An unscientific poll of visitors to the EEA portal over the last two months suggests engagement in early phases. More specifically, this poll found that:

• 47% had received at least one survey from their company in the last year; the rest had not;
• Only 32% said their organizations provide them with a dynamic environment that encourages excellence and advancement;
• 51% believe engagement should be measured by customer and employee retention; 31% by revenue and profits, and 17% by employee absenteeism and productivity;
• In terms of what drives people to perform, these respondents ranked, in order: helping the organization achieve its goals and objectives; open and honest communication with management; belief that the organization is a best place to work; compensation and benefits; feeling that one is making a contribution, and rewards and recognition;
• Employee engagement is ranked by these respondents as the most important organizational success driver, followed by customer engagement, and then supplier engagement;
• Only 25% of organizations seriously consider channel partners when making business decisions that affect them;
• 67% of companies think they have no better than ordinary relationships with vendors;
• Respondents said their companies generally did a good job of developing products with customers in mind, and measuring results, and showing commitment, and not as good a job at internal marketing or getting customers to “identify” with their companies.

Given the direct relationship between employee engagement and coaching – as a manager, executive or business owner, your ability to effectively coach your team is what will make the difference between average or mediocre results and securing as well as retaining your position as a leader in your market. Now more than ever, executive coaching and sales coaching for your sales team and management teams is what will truly provide you with your competitive edge.

If you and your organization are interested in learning more about engagement and the impact it will continue to have on your business, then join us June 3-4 at the Doral Arrowwood, Rye Brook, N.Y. (just 10 minutes from Westchester County Airport (HPN) in White Plains, N.Y.)

As a subscriber and reader of my blog, I can offer you a complimentary registration to the upcoming Enterprise Engagement Expo and Conference, which I am speaking at. Simply go to eeaexpo.org, and use the code PF2010 to register to get complimentary conference and exhibit area access. I’ll be speaking on the role of sales leaders in relation to fostering a deeper level of engagement with their people and meeting with clients and potential clients in a “conversation center” at the event where we’d be happy to meet with you as well! (I’ll be there on June 3 only so shoot me an email if you’ll be there and we can meet!)

Understanding how to engage key customers, channel partners, employees and vendors provides a competitive edge for your business and a maybe even a potential boost to your career.

This conference offers a unique introduction to a proven path to business success critical to professionals seeking to improve the performance of their organizations and themselves. The program is designed to help you learn from experts, peers, and leading suppliers about the emerging new of enterprise engagement and how you can profit from it.

Let me know if you’re coming by shooting me an email to info@profitbuilders.com and I’d be happy to meet you there!

Click here for a complete program agenda and to register. Be sure to use code PF2010 to take advantage of this complimentary offer.

June 3-4, Doral Arrowwood, Rye Brook, N.Y. (just 10 minutes from Westchester County Airport (HPN) in White Plains, N.Y.)

I’m pleased to offer you the opportunity to have a complimentary registration to the upcoming Enterprise Engagement Expo and Conference, June 3-4, 2010 which I am speaking at. Simply go to eeaexpo.org, and use the code PF2010 to register to get complimentary conference and exhibit area access. I’ll be speaking on the role of sales leaders in relation to fostering a deeper level of engagement with their people and meeting with clients and potential clients in a “conversation center” at the event where we’d be happy to meet with you as well! (I’ll be there on June 3 only.)

Understanding how to engage key customers, channel partners, employees and vendors provides a competitive edge for your business and a maybe even a potential boost to your career.

The Enterprise Engagement Alliance Networking Expo and Conference, June 3-4 at the Doral Arrowwood in Rye Brook, N.Y (near Westchester County Airport) offers a unique introduction to a proven path to business success critical to professionals seeking to improve the performance of their organizations and themselves.

The program is designed to help you learn from experts, peers, and leading suppliers about the emerging new of enterprise engagement and how you can profit from it.

