On March 19^th in Darien, CEO Trustees and guests were treated to an engaging & informative presentation by author and dynamic keynote speaker Todd Cohen of Sales Leader LLC.  “Everyone’s In Sales: Building a Successful Sales Culture” took place at the stately Darien Community Association and was chaired by CEO Trustee Joe Tait, CIO of Lydall, Inc., who made opening comments and introduced our speaker.  With colorful anecdotes and real-world examples, Todd highlighted how to create sales culture, develop a professional Value Proposition, define your Virtual Sales Team™, and leverage your Relationship Portability Index™. 

 Salient points from his Sales Culture Presentation included:

• Everyone is in sales and every single conversation is a selling moment. 
• Building a sales culture costs nothing.  You don’t need to do anything different, but you need to think differently about what you do.
• When someone asks “what do you do?” what they are really asking for is your “Value Proposition.”  In other words, “how does what you do impact your customer’s decision to say ‘yes’?” and “why should I engage with you?”  Important components of a quality Value Proposition include:
  • It should not contain your working title
  • It should be 6 words or less
  • It must be agnostic; in other words, it must be about you specifically, not your company
• Five Steps to Creating a Strong Sales Culture

1. Keep Sales TRANSPARENT – Every person in the organization should have a view into the customer, not just the sales team.
2. Know how YOU impact the customer – Understand how what YOU do makes your customer say “yes.”
3. Know how OTHERS in your organization impact the customer – Understand how what THEY do makes your customer say “yes.”
4. Show others how they impact the customer – Help demonstrate to all others in your organization that they are in sales also.  Help them see how what they do matters and helps the customer say “yes.”
5. Monetize “I don’t know what I don’t know” – Everyone in your organization has unique expertise.  Be willing to lean on others for their knowledge and experience. 

• Building your Virtual Sales Team is about moving your connections up through the ladder of Relationship Portability.  All of your connections are in one of these stages:

1. Reliable & available – contacts who know you and understand your Value Proposition.  This is where you want to move as many of your contacts as possible.
2. Available but not reliable – these contacts may or may not get back to you when you reach out
3. Neither reliable nor available – these are people who do not see you as part their business in any way
4. Non existent – these are the people you have not yet met, but can quickly move to reliable & available once you connect with them

 Throughout the evening, Todd shared information, ideas, and best practices for building sales culture drawing on his research, expertise, and experience with individuals, teams, and corporations.  All on hand came away with concrete strategies for best selling themselves and their organizations. 

Michael Useem, previous CEO Trust speaker, Wharton management professor and director of the school’s Center for Leadership and Change Management, recently posted a blog highlighting what he considers the biggest leadership insight from the Nadella appointment: “Unequivocally, the enormous interest in who is going to run Microsoft is indicative of how much of an impact one great CEO, or conversely a not-great CEO, can have on the fortunes of the company. Leadership, and how much difference it makes, is the vital point here," says Useem. 

Just attended the Phila area roundtable discussion on Workplace of the Future, over 25 Chief/Senior Human Resource Officers discussed the concerns of today’s graduates and our current work force. Discussing the values and importance of technology, wellness programs and work environments.

-- George Zauflik, CEO Trustee, SVP Compliance and Government Relations, Cardone Industries

In a recent blog by CEO Trust Alliance Chuck Steege, president of SFG Wealth Planning Services, Inc., using an example based on his clients, addresses some of the questions regarding retirement and whether an individual has reached the point of financial independence.  Deciding when to retire may be one of the biggest financial decisions we face. 

Mr. Steege is President of SFG Wealth Planning Services, Inc., SFG Investment Advisors, Inc. (SFG), a fee only financial planning firm. Founded 20 years ago, SFG is dedicated to assisting senior executives and their employees with their complex stock-based compensation and planning challenges. 

In a fascinating article for Time Magazine Online, Dr. Jonathan Haidt, Author, NYU Stern Professor, TED Speaker, and previous CEO Trust speaker, discusses how your values, moral beliefs, and lifestyle are accurate determiners of your political affiliation.  Read the full article online and take Time's personality quiz to see how accurately your personality predicts your political beliefs.  

EisnerAmper's recent blog says that as a company grows, there is often a need for capital. Many business owners want to know whether certain financing options can impede their ability to go public.  They suggest to carefully consider all financing options as you raise capital. Watch for the pitfalls of giving away too much control or ownership, and be careful not to adversely affect the future valuation of your company. 

Art Drucker, Partner, EisnerAmper and CEO Trust Strategic Alliance

Two luxurious Signature Suites at the newly-renovated Madison Square Garden set the first-class tone for our NYC Chapter Celebration on December 7th. Throughout the evening, CEO Trustees, spouses, significant others, and invited guests enjoyed the camaraderie of fellow CEOs, plentiful drinks & hors d’oeuvres, and an exciting Devils vs. Rangers hockey match-up. Our members and guests all shared what an wonderful & memorable evening they had catching up with friends and meeting interesting new colleagues.

Upon arrival at the Garden’s 9th floor Signature Suites lobby, guests found themselves surrounded by sports & music memorabilia from some of the most legendary Garden events. Inside the luxury suites, comfortable leather chairs, plush oversized stadium seating, a granite-topped bar with bar stools, and other top-notch appointments greeted guests. A tasty buffet prepared by MSG’s signature chefs included assorted sushi & sashimi, Sicilian croquettes, chicken tenders with dipping sauces, fresh assorted fruit, chocolate-covered jumbo strawberries, and more.

New CEO Trustee Carol Robbins was the lucky winner of our door prize, a $100 gift card from Macy’s. Dwayne Pechet, Practice Manager at CEO Trust’s alliance partner TriBridge, was on hand to present Carol with her prize, which was generously provided by TriBridge. Of course, the highlight of the evening was the exciting cross-river hockey rivalry playing out on the ice below. Though the suites were filled with Rangers and Devils fans alike, the Devil fans emerged triumphant. After losing their lead in the final seconds of regulation play, the Devils scored in exciting fashion on a power play 1:15 into overtime, lifting them to a 4-3 win over the Rangers.

Regardless of the game outcome, all attendees enjoyed a fabulous evening, catching up with old friends and making some new ones.

Click here for photos of our evening at the Garden 

Human Resources Executive Online  In a recent blog that appeared on Human Resources Executive Online, Marc Effron, president of The Talent Strategy Group, and previous CEO Trust speaker, is highlighted for his pointers on the Insights portion of his website devoted to talent management.  "Talent-management practices are too important to our organizations to let them be destroyed by friendly fire," says Effron. 

In a recent blog posted by Neal Schaffer, founder of Maximize Social Business and previous CEO Trust speaker, the 10 best practices for boosting the effectiveness of your LinkedIn efforts are highlighted.  LinkedIn remains the dominant social networking tool for professionals. 

A recent Tribridge blog explains why many security researchers now recommend using 18-character alpha numeric, non-complex passwords.  Lengthy non-complex passwords may seem complicated but they can be easier to remember than complex passwords.  Use a familiar phrase or sentence. Using familiar phrases as passwords can even reduce the number of help desk calls for password resets.