What Successful Sales People Do!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!



Contact me at tduggan(@)Cogentco.com at Cogent for more Info or to Network. Cogent delivers customers with Highly Reliable, Secure and Scalable IP Networks with over 190 markets throughout 38 countries in North America, Europe and Asia, with over 57,900 route miles of long-haul fiber and over 27,400 miles of metropolitan fiber.

Twas The Night Before Month End...

Twas The Night Before Month End
Twas the day before month end and across every floor,
All the salespeople were scurrying some right out the door.

The goals had been hung on a white board with care,
In hopes that this month would find everyone there.

Sales managers were nestled in a conference with dread.
While visions of bonuses still danced in their head!

The CEO with her figures and I my sales map,
Had just settled down for our afternoon chat.

When out on the sales floor arose such a clatter,
I sprang from our meeting to see what was the matter!

Away to my team I flew like a flash -
Arriving in moments after my 50 yard dash.

Above all the murmurs and shouting I heard, "PO"
Which gave the luster of goal to all gathered below.

When, what to my wondering eyes did appear,
The salesperson with an order that would make them their year!

So over the details, by line we went quick,
Ensuring the warehouse each item could pick.

More rapid than eagles accounting they came,
And wanted more info, the customer credit to gain;

Away they all went to make the D&B call,
Making sure that the deal would be good for us all.

The answer was quick, as we all knew the stakes!
Yes, accounting cried, you've not make a mistake.

Now back to her desk the salesperson flew,
Customer info to update and order entry to do.

The warehouse was bustling, more coffee they drank,
It wouldn't be THEIR fault if our numbers did tank.

Then the pick slip started printing, the paper did fly,
The pages kept printing, right up to the sky!

They all started running to pack all the stuff,
Sales held their breath, would it be enough?

When the boxes were labeled and stacked on the dock,
We let out our breath then glanced up at the clock.

We did it, we'd made it - yes right on the nose,
Then cheers they did shout and the volume it rose.

To cut through the noise the salesperson did whistle,
"If you needed proof forecasting works, I'm sure this'll!"

Surprised at this admission, I looked all around,
They were all still smiling, not a face held a frown.

Knowing I couldn't say it better myself,
I shuffled some paper to stack on the shelf.

Still patting her back, the sales team turned to go,
A good month on the books - we still basked in the glow.

And I heard her exclaim as she left for the night,
It's amazing what happens, when you plan it all right!

Author Lynn Hidy Selling To Big Companies



Contact me at tduggan(@)Cogentco.com at Cogent for more Info or to Network. Cogent delivers customers with Highly Reliable, Secure and Scalable IP Networks with over 190 markets throughout 38 countries in North America, Europe and Asia, with over 57,900 route miles of long-haul fiber and over 27,400 miles of metropolitan fiber.

My Annual Holiday Maxfund Pet Food Drive in Denver!

I wanted to let everyone know that I will be participating in my annual Holiday Maxfund Pet Food Drive again this year -7 years counting helping a local no-kill Pet shelter. I will not bore you with my Pets are needy and every little bit helps speech because hey, it could be worse I could be asking you to donate to the Santa Clause alcohol recovery group.

I would appreciate anything you might be able to contribute. I will be collecting items between now and De 30th to deliver to the Maxfund Animal Shelter. Feel free to email me or click on my profile to find out my contact information and I will be happy to make arrangements for pick up.


Items Needed:
*Dog food and cat food – unopened bags; cans
*Dog crates – all sizes Cat carriers
*Dog beds/pillows (new or gently used)
*Cat litter Stuffed dog toys (washable rubber or plastic ones are best)
*Chew toys for dogs (Kongs are ideal)
*Blankets, towels, comforters (new or gently used)
*Sheets; towels – all sizes Bowls – all sizes (plastic or metal)
*Large jars of peanut butter Large chew bones
*Used leashes; dog collars
*Dog shampoo Tennis balls

This was meant for anyone in the Colorado Region, if interested and live out of state feel free to let me know if you would like to contribute...all donations accepted!


Maxfund
If you are not able to drop off anything but feel like giving, here is a link: https://www.maxfund.org/donation-page

Contact me at tduggan(@)Cogentco.com at Cogent for more Info or to Network. Cogent delivers customers with Highly Reliable, Secure and Scalable IP Networks with over 190 markets throughout 38 countries in North America, Europe and Asia, with over 57,900 route miles of long-haul fiber and over 27,400 miles of metropolitan fiber.

7 Quick Sales Tips for a Strong 2015 Close

 

The year has once again flown by and it’s time to finish out on a strong note. For sales professionals, this means pedal to the metal to close out the year on top. For sales managers, it means coaching and guiding teams to reach the finish line in good shape. Here are some quick sales tips that may prove helpful in bringing 2015 to a strong close.

1. Personalize your dialogues — Too many sales professionals send impersonal e-mails and leave “canned” voice mails- I know, because I’m on the receiving end. There’s a tool called the Internet, with the World Wide Web and social media sites, offering a wealth of information regarding the contacts you’re trying to reach. Prior to any dialogue, phone or e-mail, take the time to check LinkedIn and Twitter to find out who they are, their interests, and what they’re tweeting about. Then, use this personal information in your dialogues. I know how great marketing automation systems can be, but they tend to generate generic responses. When you make dialogues personal, you can expect to see a change in response rates.

