Managing Remote Teams - Which type of boss does it best?

In the new world of technology where distance is not a factor for production, there is a trend for staff to work remotely. The remote workers can be outsourced from around the world via a crowdworking website such as Amazon's mechanical turk, a low cost solution such as fiverr.com, or a pool of freelancers like Outsource.com.  

Remote Worker:

“ A remote worker is someone who works outside of a traditional office. An employee might work from home, from a coffee shop, or from anywhere that is not a regular office; although depending on the type of job they do, they might find themselves going into an office on occasion (if the company’s hub is geographically close to them)."

Topics: Leadership Hiring Recruiting Management

The Most Effective Sales Compensation Models to Keep a Team Motivated

One of the most common challenges faced by business managers of both established and growing businesses are “how to compensate their sales teams effectively.” Managers need to implement a compensation model that motivates their sales team to land new accounts, while at the same time upselling the existing ones. But, how do you identify the most efficient compensation model to use? And how do you measure performance against the compensation model?  Well, the information given here will answer these and more questions about some of the most efficient sales compensation models to keep a team motivated.

Topics: Sales Leadership Hiring Compensation

The best sales interview questions, a few tips from HubSpot and a sales lesson from Mark Cuban

Profits increase when you have engaged, passionate people on your team. Having the wrong people in those seats can be a barrier to growing sales and increasing the overall profit of your organization.

With the level of the talent available today in the marketplace, you can always replace someone if you don’t find the right fit the first time. After a quick hire, a simple plan of “wait and see for 90 days” seems logical with so many available. If the new person on the team does not perform in the first 90 days, terminate and hire the next. However, it's much better if you hire the right candidate from the start.

Much of the conversation focuses on how people can find a job.  “How to get hired” is a question answered again and again. Employers still need to do their part, to hire the right people.  Hiring doesn't have to be gamble. The right recruiting and selection process is one of the most important strategic plans your company needs to improve revenue and profits results exponentially.

Les McKeown, President and CEO, Predictable Success puts the responsibility of success on the employer in this Inc. Magazine article:

Topics: Revenue Growth Profit Sales Leadership

4 Steps to include in a Successful Leadership Action Plan

A leadership action plan does not need to be complex.  Great leaders inspire action without pages of rules. Simon Sinek has a simple but powerful model for inspirational leadership — starting with a golden circle and the question "Why?" His examples include Apple, Martin Luther King, and the Wright brothers ..

Watch Simon Sinek in this TEDTalk video share his insights about great leaders:

Topics: Leadership Strategy Action Plan

How to Retain Your Top Performers

Improving people’s lives at work has a direct influence on company performance. A better culture and work environment offers more potential for accelerated revenue growth as a team is motivated to be innovative with sales and marketing.

Here we will highlight important points about how to retain top performers and why it is is important.

"We want to attract and retain top performers."

Unfortunately many focus on attracting the best and making the “right hire” and not enough time on “retention”. 

If team members are as dedicated and committed to the success and mission of your organization as you are, you might find validation in the ideas below.

In addition to the word “retain”, add “engage.”

“We want to attract, retain and engage top performers.”

Topics: Leadership

King County Executive's Small Business Awards

The King County Executive's Small Business Awards ceremony was held today. I had the opportunity to attend and met a great group of business owners and leaders. Essex Porter of KIRO TV was the emcee. Dow Constantine, King County Executive, was our host and presented the Small Business of the Year Award.

Topics: Revenue Growth Leadership News Awards