• Translate theory into results from experts, colleagues, and top suppliers of engagement services in educational, roundtable, and one-on-one meetings.
• Get answers to questions and solutions to challenges—every education session is followed by a round-table discussion with the speakers and others with mutual interests, so bring your questions and challenges and a willingness to share answers.
• Learn about an emerging new field that crosses traditional lines between sales, marketing, human resources, and financial management;
• Gain new insights into the role of leadership training, polls and surveys, communications (social networking, promotional products, face-to-face); measurement; rewards and recognition, customer loyalty, and more;
• Make yourself more effective as a leader by understanding the emerging field of enterprise engagement;
• Make contacts with people and resources who can help make it happen for your organizations.

Click here for a complete program agenda and to register. Be sure to use code PF2010 to take advantage of this complimentary offer.

Join me next week for my live interview on SalesBuzz Radio.

Date: Thursday, December 17th 2009,
Time: 3:30pm EST
Cost: Free!
No registration Required

I’ll be discussing the new rules for winning in today’s rapidly evolving marketplace, focusing on what managers and salespeople need to do to win more sales today.

Some points I’ll be addressing will be:

*Eliminating the resistance to change in order to accelerate your growth

*How to become more accountable and self-motivated to generate immediate results

*Empowering yourself and others to solve problems, permanently

*The future of selling and sales management

To listen without registering, simply sign in to The SalesBuzz Online Community at 3:30PM Eastern and click the ‘Radio Show’ tab on this page.

To register, go to join us and complete the easy registration form here. (Joining is absolutely free).

To participate, call in or email the show—it’s your show, so don’t hesitate to contact us with your questions and comments. During the show, email thesalesbuzz@thebrooksgroup.com with your questions and comments and the opportunity to for me to answer your most pressing questions as it relates to sales and sales leadership. You can also email me today at info@profitbuilders.com to better ensure your question gets addressed.

To receive a free special bonus offer; tune in and watch for a follow-up email.

I want to pass along to you an invitation from Zig Ziglar which my friend, Tom Ziglar just informed me about that I’m excited to share with you. Next week, you can participate in a very special live webcast that Zig Ziglar is hosting on November 17, absolutely free.

It sounds like the last few weeks for the Ziglar family have been incredible. Zig just turned 83, will be celebrating his 63rd wedding anniversary later this month and Zig’s new book, Embrace The Struggle, was just released.

With so many people facing their own struggles today, including Zig’s own struggle after a recent accident, you can’t help but find hope and encouragement when you see how Zig himself is embracing his struggle.

If you haven’t already seen it, The Ziglar family has created a very powerful movie, “Embrace The Struggle,” that tells in two minutes the Embrace The Struggle message. When the movie is finished, it will end on a registration page for the free webcast.

You can watch the movie here if you have not seen it yet.

Or, you can go directly to the registration page here.

I know that Zig Ziglar has made an impact in my life and in the lives of thousands of others.

I’m certain that anyone in the midst of a struggle who participates in this webcast will find something that will help them embrace their struggle.

Join the Ziglar family for a special evening with Zig Ziglar, Tom Ziglar and Julie Ziglar Norman, as they discuss how Zig has embraced his struggle from a brain injury and the resulting short-term memory loss. Your life will be impacted as you see this family rise above their circumstances – and thrive!

Below are the details of the webcast:

Title: Embrace the Struggle

Speakers: Zig Ziglar, Tom Ziglar and Julie Ziglar Norman

Date: November 17th

Time: 7:00-8:15 pm CST

To Register:

You can watch the movie here.

Or, you can go directly to the registration page here.

For more details or to nominate one visit this page: Here’s The Link

Do you know a true sales star? One who closes more deals and brings in business for your company or a company you know?

It’s time to pay tribute to those sales professionals out there who are the ones that are driving the success within today’s companies. AllBusiness.com wants to honor the top-performing salespeople who are working hard to make a difference in this competitive market. Tell us about the salesperson in your network or company who you feel deserves the limelight.

Nominate Your Top Sales Star!