2. Read, read, read, and read — In our great age of content-based marketing, organizations are producing an abundance of relevant articles, white papers, research studies, briefs, and blogs on key subjects. Search for topics related to your industry, and sign up for alerts and blog subscriptions from people and organizations that can help build your knowledge base. These sources can give you the information to develop and provide insights to prospects.

3. Provide real insights — The more you read, the better the insights you can provide. Don’t just automatically share content with “read this article, it’s a great piece.” Take the time to aggregate data and provide meaning. Offer real insights and value to your connections. Develop an opinion and communicate your points of view. It’s a great way to become an expert and build both credibility and your personal brand.

4. Don’t get complacent — If you are close to making goal with a few months of the year left, it’s easy to get complacent. I say keep the pedal down and make it to the finish line as quickly as possible. Remember, the calendar resets itself each year. Don’t just think about completing the current year; push for continued, sustainable success to lay the foundation for 2016.

5. Fill out your CRM — Data capturing and sharing is critical in today’s business world. I understand that sales professionals typically don’t get up in the morning eager to fill out their CRM, but make a commitment to do so. Tracking won and lost deals is critical for companies, with analysis helping to improve products, positioning, and messaging.

6. Get social — If you are not leveraging social selling tools, do so before it’s too late. You don’t have to become an expert in Twitter or make hundreds of connections on LinkedIn. At the very least, set up accounts on these two social platforms and follow your clients and prospects so you can learn more about how they think and what is important to them. Follow the posts of investor relations departments to get a better understanding of your target companies’ business performance. Finally, follow your competitors, too, so you can stay current on what they are doing.

7. Nurture leads — Prospecting can be difficult. That’s why if someone downloads content from your website, you should make the commitment to follow up and nurture that lead. They may not have an immediate need, but they are searching for elements of your solution. Basically, they’re kicking the tires. If they fit your lead criteria, make sure to touch base and nurture those leads. Don’t just give up after two e-mails; make sure the prospect knows who you are for when the need arises

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By James Brado

Contact me at tduggan(@)Cogentco.com at Cogent for more Info or to Network. Cogent delivers customers with Highly Reliable, Secure and Scalable IP Networks with over 190 markets throughout 38 countries in North America, Europe and Asia, with over 57,900 route miles of long-haul fiber and over 27,400 miles of metropolitan fiber.

New Data Reveals: The Best Times To Send Your Business Emails This Holiday Season

New Data Reveals: The Best Times To Send Your Business Emails This Holiday Season from HubSpot

Contact me at tduggan(@)Cogentco.com at Cogent for more Info or to Network. Cogent delivers customers with Highly Reliable, Secure and Scalable IP Networks with over 190 markets throughout 38 countries in North America, Europe and Asia, with over 57,900 route miles of long-haul fiber and over 27,400 miles of metropolitan fiber.

Where the Internet Meets in the Largest Data Center in the World

Contact me at tduggan(@)Cogentco.com at Cogent for more Info or to Network. Cogent delivers customers with Highly Reliable, Secure and Scalable IP Networks with over 190 markets throughout 38 countries in North America, Europe and Asia, with over 57,900 route miles of long-haul fiber and over 27,400 miles of metropolitan fiber.

The 10 Biggest Data Center Stories

Here are the 10 most popular stories that ran on Data Center Knowledge

Safe Harbor Ruling Leaves Data Center Operators in Ambiguity – Europe’s annulment of the framework that made it easy for companies to transfer data between data centers in Europe and the US while staying within the limits of European privacy laws has caused a lot of uncertainty for businesses that operate data centers on both sides of the Atlantic.

Which Data Center Skills are in Demand Today – As their approach to infrastructure changes, organizations are looking to invest in good people to support new initiatives.

Equinix Doubles Down in One of Internet’s Most Important Locations – Equinix broke ground on a brand new Ashburn, Virginia, campus that has the potential to grow to 1 million square feet of gross building space – a data center build-out that would cost $1 billion by the company’s estimate. Inside an Equinix data center. (Photo: Equinix)

Telx Acquisition Closed, Here’s Digital Realty’s Plan – Interconnecting Telx meet-me rooms with its big wholesale facilities over private network links is Digital’s new value proposition. Digital Realty data center in Chessington, U.K. (Photo: Digital Realty)

Growth Continues in Secondary North American Data Center Markets – While top data center markets like New York, Silicon Valley, and Dallas get most of the attention, a lot of growth is taking place in markets considered secondary. Markets like Seattle, Portland, Phoenix, and, more recently, Reno, Nevada, are seeing a lot of multi-tenant data center construction and take-up.

Windstream to Sell Data Center Business for $575M – Windstream has more than 20 data centers, most of them on the East Coast, with some in the Midwest, South, and on the West Coast.

Who is Winning in the DCIM Software Market? – While the very top players are the same, competition for their market share is heating up, as new vendors enter the market, and as previously existing ones step up their game.

