Discover practical advice, inspiration, and insights to help you succeed in business and grow both personally and professionally.
Found 0 posts
Cydcor team members recommend this refreshing look at what it means to sell in To Sell is Human.
Author: Daniel H. Pink
Description of this Book: Daniel Pink’s To Sell Is Human is about the art and science of selling, not only professionally but also in our personal lives. Selling is not just person going door-to-door selling products, or someone trying to make a commission quota. Everyone in society is now in sales in some particular way: selling their ideas, personalities, or projects that they want to get done. Pink looks at all aspects of the modern workforce and comes up with a great guide for anyone struggling with taking on the identity of a salesperson today.
Why People Should Read This Book: The book offers many concepts with actual statistical data and scientific evidence to back up points. Pink’s book succeeds at clarifying the typical view of sales as a negative connotation. We often motivate ourselves for all the wrong reasons when it comes to selling, and that’s not just for selling products. The book is very accessible and easy-to-read. Although this topic has been discussed to lengths in other sales books, Pink finds a way to put his own spin on the theory of selling in our world today.
My Favorite Part: Pink stresses that the old selling environment has changed significantly. Buyers now have the same information that sellers have, which used to give salespeople an advantage. He comes up with a new phrase for successful sales called Always Be Closing. Along with that comes the new ABCs: Attunement (perspective of audience), Buoyancy (handle rejection well) , and Clarity (help others see the whole picture). Other advice he offers is six successors to the elevator pitch, which allows a seller to propose something interesting to compel a conversation.
Want more recommendations from Cydcor? Check out this similar Cydcor review of Crucial Conversations.
Well into January of 2014, the Cydcor team is ready to make a big impression. There is a lot to live up after such a great 2013. If you have not been to our Cydcor YouTube Channel, we would love for you to subscribe! In the meantime, here is our latest feature: a review of 2013 at Cydcor. Moving forward, it is important to remember all the things our company participated in and accomplished last year.
2013 Highlights Include:
Helping United Way put together packets for elementary school students.
Fun team nights at restaurants and parks.
Winning ten medals in the Ventura Beach area corporate games, including volleyball, basketball, bowling and dodgeball.
Sending delegates to attend the Gala for Operation Smile.
Leadership conferences in Altanta, GA, building success and celebrating unleashed potential.
Summer interns coming in and learning the business of sales and supporting our team.
Being awarded a "Best Place to Work" in Los Angeles County.
Raising almost $300,000 for Operation Smile, funding more than one volunteer medical mission for cleft palate surgeries.
Organizing fundraisers like bowling nights, garage sales and the network wide Day of Smiles event.
Gathering over 100 meals for low income families in the community for Thanksiving.
Giving away gifts with our giving tree to children at EARTHS elementary school.
It was a great year, and we plan on making our 20th year in business even better!
Leadership development is an important tool to running a successful company. At Cydcor, we like to share motivation and success advice. You can check out the Cydcor Pinterest boards for inspiration if you need it. For now, learn about these charismatic CEOs who are changing the way we do business and leading the world into a new generation.
1. The Showman- Marc Benioff, Salesforce.com. Benioff was voted by readers of The Street as the number one tech CEO of 2013, winning a whopping 54%, compared to Amazon Titan Jeff Bezos with 8%. Benioff has driven the push to cloud computing more than any other leader in the industry, and the success of Salesforce.com has been the payoff. Benioff is one of the few CEOs active on Social Media, and also leads a powerful sales conference called Dreamforce every year, attracting some of the top leaders in the industry.
2. The Bleeding Heart- Howard Schultz, Starbucks. Schultz recently appeared in an interview with Oprah and openly discussed his emotional ups and downs. Schultz has been famous for emotional reactions in the past, and while to some that may seem negative, no one will ever doubt his commitment to his company. After returning as CEO of Starbucks during the economic downturn, Schultz led the company to its biggest profits yet.
3. The Idealist- Blake Mycoskie, TOMS. After encourntering impoverished families around the world, Mycoskie called in every favor he had to start a shoe company that would provide aid to needy families. Solving a problem with an economic solution using his one-for-one model, Mycoskie has become a leader in fashion and social enterprise when he was barely over thirty years old.
Leadership development is part of the company culture at Cydcor. Who is your favorite CEO to follow? Tell us who inspires you!
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.--Cydcor, the leading provider of in-person sales teams, announced that team members recently donated 114 gifts to children at nearby EARTHS Magnet School. “Being able to give them presents – ones they really wanted – is a great feeling for all of us.”
Cydcor team members regularly volunteer time on a weekly basis to children at the school and wanted to make their holiday season one to remember. The 51 team members each picked a child’s “wish tag” on Cydcor’s Christmas tree and purchased the gift or gift card requested for the individual child.
