Blogs

Work-Life Balance versus Work-Life Flow

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 15:01:38 +0000

I was listening to a interview about Work-Life balance on CBC Radio this week. The conversation spawned from Sheryl Sandberg's (COO of FaceBook) comments that she believes there is no such thing as work-life balance. In a recent interview, Sandberg shared that she leaves the office at 5:30 every day to be at home for dinner with the kids at 6. In…

- Author: Peter Smith

What not to do if you are running a Customer Service organization

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 19:51:13 +0000

I recently booked a flight for my wife on Westjet. For some reason, their website was having a problem and after trying twice, I gave up trying to book online. I phoned their 1-888 number and experienced one of the worst IVR (Interactive Voice Response) experiences of my life. Basically the system is set up to have the customer book their entire…

- Author: Peter Smith

Self Awareness

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 11:51:40 +0000

In my coaching business, I often have discussions regarding the personal leadership skills and styles of the executives with whom I work. There is a plethora of low cost tools and services available such as Myers-Briggs, Kolbe, DISC, and 360^o Benchmarks to help executives or a management team understand their leadership style; both strengths and…

- Author: Peter Smith

Using labeling to productize; Then merchandise your services.

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 20:52:27 +0000

A few months ago,I wrote about a client who I helped to create a sales methodology to speed up their sales cycle by developing and selling front end services that substitute consulting revenue for free pilots. Their product was too complex for a simple download and free trial so they were being forced to offer free pilots which were extending the…

- Author: Peter Smith

Labeling a service business

Sat, 10 Mar 2012 19:18:26 +0000

My last blog was a cautionary tale warning senior people not to become their own worst enemy when looking for their next job. Many describe themselves by the emphasizing the breadth of their experience and their flexible qualifications across many roles, company types and industries in order not to miss out on an opportunity. My advice was to get…

- Author: Peter Smith

Labels

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 16:21:03 +0000

Why do so many companies make it so hard for their customers to buy? They try to be all things to all people and end up confusing the hell out of everyone as to what they are, what they do, why they are good at it and what is their value. Sound familiar? I have done this rant before (Why is selling my Product or Service so hard?), but I am finding…

- Author: Peter Smith

Nail it before you Scale It

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 10:41:22 +0000

I love working with Robin Hopper, my co-EIR at the Innovation Factory, for the simple fact that the guy has more catchy cool acronyms and phrases that make me sound so smart when I repeat them. "Nail it before you Scale it" is one of his latest.

Put simply, too many start-ups try to scale their marketing and sales organization before they have…

- Author: Peter Smith

Joining a Board of Directors

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 02:10:27 +0000

A former colleague recently reached out to me with the following question:

"I'm interested in getting board experience but am not sure where to start. I've served on a local non-profit board but wondered if you have suggestions for finding opportunities to serve on company/corporate boards?"

Like many, this person is senior with many years of…

- Author: Peter Smith

Recapping 2011

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 20:23:20 +0000

Happy New Year 2012. Before last year fades into our collective memories, I want to recap some lessons that I learned (or re-learned) in 2011.

Over the holidays I was performing some admin on my website. The task was to implement a Blog feature to allow anyone to add comments without having the hassle of joining my website. While I was doing this…

- Author: Peter Smith

Why is selling my product or service so hard?

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 17:02:40 +0000

This topic has come up repeatedly with clients over the past few weeks. Many companies, especially start-ups, suffer from longer sales cycles than they plan for or can afford. There are many reasons that can often be bucketed into categories as follows:

Immature or unproven value proposition
Immature or unproven vendor
Lack of references and…

- Author: Peter Smith