The Billions in Data Center Spending behind Cloud Revenue Growth – Every quarter, cloud giants Amazon, Microsoft, IBM, and Google collectively spend billions of dollars on servers and other hardware for their cloud services and data centers around the world to house all that gear, and the quarter that ended September 30 was no different. A technician at work in a data hall at Facebook’s Altoona, Iowa, data center. (Photo: Facebook/2014 Jacob Sharp Photography)

Facebook to Build Third $200M North Carolina Data Center – The company has been on a data center construction tear this year, which indicates that its user base continues to grow quickly.

HP Launches Open Source OS for Data Center Networking – The move to open networking is about giving users more control of the configuration of their networks, as well enabling Software Defined Networking and Network Function Virtualization capabilities. Stay current on data center news by subscribing to our daily email updates and RSS feed, or by following us onTwitter,Facebook,




Contact me at tduggan(@)Cogentco.com at Cogent for more Info or to Network. Cogent delivers customers with Highly Reliable, Secure and Scalable IP Networks with over 190 markets throughout 38 countries in North America, Europe and Asia, with over 57,900 route miles of long-haul fiber and over 27,400 miles of metropolitan fiber.

The Next Information Revolution Will Be 100 Times Bigger Than The Internet

Every day I see something I want to know more about, something I can experience at a deeper level, and share with my friends and family. I’m hardly alone in that; the average citizen of any connected country is an avid consumer, seeker, and sharer of information —driving over 5.7 billion Google searches each day. But what happens when you see something you can’t describe? Or when you encounter something you can’t accurately communicate to a friend, let alone a search engine?

Sadly, the platforms and tools of the current age of information aren’t much help when trying to learn about. They restrict our ability to learn more about things we cannot describe with words. And while the Internet has powered a new era of human networking and intelligence, the first information revolution fell short of realizing the potential of technology to provide us with the keys we need to fully unlock the world around us in any given moment. This isn’t a new development. Throughout history, our ability to express curiosity for the world around us has been limited only by the technology available.

To get a sense of the far-ranging implications of a new information revolution, we can consider the massive shift the search business drove in the wake of mainstream Internet adoption. As PCs became cheaper and connectivity improved, millions of consumers needed a better way to access the wealth of information that was now available within their homes and offices. In meeting that need, the search industry established the infrastructure that is today continuing to disrupt everything from print advertising to brick & mortar retail. The best example of the long-term ramifications of an information revolution is, of course, Google.

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Ambarish is cofounder and CEO of Blippar.




Contact me at tduggan(@)Cogentco.com at Cogent for more Info or to Network. Cogent delivers customers with Highly Reliable, Secure and Scalable IP Networks with over 190 markets throughout 38 countries in North America, Europe and Asia, with over 57,900 route miles of long-haul fiber and over 27,400 miles of metropolitan fiber.

Data Center 101 Colocation and Security Tips For Your Company

Leaders from Microsoft and Dell tell us what we should know about our data centers, before we build them. Also, learn what technology and market trends are driving the need for high-density, high-performance solutions in the data center.
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Contact me at tduggan(@)Cogentco.com at Cogent for more Info or to Network. Cogent delivers customers with Highly Reliable, Secure and Scalable IP Networks with over 190 markets throughout 38 countries in North America, Europe and Asia, with over 57,900 route miles of long-haul fiber and over 27,400 miles of metropolitan fiber.

Mid-Year 2015 U.S. Carrier Ethernet Leaderboard, Telecom Top Companies for Layer 2 Transport

U.S. Carrier Ethernet Leaderboard

BOSTON, MA, AUGUST 24, 2015 – Vertical Systems Group’s U.S. Carrier Ethernet LEADERBOARD results for mid-2015 are as follows (in rank order based on retail port share): AT&T, Level 3, Verizon, CenturyLink, Time Warner Cable, Comcast, XO and Cox. Port shares were calculated using the base of enterprise installations of Ethernet services, plus input from surveys of Ethernet providers. The LEADERBOARD threshold is four percent (4%) or more of billable port installations. “U.S. Ethernet port growth was unprecedented in the first half of 2015 and easily surpassed previous estimates.

This market seems to be defying the law of large numbers, as there are few indications of the typical slowing growth patterns that we look for when services reach this size and maturity,” said Rick Malone, principal at Vertical Systems Group. “Primary drivers for growth are massive migration from TDM to Ethernet services, robust demand for higher speed Ethernet private lines and rising requirements for connectivity to public and private Clouds.”

Other providers selling Ethernet services in the U.S. are segmented into tiers as measured by port share. The Challenge Tier includes providers with between 1% and 4% share of the U.S. retail Ethernet market. The following six companies attained a position in the mid-2015 Challenge Tier (in alphabetical order): Bright House, Charter, Cogent, Lightpath, Windstream and Zayo.

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Contact me at tduggan(@)Cogentco.com at Cogent for more Info or to Network. Cogent delivers customers with Highly Reliable, Secure and Scalable IP Networks with over 190 markets throughout 38 countries in North America, Europe and Asia, with over 57,900 route miles of long-haul fiber and over 27,400 miles of metropolitan fiber.

4th Quarter Selling Strategies That Do Not Involve Discounting

It’s the 4th quarter and that means the race is on to make the yearly number. What it also means is we’re only a few weeks away from the time of year when stupid ideas start to become reality. Sad comment is there is no reason for anyone to do anything stupid, and when I say “stupid,” I’m referring to offering discounts to gain a sale before the end of the year. Eliminate right now the idea that making the number requires price cuts. Price cuts make it onto the list of year-end strategies only because nobody took the time and effort to develop other strategies early enough in the year to avoid year-end price discounting.

