Six Metrics to Boost Your Sales

boost your salesSales are the cornerstone of any business, but increasing sales doesn’t need to be difficult if you know which metrics to track closely.

Dave Lavinsky, co-founder of Growthink and an Entrepreneur contributor, outlines six metrics that can help you boost your sales.

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HR Leaders: What You Shouldn’t Do in 2014

HR LeadersMost business and leadership advice focuses on the things you should do, rather than the things you shouldn’t.

In a recent post on peoplematters.in, contributor Andrew Warren Smith suggests HR leaders start practicing the idea of limiting choices, and reinvesting recaptured time and energy into other priorities.

To begin narrowing down areas of focus for 2014, he offers the following list:

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Ten Traits of Great Innovators

innovatorsOne of the keys to sustained business success is understanding and embracing innovation. All organizations — and not just the Googles and the Apples of the world — can become innovative, but it can be challenging for some business leaders to see innovation in their teams and businesses.

In a recent Forbes post, contributor Rebecca Bagley discusses ten traits all great innovators possess.

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Six Habits of Remarkably Likable People

habitsThe beginning of the year always provides business leaders with an opportunity to think about setting goals, and also change bad habits, and rededicate themselves towards professional development.

For some, that means increasing their likeability factor: Being liked and respected in their organizations, and among their peers and colleagues.

In a recent Inc.com post, contributor Jeff Haden examines six habits of likable people, and how they succeed in setting everyone else at ease.

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Five Steps to Increased Efficiency

efficiencyProductivity. It’s something that all business leaders and professionals are thinking about — how to do more in each day, eliminate the distractions, and keep focused on achieving the big business goals that lie ahead.

In a recent Inc.com post, contributor Minda Zetlin interviewed Brian Moran, author of the “12 Week Year,” for his thoughts about how professionals can use efficiency to meet their goals faster.

Moran suggesting thinking of the calendar not as 12 months, but 12 weeks.

“If you embrace 12 weeks as a year, it changes your thinking. It creates a healthy sense of urgency. Twelve weeks is long enough to make significant progress, but near enough that you don’t lose sight of the deadline.”

Here are five steps to get started with Moran’s 12-week planning model: Read more

Four Ways You’re Letting Your Customers Walk Away

customersA new study from research firm Ovum shows 90 percent of companies are losing customers because they’re failing to adapt to the new ways of doing business.

In a recent inc.com article, columnist Erik Sherman summarizes the findings so businesses can learn what they’re doing wrong, as well as how to fix the issues.

Certainly, many companies are using CRM platforms to understand how their customers are buying, and to extract meaningful insights from mountains of data.

But businesses of all sizes and shapes are shedding customers and losing sales because their current processes and systems aren’t keeping pace with technology-savvy consumers.

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