Shop Talk Podcast #7 - Ford Harding on Rain-making

rain-mak-er n. a person (as a partner in a law firm) who brings in new business.

On this edition, we talk to Ford Harding, author of "Rain Making: Attract New Clients No Matter What Your Field." Ford's book presents very practical and complete advice on selling professional services. He is president of Harding & Co., a consulting firm that helps companies improve their selling performance.

Among Ford's observations in the podcast is that most professional services people are hired for their native intellgence, critical thinking skills, etc., and not for their sales competence. Which results in an often painful transition when these folks are asked to start selling.

It was a fun chat. I hope you enjoy it. Click here to download.

Tags:
sales, business development, professional services, rainmaking

Mistake Bank story - boss with one employee, bad for the employee

When I got overloaded at one job and was allowed to hire an assistant, I thought my troubles were over. But I had just pushed them onto my new hire, and they came back to me pretty soon. Click here to download.

management, leadership, tasking, organizational behavior, Mistake Bank

Shop Talk Podcast #6 - Todd Mittleman on Honda's Fuel Cell car

On this edition of the Shop Talk Podcast, I talk once again with Todd Mittleman, Director of Environmental & Safety Public Relations for Honda, this time about the Clarity FCX, Honda's fuel cell car for the mass market, to be launched sometime in the summer of 2008. (You can find our first interview here.)

If you've ever wondered what on earth a fuel-cell is and how it can power a car, and how you can drive in Southern California's carpool lanes with no one else in your car, you'll want to listen.

Please right-click and save here to download the podcast.

automobiles, environment, technology, fuel cell, green technology, podcast, corporate social responsibility

Shop Talk Podcast #5 - Todd Mittleman of Honda on Green Automobiles (CORRECTED)

(NOTE: A previous version of this post pointed to a podcast file with a large gap in the middle. The correct podcast file is referenced herein.)

On this edition of the Shop Talk Podcast, I talk to Todd Mittleman, Director of Environmental & Safety Public Relations for Honda, about environmentally-friendly vehicles.

I confess that all the "green" options make me a bit dizzy--hybrid, E85, fuel cell, all-electric, clean diesel. Todd helps put the various environmental considerations--fuel efficiency, emissions, carbon footprint--into context for us. And, of course, he talks about the cars Honda has now and in the future for the environmentally-conscious driver. It's a very interesting conversation.

Please right-click and save here to download the podcast.

automobiles, environment, technology, green technology, podcast, corporate social responsibility

Shop Talk Podcast #4 - Tony Ulwick on Determining What Customers Really Want from New Products

The podcast is back, this time featuring Tony Ulwick, author of the book "What Customers Want" and CEO of Strategyn, a consulting firm helping companies improve their innovation processes.

We're talking about how to gather information from customers to drive innovation. Most companies have "voice of the customer" programs, but few know how to extract quality information from those programs. It takes asking the right questions, and removing ambiguity from the answers. In the podcast, Tony states that it's wrong to assume that users can't tell us what they want; instead, the problem is that "companies don't know how to listen to customers."

You can access the podcast here.

Here are links to companies, people, etc., mentioned in the podcast:

Clayton Christensen - "focus on the job the user wants to get done"
Theodore Levitt's "Customers don't want a 1/4" drill"
Apple
Strategyn White Papers

podcast, innovation, management, marketing, product management

Mistake Bank #12 - Don't forget about support!

What follows is a sample of a project I've been working on called the Mistake Bank. It combines narrative, learning from mistakes, video and web2.0 in an environment that companies can use to train new employees, create a corporate history, connect workers and mentors, and bring more humanity to the workplace. Email me at inquiry@caddellinsightgroup.com if you would like to know more about the Mistake Bank.

When John Caddell began his first job as a product manager, he inherited a new product that was being sold by a large partner. And once the first sale happened, he learned that having a support strategy is not optional. Click here to view video.

mistakes, Mistake Bank, narrative, learning, marketing, product management, technical support

Stories #1 - To close the deal, you often need to negotiate face-to-face

There is a moment early in the movie "Local Hero" where MacIntyre, the executive who is being dispatched to Scotland to negotiate a land purchase for an oil company, complains to a colleague about the trip. "I don't need to travel there; I'm more of a Telex man." Yet he goes anyway, and finds the Scots extremely challenging (and shrewd) negotiators. The deal wouldn't have gotten done via Telex.

I was thinking of this while reflecting on the experience I had negotiating with a client was dragging their feet on signing the contract. Our general manager requested that I travel to New York and try and get the contract closed myself and I protested and said we can get it done on a conference call. He said, "Sometimes you have to go there in person." And so I did. Here's what happened...

Voice-to-Screen messaging - powered by SpinVox

negotiation, narrative, psychology, dealmaking, customer relationships