First, examine where each salesperson is spending their time.
The focus is on gaining business this year, not next year. Too many salespeople get themselves into trouble because they’ve spent too much time dealing with prospects who have zero ability to become customers this year. From October on – and even earlier for some industries – the focus must be on customers who will generate business this year. Some people will take this to mean I’m implying sales shouldn’t be focused long-term. No, that is not the case. As much as the 4th quarter is geared toward closing immediate sales, the 1st quarter should be geared toward long-term business. The objective is to optimize how you use your time.

Second, look for ways you can secure more business from existing customers.

This is often overlooked, and even if it isn’t overlooked, it is rarely capitalized on fully. Reason it makes sense to focus on existing customers is because they are already set up in your company’s system and you’re set up in their system as a supplier. Last thing anyone wants to hassle with at the end of the year is suddenly facing problems with accounting and credit in getting new accounts set up in a timely manner.

Third, develop packages that make it easy for both existing and new customers to buy from you.

Look at your product offering and find areas where you can strip away anything but the basics. Idea is to make it incredibly simple for the customer to buy. Beauty with this tactic is for many companies it means also having the ability to service orders quickly. That allows for new customers to experience your superior level of service even faster.

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Contact me at tduggan(@)Cogentco.com at Cogent for more Info or to Network. Cogent delivers customers with Highly Reliable, Secure and Scalable IP Networks with over 190 markets throughout 38 countries in North America, Europe and Asia, with over 57,900 route miles of long-haul fiber and over 27,400 miles of metropolitan fiber.

SMBs Poised to Fuel the Cloud Services Market

SMBs Poised to Fuel the Cloud Services Market
by Cameron Bell

If there’s a need for more proof that the cloud services market is here to stay for the foreseeable future, research from Compass Intelligence on small and medium-sized businesses (SMB) demonstrates it. The cloud services market as a whole is growing, and the SMB sector is one of the fastest-growing areas. Currently, there are more than 12 million SMBs in the U.S.–and 22 million worldwide–and they’re already spending more than $150 billion on telecom services. This sector is growing rapidly and has been for the last decade. As a result, the SMB cloud market currently has a 40 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR), and it’s projected to remain so for at least the next five years. What’s driving the high CAGR?

1 – Lower Barriers to Entry One of the biggest factors driving SMB cloud adoption is that the Internet is making it far easier for small and medium-sized businesses to get started. When all someone needs is a website to have a business, that means a lot of hungry SMBs looking to grab customers any way they can.

2 – Reduced Need for Expertise On-Staff Currently, 70 percent of SMB cloud spending comes from companies with five to 99 employees. Companies on the low end of that scale simply might not have the budget for an extensive list of contracted experts. Being able to outsource matters like IT management or CMS (content management system) platforms means companies can focus on their core business without spending their budget on in-house experts.

3 – Increased Data-Handling Regulations In most of the high-tech countries around the world, more regulations are being implemented concerning the proper handling of data, especially confidential customer information. Regulations on storage, access, and length-of-retention can change rapidly, but the responsibility is on businesses to be informed of the regulations and to comply with them. SMBs lacking on-site expertise increasingly need industry partners who can ensure their regulatory compliance. Otherwise, the financial penalties from even a single data breach can be ruinous.

4 – Simplified Contact Pathways One area experiencing large booms, even within the cloud industry, is that of telecoms offering direct hosting for computer systems. Besides allowing SMBs to remain relevant to existing customers, this allows SMBs to pare down the list of contacts handling their services. Being able to consolidate all telecom-related tech support to a single partner is a major selling point for SMBs who are currently juggling too many vendors.

5 – Predictable Billing Most SMBs are running on tight month-to-month or even week-to-week budgets, and they cannot afford to have significant spikes in service fees. Since most cloud vendors offer guaranteed contracted rates and sometimes even include hardware upgrades with their fees, it makes both IT and telecom expenses far more predictable from a budgeting perspective.

If a SMB has had one or two “near misses” with an unexpected service bill that nearly breaks the budget, that SMB will be listening when a cloud provider says it can eliminate that uncertainty. How to Grow the Cloud Business The cloud industry is booming among SMBs, who are ready and willing to pay for services that bring convenience and cost savings. Cloud providers that can illustrate these benefits to SMBs will grow their client portfolio, and the SMB clients will be better poised to focus on their core business without unnecessary distractions.

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Contact me at tduggan(@)Cogentco.com at Cogent for more Info or to Network. Cogent delivers customers with Highly Reliable, Secure and Scalable IP Networks with over 190 markets throughout 38 countries in North America, Europe and Asia, with over 57,900 route miles of long-haul fiber and over 27,400 miles of metropolitan fiber.

Amazon, Netflix, Google, Microsoft, Mozilla And Others Partner To Create Next-Gen Video Format

Here We Go!

Amazon, Cisco, Google, Intel, Microsoft, Mozilla and Netflix today announced that they have formed a new open source alliance — the Alliance for Open Media — with the goal of developing the next generation of royalty-free video formats, codecs and other related technologies.

