About your website:
Most of my content is about sales and service enablement, best practices for Operations or Leaders... All of the things tied to people, processes, technology and data that happen internally - that enable the front line teams to achieve their business objectives.The target readers are Managers, Directors or VPs in Sales/Service Operations, Sales/Service Support, Direct Selling/Inside Sales Management.
2) On the other hand, who shouldn’t? What will readers NOT find in your website?
If you are looking for pure, "how to sell", content, e.g. how to overcome objections, you will find little on my blog - although I touch on everything surrounding the sales interaction. The content is geared more to leaders than to the front line team members.
3) What's the first thing someone should do when they get to your website?
I find that when readers come to my website they are looking for a specific topic that interests them. They should first scan the most recent posts in the right hand navigation. If nothing appeals to them, they should click on the View All Posts tab. More than 80 posts are categorized and I guarantee readers will find something they like.
4) Besides yours, what other sales websites would you recommend?
For true Sales Operations content, the best are:
- http://salescompinsights.com
- the newsletter published by http://www.synygy.com/newsletters.html
- the white papers and studies published by CSO Insights.
For sales tips with an entertaining twist, I rely on:
Last, when I want an Inside Sales focus I visit:
5) How about your preferred sales books?
I am more of a blog or magazine reader, versus a book reader - and the #1, best magazine out there for sales is Selling Power Magazine (www.sellingpower.com). The content is always fresh and covers all aspects of sales. I have met the entire Gschwandtner publishing family and they are all great people.
From a book perspective, I loved "POP, Create the Perfect Pitch, Title
and Tagline For Anything", by Sam Horn, and I am currently reading the book Flip and Grow Rich
by Armando Montelongo. I love the show and want to understand the sales approaches he's used to go from food stamps to making millions.
About you:
6) How did you get started in sales?
My first corporate America job back in the 80s was as a Call Center Rep. I soon learned that I was very competitive and enjoyed exceeding business goals. Over time though I learned I was more process than people oriented, so I veered my career to the operations and support side of the business.
7) What are you doing now?
For the past 10 years most of my roles have been in senior leadership, managing operations teams that enable sales or enable service. I currently oversee an operations team that provides service such as reporting/analytics, CRM, capacity planning, project management and process improvement to enable our service team to enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty.
About your sales expertise:
8) What is the biggest mistake you see as a sales expert?
There are a few:
- Trying to fix processes with technology. Always fix the process first... you may not even need technology.
- Teams using old school, high pressure sales techniques. Consumers are much smarter now and have minimal tolerance for this.
- Making decisions without using data and analysis... i.e. driving blindly.
- Underestimating the effectiveness of Inside Sales - instead, relying on too many, expensive Direct Sales resources.
9) What are you working on right now that makes you feel energized? What's your next big project?
I am leading a rollout of KCS (Knowledge Centered Support). Check out my blog, “Do you KCS on the first date?" For more info: http://salesoperationsblog.com/2010/08/01/kcs/
10) What is the best testimonial/comment you have ever received?
This is one of my favorites, which came from a direct report:
“Marci is one of the few people I’ve worked with that can draw from a strong mix of left brain (logical, analytical) and right brain (creative, able to think outside of the box) characteristics and employ them successfully in a corporate setting. Marci is a strategic thinker, oftentimes the first one to quickly and clearly recognize the key issue or opportunity in any given situation. I witnessed several instances where she was able to step up to the plate on a matter that needed leadership, articulate a vision and gather the appropriate cross-company executive support to address it."
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Marci Reynolds has led successful sales and service operations teams for the past 15 years at prestigious organizations including ACI Worldwide, Monster.com, Staples and Deluxe Corporation. She has her M.B.A. from Bentley University with a concentration in managing operations and technology, her B.S. Business from Northeastern University and a Six Sigma Greenbelt.
Marci also enjoys business writing and blogging and recently authored several ebooks including “Contestology, A Sales Manager’s Guide to Sales Contest Design”.
For more information about Marci, please visit her website: www.marcireynolds.com. You can reach Marci directly at marci@marcireynolds.com.
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