We’ve put together a panel of sales coaches and experts who will select one salesperson each month from among the nominees and I’m personally excited about being a member of this panel. We need your nomination.

That person nominated will be profiled in a feature article for AllBusiness.com and our sister site, Hoover’s, and will receive free membership in a sales networking and coaching program. Every nominee will receive a FREE six month VIP Membership over at Top Sales Experts.

One annual winner will get a package of sales training and coaching programs, membership in Top Sales Experts, and additional tools and resources to continue developing their expertise and talent.

Lets honor the top-performing salespeople who deliver results in today’s competitive market. They deserve it and you can help make that happen.

For more details or to nominate one visit this page: Here’s the link.

Also note, there is no deadline for entries each month; all nominations received are carried forward.

Click here for more information about this event and expo.

For those of you who can attend, I’ll be speaking at The New York Incentive, Rewards and Recognition Expo next Tuesday, May 12 at 11am EST in New York City. The show will be located at the Hilton New York Hotel, 1335 Ave. of the Americas, NYC. Additionally, join the industry leaders in management and marketing, including the Human Capital Institute, marketing gurus Don Peppers and Martha Rogers, and 1 to1® magazine, who are joining forces to create a special education program on Enterprise Engagement. A unique combination of speakers representing all aspects of the emerging field of engagement will also be in attendance, delivering a variety of programs.

Hours:
Tuesday, May 12, 9:00am-5:00pm
Wednesday, May 13, 9:00am-3:00pm

Here’s the description of my program.

11:00-11:50pm
Take Charge of Your Sales and Your Sales Team
To drive positive, measurable change and keep their competitive edge, managers must learn how to quickly and effectively coach, motivate and retain their top producers while turning around the underperformers. Develop the discipline you need to engage, inspire and coach your salespeople into sales champions. Join Keith Rosen, author of the award winning, Coaching Salespeople Into Sales Champions, as he shares with you how to build and manage a world class, high performing sales team. Presented by Ziglar, Inc., www.CanDoGO.com and the Motivation Professionals Association.

Here are some additional benefits of attending this expo:
• Learn about cost-effective, results-based marketing and managing programs to increase sales, productivity and quality.

• Take advantage of customer, distribution partner, sales, and employee engagement strategies that drive performance without the upfront cost and lack of accountability of traditional marketing and management strategies.

• Learn how properly structured engagement, recognition, and incentive strategies can increase your sales, customer retention and referrals, quality and productivity.
• Get you more measurable costs for much lower upfront costs and greater accountability than traditional marketing and performance strategies.

Because The New York Incentive, Rewards and Recognition Expo offers such a unique opportunity to meet face-to-face with so many desirable brands, attendance is limited strictly to business management involved with planning and recommending incentive, promotion, rewards or recognition programs for their companies or clients.

Click here for more information about this event and expo.

Important webinar below for any business owner, executive and sales manager who’s top priority is to retain customers and bring in more business and more sales today.

I know it’s last minute but I just got the blessing to be able to offer my webinar scheduled tomorrow at 1pm EST to you and I’M ABLE TO WAIVE THE COST OF REGISTRATION! That’s right. No fee for you to attend so come as my guest! All you have to do is sign up and log in and enjoy a very timely webinar that is a must for any sales leader and manager. (And if you’re a salesperson, send this to your manager!)

Finally, make sure you’re also following all my latest announcements and posts on Twitter at twitter.com/keithrosen. This 45 minute webinar is for any business owner, executive and sales manager who’s top priority is to bring in more business and more sales today by getting their sales team to perform now.

The Sales Leadership Imperative! Webinar for Sales Managers Who Need To Get Their Sales Team Selling More Today

DATE: Thursday, April 23, 2009
TIME: 1:00 PM - 1:45 PM Eastern Standard Time
LOCATION: Your Phone or Computer – Live Webinar!

Presented by: Jonathan Farrington & Keith Rosen
Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now here.

For more information or to register click here.