It’s not often we see these rival companies come together to build a new technology together, but the members argue that this kind of alliance is necessary to create a new interoperable video standard that will work across vendors and platforms.

While it goes unmentioned in the announcement, it’s also clear that none of the members involved in this alliance want to have to pay royalties to the likes of MPEG LA. logo4As Mozilla notes, part of the reason for forming this alliance is not just to share technology, but also to “run the kind of patent analysis necessary to build a next-generation royalty-free video codec.”

TechCrunch Article Link





Contact me at tduggan(@)Cogentco.com at Cogent for more Info or to Network. Cogent delivers customers with Highly Reliable, Secure and Scalable IP Networks with over 190 markets throughout 38 countries in North America, Europe and Asia, with over 57,900 route miles of long-haul fiber and over 27,400 miles of metropolitan fiber.

Adtran Delivers Faster Gigabit

Welcome to the New IP, where service orchestration speeds time to market and gigabit broadband deployments happen ten times faster than ever before.

Adtran Inc. (Nasdaq: ADTN) has announced that a combination of its new service automation portal, network programmability and wireless video solutions are slashing time to market for gigabit service implementations tenfold. That speed is important because it brings new revenue in faster, while automated provisioning means reduced labor costs.

As evidence of its success, Adtran points to the fact that it has already powered gigabit service in more than 200 communities. Senior product marketing executive Kurt Raaflaub also notes a specific example with a customer (to be named soon), that has ramped up its gigabit rollout plans because of faster-than-expected deployments in the service provider's initial gigabit cities. (See Gigabites: 200 Gig Communities & Counting.)


Contact me at tduggan(@)Cogentco.com at Cogent for more Info or to Network. Cogent delivers customers with Highly Reliable, Secure and Scalable IP Networks with over 190 markets throughout 38 countries in North America, Europe and Asia, with over 57,900 route miles of long-haul fiber and over 27,400 miles of metropolitan fiber.

What Is the Difference Between Sales Goals & Quotas.. Technology & Telecom Tips for Sales

Sales is one of the driving functions behind organizations. Sales representatives and regional managers present products and services to customers and help close deals to generate company revenue. To create a successful sales strategy, management sets annual, quarterly and monthly goals and quotas to effectively monitor sales activities and achieve results. Establishing goals and quotas also helps senior management diagnose challenges facing certain regions and assist sales managers during the sales cycle.

Sales Goals
Sales goals differ from sales quotas because goals relate to overall company objectives and long-term growth. Quotas point specifically to revenue achieved by a certain date. Sales goals can include expanding into new geographic regions, acquiring a certain amount of customers or building and implementing referral programs to retain and recruit clients. Moreover, reps can develop individual goals that deal with their territory or customer accounts. For example, sales teams may create a sales campaign to improve performance or set tactical goals including number of cold calls and prospects generated within a specific period of time.

Sales Quotas
By setting sales quotas, executives and directors communicate to salespeople the amount of products or services they expect to sell by a certain date or within a certain time frame. Some salespeople set their own sales quotas based on what they believe they can do, but usually managers and business owners set quotas. Typically, sales quotas are based on factors such as customer purchases, hiring, advertising revenue or company expansion. Sales executives and managers also look at past sales performance, the cumulative skills and experience of sales reps and as the state of marketplace. For example, sales reps may be assigned different quotas based on their seniority or individual performance in previous fiscal quarters. Related Reading: What Problem Does the Setting of Quotas Present to Both the Company & to the Sales Representative?

Benefits
A benefit of setting sales quotas is that sales reps have a clear idea of the amount of revenue they need to achieve. It also provides them with a time frame on when they meet their quotas. This not only motivates sales teams, but also provides organizations with more control over sales activities. It also establishes performance standards and helps management rate and evaluate employee performance. Goals provide overall direction for sales employees and define individual tasks that contribute to larger company objectives. Setting goals also helps management plan and coordinate activities with other departments, such as marketing, when executing and measuring sales campaigns.

Considerations
One of the primary goals for management is to set quotas that are achievable and are based on a combination of a variety of factors. SurePayroll president Michael Alter told Inc. magazine that “Since you can never win setting quotas, your first goal should be to try to minimize your downside, and set rules that drive the behavior of your sales reps to align with your larger goals.”


By Bridget Austin
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Contact me at tduggan(@)Cogentco.com at Cogent for more Info or to Network. Cogent delivers customers with Highly Reliable, Secure and Scalable IP Networks with over 190 markets throughout 38 countries in North America, Europe and Asia, with over 57,900 route miles of long-haul fiber and over 27,400 miles of metropolitan fiber.

Top 10 Sales Book's To Read This Summer, Best Selling Tips To Improve Your Performance

The Top Ten Sales Books You Need To Read Right Now from LiveHive, Inc.

 

Contact me at tduggan(@)Cogentco.com at Cogent for more Info or to Network. Cogent delivers customers with Highly Reliable, Secure and Scalable IP Networks with over 190 markets throughout 38 countries in North America, Europe and Asia, with over 57,900 route miles of long-haul fiber and over 27,400 miles of metropolitan fiber.

