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	<title>SPIA Official Blog - Coaching Business Professionals since 1971</title>
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	<link>http://blog.spiainc.com</link>
	<description>Real Results You Can Trust</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 14:24:37 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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		<title>Encouraging Productivity Through Compensation Incentives</title>
		<link>http://blog.spiainc.com/business/encouraging-productivity-through-compensation-incentives/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.spiainc.com/business/encouraging-productivity-through-compensation-incentives/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 14:24:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Craig Stimmel</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Compensation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Leadership]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Standards of Performance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cash Flow Management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Human Resources]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.spiainc.com/?p=499</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[To motivate employees to do what management wants them to do is a critical element of the overall compensation program.  Putting it another way:  A great compensation program is the best job description and visa verse.  Savvy companies understand this and recognize that developing a sound program that motivates an employee to do what is in their best interest to do is one of the major reasons why large companies get bigger.  And it might be a reason why small companies stay that way - small.  They may not fully grasp the "how" and the "why."]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://blog.spiainc.com/business/encouraging-productivity-through-compensation-incentives//feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Business is showing positive signs of a renewed energy – Conventions/Conferences/Expos Scheduling Is Way Up!</title>
		<link>http://blog.spiainc.com/marketing/business-is-showing-positive-signs-of-a-renewed-energy-conventionsconferencesexpos-are-starting-to-be-scheduled/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.spiainc.com/marketing/business-is-showing-positive-signs-of-a-renewed-energy-conventionsconferencesexpos-are-starting-to-be-scheduled/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 27 Mar 2012 13:44:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Craig Stimmel</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Branding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Corporate Visibility]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trade Show Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Event Show Management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ROI from Trade Shows]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trade Show]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.spiainc.com/?p=492</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Unlike flowers returning in the springtime, conferences and conventions have been few and far between over the past 3-4 years. 

The 9/11 event literally stopped a large number of conferences all at once.  I, personally, attended a convention in Orlando, FL two weeks after 9/11.  The expo halls were empty except for sales &#038; junior management personnel “manning” the booth.  Even more interesting, you could have rolled a bowling ball down the middle aisle of the expo and not hit a single attendee.  The only people there were exhibitors.  Remember those days?]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://blog.spiainc.com/marketing/business-is-showing-positive-signs-of-a-renewed-energy-conventionsconferencesexpos-are-starting-to-be-scheduled//feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>If Your Sales People Are Relying On A Low Price To Close The Deal..Their Training Didn’t Have These Nine Steps</title>
		<link>http://blog.spiainc.com/management/if-your-sales-people-are-relying-on-a-low-price-to-close-the-deal-their-training-didnt-have-these-nine-steps/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.spiainc.com/management/if-your-sales-people-are-relying-on-a-low-price-to-close-the-deal-their-training-didnt-have-these-nine-steps/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 12 Mar 2012 21:19:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Craig Stimmel</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Certified Management Consultant]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Enhancing Management Efficiency]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Leadership]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales Management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Human Resources]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Process Improvement]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.spiainc.com/?p=490</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[No time to build a training program for your salespeople?  Here are the steps you’ll need to get started - quickly.

One of the first things that sales and company executives ask us when we meet them is; “We need to grow our sales, what can you do for us?” To that we always respond, “If you’d share with us some of the processes that you have in place now for the sales team to follow – we can then take a look at them and see if there might be a way that we can help.”  What we’ve found is that most of the time the issue is always the same: There simply isn’t a process in place for us to look at - period. The salespeople almost always seem to be autonomous from the rest of the company. There are well thought out processes in place for finance, personnel and administration - but not for sales. When we ask the question of why the building of a business development process for the salespeople seemed to be pushed to the wayside, we almost always got the same response:                                                                                                                                          ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://blog.spiainc.com/management/if-your-sales-people-are-relying-on-a-low-price-to-close-the-deal-their-training-didnt-have-these-nine-steps//feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Why Would I Want To Distinguish My Company From The Competition..  or Where Are All The Locally Owned Drugstores I Remember From My Youth</title>
		<link>http://blog.spiainc.com/management/why-would-i-want-to-distinguish-my-company-from-the-competition-or-where-are-all-the-locally-owned-drugstores-i-remember-from-my-youth/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.spiainc.com/management/why-would-i-want-to-distinguish-my-company-from-the-competition-or-where-are-all-the-locally-owned-drugstores-i-remember-from-my-youth/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:13:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Craig Stimmel</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Competition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Competitive Research]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entreprenureship]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Leadership]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Competitive Advantage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Process Improvement]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.spiainc.com/?p=487</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I don’t have to tell anybody in business that competition today is stronger, more aggressive and less sensitive to the impact it has on local competition.  We only have to look at category killer stores (BestBuy, CompUSA, Linen N Things) together with big-box stores (WalMart/Target/etc) to get a sense of how different today’s marketplace is from that of even as recently as 20 years ago.