NOTE: Following registration please ignore the redirect page AND the fees, as it will ask you to pay $60.00 and I am offering you this AT NO COST. Just register and that’s it!

FACT: There has never been a more critical time for sales managers to impact sales and lead from the front.
FACT: The majority of sales managers are simply not equipped with the right skills and tools to do so.

Most sales professionals, in practically every industry sector are struggling to meet sales quotas. And as some look ahead, there appears to be no light at the end of the tunnel. The reality is, there are still plenty of opportunities to better retain existing clients and acquire new ones but the rules of engagement have changed – possibly forever.

Sales leaders, who have recognized these changes, are re-educating themselves and their sales teams by adopting a totally new approach to selling as well as leading their team and as such, are forming a new type of sales culture. To drive positive, measurable change and keep their competitive edge, managers must learn how to quickly and effectively coach, motivate and retain their top producers while turning around the underperformers.

Join me and Jonathan Farrington, one of the foremost sales team development experts in the world – for this hard-hitting session. This event has been created specifically for sales leaders who have 100% commitment to doing whatever it takes to elevate their sales team to a whole new level so they can start selling more today.

We will highlight how you can:
• Leverage your personal strengths as well as the hidden talents of your team
• Utilize a proven coaching model to impact performance immediately.
• Engage in daily revenue-generating activities and stop doing the things you shouldn’t be doing in the first place
• Master the language of leaders, to get people into action without resistance
• Develop the infallible confidence of a true champion to model what you want your people to achieve
• Recruit, retain and motivate your top producers and turnaround underperformers
• Turnaround or terminate an underperformer in less than 30 days.

For more information or to register click here.

Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now here.

NOTE: Following registration please ignore the redirect page AND the fees, as it will ask you to pay $60.00 and I am offering you this AT NO COST. Just register and that’s it!

The other day, results were announced in the 3rd annual Stevie® Awards for Sales and Customer Service, an international competition recognizing excellence in customer service and sales. Stevie Award winners were announced during a gala awards dinner at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

I’m excited and humbly appreciative of winning the 2009 Stevie Award and being recognized as the Sales Education Leader of the Year. To me, this is not only an honor but a responsibility I have to you. I look forward to continually earn the right to hold this title and further my commitment to support sales executives, managers and salespeople world wide through my writing, training and coaching. And today, distinguishing and positioning yourself as an invaluable part of your organization is more essential than ever. This can only be achieved by developing yourself into the sales leader you can be.

Below is the ‘official’ press release.

KEITH ROSEN WINS 2009 STEVIE AWARD FOR SALES EDUCATION LEADER OF THE YEAR

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – February 10, 2009 – Keith Rosen was presented with a Stevie® Award for Sales Education Leader of the Year in the third annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.

The awards are presented by the Stevie Awards, which organizes several of the world’s leading business awards shows including the prestigious American Business Awards.

Nicknamed the Stevies for the Greek word “crowned,” winners were announced during a gala banquet on Monday, February 9 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Nominated customer service and sales executives from the U.S.A. and several other countries attended.

More than 500 entries from companies of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted to this year’s competition. There are 27 categories for customer service professionals, including an Award for Innovation in Customer Service and Customer Service Department of the Year; as well as categories for sales professionals, ranging from Sales Education Leader of the Year, to Sales Training Program of the Year to Sales Department of the Year.

The Executive Sales Coach and sales strategist for many of the top sales and executive teams in the country, Keith Rosen has written several best selling books, including the award winning Coaching Salespeople into Sales Champions. This book was recently named the 2008 Sales Leadership Book of the Year and received a gold medal at the Sales Books Awards just last month; a perfect complement to the award Keith has won here at the Stevie Awards.

Members of the Awards’ Board of Distinguished Judges & Advisors and their staffs selected Stevie Award winners from among the Finalists. Finalists were chosen by business professionals worldwide during preliminary judging.

