Markets and Conversations

All of us who have worked in sales function know the importance (or lack of it) of sales targets. A salesperson without a territory and target could be anyone a salesperson. No wonder then that the majority of the sales management resources are expended in setting and managing targets! There are exceptions, of course; the … Continue reading Sales targets, incentives and performance: Reflections through the lens of sustainable supply chain

Recently, someone sent me a message about the closure of Pune Mirror and change in the periodicity of Mumbai Mirror, from daily to weekly. Much before the Covid hit businesses, the print media has been struggling on two counts; first, there has been delayed thinking and action on the business transformation – a strategy gap … Continue reading Adventures in Marketing: Reflections from my career in Print Media

Last month I needed to see a doctor and searched for the doctor on google. I got the number for his clinic and I called up to learn that the doctor is dong video consultation only. At the appointed time, I made a video call to the doctor and could complete the consultation and received … Continue reading B2B Marketplace and Individual Service Providers: Forward or Reverse Aggregation?

Last evening HBO was screening ‘The Intern’. Robert-De-Niro plays an intern who is well past his career and he is seen helping his boss Jules, tiding over her professional as well as personal crisis situations. A compelling story emphasizing that people can make great contributions irrespective of their positions in an organization.https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2361509/ My own experience … Continue reading Internship from Home: Optimising Your Impact

( Pic Courtesy: Book Cover of ‘Marketing to Win’ by Satish Mehta, Pearson) “Market share = share of conversations”; thus read one of the advertisements in The Economic Times celebrating 30 years of Brand Equity, a pullout that comes every Wednesday along with The Economic Times (ET, hereafter), Asia’s largest business newspaper. After all, aren’t … Continue reading Brand Equity and Invitation Pricing: Strategies of our Times

This is my favorite: a sentence frequently used in sales review meetings – “do whatever you need to do but get me the numbers”! Interestingly enough, this sentence gets repeated at all levels of the hierarchy up to the frontline manager. Clearly, an overload of performance orientation and neglect of learning orientation leads to such … Continue reading Ethical Sales Leadership? Focus on Emotions