1) People still buy from people and want to know who they are working with

2) The line between inside sales and account management has become blurred.

With a SaaS product I have seen that a inside sales person can make @ $10K sale via the phone and webex (I have not seen a higher sale without someone having to jump on a plane) but once that sale is made that same inside sales person then becomes the account manager also.

The customer only wants to “deal” with the same person who sold them the product. As most SaaS sales are a subscription, account management becomes critical. The SaaS model falls apart if the renewal dip below say 85%.

http://blog.bridgegroupinc.com/blog/tabid/47760/bid/10813/SaaS-and-the-Hunter-Farmer-Debate.aspx

Finally once the sales person goes over 50 accounts (my number based on experience) there needs to be a discussion of an account manager stepping in. The sales person will protest because of the thought of losing the recurring commission so be prepared to work that out.

http://www.ehow.com/how_2132895_write-memorandum-understanding.html

Include an addendum if necessary to define terms within the agreement or add necessary forms to be utilized for services and resources.Make sure that all decision makers are involved and MOU is signed by a person of authority

http://www.allbusiness.com/labor-employment/resumes-curricula-vitae/12354189-1.html

Key, trusted employees are different, and it can be very helpful to have them on your side in an acquisition. Often an acquisition means growth opportunities for them, so it doesn’t hurt to let them in on your plans. Just let them know how important it is not to discuss the plans with other employees.

Clarify your goals and strategy. Be very clear about your aims and ambitions, both short and long term. Write them down. Once you know what you really want to achieve (and why) it’s easier to make decisions about what needs doing, and to plan accordingly.

http://www.flixya.com/post/watercar/1714250/Effective_Time_Management_-_Ten_Top_Tips

Repeat your success. Remember the last time you went away on holiday, and how you got so much done in those few days before you left? What strategies and techniques did you employ that made you so effective and focused? Can you repeat them?

Despite the increased weight placed on corporate responsibility in recent years, several companies have taken well-publicized hits to their reputations. The past year has been particularly hard on businesses.

A Harris Interactive survey concluded last year that more Americans view the overall reputation of corporate America as having declined a little (33 percent) or a lot (18 percent) over the previous year. Only 11 percent said it had improved. Fully 71 percent of Americans said the reputation of corporate America is poor, signaling a continued environment of consumer concern and frustration with the way companies operate.

http://news.thomasnet.com/IMT/archives/2009/08/building-and-rebuilding-corporate-reputations-prepare-respond-to-risks.html

“Ultimately,” senior consultant Dr. Majorie Dijkstr writes at Reputation Institute, “risk management is about both anticipating strategic issues and leveraging opportunities to engage with the company’s key stakeholders around topics and initiatives that are most relevant to them.

“Effective risk management is about aligning perception and reality,” Dijkstr says.

Sacred cows are the unquestioned rules, dogmatic systems and ways of working that seem off-limits to change.

The problem is, sacred cows block potential. If you blindly accept a pattern, or worse, feel forbidden to challenge it, then you can’t improve it. You become stuck. And stuck is the antithesis of everything we stand for.

Only by testing the legitimacy of a sacred cow can you create the best solutions. Here’s an example. In our industry, the following statement is accepted fact:

Advertising agencies are creative.

We share a vested interest in maintaining this reality. We don’t even think to question it.

Yet this statement is only partially true. Yes, we are the most innovative group around—when it comes to our clients. However when it comes to our own companies, we’re remarkably unimaginative. Rarely do we stop, look around and reinvent the way we work.

The reality is, certain agency practices are ineffective, obsolete or even unfair. Yet they remain standard policy.

http://www.commarts.com/columns/slaughter-sacred-cows.html

Stand back, and take a big picture look at the way you do business. Challenge each practice to see whether it’s a smart way of doing business, or a sacred cow. Poke it. Test it. Make it uncomfortable. Make it prove itself.

If a practice still seems right after being challenged, then great. Keep going. If you find a cow, get right to the core of the problem. Usually it’s benign neglect, but sometimes it’s complacency, or myopic accounting, or ego, or something equally awkward to bring up.

