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BOLD GROWTH: FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES LEADERS
Strategies for Standing Out in the Sales Field
One of the primary building blocks of leadership identity is your leadership brand. Here are the habits needed to cultivate self-leaders and stand out in the sales field.
The Road to Sales Enablement Success
They say the road to success is always under construction. In the world of sales, that’s definitely the case. How can we keep driving forward? Sales enablement and effectiveness are the engine of a sales organization, and when executed well, they create an environment of productivity and success. Though they are often described interchangeably and do crossover, sales enablement and effectiveness could have different applications depending on the organization. Amy Franko thinks of enablement as a highway—helping us get to the desired destination. The design quality and the upkeep of the system ultimately help determine the quality of my travel and the roads I may take to get there. To read more about her tips for traveling the sales enablement highway, read her new article on the ATD Sales Enablement Blog. This article is the second in a two part series. You can read part one here.
Survey Says: Women Leaders Drive Corporate Profits
By Amy Franko For the last decade, leadership development for women has been a focus of mine—both in my career and personally. Whether I’m delivering a corporate program or serving in a volunteer capacity on the Board of the Girl Scouts of Ohio Heartland Council, I love to make a difference by empowering emerging leaders with the tools they need to succeed. The women I meet are smart, savvy and driven. So I wasn’t surprised when I saw the results of a recent study by the Peterson Institute for International Economics. It reveals that gender diversity in business is profitable. In fact, “the results suggest that the presence of women on corporate boards and in the C-suite may contribute to firm performance. The impact is greatest for female executive shares, followed by female board shares; the presence of female CEOs has no noticeable effect,” the report says. “The estimated magnitudes of these...
Impact CEO to Talk Mentorship in Twitter Chat
Looking to strengthen your leadership abilities through mentorship? Spend an hour with Impact Instruction Group's CEO, Amy Franko, on Twitter next week. Amy will be the special guest on #BizGalz chat Monday, March 14 at 1 p.m. ET. BizGalz is a global community of women challenging limitations and making big changes. We hope you'll join us for an engaging chat!
Bridging the B2B Sales Gap
Much has changed in the sales landscape in recent years. We are seeing shifts in our customers’ habits, processes, and expectations. In turn, we must change the way we approach selling. It affects roles across the organization: field sales, inside sales, pre- and post-sales, marketing, and sales leadership. What can the training and development community do to better equip our sales teams? In the current climate, organizational success will become dependent on our ability to evolve. My latest article on the ATD Sales Enablement Community blog shares some of my observations on today’s B2B sales environment, a profile of the modern seller, and how the learning function helps sellers connect to increasingly savvy customers. You can read it here. Watch for a second article soon. And in the meantime, tell us, what trends are you seeing in the B2B sales arena?
How Our View of Risk Correlates to Business Growth
Recap of 2016 Columbus Chamber Annual Meeting Keynote by Mark Kvamme By Amy Franko Midwest nice.* The Midwest is full of nice, well-intentioned, and welcoming people. It’s why I love being from the Midwest, from Ohio, and making Columbus my home. But does this mindset hold us back? Make us less willing to take a risk? Does it make us less of an entrepreneurial region? These were the questions we grappled with this morning during the Columbus Chamber’s annual meeting. Mark Kvamme of Drive Capital shared his insights on risk and how we can move forward as a city, region, and state. This post shares some of my key takeaways from his talk. “Do you view risk and failure as a badge of honor or a scarlet letter?” Mark’s perspective is that areas of the country like Silicon Valley view risk...
Franko to Speak at International Conference
Look out Denver, here we come. Amy Franko has been invited to share her leadership insights at ATD 2016, the Association for Talent Development's annual international conference and exhibition. This year's event will take place May 22-25 in Denver. Amy is a long-time member of ATD and moderates the group’s Central Ohio Learning Executives Network. Her presentation for ATD 2016 will focus on "Leading With Impact and Influence: The Power of Strategic Thinking." In it, Amy will inspire participants to use the power of strategic-level thinking and the mindset of a leader to consciously design a path of impact and influence. Expect active conversation and exercises on leadership Identity, strategic risk taking, change resilience, and principled negotiation, a well-known methodology to create better outcomes for all parties involved. Learn more about ATD 2016 and Amy's session on the conference website. For...
Building Teams that Go the Distance
True, long-term success comes from teamwork, not from individuals alone. This African proverb sums it up well: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with others.” If your organization is like most, you’ve developed some big goals for 2016. You want to go farther, accomplish more objectives faster and increase your revenues. The list goes on. But how will you get there? In this article on the Switch and Shift blog, I outline six strategies for building teams that go the distance. Read the full article on Switch and Shift. And best wishes for a happy and successful New Year!
Your Leadership Habits
It was Aristotle who said that we are what we repeatedly do. Our seemingly small actions, performed day in and day out, eventually create who we are. They are also known as habits. To help you take the next steps in creating lasting leadership habits, our Founder and CEO Amy Franko shared a simple, three-step plan you can practice. This article is the fifth and final post in a series on creating leadership identity on the Association for Talent Development blog. Read it here. And be sure to check out the other articles in the series. Building a personal brand Leading through your actions Leading through your visual and verbal presence Leadership response
Inspiration to Elevate Your Leadership in the New Year
These TED Talks Will Motivate You to be a Better Leader It’s that time of year. We’re looking ahead, and making resolutions for enhancing our work and personal lives in the next chapter. For many of us in leadership positions, or those who aspire to be, our goals for 2016 may include sharpening our leadership skills. One of my favorite places for inspirational advice is in TED talks. TED is of course known for its short, powerful talks. When it comes to the topic of leadership, you can find lots of motivation via TED. Here are a few recent talks that rise above the rest, in my opinion, and can help propel you in 2016. What it Takes to Be a Great Leader “The world is full of leadership programs, but the best way to learn how to lead might be right under your nose. In this clear, candid talk, Roselinde Torres describes 25 years observing truly great leaders at work, and shares the three simple but crucial...
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