“This year’s honorees demonstrate that even in challenging economic times, it’s possible for organizations to continue to shine in sales and customer service, the two most important functions in business: acquiring and keeping customers,” said Michael Gallagher, president of the Stevie Awards.

Details about the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service and the list of honorees in all categories are available at stevieawards.com/sales.

About The Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in four programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, The Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about The Stevie Awards at stevieawards.com.

Keith Rosen’s Free Seminar Series
-The Art of Enrollment – Turn More Conversations into Clients

Mark your Calendar! January 28. 2009
Participant dial in number and access code below. Attend this event as our guest for free.

“People don’t want to be sold. They want to be enrolled.”

If you’re a coach, trainer, consultant, or non-selling professional, this is one tele-workshop you can’t afford to miss on the evolution of selling.

How effective are you at converting conversations into clients? Do you find yourself struggling to find more clients? What do you do to be unique and make an impact in the very first conversation you have with a prospect? Masterful coaches and speakers leave not only a lasting impression – they also create one.

It’s no secret that most coaches, speakers and non-selling professionals don’t like to sell. The income of most coaches reflects that. As such, they unknowingly use ineffective selling strategies rather than develop healthy, winning relationships with clients. Relying on price as a competitive differentiator dilutes your true value offering.

Coaching and training is not something you “pitch and sell.” The next evolution in how you engage clients is through the Art of Enrollment. What has been initially perceived as an inherent ability in certain leaders, coaches and top achievers is now a documented, step by step process that allows anyone, especially non-selling professionals, to convert more prospects into clients. You can do so in a natural, conversational way that honors your personal strengths, talents, integrity, values and style of communicating.

In this program, I’ve taken my twenty years of coaching and million dollar enrollment process that enabled me to develop one of the most successful coaching practices in the country and I’m now sharing my system with you in this program, The Art of Enrollment; a proven process to build a highly profitable, rewarding and sustainable business.

Specifically designed for coaches, consultants and trainers to learn how to:

Date: January 28. 2009
Duration: 90 Minutes
Time: 12pm EST
Location: Your Phone
Cost: Free! Please attend as our guest.

Sponsored by: The International Coach Federation

Below is the access number and code to participate:

Approximately 5 minutes before the session begins, start to dial this U.S. based phone number: 212.457.9879
When prompted, enter their Participant Access Code: 124866#

For more information visit the course description page here. I look forward to ‘seeing’ your there!

Kudos to Lee Salz and Business Expert Webinars. He had the vision, executed the vision and achieved a measurable milestone over a short period of time, no less. Great example of putting the muscle of activity and momentum behind the vision. Attraction in action, baby!

Here’s the release:

Business Expert Webinars
Delivers its 100th Business eLearning Training Session!

October 28, 2008, Minneapolis, MN – Business Expert Webinars (BEW), the leading provider of business eLearning, achieved a major milestone today when they delivered their 100th for-fee webinar.

“I am proud of this significant BEW accomplishment. I’m not aware of any other program that has delivered 100 for-fee webinars in this short period of time. BEW has clearly demonstrated that people are willing to invest in business eLearning as a way to enhance the skill development of themselves and their employees. As the economy has tightened, companies and business professionals have been forced to find alternative strategies for skill development. BEW offers an affordable way to increase business aptitude on a limited budget,” said Lee B. Salz, President and CEO of Business Expert Webinars.

“The BEW platform is incredible,” says Jeb Blount, BEW speaker and CEO of SalesGravy.com. “It has provided professional business speakers with a venue to reach a global audience. Participants learn relevant information that they can immediately use in their business career.”

Business Expert Webinars began delivering for-fee webinars in May 2008 and has built a portfolio of over 150 business speakers, with a schedule of over 750 live business eLearning seminars on a wide array of subjects.

About Business Expert Webinars
Business Expert Webinars (BEW) is the leading provider of business eLearning. BEW has an international community of business speakers that comprises best-selling authors, award-winning speakers, and business gurus delivering training for business professionals. For more information, visit BusinessExpertWebinars.com.

