Category Archives: Metrics

Piling On The Pile – Still MORE On The Most Useless Metric In Sales

July 17, 2010 – 3:38 pm

Thanks for coming back! Please use the comment function below to let me know what issues are on your mind and what you’re thinking about. RSS Feed Dave Brock started the mudslinging at a useless forecasting metric, then Anthony Iannarino piled on.  These two guys are right on the money – again – and I [...]

  • Share/Bookmark
By Todd Youngblood | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Hey, Mom!!! I’m In The Top Million!

May 5, 2010 – 9:43 am

Part of me feels really dumb doing this post.  But another part of me is kind of proud.  Yet another part reminds me that it’s bad form to self-promote in your own blog. So I hope you’ll cut me some slack… The dumb part is actually feeling great about and broadcasting the fact that The [...]

  • Share/Bookmark
By Todd Youngblood | Tagged , , | Comments (3)

Dunbar’s Number. Should A Sales Rep Care?

April 27, 2010 – 6:42 pm

According to British anthropologist Robin Dunbar, 150 is the “cognitive limit to the number of individuals with whom any one person can maintain stable relationships.”  Simply put, you can’t have more than 150 friends and business associates.  Establishing that 151st contact causes a weakening of some other relationship. Obviously, it’s not quite that cut and [...]

  • Share/Bookmark
By Todd Youngblood | Also posted in Develop Relationships | Tagged , | Comments (4)

Sometimes Unintended Consequences Are A Good Thing

April 15, 2010 – 6:57 am

Maybe the real lesson is to be aware that your actions always have unintended consequences.  The good news is that sometimes you get lucky.  Don’t miss it!  Here’s one example where what initially looked like a failure morphing into a big win.

  • Share/Bookmark
By Todd Youngblood | Also posted in Podcast | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Too Many Sales Reps Are Wimps

April 10, 2010 – 9:32 am

In general, sales reps represent themselves as a pretty tough, resilient, independent bunch. I’m not so sure about that. Virtually every time I work with a sales team to continuously improve its sales process, I run smack into a “they’re too delicate for that” problem. It’s never phrased that way. It’s always couched in terms [...]

  • Share/Bookmark
By Todd Youngblood | Also posted in Accountability, Continuous Improvement | Tagged , | Comments (2)

Unintended Consequences

March 24, 2010 – 8:25 am

We’re all familiar with the “Law of Unintended Consequences.”  My personal favorite is still the plastic whistles that were packaged with Cap’n Crunch cereal back in the ’70s.  Blowing the whistle into your phone triggered a connection to AT&T’s long distance dialing AND by-passed their billing system.   Free calls!  Not exactly what Quaker Oats had [...]

  • Share/Bookmark
By Todd Youngblood | Also posted in Process Thinking | Tagged , | Comments (1)

H-Rep Sell Cycle Time: 16 Months. E-Rep: 37 Days

February 26, 2010 – 8:09 am

Average Sell Cycle Time:  16 Months E-Rep Assisted Sell Cycle Time:  37 Days I left something out of the E-Rep Success Story I blogged about recently.  Frankly, I was so focused on the fact that my E-Rep helped close a deal within the first 4 months of its existence that I completely lost sight of [...]

  • Share/Bookmark
By Todd Youngblood | Also posted in E-Rep | Tagged , , | Comments (4)