CRM is in the spotlight. According to a recent Gartner survey of CEOs, respondents rated CRM as a top priority in terms of avenues for growth, followed by e-commerce. Similarly, Gartner found that increasing customer acquisition, customer satisfaction, and revenue are the top three CRM goals for 2012. There’s more… To read the rest of this blog posting click here or visit www.1to1Media.com/weblog. Customer Experience Customer Strategy Social Media crmtrends customerexperience customerselfservice mobilecustomerstrategy socialmedia MORE >>

“ Must Have ” iPad app for the mobile sales rep might seem a bit strong but not in this case. Powerpoint slide decks are a significant part of the daily selling activity of sales people worldwide. This is not the post to debate PowerPoint vs. Keynote etc. so for now just accept the fact that PowerPoint slides are a key component of every sales tool bag. When the iPad arrived on the scene, sales people were excited to be able to present with such a light device yet have a high quality screen to view. Transitions did not work at all. The latest version of SlideShark (v1.5) MORE >>

Let’s face it: Past growth does not guarantee future growth. If you want to succeed in sales, you must have a prospecting plan — and actually use it! wish I could say it was easier than this and that solid leads will just appear before you. However, I’ve yet to meet a successful salesperson who could attribute their success to such a gamble. Here are 3 things you must know about successful prospecting: 1. If you can’t prospect, you can’t sell. That one kind of hurts, doesn’t it? Successful prospecting demands that you be proactive. Yes, that’s right. MORE >>

The Sales Manager that Does It All. First of all, the title of this blog is impossible and second of all, it wouldn’t be right. No matter what size of sales organization you manage the sales leader that assumes they are responsible for everything or solving every problem generally fails to achieve the ultimate objective.  Nothing can be further from the primary goal. First, the sales manager must recognize that it is their job to make the salespeople independent of them, not dependent on them.  How does this happen? Once this is clearly understood, the next elements fall into place. MORE >>

Site design, personalization, and key performance indicators (KPIs) are not getting the attention they deserve in terms of the online customer experience, according to Kevin Cochrane, Adobe's vice president of product strategy and solution marketing. When people think of the online customer experience, they're focused on the design and 'sexiness' of their website. They don't do enough research into who their customers are and what they're trying to accomplish. Not all customers are looking for the same thing," Cochrane told me during a recent conversation on the topic. MORE >>