Sales and marketing

The key to selling well-designed, well-crafted products at high margins is the aesthetic coherence of the company and its goods. Embodying that ideal...

When Ben Franklin wrote Poor Richard’s Almanac and the words, “A little neglect may breed great mischief,” he did not have price fixing in mind. To the 47 executives in companies in the folding-box industry convicted of price fixing, however, the words seem tailored to fit. In those companies convicted under antitrust laws in 1976, […]

Surprised by a gender stereotype? React calmly, directly, and move on.

Using the results of a survey of 380 companies in 34 industries, this author examines three basic types of compensation plans: salary, commission, and combination (salary plus commission). Most companies in the study favored a combination plan, but such plans have some disadvantages to offset their obvious attractiveness. The author sets out the possible reasons […]

Six questions to ask before you fill the role.

Are you ready to have an honest conversation with your customers?

A one-size-fits-all plan isn't good enough.

Emotions come first, behavior comes second.

Can the Next Big Thing be chased down? Can coolness be hunted on purpose? That's the premise of a new book called Coolhunting: Chasing Down the Next Big...

The Internet promises to give marketing the same boost in productivity that new operational strategies have given to manufacturing.

Selling doesn’t have to be pushy.

A guide to building a better pipeline.

People won't speak up if they don't trust the process.

And why your company can’t ignore it.

Before you buy that fancy new tool, know whether you'll actually use it.

While management skills can improve service systems, a manager is better off if he or she first has a clear understanding of the operating characteristics that set one service system apart from another. This author offers one view of services, which, if followed, results in a “rational approach to the rationalization” of services. His view, […]

Buyers expect the same level of service and flexibility as when they shop in their personal lives.

The best stay attuned to their customers’ signals in the social graph.

The best candidates think more like engineers, architects, and scientists.

By thoroughly mapping the job a customer is trying to get done, a company can discover opportunities for breakthrough products and services.