Lessons From A Real-Life 'Mad Man'

Several of us at SFXP HQ have been big fans of "Mad Men," since it premiered two years ago. The AMC Channel's popular drama set in a New York advertising agency in the 1960s is sexy and smart.

The show inspired us to pick up Confessions of an Advertising Man, the best-selling book by advertising legend David Ogilvy, which was first published in 1963. As many others have commented, Ogilvy's insights hold up some 50 years after he wrote them, and they are invaluable far beyond the world of advertising. In fact, anyone in sales management (advertising's first cousin) should push this book to the top of their reading list.

Here are just a few "Ogilvyisms" that are as true today as they were in Don Draper's era.

• If you really want the business, over deliver. In 1958 we were invited by Standard Oil (New Jersey) to show them what kind of advertising we would run if they were to hire us. Ten days later, I presented them with a hamper of fourteen different campaigns, and won the account. Next to luck, fertility and midnight oil are the best weapons to use in hunting new business.

• Choose your battles wisely. In your day-to-day negotiations with clients and colleagues, fight for the kings, queens and bishops, but throw away the pawns. A habit of graceful surrender on trivial issues will make you difficult to resist on those rare occasions when you must stand and fight on a major issue.

• People appreciate it when you show your faults. I always tell prospective clients about the chinks in our armor. I have noticed that when an antique dealer draws my attention to flaws in a piece of furniture, he wins my confidence.

5 Reasons Why Companies Offer Incentives During Economic Uncertainty

The Incentive Performance Center (IPA), a non-profit source of information on the benefits of motivating employees with non-cash incentives, has identified five key reasons why non-cash incentive programs survive - and, indeed, often thrive - during times of economic stress.
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You’ve Instilled the Will...Have You Provided the Way?

Even your most highly motivated salespeople need more than desire to produce results. The SalesForceXP eLearning Center offers an assortment of live seminars on topical skill sets from noted sales management experts. It’s an exceptionally affordable means for managers to provide sales tactics that produce results...

A 'Bucket List' for Sports Fans

Robert Tuchman founded TSE Sports & Entertainment, a sports marketing company that he sold in 2006 to Premiere Global Sports. He stayed on as president of Premiere Corporate Events, and now spends most of his time traveling with corporate groups to the most notable sporting events in the world.  [read the 1016-word article]

Las Vegas is at your service... McCarran International Airport offers nonstop flights from more than 130 cities and is one mile from Las Vegas Boulevard and 3 1/2 miles from the Las Vegas Convention Center. To help your next great meeting plans take flight, visit LVCVA.com.

Team Building ROI: It Doesn't Have To Be An Oxymoron

Selling top brass on off-site team building, a challenge during any economy, has been next to impossible since the economy tanked one year ago.  [read the 303-word article]

Leadership Lessons for Hard Times

A lot has been written and talked about in the past year about the mistakes that sparked the financial and economic crisis. Less attention has been given to what's been done well amid the turmoil.   [read the 772-word article]

Leave it to the Experts! SVM is a gift card specialist with over ten years of experience in gift card sales and marketing. They represent all of the major brands of gasoline gift cards along with over 125 of the most popular retail, restaurant, hotel and universal gift cards. Customers take advantage of their one-stop-shopping philosophy to save time and money. To learn how SVM can support your gift card program, visit www.SVMcards.com today.

Managing on the Fault Line

There is a group of fundamentalist Mormons in Utah whose houses have windows covered with wood, roofs patched with blue tarps that blow in the wind, and walls that aren't there. It's not a consequence of poverty. Their inhabitants simply aren't motivated to finish them.
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5 Challenges Social Media Brings to Business

Becoming a "social business" (meaning true participation as opposed to leveraging social media as a new means of marketing) can impact nearly every function of a business.  [read the 305-word article]

3 New Social Networking Options for Sales Management Pros

"Sales Management Executives" is a new, public LinkedIn group created by Lee Salz, President of Sales Architects. The Sales Management Executives group bridges the knowledge gap allowing sales management executives to thrive! Sales leaders are encouraged to sign up and join in lively exchanges with over six-hundred like-minded colleagues.

SalesForceXP is now accessible as a public LinkedIn forum. Created by Publisher Mike Murrell, this community-based online extension of the SalesForceXP brand is focused on meeting the information and networking needs of the supplier-side of our industry. Individuals whose companies supply products and services geared toward training, incentives, recognition and off-site meetings are encouraged to sign up and join in the conversations.

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