Corporate Sales Guy

I used to get a lot more done per day before Sarbanes-Oxley. Lately I have 2 thoughts on Sarbanes Oxley:

1. I ask someone a hard question about a process and get a response of “well, that’s for Sarbanes Oxley” i.e. shut up and do your work.

2. If I can still keep my job while avoiding thd extra 90 steps in any process mandated by my company then I am skipping it.

I’ve basically decided that I will do only those things that bring me closer to getting to the end of my to-do list. All the endless internal email discussions and the TPS reports get put on hold to the end of the day (unless I can talk my way out of it all together).

On a daily basis I try to find a way to reduce mindless repetitive tasks to a single keystroke. In recent months I’ve implemented the following software applications in an effort to do this. My apologies to window users – these are generally Mac titles but I will try to list the windows equivalent if I know of it.

1. Quicksilver – program launcher, address book fast lookup and simple workflow automation.

2. TextExpander – allows you to type short phrases which turn into what ever phrase/paragraph you need. (good for signatures etc) (windows users – try texter)

3. PDFPen – allows me to mark up PDF documents by replacing text, signing my name with a mouse and removing graphics.

4. OmniFocus – Still in alpha/beta but an awesome to-do list program based on David Allens GTD system for you GTD’ers out there. (see this product in action here)

5. PDF Combiner. Awesome program (completely free) which allows you to grab multiple PDFs and combine them into a single document. Good for grabbing your corporate PDF fluff and inserting it into an RFP response. More info here.

Ok, so maybe more geek advice than sales advice today but these are the tools that allow me to serve my customers and not spend time filling out the dreaded TPS reports.

-Shirin

Guy Kawasaki’s 10/20/30 Rule in Detail on his Blog

Ever been subjected to death by powerpoint? Being in sales in Corporate America is great however it’s during these powerpoint presentations that drone on that I pray to God that this will be the last time I face this while promising to breakout and start my own company – Even at the risk of living on Hamburger Helper for a year or so. I’ve watched my clients and partners start to nod off, snore and surf the web with their blackberries during these terrible presentations.

I was always trained to use powerpoint only when you had to and then it would be high level speaking points which forces the presenter to actually know their material. The sad part is that these same people would often feel that quantity of slides = more depth and thus would instantly break their own rules. Folks that put their slides up on the screen and proceed to read each word have killed many a sales deal and brain cells.

At the link above Guy Kawasaki speaks about the 11 rules of business and I believe the eighth rule is the 10/20/30 Rule which goes like this:

1. 10 Slides Max

2. Deliver these 10 slides in 20 minutes (or less).

3. The slides will have a font size of 30 points.

Absolutely beautiful and a lesson to anyone who has to transmit complex ideas or like us, sell something. His book is featured below, check it out.

“The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything” (Guy Kawasaki)