Last week, several team members personally delivered the gifts to the school, including one who dressed up like Santa Claus. Gifts ranged from clothing and shoes to toys and the gift cards. The children were all between the ages of five and eleven years old.
“Everyone at Cydcor was so excited to help these kids have an awesome holiday,” said Chief Operating Officer Vera Quinn. “Being able to give them presents – ones they really wanted – is a great feeling for all of us.”
In November, Cydcor team members also donated Thanksgiving dinners to the EARTHS families and plans to continue volunteering and giving back for years to come.
It’s very common for a business to set goals to achieve positive results in the beginning of the year. It can be a challenge for businesses to execute goals and stick to the plan. No matter the size or magnitude, the success of the business depends on setting and achieving goals. Be prepared for the New Year by following this advice on how to create and follow through on business goals for the next 12 months. At Cydcor, we put a lot of emphasis on goal setting, including financial and professional development goals.
Find out what’s not working: Could meetings be more productive? Should your potential customer size be larger? Sit down and see what goals you really want to achieve this year. It doesn’t mean finding everything wrong with your business; instead, focus on things that you want to see fixed or created soon.
Make sure goals are achievable: There’s nothing worse than setting a goal and never being able to achieve it. If you are planning on setting a company goal, make sure that it is actually possible to do. Set people up for success, not failure.
Are the goals relevant?: You may want to have the best year of business you’ve ever seen, but if new competitors have opened in your market, this goal may not be relevant to reality. Dream big and aim for the stars but keep one foot on the ground.
Use numbers: By utilizing numbers in the goals you create, you have a measurable way to identify if the goals were achieved. A white board in the office can help as a daily reminder as well. Numbers are an essential part of business and sales, so why not apply them to your goals too?
Apply the right time frame: Company goals could last a years long, weeks long, or even days long. If you’re setting a new goal, make sure you give an ample amount of time that works well with all parties involved. Too much time can have employees stretching out and wasting time, while goals with a short time period may discourage some from attempting to try to achieve it.
Don't forget to follow Cydcor on Facebook and Twitter- @Cydcor
Cydcor Reviews: Onward
Author: Howard Schultz
Reviewer: Gail Michalak, Cydcor VP of Marketing and Communications
Description of this book: Onward is the story of how Starbucks Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz turned Starbucks around after a downturn in financial performance. Schultz explains that while the recession definitely had an impact in the loss in profits for the massive international coffee and specialty company, the biggest factor was a shift in company culture. Onward explains Shultz’ decision to return to the CEO position after a departure to implement a hands on strategy to bring his company to its most profitable year ever. Between 2008 and 2011, Starbucks was able to find its way again and Schultz continues to lead it to record profits every year.
Why people should read this book: Gaining insight into how a multinational corporation is managed is a powerful experience. Howard Schultz not only reveals his focus for how to drive Starbucks back to glory, but is able to admit mistakes in his character and company strategy. The book reads more like a memoir than a business book, making it interesting for anyone with a larger than life character and an obsession with producing superior product. This is a great read for any manager looking for insight into how to deal emotions, negative push back, and implementing changes in corporate culture.
My favorite part: Howard Schultz frequently admits how personally he takes criticism against him, even over something as simple as seeing a competing cup of coffee in the hands of a stranger. He isn’t afraid to be self deprecating, exposing a very passionate and very realistic person behind the success. There are many examples of the book when Schultz acted on impulse—from writing an emotional internal memo that was leaked to the press, to throwing temper tantrums over breakfast sandwiches.
Gail Michalak is the VP of Marketing and Communications at Cydcor in Westlake Village, CA, where she overseas efforts in marketing, corporate communications, public relations, and events for Cydcor.
You can follow Cydcor on Twitter for the latest news and sales tips!
Team member happiness and engagement is a priority at Cydcor (have you seen our Cydcor Harlem Shake video?). As office party experts, we wanted to share some tips to make your office party a success. Planning a holiday office party doesn’t have to be stressful. These suggestions could make your holiday party one of the best ever!
Have food that everyone can enjoy.
It can’t all be sweets. Have food that can accommodate all diets found in the office. Gluten-free or vegan options can add some variety to the typical holiday nourishment. Try this gluten-free Christmas cookie recipe here.
Create a holiday dress theme that will be memorable.
A holiday festivity isn’t complete without a suggested dress code. Be it an ugly sweater party, to dressing up as famous holiday movie characters, the theme of your holiday party can add a new dimension of fun to the typical work gathering. You could even make it holiday-colored formal wear only!
Incorporate community service or charity into the party.
They don’t call it the season of giving for nothing. While collecting money for food and supplies for the party, donate a portion toward you’re a holiday charity. Not only will you be helping a good cause, but you will also be promoting a theme of the holiday season! Even better, have the party after a community service event that will aid those who won’t have a place to stay for the holidays. At Cydcor, we try to incorporate our fundraising partnership with Operation Smile into many of our events and activities.
