March 10, 2010

What’s in a name? Sales Director, Sales Manager, etc.

Filed under: My Thoughts — Cindy Hazen @ 3:10 pm

So, what do you do? “I’m the Sales Manager/ Sales Director/ Key Account Manager/ Business Development Manager” of company XYZ. If there is one thing I have learned in these last 10 years of recruiting, it is that the title or name really doesn’t tell me much. Regional Managers can be covering 1/4 of the United States but really only manage themselves. Sales Directors can lead a division but maybe only have one direct report on their sales “team”.

And that’s OK. BUT, if you are job seeking or hiring, it’s imperative you know the actual depth of experience this person has. Therefore, you must ask specific questions to find out specific answers. How many people did you manage (or lead as I like to say)? How large was your territory? How much actual business development were YOU personally responsible for?

In my last corporate position, we had Sales Managers and Regional Sales Managers and VP of Sales and National Sales Managers. I knew exactly what the hierchy was and for what each one was responsible. Now, as I peruse hundreds of resumes weekly, I have to look further to really know what the title means.

So, the moral of the story is, don’t let the title alone mislead you- especially if you are hiring or considering doing business with this person. What’s more important is the scope of their authority and expertise.

November 30, 2009

Filed under: My Thoughts — Cindy Hazen @ 7:27 am

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October 18, 2009

Reflection Time at the End of the Day

Filed under: Business Trends, Health And Fitness, Self Help — Cindy Hazen @ 9:13 am

Mke the end of the day count with thoughtful reflection

Coaches and motivational writers frequently urge you to focus on beginning your day productively. The end of your day is just as important.
      Take a few moments as you leave or drive home to examine what happened during your day: What went right? What frustrated you? How could you have accomplished more?
      If you have trouble remembering names, picture the people you met during the day so you can commit their faces and names to your memory.
—Adapted from “Effective leaders ask the right questions throughout the day,” by Tom Pearce, on the iLead Consulting & Training

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LinkedIn Surpasses 50 MILLION Users!!!

Filed under: My Thoughts — Cindy Hazen @ 6:31 am

Wow- this is mind boggling! Read this from Linked In.

As of early Saturday morning Oct. 17, LinkedIn has 50 million users worldwide and we’re growing that figure at roughly one new member per second.  When LinkedIn launched in 2003, it took 477 days — almost a year and four months — to reach our first million members. This last million took only 12 days.

Where are these 50 million users? LinkedIn has been global since inception — about half of our total membership is international.  There are now 11 million users in Europe alone. India is currently our fastest-growing country with almost 3 million users, while the Netherlands has the highest rate of adoption per capita outside the U.S., at 30%.

While 50 million is an important milestone, we’re even more excited about how our members are using the site.  Around the globe, people turn to LinkedIn to create and manage their professional identities online. They reconnect with former colleagues and develop new relationships, enabling them to create and collaborate with a network of trusted individuals. Every day professionals use LinkedIn to define themselves —and their businesses — to the world.

We’re proud to have reached this latest milestone, and we very much appreciate our members’ use of LinkedIn.  However, in the context of our mission – to connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful – we’re just getting started.

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October 5, 2009

Celebrate SUCCESS with your Sales Team- listen up Sales Managers

Filed under: My Thoughts — Cindy Hazen @ 4:15 am

Dedicate a Meeting to CELEBRATE SUCCESS

Employee meetings usually revolve around problems and decisions. Lighten things up every once in a while with a “What’s right” meeting. It doesn’t have to be a lengthy rah-rah extravaganza: Just bring your group together to highlight a couple of recent successes and express your appreciation for everyone’s work. Your people will have a more positive attitude about their contributions, and recognition of success may spur more innovation as well.
—Adapted from “CEO alert: Why managers can’t increase productivity with current methods—and what to do about it,” by Terri Levine, on TerriLevine.com

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