5 Tips For A Successful Salesforce Implementation, How To Use Salesforce Correctly!

Top Salesforce Tips

So you’ve implemented Salesforce and have begun your Salesforce journey! So now what? In brief here’s 5 steps to Salesforce Success…

1. Unclutter Salesforce is a huge platform and it is easy to fill it up with information without having a regular clean up. It is often the case that Salesforce page layouts become cluttered and users see too much irrelevant information. Solution 1: Field Tripp App Field Trip 5 Tips For A Successful Salesforce Implementation Don’t run around asking users what fields they do and don’t use. Field trips allows you to run usage reports on all standard and custom fields, so you can see exactly which fields are and aren’t adding value. Solution

2: Profiles ext 5 Tips For A Successful Salesforce Implementation The next step is to make sure that your profiles are correctly assigned and that page layouts are changing based on the logged in user. This will make sure that people only see the information relevant to them on any given page, saving a whole lot of confusion and page scrolling in their day to day routine. 2. Data Data quality is a huge part of the CRM success story and is easier than people think to stay on top of. Solution 1: DupeCatcher App dupecatcher 5 Tips For A Successful Salesforce Implementation DupeCatcher allows you to set rules up for catching data duplication on the front end (as users or systems add records into Salesforce). You can set up warnings and merge options based on users so they are aware when they are entering duplicate data. Solution 2: Address Tools App provenworks adress tools 5 Tips For A Successful Salesforce Implementation Address Tools ensures consistent country & state entry with validation and an auto-complete pick-list.

3. Automate Wherever possible use Salesforce to automate tasks and communication for both customers and employees. Solution 1: Workflows Talk to the different departments and figure out what processes are long and manual. Then use workflow rules to automate these steps. Solution 2: Pardot pardot logo 5 Tips For A Successful Salesforce Implementation As a Pardot user it would be rude not to mention marketing automation.Ok so Pardot is the only one that does come at a cost – but it is worth it! Use Pardot or similar to create drip campaigns and gain insight on where prosecpts are in the buying cycle. This is highly valuable as Sales reps will know not to waste their time calling leads which aren’t ready yet. Integrating data between Pardot and Salesforce also allows you to automate the lead assignment process so only marketing qualified leads are passed to Sales, determined by the prospects grade and score.

4. Explore Salesforce is huge. It’s a full time job staying on top of features from new releases, Apps on the AppExchange and the product eco system that revolves around your Salesforce.com system. Solution 1: Salesforce Administrator An internal administrator should be attending webinars and events, learning new skills and attending training and certification sessions as often as possible. The AppExchange is a great hunting ground for solutions and a good place to start. Solution 2: CloudSocius CloudSocius Logo Hi Res 5 Tips For A Successful Salesforce Implementation If you don’t have either budget or need to hire a Salesforce resource internally, then you need to talk to us and about our Salesforce Managed Service. This service provides you with your own Salesforce champion who will take care of your Salesforce org – unlimited support at a fixed cost. Better still it will cost you approximately a third of the cost for an internal hire. Get in touch with us today to find out more.

Step 5 – Monitor Reporting is at the very heart of Salesforce and CRM as a whole. What good is all this information if you can’t then accurately use it to make good business decisions? 1. Start at the top – find out what your executives need to know to keep the business running. What are their key metrics? 2. Capture the right data - Your reports and dashboards are only as good as the data behind them so planning is the key to capturing and displaying the correct metrics. 3. Build your reports – Start with out of the box Salesforce reports and learn the different reports types from there. 4. Build your Dashboards - The key to building dashboards your colleagues can’t live without is to match the dashboard metrics to a compelling business metric.

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Contact me at tduggan(@)Cogentco.com at Cogent for more Info or to Network. Cogent delivers customers with Highly Reliable, Secure and Scalable IP Networks with over 190 markets throughout 38 countries in North America, Europe and Asia, with over 57,900 route miles of long-haul fiber and over 27,400 miles of metropolitan fiber.

Social Selling Stats For Being Successful in 2015!

Social Selling Statistics


With the new age of Selling tactics ever changing, stay up to speed on what's going to get you to quota each month. These statistics are eye openers to most and should change the way you sell in the future.

The days of making 100 calls are over, not to say that doesn't work but depending on your targeted markets and decision makers, most reject the notion of calling till it counts philosophy.


*78% salespeople use social media to sell more
*Cold Calling has a 2.5% success rate
*62% salespeople who don’t use inbound social selling miss their quota
*98 out of 100 reps who have 5000 LinkedIn contacts or more reach or surpass sales quotas *Globally there are over 1.5 Billion social media users
*LinkedIn has ¼ of a Billion users
*77% of B2B purchasers said they would not even speak to a sales rep until they had done their own research
*55% of all Buyers do their research by using social media
*By time sales rep gets involved 90% of selling process could be over/done with
*73% sales reps found LinkedIn valuable in selling *Only 31% reps use Social selling currently


Contact me at tduggan(@)Cogentco.com at Cogent for more Info or to Network. Cogent delivers customers with Highly Reliable, Secure and Scalable IP Networks with over 190 markets throughout 38 countries in North America, Europe and Asia, with over 57,900 route miles of long-haul fiber and over 27,400 miles of metropolitan fiber.