Listen to My Interview With Author Andrea Sittig-Rolf on Friday, October 17, 2008 at 1pm Pacific/4pm Eastern as we discuss:

You can click here to tune in on that day and time.

Find out more here.

There were two books I read very early on during my college years that had a huge impact on me and on my career path. One of them was written by Tom Hopkins.

Today, Tom is offering something so valuable that I needed to share it with you. He’s holding a special event next month on November 15 and again on November 20 in Southern California for:

Hopkins says, “We’ve listened to what our students are telling us. In the current marketplace, they can’t take a full day out of the field to attend seminars. So, we’ve condensed these programs to offer just the top strategies that are working now. And the Saturday program is aimed at people who are in sales part-time like many of our clients in the network marketing industry.”

While many programs of this caliber run anywhere from $300 to $1,000 per attendee, Tom Hopkins International is being sensitive to the pocketbooks of today’s Southern California sales forces. These two programs are being offered for only $99.00 per ticket. Both the offer and seating for these events are limited.

Get all the information you need here, as I’m sure this will sell out fast.

Here’s what you can expect to walk away with:

Get all the information you need or register here.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008, 6:00PM
LOCATION
The Penn Club
30 West 44th Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues)
New York, NY 10036
Register here.

If there’s ever an event worth noting and more so worth attending, I’m going to let you know. And here’s one that you can’t afford to miss.

The need for companies to over-respond quickly and efficiently to current market conditions has never been more apparent. Organizations must adjust their sales and leadership model with minimal collateral damage while doing so.

As more and more companies are selling to fewer and fewer large, corporate accounts, sales teams at companies of all sizes struggle to consistently hit ever-increasing targets quarter-after-quarter. It’s the question that keeps every sales leader up at night: How can you accelerate your deal flow? How can you close more revenue, faster?

In today’s hyper-competitive, ‘always on but never available’ selling environment, sales reps and sales managers face equally hard challenges.

Sales reps have to deal with prospects who don’t answer phones, all calls are routed to voice mail and no one ever calls back. Even when sales reps do manage to get prospects engaged, the likelihood that the deal would close is anybody’s guess.

Yet, both sales executives and their managers’ careers depend on forecasting and delivering results accurately.

Spend an evening with leading experts on the critical strategies and proven tools your teams can use right away to:

These strategies may go against conventional wisdom, but that’s why they work.

Moderated by Nigel Edelshain, CEO Sales 2.0, the conversation participants include Jill Konrath, sales expert and renowned author of Selling to Big Companies, and Razi Imam, CEO of Landslide Technologies, an award-winning company recognized for offering an innovative sales management system that goes beyond just technology.

Together with Nigel, they will discuss the key elements of building effective sales teams – from the new selling skills to the new Sales 2.0 technologies that help salespeople win corporate accounts consistently.

Register now for this timely session – seats are limited.

AGENDA
6.00PM – 6:45PM Networking and Hors d’oeuvres
6:45PM – 7:45PM Presentation and Interactive Discussion
7:45PM – 8:00PM Wrap-up & Networking

Tuesday, October 14, 2008, 6:00PM
LOCATION
The Penn Club
30 West 44th Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues)
New York, NY 10036

Register Today here.

First 20 registrants will also receive an autographed copy of Jill Konrath’s best-selling book, Selling to Big Companies.

For those managers and executives out there with a struggling sales force, here’s something you can do about it. Tap into this rich opportunity to get immediate solutions to your most pressing sales and leadership challenges from the experts.

Next Monday, October 6, 2008 I’ll be speaking at the Selling Power Sales Leadership Conference at the Four Seasons, Chicago. Below is the agenda. Click here for more information.

Agenda
7:30 AM REGISTRATION AND CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST

8:30 AM WELCOME KEYNOTE

9:15 AM TOTAL LEADERSHIP: BE A BETTER LEADER, HAVE A RICHER LIFE

Total Leadership is a proven method for producing sustainable change in all parts of life that can be learned and practiced by individuals, groups, or organizations. It is informed by decades of research and practical application by Stew Friedman, a veteran Wharton School faculty member.