The difference is most heavily felt with retailers whose cost of product they buy from vendors is significantly higher than that of their mega competitors.  How big a difference?  It can be as much as 20-30%.  This explains why clients and friends in business often say that “X competitor” is selling product at less than I can buy from my vendors”.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://blog.spiainc.com/management/why-would-i-want-to-distinguish-my-company-from-the-competition-or-where-are-all-the-locally-owned-drugstores-i-remember-from-my-youth//feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Will 2012 Be THE Beginning Of Your Business’ Next Growth Spurt?  Are your ready?</title>
		<link>http://blog.spiainc.com/marketing/will-2012-be-the-beginning-of-your-business%e2%80%99s-next-growth-spurt-are-your-ready/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.spiainc.com/marketing/will-2012-be-the-beginning-of-your-business%e2%80%99s-next-growth-spurt-are-your-ready/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 04 Jan 2012 22:35:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Craig Stimmel</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Accreditation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entreprenureship]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Future Thinking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Leadership]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[M&A]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Positive Business Thinking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Process Improvement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Strategic Planning]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.spiainc.com/?p=484</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Y2012 looks like a real winner for business that can break the RECESSION MINDSET!  What do I mean by Recession Mindset?  I refer to a pessimistic through process that suggests that the future is likely to be “more of the same” or “worse”.  The result?  A passive marketing/sales effort that relies on little, if any, change and a even more conservative willingness to invest in growth.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://blog.spiainc.com/marketing/will-2012-be-the-beginning-of-your-business%e2%80%99s-next-growth-spurt-are-your-ready//feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>No time to build a training program for your salespeople?  Here are the steps you’ll need to get started &#8211; quickly.</title>
		<link>http://blog.spiainc.com/business/no-time-to-build-a-training-program-for-your-salespeople-here-are-the-steps-you%e2%80%99ll-need-to-get-started-quickly/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.spiainc.com/business/no-time-to-build-a-training-program-for-your-salespeople-here-are-the-steps-you%e2%80%99ll-need-to-get-started-quickly/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 19 Dec 2011 12:42:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Craig Stimmel</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entreprenureship]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Leadership]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales Management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Standards of Performance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Human Resources]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Process Improvement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Systems]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.spiainc.com/?p=482</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[One of the first things that sales and company executives ask us when we meet them is; “We need to grow our sales, what can you do for us?” To that we always respond, “If you’d share with us some of the processes that you have in place now for the sales team to follow – we can then take a look at them and see if there might be a way that we can help.”]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://blog.spiainc.com/business/no-time-to-build-a-training-program-for-your-salespeople-here-are-the-steps-you%e2%80%99ll-need-to-get-started-quickly//feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Marketing On Steriods: Combining EMarketing, Social Networking &amp; Traditional Marketing</title>
		<link>http://blog.spiainc.com/marketing/marketing-on-steriods-combining-emarketing-social-networking-traditional-marketing/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.spiainc.com/marketing/marketing-on-steriods-combining-emarketing-social-networking-traditional-marketing/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 29 Nov 2011 14:04:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Craig Stimmel</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Branding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Communications]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Corporate Visibility]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[E-Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Media Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Operational Efficiency]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Process Improvement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Media Management]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.spiainc.com/?p=476</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Is it time to build a Marketing Machine?  Let’s examine the benefits.  And Assemble The Best of Both Worlds  There’s marketing and there’s sales, and each has its pros and cons. To ensure your marketing and sales people work in concert with one another as teammates, like they should, you need a Marketing Machine.  A Marketing Machine combines the strengths of marketing and sales to create a powerful business development system – a combination of technology aprocess! Strategic Planning &#038; Implementat-ion Associates builds Marketing Machines using a combination of software and eMarketing system.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://blog.spiainc.com/marketing/marketing-on-steriods-combining-emarketing-social-networking-traditional-marketing//feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Getting “Beyond” The Start-Up Phase Mentality  A Virtual Brick Wall That Often Lasts For Years</title>