How Telecoms Can Adapt To IOT Internet of Things

Internet of Things

As the Internet of Things continues to evolve, many companies, especially network operators, are struggling with rapid increases in data volume. Data load predictions of 24 – and even 12 – months ago have long been surpassed. This creates a tremendous amount of strain on infrastructures that did not predict the dramatic increase in the amount of data coming in, the way the data would need to be queried, or the changing ways that business users would want to analyze data.

Mobile network operators such as Verizon, AT&T, British Telecom and China Mobile are attempting to manage massive loads on systems that were designed, on average, five to 10 years ago. Those systems contemplated a certain load based on the number of devices on the network and the nature of how those devices were used. Call centers are bearing the brunt of this, from the explosion of mobile and other connected devices hitting the network to the ways they use the network.

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Contact me at tduggan(@)Cogentco.com at Cogent for more Info or to Network. Cogent delivers customers with Highly Reliable, Secure and Scalable IP Networks with over 190 markets throughout 38 countries in North America, Europe and Asia, with over 57,900 route miles of long-haul fiber and over 27,400 miles of metropolitan fiber.

Traditional Selling Vs. Social Selling Techniques for Sucess!

With a Success rate of only 2.5% vial cold calling, Social Media is the way to go moving forward!
Contact me at tduggan(@)Cogentco.com at Cogent for more Info or to Network. Cogent delivers customers with Highly Reliable, Secure and Scalable IP Networks with over 190 markets throughout 38 countries in North America, Europe and Asia, with over 57,900 route miles of long-haul fiber and over 27,400 miles of metropolitan fiber.

Closing: Winning Sales Tips for Closing Effectively in 2015

Among the things that deserve some focus is closing. Whether the close is a client call, meeting, contract renewal or extension, or a new partnership or business agreement, each is an important transition point from the end of something to the start of something else. Done well, closing positions you for success, reinforces client confidence, and sets you up to execute on client expectations. In my coaching and classroom work this year, I continued to see confusion and struggles around the topic of closing. To help you or your team close sales meetings more effectively in 2015, let’s look at:

1. A readiness to close checklist

2. Winning practices

3. A process for closing any meeting effectively

READINESS
Closing a meeting or deal often gets fumbled due to several common missteps. See how many of the following questions you can check off with a “Yes.” Have you: – Defined the close or the commitment(s) you will be seeking at this meeting? – Shared and validated the close with your team? – Decided who will close? – Overcome self-limiting obstacles, such as:
• Concerns about coming across as pushy, confrontational, or icky (sure, that’s a word)?
• Believing that clients close themselves?
• Using a presumptive close?
• Rushing to close based more on self-confidence than on client-based facts and feedback? – A full appreciation for the importance of closing well — for you, your organization, and (often forgotten) for the client?

BEST PRACTICES
If we can agree that business relationships are advanced when every client or prospect interaction is ended professionally and completely, here are some reminders on best practices that lay the groundwork for an effective close that you, your team, and your client can feel good about:
Prepare:
• Define the team’s goal for this meeting — i.e., ask for the business, a referral, or a next meeting, etc. Be specific, put timing around it, and don’t keep it to yourself. Winning teams arrive at key sales meetings fully informed and aligned on the mission.
• Assign lead responsibility for this part of the meeting or pitch. Once accepted, be willing as a team to role play this a few times and share feedback. Even if the person making the ask is your CEO? Especially in the case of a senior, many of whom don’t receive the honest feedback they need to accomplish the team’s mission.

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Contact me at tduggan(@)Cogentco.com at Cogent for more Info or to Network. Cogent delivers customers with Highly Reliable, Secure and Scalable IP Networks with over 190 markets throughout 38 countries in North America, Europe and Asia, with over 57,900 route miles of long-haul fiber and over 27,400 miles of metropolitan fiber.

1.1 Trillion in B2B Sales Will Be Conducted Online by 2020

First came the prediction that one million B2B sales jobs (mostly transactional "order takers") would be net displaced by 2020. Now new research from Forrester estimates that $1.1 trillion in B2B sales will take place over the internet by the very same year.

This doesn't come as a shock considering buyers' preference for buying online. According to a Sullivan survey, 88% of executives purchase business products online today. More surprising was the fact that 49% actually based their decision on what offering was easier to buy virtually.

Do stats like this toll the death knell for sales? Maybe for old school "order taker" salespeople, but certainly not for the category as a whole. Andy Hoar, principal analyst at Forrester, argued that there will actually be an increase in consultative salespeople in the future, who can explain abstract concepts and help buyers tackle business problems. Reps who'd like to have a job in the coming years would be wise to start developing their consultative skills now.

Article Link



Contact me at tduggan(@)Cogentco.com at Cogent for more Info or to Network. Cogent delivers customers with Highly Reliable, Secure and Scalable IP Networks with over 190 markets throughout 38 countries in North America, Europe and Asia, with over 57,900 route miles of long-haul fiber and over 27,400 miles of metropolitan fiber.

Upcoming Telecommunications & Technology Events...Check Your Local Listings!

2015 Schedule of Events

2015 has already kicked off with many Telecom Expo's underway and many more still scheduled. Don't forget to check your local listings for all the Top Telecoms Conferences in your area to see what the experts have to say and do what most of us Sales people do best, Network!