At that point, start talking about it.

Over dinner.

While eating a bloody rare steak.

Over the past year, many of the world’s best-known luxury labels have started to introduce ecofriendly products, snap up brands that tout their social responsibility and weave environmental themes into their advertising and marketing. In May, French luxury conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton took a stake in Edun, an organic-clothing company founded by the singer Bono and his wife.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124650107013784081.html

The global recession is adding challenges that defy simple solutions. Global sales of luxury goods are expected to fall 10% this year to €154 billion ($218 billion), the first decline in 15 years, according to Bain & Co. The industry isn’t expected to return to 2008 levels, €170 billion, until 2012, says Claudia D’Arpizio, a consultant at Bain’s Milan office. In response brands are slowing store expansion, lowering prices and trimming ad spending to cut costs.

Still, the economy may also accelerate the greening of luxury, industry executives say. A February survey by Cone found that 50% of Americans ages 18 to 24 said they have “higher expectations of companies to make and sell environmentally responsible products and services during the economic downturn,” compared with 35% of Americans overall.

Speaking at a PR summit at Pfizer HQ yesterday, Susman, SVP and chief communications officer for Pfizer, emphasized the importance of “return on reputation” and said corporate ads don’t work.

“If we pay, it’s immediately tainted,” said Susman, describing the reputational challenges Big Pharma must contend with in terms of public reception. “I don’t want my logo on things.” She noted that Edelman’s annual Trust Barometer found public trust of healthcare providers plunged this year.

http://www.mmm-online.com/Dont-look-for-the-logo-to-boost-reputation-says-Pfizer-PR/article/140710/

Addressing the sour reputation of pharma, which the public views as “greedy, arrogant and deceitful people who care only about money,” Susman countered that Pfizer “does care about profits, but we spend a lot more time talking about science, health and prevention.”

Instead of focusing solely on ROI as a metric for successful PR, Susman suggested the addition of an ROR metric: return on reputation.

“Even if companies haven’t literally lost their employees, many have lost them psychologically,” warns Jon Gordon, speaker, consultant, and author of the new book The Shark and the Goldfish: Positive Ways to Thrive During Waves of Change. “Too many Americans are beaten down, burned out, and completely de-motivated. And if leaders don’t strive to change that—to create a positive culture that energizes people—there will be dire consequences.”

http://rismedia.com/2009-10-14/re-energize-your-burned-out-workforce-9-leadership-strategies-to-boost-morale/

These are uncertain times, and no one can predict what the future will look like. Realistically, even if you devote yourself to helping your employees think their best and be their best, some might still find themselves better suited to positions outside your company. The main thing is emphasize to your team that the world is full of opportunity for those who are willing to stay positive, work hard, and find it. “Ultimately,” promises Gordon, “by filling the voids with positive leadership, positive communication, and positive action, there is one thing you can be certain of—a future in which your organization is stronger, wiser, and better than it is today.”

“You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can’t get them across, your ideas won’t get you anywhere.” -Lee Iacocca

Want to be a successful corporate leader? You have to learn to speak effectively with your superiors in order to communicate that you can handle a promotion. Next, in order to remain successful in a leadership position with the company, you must learn to effectively communicate with your subordinates in order to lead.

Management in the 21st century isn’t barking out orders. Today’s managers are leaders and leadership requires motivating their employees and building relationships. Furthermore, most companies are now considering communication skills as vital factors in the hiring and promotion process.

http://artofeloquence.com/blog/leadership/

Good communication skills enhance your leadership and success in the following ways:

* Self confidence
* Leadership Skills
* Personal Presence
* Credibility
* Ability to Persuade/Explain
* Understanding of Others
* Interaction and Enjoyment
* Learning Effectiveness

“He who loves a pure heart and whose speech is gracious will have the king for his friend.” Proverbs 22:11

Pick your favorite leader. Go ask him about how important communication skills are to him!