Speaker: Stewart Friedman, Founding Director, Wharton Leadership Program

10:25 AM MORNING BREAK

10:45 AM HOW TO BUILD AN EXECUTION-ORIENTED SALES CULTURE

A sales-driven organization is one where the activities of the sales force are aligned with a company’s mission, vision and values and where salespeople deliver value every day with every customer. Each of the panelists has excelled in managing a sales-driven organization. Learn the winning strategies and tactics from these experts so you can get your entire executive team to support your guiding vision.

Moderator: Gerhard Gschwandtner, Founder and Publisher, Selling Power
Panelists: Sanford Brown, CSO, Heartland Payment Systems

12:15 PM LUNCHEON

1:15 PM HOW TO SKYROCKET YOUR SALES TEAMS’ PERFORMANCE - CASE STUDY: DHL

Sales force success is driven by a continuous management system that links business objectives, benchmarking, focused planning, individual assessment, and hands-on coaching. In this in-depth case study, you will learn exactly how DHL uses a scientific Sales Improvement Process to maintain peak levels of sales performance. This approach was pioneered with DHL’s 1,500-person sales force in the Asia-Pacific region; however, it can be easily tailored to sales forces in any industry, of any size, and with missions ranging from making small ticket, transactional sales to much larger, relationship-based sales. At DHL, this Sales Improvement Process was employed with a 150-person sales force in China, as well as the 15-person sales force in the Philippines.

Speaker: Malcolm Rees, Global Head of Sales, DHL Express Global Management

2:30 PM BREAKOUT SESSIONS

Breakout A: Coaching Salespeople into Champions
Technology has not only changed the way companies sell but the way managers build and advance their team. There’s less face to face time between your customers and your salespeople. To maintain your competitive edge, sales leaders must know how to quickly and efficiently coach, develop, motivate and retain their top performers in order to drive positive, measurable change. You can create a world class team by developing your own coaching skills; the missing discipline among today’s leaders. Learn how a tactical coaching system can empower your sales force to realize their fullest potential.

Moderator: Mary Delaney, CSO, CareerBuilder.com
Panelists: Dave DiStefano, CEO, RIchardson

Breakout B: Reviving Sales with Creative Incentives During a Slow Economy
Many industries are suffering from a slowdown. To stimulate sales, sales leaders often resort to price-cutting, or offer special incentives to their customers and their sales force. What strategies work best when it comes to planning, promoting and executing a successful incentive program? What incentives motivate customers to buy and what incentives motivate salespeople to deploy the extra effort needed to drive up sales? Learn how industry leaders deploy Incentives to achieve a strategic competitive advantage.

Moderator: Matt Harris, Vice President, Marketing, American Express Incentive Services
Panelists: Richard Blabolil, President, Marketing Innovators

3:30 PM AFTERNOON BREAK

3:50 PM THE FUTURE OF THE SALES PROFESSION

With many baby boomers retiring, US companies are beginning to suffer from a shortage of sales talent. Every year over 1.5 million College graduates enter the field of sales, starting their careers with inadequate training, burdening their employers with a high business ramp up investment. There is a silver lining on the horizon with 35 visionary Colleges that offer a complete sales curriculum. Every year, these colleges graduate 1,600 sales professionals who know how to cold call, write a sales letter, handle objections, close a sale and ask for referrals. Engage in this session to help advance your profession. Together we can transform selling into a respectable and predictable science.

Speaker: Howard P. Stevens, Chairman and CEO, The HR Chally Group
Panelists: Pete Peterson, Director, Program for Sales Excellence, University of Connecticut

4:50 PM CONCLUDING REMARKS

Speaker: Gerhard Gschwandtner, Founder and Publisher, Selling Power

5:00 PM NETWORKING COCKTAIL RECEPTION

Post-Conference Workshop – Tuesday, October 7, 2008
This optional workshop will run from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon in Ballroom A (8th floor) of the Four Seasons Chicago Hotel.

