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Jim Collins Fortune Interview Translated for the Sales Force

Written by: Dave Kurlan

Article Overview: Jim Collins was interviewed in the February 2 issue of Fortune. He was asked this question: "Right now, it seems as if people are panicking - or are paralyzed about decisions."

Jim Collins Fortune Interview Translated for the Sales Force

Jim Collins was interviewed in the February 2 issue of Fortune.

He was asked this question: "Right now, it seems as if people are panicking - or are paralyzed about decisions."

He responded with, "Almost across the board, people are worrying. As a rock climber, the one thing you learn is that those who panic, die on the mountain. you don't just sit on the mountain. You either go up or go down, but don't just sit and wait to get clobbered. if you go down and survive, you can come back another day. You have to ask the question, what can we do not just to survive but to turn this into a defining point in history?"

Back to my comments: So, if you must do something, as opposed to nothing, what can you do? You can only cut so many costs. You can only sit back and wait for so long. You can only hope so much. At some point, you must do something about the one thing you can control - your sales force - the single connecting point between you and your revenue. Although you don't want to increase spending right now, spending money on the group of people that actually have the ability to reverse declining revenue is not only responsible, it is necessary!

If faced with a legal crisis, CEO's don't "do what they can"; they call their attorneys. When faced with a tax or accounting crises, CEO's don't do what they can, they call their accountants. If faced with damage to their property, CEO's don't do what they can, they call their insurance agents.

You are faced with an economic crisis. Don't do what you can. Do what you must. Call your Sales Development Expert! There are so many ways to reverse declining revenues, to help your sales force succeed in these difficult times, to change your approach, to get more of a smaller pie. Just don't believe that you know what all of those methods are or that you know how to get your salespeople to change.

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Article Tags: accountants, accounting, attorneys, ceo, connecting point, crises, decisions, development expert, difficult times, economic crisis, february 2, fortune, insurance, insurance agents, jim collins, legal crisis, rock climber, salespeople, spending money



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Re: Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional - [quote="ltrahan":31w9r2iz]Hi Evan, I am noticing that many of the posts in the Sales/Marketing section deal with online marketing, SEM and and SEO and Affiliates. I was wondering if it might be a good idea to separate that section into two; 1) Online Sales and Marketing; 2) Traditional Sales and Marketing[/quote:31w9r2iz] I second the request...
Re: Good role models (and a rant on women in today's TV) - [quote="BuzzAroundBooks":zr494s8r]In that case, which shows on tv (if any) do you enjoy watching? And if you had the money are there any good role models on tv you'd ask to endorse your products and services?[/quote:zr494s8r] Heh heh. To tell the truth, I don't watch a lot of "new" TV. I watch a lot of sports, and see the advertisements for the dramas, sitcoms, reality shows, and so on, that way, and so I can tell what they're about, and what kind of people the women portray, without actually having to watch them! What I'd like to see are TV shows that show women pilots, bicyclists, and so on. (I'd really like to increase the profile of bicyclists on city streets, because in the good ol' USA, even though drivers are supposed to share the road with cyclists, 9 out of 10 of em think cyclists are supposed to be on sidewalks. Have some big name actors like Will Smith, Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, riding through the streets on bikes urging people to do likewise...might do some good!) I'd like to see astronauts such as Shannon Lucid and Eileen Collins in programs, or the various female Air Force pilots (I just interviewed Donna Kohout, for example, first woman to fly a Nighthawk, for my Winged Victory webzine), etc. etc. The shows I watch are the DVDs of the ones I grew up with as a kid, The Avengers with John Steed and Emma Peel (Emma Peel was and is a role model for me), Banacek, Columbo, etc.! I used to watch Law and Order, too...but it's many spinoffs have never appealed....
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