Mary L. Erlain's Blog, page 36

Enthusiastically Embrace Positive Change

As a decision maker and problem solver, be prepared to risk change. Be willing to pay the price of disturbing your own psychological comfort by choosing to change. It may become necessary to defend yourself against traditional ways of thinking and acting, and you may have to do without social approval for a time. You […]

Generational Diversity Assessment

Welcome to your Generational Diversity Assessment NameBusinessEmailPhone Number1) Our entire organization has a shared vision of the future.Strongly disagreeDisagreeNeutralAgreeStrongly agree2) Our staff members are valued for their diversity, skills, and ideas.Strongly disagreeDisagreeNeutralAgreeStrongly agree3) Our organization readily embraces change and transition.Strongly disagreeDisagreeNeutralAgreeStrongly agree4) It’s a fun place to hang out…people enjoy their work and relationships are […]

Develop Self-Motivation

The most effective system of motivation is based on the satisfaction of individual needs. Become sensitive to the needs of the people you wish to motivate and help them fill their ever-expanding appetites for achievement, recognition, self-expression, and a sense of belonging. True motivation comes from within and is the responsibility of the individual. You […]

Tying Individual BD Metrics to Company Goals

Tying Individual BD Metrics to Company Goals If you are like many business owners and executives, you might believe any BD effort advances your company toward profitability. However, you also probably realize any success you achieve comes in spite of missing opportunities and holes in your BD processes. Day-to-day demands often keep organizations from digging […]

Using LinkedIn as a research tool

Using LinkedIn as a research tool can help you in your BD process. The tool can be used in many ways:  Join Groups. LinkedIn groups come in all shapes and sizes. Identify groups with members who are prospective clients or influencers in your industry. Get involved in the group by creating content that features subjects […]

Your Message

One exercise I find organizations do not do is to build that one consistent message. This is the message that is used by every member of the company. This is more than the mission statement, although the mission, vision, purpose and value statements are used to develop this message. This message speaks about the company […]

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT USING TEAMS

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT USING TEAMS Who needs business development teams?  Companies that: Offer complex products and services Provide multiple product lines to a single customer Present to multiple buyers in a company Close deals that require rapid product implementation If this is you, then it may be worth it to your company to develop a highly […]

Harnessing a Firm-Wide Business Development Culture: Customer Directed Focus

Harnessing a Firm-Wide Business Development Culture: Customer Directed Focus Everyone is in business development…I know there are those that may bristle at that statement. The reality is that everyone who has a job in an organization is in a business development role all day every day. We typically only view this as it relates to […]

“Portrait of the Business Developer – Analytically Speaking”

Most organizations understand that effective management and deployment of assets can mean the difference between success and failure. They usually define those assets as “things.” Many organizations fail to consider their most critical asset is their human capital. This quote is absolutely not a surprise to me, except maybe considering the author. “Little of today’s […]

Sales Least Wanted List

Serial Prospects Kill Your Pipeline The Serial Prospect (SP) can impact a company in many ways. Before we go any further, let me define what they look like. The market has changed in our 21st Century. Some of the changes would be the advancement of technology in business, our expanding global marketplace, internet based purchasing, […]