What better way to find out what's going on this ever growing Industry with all the Top Tech Expo's and Telecom events scheduled below.

 

DroneComm 2015: Comms Above the Cloud
Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, GA

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Carrier SDN Networks: Accelerating SDN in the Carrier WAN
Grand Hyatt, Denver, CO

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Gigabit Cities Live 2015 – a 2-Day Event
The Westin Peachtree, Atlanta, GA

Wednesday & Thursday, May 13-14, 2015

INTX: The Internet & Television Expo
McCormick Place, Chicago, IL

Tuesday & Wednesday, May 5-7, 2015

 

27K Security Summit for the Americas
Omni Austin Hotel Southpark, Austin, Texas

Light Readers get a 20% discount. Enter promo code: SAVE

Wednesday-Friday, May 13-15, 2015

Wearable Tech Expo
Jacob Javits Center

Saturday - Monday, June 13-15, 2015

 

BroadbandTV
Ananheim Convention Center, Anaheim, CA

Tuesday-Thursday, June 30 - July 2, 2015

 

M2M Evolution
Caesars Palace

Tuesday - Thursday, August 18-20, 2015

IoT Evolution
Caesars Palace

Tuesday - Thursday, August 18-20, 2015

 

ITEXPO
Caesars Palace

Tuesday - Thursday, August 18-20, 2015

Light Reading's Leading Lights Awards 2015
The Field Museum, Chicago, IL

Monday, June 8, 2015

Big Telecom Event 2015
Chicago, IL

Tuesday & Wednesday, June 9-10, 2015

Video Summit @ BTE
Chicago, IL

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Data Center Interconnect Summit @ BTE
Chicago, IL

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

NFV Everywhere – a 2-Day Event – Website Coming Soon!
The Westin Galleria Dallas, Dallas, TX

Wednesday & Thursday, September 9-10, 2015

 

Gigabit Europe 2015 – a 2-Day Event
The Westin Grand Müchen, Munich, Germany

Tuesday & Wednesday, September 29-30, 2015

Next-Generation Network Components – Wires, Wireless & Virtual– Website Coming Soon!
The Hyatt Regency, Santa Clara, CA

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Telecom Analytics World 2015 – a 2-Day Event
The Westin Peachtree Plaza, Atlanta, GA

Wednesday & Thursday, November 11-12, 2015


Direct Link to Light Reading Full Event Listings



Contact me at tduggan(@)Cogentco.com at Cogent for more Info or to Network. Cogent delivers customers with Highly Reliable, Secure and Scalable IP Networks with over 190 markets throughout 38 countries in North America, Europe and Asia, with over 57,900 route miles of long-haul fiber and over 27,400 miles of metropolitan fiber.

Akamai Releases Fourth Quarter 2014 'State of the Internet' Report

March 25, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --
Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM), the global leader in content delivery network (CDN) services, today released its Fourth Quarter, 2014 State of the Internet Report. Based on data gathered from the Akamai Intelligent Platform™, the report provides insight into key global statistics such as connection speeds and broadband adoption across fixed and mobile networks, overall attack traffic, global 4K readiness, and IPv4 exhaustion and IPv6 implementation.

The report also includes insights into several high-profile security vulnerabilities, including Poodle, UPnP attacks, DNS flooders and Yummba Webinject. Data and graphics from the Fourth Quarter, 2014 State of the Internet Report can be found on the Akamai State of the Internet site and through the Akamai State of the Internet app for iOS and Android devices. State of the Internet Report discussions are also taking place on the Akamai Community. "Over the course of 2014, we've seen healthy global growth across all of our key metrics for Internet connectivity, broadband adoption and 4K readiness," said David Belson, editor of the report. "The positive trends make an interesting contrast to a recent study that found 4.4 billion people around the world do not go online, indicating a strong need for continued efforts to improve and deploy Internet infrastructure globally."

Highlights from Akamai's Fourth Quarter, 2014 State of the Internet Report: Global Average Connection Speeds and Global Broadband Connectivity For the third consecutive quarter, the global average connection speed remained above the 4 Mbps "broadband" threshold, increasing a nominal 0.7% to 4.5 Mbps. Quarterly global average connection speed changes were mixed across the top 10 countries/regions, with six seeing increases, three seeing decreases and Switzerland (14.5 Mbps) remaining unchanged.

Among the regions/countries where average connection speeds grew quarter-over-quarter, the largest increase was seen in Sweden (14.6 Mbps), with a modest 3.5% gain. Globally, a total of 98 qualifying countries/regions saw average connection speeds increase in the fourth quarter, with growth rates ranging from 78% in Nepal (2.5 Mbps) down to a meager 0.1% in the Czech Republic (12.3 Mbps). The average connection speed increased 20% globally year-over-year with increases seen in 132 qualifying countries, including growth rates ranging from 0.3% in Morocco (2.4 Mbps) to 146% in Congo (1.3 Mbps).

Article Link

Contact me at tduggan(@)Cogentco.com at Cogent for more Info or to Network. Cogent delivers customers with Highly Reliable, Secure and Scalable IP Networks with over 190 markets throughout 38 countries in North America, Europe and Asia, with over 57,900 route miles of long-haul fiber and over 27,400 miles of metropolitan fiber.