		<link>http://blog.spiainc.com/business/getting-%e2%80%9cbeyond%e2%80%9d-the-start-up-phase-mentality-a-virtual-brick-wall-that-often-lasts-for-years/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.spiainc.com/business/getting-%e2%80%9cbeyond%e2%80%9d-the-start-up-phase-mentality-a-virtual-brick-wall-that-often-lasts-for-years/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 01 Nov 2011 11:57:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Craig Stimmel</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Enhancing Management Efficiency]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[HR Poisoning An Employee]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Leadership]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Poisoning Employees]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Start-Up Trouble Shooting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Start-Ups]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business 101 - Startups]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Human Resources]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Operational Efficiency]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.spiainc.com/?p=471</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Kicking off a new business means that the entrepreneur or business owner begins operations leveraging his/her knowledge of the products or services it performs and how those product/services will be delivered to the marketplace.    When the start-up begins with the entrepreneur him/herself – a non to infrequent occurrence, the entrepreneur begins operations doing absolutely everything – sales/marketing, finance and operations – dividing up his/her time based on what has to be done based on a priority known usually only by that individual. ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://blog.spiainc.com/business/getting-%e2%80%9cbeyond%e2%80%9d-the-start-up-phase-mentality-a-virtual-brick-wall-that-often-lasts-for-years//feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>ADD/ADHD – A Positive Entrepreneural Trait? – Why Is It That Such A Large Percentage of Successful Entrepreneurs Have To Deal With &amp; Succeed Despite the Challenge?</title>
		<link>http://blog.spiainc.com/business/addadhd-%e2%80%93-a-posirive-entrepreneural-trait-%e2%80%93-why-is-it-that-such-a-large-percentage-of-successful-entrepreneurs-have-to-deal-with-succeed-despite-the-challenge/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.spiainc.com/business/addadhd-%e2%80%93-a-posirive-entrepreneural-trait-%e2%80%93-why-is-it-that-such-a-large-percentage-of-successful-entrepreneurs-have-to-deal-with-succeed-despite-the-challenge/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 10 Oct 2011 14:24:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Craig Stimmel</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business Psychology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entreprenureship]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[stress in business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ADHD]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Adult Deficit Attention Disorder]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entrepreneurship]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stress in Business]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.spiainc.com/?p=463</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Why is it that such a large percentage of successful entrepreneurs (up to 25% of the US population according to the National Institute of Health NIH) exhibit to a greater or lesser degree some symptoms of Adult Attention Deficit Disorder (ADHD)?  Could it be that one or more of the symptoms of what ADD does to over 25% of the American population be a benefit to people who have learned to live with ADD as they consider establishing a business vs. working for someone else?  Is ADHD a negative trait? I’d say just the opposite. Their high energy level, willingness to put in the hours, and ability to do a great....]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://blog.spiainc.com/business/addadhd-%e2%80%93-a-posirive-entrepreneural-trait-%e2%80%93-why-is-it-that-such-a-large-percentage-of-successful-entrepreneurs-have-to-deal-with-succeed-despite-the-challenge//feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>ARE YOU POISONING YOUR EMPLOYEES  and &#8211; SHOOTING YOURSELF IN THE FOOT?</title>
		<link>http://blog.spiainc.com/management/are-you-poisoning-your-employees-and-shooting-yourself-in-the-foot/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.spiainc.com/management/are-you-poisoning-your-employees-and-shooting-yourself-in-the-foot/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 24 Sep 2011 19:17:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Craig Stimmel</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[HR]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[HR Poisoning An Employee]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Leadership]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Professional Service Firm]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Relationships]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SPIA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[stress in business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Communications]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Human Resources]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Operational Efficiency]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.spiainc.com/?p=458</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Poisoning an employee?   What does that mean?  I’ve never hurt anyone anytime in my life!   Deliberately yes – likely what you think is the case may not be true!  Why?  Because poisoning an employee means you’ve removed one or more employee’s sense of empowerment and ability to positively impact the efficiencies/effectiveness of what they do for the company. 

What is the typical result of "POISONING AN EMPLOYEE"?  ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://blog.spiainc.com/management/are-you-poisoning-your-employees-and-shooting-yourself-in-the-foot//feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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