Digital Library > Operations and Technology > Suppliers “When Good Deeds Run Afoul” Ice cream manufacturer Ben & Jerry’s has a reputation for being a socially responsible business. But it learned — the hard way — to proceed with caution when combining benevolence with business. For example, co-founder Ben Cohen learned of a bakery that hired the homeless and used…
Digital Library > Defining and Serving a Market > Sales, general “Surplus Salesforce Triggers Explosive Growth” On the surface, it may sound crazy: PSS/World Medical, a leading distributor of medical supplies, hires more salespeople than it needs — 5% to be exact. Yet having people in reserve who can join the front lines at a moment’s notice has been key…
Dale Bathum scores an eagle with new marketing, products.
Digital Library > Defining and Serving a Market > Electronic commerce “Interactive Kiosks Keep You in Touch 24 X 7” Interactive kiosks — such as bank ATMs or interactive point-of-sale displays — allow the sale of goods, distribution of information and the tracking of that data, all without having a person in the loop. And this technology is about to…
Virtual office reduces commuting by 500 hours and slices real-estate bill by $280,000 annually.
40% of e-mails are personal: How to get back to business.
Digital Library > Acquiring and Managing Finances > Financial analysis “Preaching Prudence Creatively” Another way to get employees to understand your cost structure is to make a game of it like Jay Goltz has. Founder of Artists’ Frame Service, a Chicago-based company generating more than $10 million in annual sales, Goltz created a dynamic demonstration — "Showing Where the Money…
Digital Library > Human Resources Management > Employee development “Bringing Online Education to Employees” If you can’t send your employees to school, bring school to them. Nearly half of all U.S. colleges and universities now offer classes taught by audio, video or over the Internet, according to a new U.S. Department of Education study. Between the school years 1994-95 and…
Digital Library > Defining and Serving a Market > Sales techniques “Selling Without Slip-Ups: 9 Turn-Offs to Avoid” Sometimes it’s what you don’t do that counts. Below are a few turn-offs that could cost you a valuable sale: Poor grooming. Smoking. Knocking anyone, especially competitors. To outsiders, it looks like the competitor may be better than you — and your…
Return on e-procurement investments will average 300% over the first two to three years, according to a survey of 200 businesses by Deloitte Consulting.