8:00 AM MANAGING THROUGH CURIOSITY

Click here for more information.

Sales? Leadership? Coaching? Strategy? HR? There’s a new AllBusiness.com expert feature that was just launched. I’m excited about this new platform to connect with readers and interact with you! More specifically, this is an Ask The Expert, Q and A Forum for you to get your toughest questions answered, and your greatest personnel and sales related or management challenges resolved ,so that you can sleep well at night knowing you are achieving your goals.

We’re hoping you will enjoy the connection and the opportunity to interact. Here’s how it works. You will be able to e-mail me direct, on the bottom right corner of my blog page here, as well as leave a voicemail on my exclusive toll free hotline describing your specific issue, challenge or question! We’ll review the voicemail questions and select the ones to use in the recorded “Ask the Expert” interviews where I will provide short answers to your e-mailed and phoned in questions. Call in now using the number below. I look forward to hearing from you.

“Ask the Expert” Hotline!
The number is: 1-877-49-EXPERT (1877-493-9737)
Option #1

Or, send me your question on This page here.

The Sales Book Awards recognize books, authors, and publishers whose work advances sales as a profession.

During one of their regular conversations, two avid readers, writers, and globally recognized sales experts lamented that sales books were often overlooked by book award programs and shunned by many in the publishing industry.

Jeb Blount, CEO of the sales portal, powerhouse, SalesGravy.com and Jonathan Farrington, Chairman of The Sales Corporation based in London and Paris and CEO of Top10SalesArticles.com, who share a life-long passion for sales, decided it was time for a book award program just for sales and sales related books, ebooks, and audio books.

Farrington, who has identified and cataloged the world’s top sales experts on his website TopSalesExperts.com said, “Our ultimate goal is to develop and foster a wide coalition of thought leaders, educators, publishers, authors, and corporations who share our mission to recognize authors and publishers who create outstanding works which contribute to the profession of sales.”

“Advancing sales as a profession is our core mission,” said Blount. “All proceeds from corporate sponsorships and entry fees will be used to create scholarships for deserving students enrolled in University level, sales degree programs.”

He explained that across the globe there are more than 50 universities and colleges that have developed degree level programs for sales within their business schools. “The students who graduate from these programs will be responsible for growing the world’s economy in the very near future. Our desire is to play a small but significant role in helping future Sales Professionals meet their financial needs while at the same time highlighting the accomplishments of today’s key thought leaders who contribute so much to sales.”

In the spirit of their mission, Jeb and Jonathan tapped three students, enrolled in professional selling at the University of Central Florida, to design the Sales Book Awards and build the website. According to Blount, Yurani Caicedo, who will be selling for the Miami Heat when she graduates this summer, along with Bri Chmel, the 2007 Women’s World Wakesurfing Champion who will also be enrolled in the University of Central Florida Sales Track this fall, and Raymi Dick, a UCF marketing major who graduates in 2009, were the real key to bringing the Sales Book Awards to life.

The Sales Book Awards call for entries begins on June 23, 2008. Titles may be entered online at SalesBookAwards.org

Any publisher or author may enter books with publication dates between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2008. Books will be judged in ten separate categories and a title may be entered in up to five categories. Finalists in each category will be announced on November 15, 2008. On December 15, 2008 category winners and the Sales Book of the Year will be named.

For information go to: SalesBookAwards.org

I’ll be speaking at the National Speakers Assocation’s 2008 Annual Convention this Saturday.

Here’s the description:

Learn from those who have combined training and speaking with coaching to maximize their business growth, and how you can do the same. By attending this session, you will be able to: *Learn the steps to add coaching to your speaking/training business, including developing your credentials as a coach * Uncover the process to sell a package of coaching and speaking/training services * Understand how a portfolio of services enhances your clients

You can find out more here:
www.nsaspeaker.org/