 |
 | |  | | In This Issue | | | | | Links | | | | | | | Dear Cherryll, | | | Welcome to our summer edition of View from the Ridge.
Remember those lazy, hazy crazy days of summer? Where did they go? It seems we are all so busy with our business and personal lives that urgent more often takes precedent over what's important. This month's newsletter shares our insights on what's really important, in our both our business and personal lives, and includes keys to keeping good people; factors beyond sales plan design; and the importance of taking a long-term perspective on insurance. May you find time for the important and the relaxing, and maybe even the crazy!
Check us out at www.CypressRidgeSolutions.com.
| | | | | | The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that by 2010, there will be 8 million more jobs than people to fill them. This is not new data, but this projected crisis is less than 3 years away. Our clients are already challenged with finding, hiring and keeping the right, best people to help their companies thrive and succeed. Here are 4 key strategies to attracting and keeping the right people for your organization.
- Create a Great Company Culture
Culture is described as the values, customs, relationships, community, and organizational way of life within which employees work. It includes traditions, the way things have been done, and the written and unwritten rules of interaction. How would you describe your culture? Is it open, sharing, inviting, fun, honest, ethical and supportive? Do you celebrate your successes; share in joys and wins; while providing mutual support to one another during challenges? Or is it a culture of blame, lack of accountability, distrust, and territorialism?
| | | | | | | Sales compensation plans cannot stand alone in driving results. Time and money spent on constructing well-designed plans is time and money wasted unless the plans are aligned with the business initiatives, go-to-market strategy and organizational structure. In addition, the plans must be well-communicated by the management, understood by the sales force, and the business practices surrounding the plans should be sound. Over and above the base-incentive mix, upside accelerators, and plan measures, the following are factors that should be considered in ensuring the successful implementation of your plans.
- Quota-Setting Ability
If a company has quota-based plans, setting challenging yet achievable quotas is the single most important component of any sales compensation plan. No matter the size, complexity or age of a company, most struggle with setting quotas, especially down to the account or territory level. Time spent on defining and implementing this process, in a partnership between the sales leadership and sales finance, is critical in achieving the desired business initiatives.
| | | | | | Note from Marc Haberman:
Occasionally I find an article that's too darn good to steal and too well written to paraphrase, so I called the author, Stan Hinden, long-time financial columnist for the Washington Post, and he was kind enough to allow us to reprint his column in this month's newsletter.
Ten years ago, at age 66, I decided to buy a $100,000 term life insurance policy. At the time, I was an employee of The Washington Post and had about $100,000 of company life insurance coverage. But I knew that when I retired I would lose my Post insurance. And I wanted to prepare for the day. My new $100,000 term life policy cost $1,756 a year, and I became used to seeing the annual premium notice arrive each June. This year the notice came as usual. But when I opened the familiar envelope and looked at the bill, I nearly fell out of my chair. The premium for the coming year wasn't $1,756. It was $9,000! After I looked at the bill for the third time, I decided that it must be a mistake, a computer glitch, something I could straighten out with a phone call. But as I started to dial, I decided instead to try to find a copy of my policy and see what it said about premiums. I hadn't seen it in years, and I had no recollection of what it said. When I read it, I was shocked. The term policy called for level premium payments of $1,756 a year for a period of 10 years. But in the 11th year, the annual premium would begin to rise dramatically. In subsequent years, the annual premiums would be $9,000, $10,000, $11,000 $12,000 and higher. In fact, if I had been able to pay those huge amounts, I would have paid a total of $100,000-the same amount as the death benefit-within seven more years. There is no way I could afford to keep the policy, even though I had paid $17,560 already, with nothing to show for it.
| | |
Cypress Ridge Solutions | 607 N. 1st Street | San Jose | CA | 95112 | |
|
 |
