.
The next disaster has yet to strike: Executives will find the efficiency of social media so compelling that the “Hunters” “Killers” and all the old “Heros” will be in question in the next 5 years. Nooooo that never happens and in particular not to you…. right?
This my be true for XYC but not for ME
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When I explore those situations, I hear Social media is good for consumers but not for B2B.
Or it may be used in the high tech industry but not in ours. Or our company is not ready for that – actually that may be true.
BUT customers in all industries across all levels and all products leverage the connections, leverage the Internet to get the information they want – period.
WHAT ARE THE ALTERNATIVES?
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Sales people need to rewrite their books – completely. No more tricks, no more hunting and killing. The prey has outgrown the predator.
But still customers – and we are all customers of somebody else – will need helpful hands in the challenges we have every day.
Sales need to HELP customers find all those details even faster. Sales need to overcome the old and clumpsy “reference selling model” and introduce a prospect to other customers before a sales process is even identified. Consultative selling is introductions to a vast ecosystem you need to know and understand. TRUST is the currency today but YOU Mr. Salesman are the only one who believes that your customers are trusting you.
Stop dreaming about the “low touch sales model”.
Start ignoring the “sales processes” you have to follow, stop doing the 50 cold calls you have to do each day. Stop pumping out emails to your clients.
YES, you will get in trouble with your boss. So ask him how he deals with cold calls and which of the recent sales calls he received he found compelling. Ask him about a company he would invest part of his 401K based on their sales practices – not about the sales they report but the feedback from their customers.
But this is not just theory; I worked with a dozen of sales professionals to develop a new model.
Now I’m really interested what your vision is how sales is conducted by 2012 or 2015!
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Artist: Kevin Bewersdorf
Lean Widens lead Over Six Sigma In Bleak Economy
Artist: Nate Bressler
The recession and rapidly slumping sales are forcing many companies to reevaluate their priorities with regard to their continuous improvement initiatives.
As a result, demand for Lean talent is showing signs that it is accelerating its edge over Six Sigma as the more desired skill set, according to a new study by The Avery Point Group (http://www.AveryPointGroup.com), a global executive recruiting firm specializing in Lean and Six Sigma talent.
“As an executive recruiting firm, we have a unique vantage point from which to observe the latest trends taking place in industry,” explains Tim Noble, managing principal of The Avery Point Group. “Trends in industry are often telegraphed into candidate requirements in job postings, and they can serve as a window into the latest corporate initiatives.
Artist: Nate Bressler
Our annual study continues to serve as an industry benchmark that offers useful insight into the latest trends taking place in the area of corporate continuous improvement.”
Based on its fifth annual study of Internet job postings, The Avery Point Group found that demand for Lean talent continues to gain ground over Six Sigma as the more desired skill set, reinforcing last year’s study that signaled an ongoing shift in focus toward Lean.
This year’s study showed that Lean talent demand exceeded Six Sigma by almost 11 percent, further widening its lead over last year’s results that showed only a slight edge for Lean over Six Sigma.
This year’s study also found, for those companies seeking Lean talent, only 44 percent are requiring candidates to possess Six Sigma knowledge as well.
On the other hand, for those companies seeking Six Sigma talent, fully 49 percent of the roles also require candidates to possess Lean knowledge. “Reflecting the broader job market, demand for Lean and Six Sigma talent is down versus 2008 and 2007 peak levels,” states Noble.
“However, on a relative basis for the hiring that is taking place, companies are starting to shift more and more of their focus toward Lean. This is perhaps an indication that they see Lean as a better and more practical hedge against today’s tough economic challenges.
via Lean & Six Sigma Talent Trends – Lean Widens lead Over Six Sigma In Bleak Economy.
Artist: Nate Bressler
Another victim of the depression: your customer
Artist: Kim Keever http://www.ktfineart.com/artists/kim_keever
In 2008, the quality of customer service was finally on the rise in the Netherlands.
Executives had heard the cacophony of complaints and finally decided to do something about it.
Even some of the customer service offenders ranked worst in independent surveys – telecoms, tax office and cable companies – were making progress.
But these advancements are now at risk, despite the fact that customer service is crucial for the success of all organizations, from the one-person doctor’s office to the largest bank or telecom. There is a direct positive correlation between customer service and customer retention, as happy and satisfied customers are more likely to stay with an organization.
In turn, revenue and profitability are directly related to customer retention.
When the economy gets tight and revenue falls, companies try to cut operating expenses wherever they can; reducing headcount in functions perceived as “overhead” is considered a good way to do this.
DMG, an american consultancy firm estimated recently that more than 80% of companies have already or in the next six months will cut customer service or contact center staff as a quick way to reduce expenses. Unfortunately, many CFOs perceive contact centers as being staffed with expendable, not-highly-trained employees.
Donna Floss, founder of DMG appreciates the need to make tough decisions to keep a business solvent, but she question the rationale behind cutting customer service before other staff and operating areas.
During turbulent economic times, like the present, contact centers often receive more calls than ever. Many financial services contact centers are receiving additional calls because people are worried about the security of their savings and investments or want to refinance. Insurance companies are receiving more reimbursement requests as people watch every penny; this generates more calls to check on the status of pending claims and to argue their disposition. And, consumers are calling their telecom and cable providers to save a few bucks by changing plans or questioning bills, even for small amounts.
So, while staff is being cut, call and inquiry volumes are increasing, not a great combination for customers or agents.
It is my sincere belief that most large contact operations with more than 250 staff members can sustain staff reductions of 10% to 20% without a major impact on the service level. This can be achieved by making better use of existing applications, specifically workforce management and self-service. However, once the cuts go deeper (and they are expected to), service quality suffers.
Artist: Kim Keever http://www.ktfineart.com/artists/kim_keever
There he goes again: iconic brands belong to a long forgotten past
Artist Sir Kaur www.sirikaur.com
There are still companies which aspire to build brands that eventually get etched in the culture of the society and become cultural icons.
But very few companies are able to achieve this iconic status.
Contrary to popular perception, iconicity does not happen by chance, but rather has to be carefully planned and executed.
A look at some of the most iconic brands in history such as Coca-Cola, Harley Davidson, Giorgio Armani, Apple, Amanresorts and Singapore Airlines reveals some very common characteristics.
To be continued via The Three Steps to Creating an Iconic Brand by Martin Roll : Customer Management Information, Media & Training Community – Customer Management IQ.
And you are aware that there are very few iconic brands. But never mind, not being Lance Armstrong biking was and is always fun for me!
Artist Sir Kaur www.sirikaur.com