Keep the holiday jams coming (but also be negotiable).
Christmas music on repeat may be enjoyable to some but there are also people who aren’t big fans. Mix it up with a few classic party songs as well as some songs to sing along to, like Frosty the Snowman or Baby, It’s Cold Outside. You could even have an employee perform if there happens to be a musician in the office.
Decorate the office with attractive adornments.
It can be tough to get people into the holiday mood without some merry decorations. From fresh wreaths to ribbon garland, there really is no ceiling when it comes to making your party as festive as possible.
Keep everyone amused with fun activities.
There’s always the classic Secret Santa or White Elephant. People love stations for decorating Christmas cookies or building gingerbread houses. A raffle with prizes is a great holiday staple.
Many people are natural born salesmen. Building relationships and convincing people of their side of story is something comes easily to them. At Cydcor, we are happy to nurture young talented sales people with a gift for gab and laser focus abilities. However, some great sales people learn their skills from the college experience, for those looking to gain a broader perspective and refine the necessary skills. Here a few ways you can use your college classes to create a successful sales career.
Psychology teaches you about the human mind. You can learn how people will react to the things you say, how to gain trust, and what makes people want to buy your product or services. You can focus your abilities to read people into convincing them to come to your side.
Business will give you a broad overview of management, operations, and communications. Business majors are well rounded and have a solid understanding of how to identify needs and solve problems.
Finance or accounting degrees are useful for understanding numbers and efficiency. Finance majors will still need to focus on people skills but will understand what needs to get done in order to make the business profitable.
Communications is a great modern degree in order to study means and methods of communication. These skills will create savvy social media and email marketers as well as develop a solid understanding of how to get a message across. Communications majors can tap into what is important and popular, and put their particular spin on the situation.
While theater or drama may sound like a strange major for business, some of the best sales skills come from being able to act confident and knowledgeable even in situations where it is not truly the case. Actors know how to be charming and make friends with anyone, and can gain trust easily.
What do you think is helpful for a salesperson to study in college? Learn more about the skills necessary to be a sales rock star on Cydcor’s career page.
The job market is competitive today. Employers often get dozens of applicants for positions. Imagine being a simple line in a queue of applications, with a similar resume to ten other qualified candidates. Sometimes, it takes the extra effort to get called in for an interview. Here some ideas from the Cydcor sales blog to make an impression that will get you where you want to go when job hunting.
What are some great things you’ve done to get noticed in the past?
Cydcor Reviews Platform by Michael Hyatt
Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World
By Michael Hyatt
Review by: Gail Michalak
Description of this book: Getting noticed is getting increasingly more difficult. The Internet has made is free and easy for anyone to fill the world with information. If you are a writer or a business owner, having a strategy to build and audience is key to sustaining income. Publishing executive Michael Hyatt explains how to create a compelling product and combine it will a meaningful platform. This book has been endorsed by marketing guru Seth Godin, best selling author Dave Ramsey, and former Yahoo! Executive Tim Sanders. Hyatt explains how to get traffic to your website over and over again and build the life you want to lead.
Why people should read this book: Whether you want to drive sales, promote yourself for a job, publish a book or become a blogger, this book explains how to build an audience and make a good impression. Hyatt also guides you through using all the major social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter. This book will help you navigate an increasingly digital world. It is important not to get left behind.
My favorite part: Michael Hyatt writes with honesty from his own experience. He is not afraid to expose his own stories of failure before he hit success. His words are encouraging but also honest, he assures you there is no “quick fix” when it comes to building your platform, but that hard work can pay off once your strategy is in place.
Gail Michalak is the VP of Marketing and Communications for Cydcor. Gail overseas all of Cydcor's digital media, public relations, corporate communications and marketing efforts.
We know little things can add up to a big difference. In continuing our fundraising work for Operation Smile, we have been collecting recyclables and donating the proceeds!
We placed recycling containers designated especially for Operation Smile fundraising around the office. Once they are filled, a Cydcor team member volunteer brings the items to the recycling center to collect the refund.
We have already raised enough for one Smile (each one is $240) and are well on our way to another – our current tally is almost $380!
Since partnering with Operation Smile in 2010, Cydcor and volunteers from its network of independently-owned sales companies have raised enough to fund two medical missions, and are well on the way to a third! The missions take place in areas of the world with limited medical care; a team of professionals provide cleft palate surgeries to those who would have no way of obtaining the surgery otherwise.
We’re really excited about each and every dollar we are able to raise and contribute. Operation Smile is our passion. Recycling is so easy to do and can really add up – and make a difference.
Cydcor is happy and proud of its efforts to give back to the communities that support our business. You can donate to the Cydcor Operation Smile page today and make a difference in a child’s life.