Tweak Your Biz » Global » 10 More Links You May Have Missed, But Shouldn’t!

10 More Links You May Have Missed, But Shouldn’t!

by Niall Devitt on March 26th, 2011
18 Comments



1. # How many people are using social media and what exactly they are using them for? Cool video from Edelman on social media use in Ireland.

2. # At work, do you show compassion and understanding for people who are less experienced and maybe less talented? A must read from Frank Bradley.

3. # Great post! 17 ways to grow your blog from Cindy King and a whole host of A-list bloggers, over at Social Media Examiner.

4. # What do you think? The Irish Tatler invited Krishna De and Terry Prone to argue for and against! Has Twitter a positive or negative impact on relationships?

5. # ‎Google display network! Is it the black hole of PPC? Small Business Trend’s Robert Brady says not so, the key is in how you approach it?

6. # What to do when it all goes wrong? Amanda Webb from Spiderworking.com looks at 3 online crisis management case studies.

7. # Congrats to all the winners, and to the organisers of the Irish Blog Awards! Sorry to hear that it will be the last for Damien Mulley.

8. # I found myself nodding all the way through. Nice post over at Famous Bloggers about running blogging competitions (Thanks to BizSugar for the share).

9. # What is the most commonly over-used word in marketing?

10. # This gives new meaning to running a ‘live ad! A billboard is filled with thousands of live cockroaches.

 



Category: Business articles reviews

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Author:

Niall Devitt is a doer, not a talker when it comes to social media. Niall advises organisations how to plan, design and implement social media strategies that generate real business returns.  Niall is Chief Digital Strategist & Founder at the Ahain Group, an independent, ideas-led social business consultancy with experience of working with all types of clients and sectors– from large blue-chip multinationals to the 1 SMEs. Download our industry specific and researched social business reports. In 2009, Niall co-founded TweakYourBiz.com (formally Bloggertone.com) an international, business community and online publication. http://www.ahaingroup.com/

Read more and connect »

Add Your Comment

  • http://www.sharonhearty.com Sharon

    Niall I just wanted to drop you a note to say a big thanks for your weekly links to dip into. For all of us who juggle so much every day and don’t get to do as much surfing of the net as we would like, I find your update invaluable and really worthwhile and many of them certainly educate me that bit more every week as I continue to be a student of learning every day. This is one of the posts I really make a point of not missing now in the week. Thank you :) n

  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    Thanks for the kind words, Sharon. Glad you finding them useful!

  • http://primaryposition.blogspot.com/ David Quaid

    Thanks Beatrice – the wording is confusing and you’ve put it very eloquently!nnConsidering it both our lines of thought further : If Ryanair leave a cookie on your PC to see what you’ve done earlier – that’s tracking by any sense. Also, if a shopping cart leaves a cookie to chart your progress through a shopping cart (say, to help recover if your browser crashes) – then thats the same level of tracking/stalking really!!nnThe faults and limitations of Google Analytics cause many issues at meeting tables around the country. I’d be happy to share some and the understanding we use behind them somewhere if you wanted and to hear others’ stories!

  • http://goodrelaxation.com/ Emiliat

    Hello
    Great post, thank you for practical tips that are worth adapting to everyday life. I think one of the most important things that people should do to live a stress free and healthy life is spending some time outside. A breath of fresh air is great to reduce stress and improve health.
    Taking small breaks is extra important for people stuck in the office all day. A great way to manage office stress is to take some breaks, step outside for a minute or two. It helps to clear the mind and you feel much fresher afterwards.
    Wishing you lots of good posts in the future
    Emilia

  • Torihawthorne

    Thanks Sian,I think Salaried Sales Staff have a place, but when Businesses are in their first few years, salaries for sales staff just aren’t there. Sometimes they comm only agents are left to fend for themselves and that’s where the bad reputation for comm only has come from. Sales is an investment to any business and needs to be treated the same way we would treat our printer or web developer; given all the information necessary to do their job and close communication all the way.
    Thanks so much for your comment Sian ;)

  • http://smartbusinessguides.net/ Pawel Grabowski

    Sian, I agree, commission system works, although it needs to be properly implemented into the company’s structure. 

    I have seen many sales teams on salary doing only the base minimum to keep their jobs…. At the same time, I have also seen companies with commission structure organized so badly that the rotation of the staff was practically ridiculous. 

    I guess the middle ground will be different for every company, but the key is to actually find it and implement it.

    Oh and you’re right, showing appreciation is a must too :)  

  • Torihawthorne

    So True Pawel,Thanks for your comment,
    But, I also know salaried Sales Teams who have worked exceptionally hard to ensure they keep their jobs and receive no bonus, no commission and not even a yearly pay rise.. It comes back to ensuring we have the right sales people for the right sales job.I really truly believe the middle ground is ensuring we train our sales teams from the start. We have to train them in effective sales and customer service techniques.

    Business in general can be nervous of sales people, and with the snaky slimy portrayal of sales people on TV etc I can see why. But with the right direction, training and appreciation our sales teams can be the best investment to any business.

    Thanks again Pawel
     

  • http://www.smartsolutions.ie/blog/ Elaine Rogers

    Your 8 step plan is ingenious in its simplicity – it’s getting the balance right as you say in your article. I think as business gets more social, the snake oil will slime away to the hole where it belongs, and transparency, respect and honesty will shine through.
    Yesterday I heard a comment that it doesn’t matter what sales people “think” of the product they are selling – this goes against my gut judgement – I personally feel more inclined to buy from someone who is genuinely passionate about the product or service they are selling, and not just a good liar. I feel this works the other way around too and I should feel my agents are excited about my products/services. 

    I love this post Tori! And I love the idea of advertising to those who are already advocates :)

  • Torihawthorne

    Thanks so much for your comment Elaine,

    I truly agree with you.It really does matter what your sales team think, and its really ok for them to be honest too. A long time ago I knew a product I was selling (1 in a range) wasn’t the best, so when asked, I was honest, but tactful to my employer and tactful to the customer. She appreciated my honesty, spent a fortune and promptly recommended me to her friends as I was trustworthy in her eyes. We must give our sales teams, the tools and confidence to build honest relationships.. They have strength and longevity in comparison to snake oil slime techniques (or lack there-of) ;) Thanks again Elaine

  • Daryl

     45 years selling, managing sales US and North America, muscle building teams, writing comp plans, building 5 companies from year zero(two public), and a multitude of accolades for ‘making it happen’……I have never seen such oversimplified touchy-feely commenting passed off as business advice.  The only part of your article that makes sense is the knowing that a well constructed compensation plan drives business.  Note that any seasoned salesman will see a 100% commission pay plan as a disguise of outsourced labor.   It means you as an individual are financing the sales side of the business 100% for your semi-employer.  Furthermore, straight 100% plans cause the smarter ones to focus on hunting elephants and ignore smaller (perhaps faster, more profitable sales).  Then they quit.  The cost of turnover for sales is easily 3X annual $$ target income for poor salesmen and 5-7X for good ones.  Hire right and pay them to stay.  Hire wrong and make your competition stronger.

    Straight commission doesn’t work in long sales cycles.  Straight commission won’t work in  true consultative or enterprise type business models.  Straight commission tends to ignore margin control.  For perspective; the more times you say “if” and “when” in discussing my pay…the less I sense I really make….you come off as if you want to control my income instead of the other way around.  If you have a consumer product, what is clearly a fast turnaround sale, your ‘one call close’, you may get a few good people to work for you…but not for long.

    Daryl Lucien
    http://www.linkedin.com/pub/daryl-lucien/3/25a/150

  • Torihawthorne

    Hi there Daryl,
     
    Thanks so much for commenting. It’s an interesting insight, thank you. I would not suggest it as a long term or permanent option for a company’s sales team (unless the business suited that model as some can). And I am not advocating that any commission only sales agent should finance the activities they undertake. I was looking at the planning, training & support aspects.

    I will take on board your points, its great to see sales from another persons perspective. Thanks again, much appreciated.

    Tori

  • anumalik81

     Yes, Sian. If you want to increase sales activity, you need to have experts sales team. They must be smarts and industrious. Also you should treated well with a better bonus.

  • http://www.leadsandappointments.com/ Anika Davis

    Good point. Credit cards is the simple and easier way of carrying and saving money. However credit cards may be prone to bankruptcy when their is poor of update. The best thing to save our credit cards is to prevent our self from being extravagant. In the same way it good to identify the needs first before the wants. And I agree that Credit monitoring will be a good of technique to store in our mind always to prevent us from bad situation.

  • http://www.biz2credit.com/ william james

    Good credit card report is one of the key factors when you go for business loans. So,It’s very important to maintain a good credit card report. As you suggest some of the very nice point. I think it will be helpful for business owners to maintain their credit report.

  • http://twitter.com/wbider Web Spider

    Thanks for your feedback. Yes It’ll surely help business owners to maintain their credit history and this will help them to get a mortgage easily.

  • http://twitter.com/wbider Web Spider

    Agree with you Anika. Thanks for you feedback.

  • Charmaine

    If there’s one thing I religiously do, it’s monitoring my finances. I don’t want to be put in any situation that might ruin the credit history I’m painstakingly building. The article is correct in pointing out the need for people to regularly monitor their credit so they can know any discrepancies on their accounts.

  • http://twitter.com/IDMonitor Steve S

    Great point about monitoring your credit. Most people don’t realize that you are entitled to one free credit report per year from each of the credit monitoring organizations. Something simple like this gives you enough information to stay on top of your credit and detect any suspicious activity

Related Posts


«
»