Author levarberry

Is Entrepreneurship Dying?

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So here’s a subject that I hold dearly, entrepreneurship.  Couple that with the true american dream and you have an amazing combination.

So the question at hand is; Is entrepreneurship dying?  Dying is a strong a word, but in my observation, I think it is a word that fits the topic of the entry.  The question arises from a few conversations I’ve had with some other individuals in person and online.  It made me think for a moment and wonder why there is a general down play of being entrepreneurial.

My good friend, mentor, coach, etc… Peg Stookey wrote in a recent article  about how others define an entrepreneur.   In that article she broadens what the dictionary has classified as entrepreneur. Furthermore she goes into a conversation she had with a local banker and his own definition of entrepreneur.  The banker goes on to say he’s only known of 2 true entrepreneurs in his life.  To that I say  WOW!       How that is possible?    In my opinion an entrepreneur is ANYONE who sees a business problem, dreams of a solution or opportunity, then takes acts on it.   A dreamer is who sees the opportunity and day dreams about what could happen, but takes no action.

Could it be that as children we are now discourage from dreaming of business ownership?  Could it be that as a public, entrepreneurs are viewed as a scam artist or greedy people? My observation is now I a trend that often people see a business problem and instead of seeing an opportunity to solve the problem.  They an opportunity to either create more problems or an opportunity to simply complain.

I do seem to think the first question is very true.  Maybe almost to a level of making me sick to my stomach.   It is what keeps dreamers… aka  American Dreamers… from turning into American Entrepreneurs.    In order to be an entrepreneur you MUST dream.   My other good friend  Tim Burgess with TCB Success Training states “Imagination is the key all things.”  Tim backs my ideology that as kids our parents and the adults around us without knowing suppress this thought process that keeps us from using our imagination.    If you can not imagine new things in your mind, you loose the ability to dream.  If you loose the ability to dream you never put yourself in a position to have an entrepreneurial spirit.

Stay tuned for future entries as I go into more around this topic and what we can do to turn this around.   What made this country (USA) GREAT is the ability to dream and the FREEDOM to take action.

Have an eDriven Day!

Creating profits with CRM

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I’ll begin this first entry with a subject that is near in dear to me CRM. This blog will give you a quick real life approach to creating profits with CRM.

Unless you didn’t make past 5th grade you’ll know profits equal the amount of money you keep. Therefore there are two items that help create profits with CRM; cutting cost and increasing revenue.

Let’s look at cutting cost with CRM. I’ve been a CRM consultant since 1997, and I must say this is one powerful way of getting ROI out of your CRM application.

  • Reduce Paper Trails: Use CRM to store the information needed and rely less on paper based systems. Yes, even in today’s high tech world, I find a HUGE number of people still printing out paper. Just because you use Excel or Word doesn’t make it any better. I’ve seen cost reductions of 3%-7% to fulfill orders placed by your customers.
  • Communication Hub: Do you know much your internal communications are really costing you? Cell phones, long distance charges mount up fast. Using CRM as the center of inter-office communication reduces the need for these expensive alternatives. In addition, it creates more inter-office harmony and LESS DRAMA.
  • Reduce Mistakes: LOL… this never happens does it? Mistakes generally happen when there is a mis-communication between your ordering/accounting department and your sales department. With CRM everyone is on the same page in an orderly fashion. Emails back and forth often get misunderstood or lost in a shuffle.

There many ways in which CRM can help reduce cost. Those are just a few off the top of my little head. Now on the flip-side is the all important creating REVENUE!! (Yeah Baby).

  • Lead Management: Sound cliche? Well you wouldn’t believe the number of times I’ve worked with a group and marketing and sales don’t even speak let alone share the same data. Tracking leads from both ends insures everyone is on followed up. Often times I’ve marketing spend $15K+ on a tradeshow, get millions of names, store them in excel and call it a success. Excuse my language here (WTF!). OR! I’ve heard several times a salesperson say “I never follow up on those crap leads marketing gives me”. Leads=$$$
  • Pipeline Management: So are you top heavy or bottom heavy? Either one is bad news. LOL you don’t want to “back up your system”. CRM can tell you went you are about to get into a unwanted situation of having a lot of deals that won’t close or a lot of leads and nothing else. Moving these people through your sales process does one thing INCREASE SALES. As sure as prune juice, it will help keep you regular.
  • Team: This is by far the best value. No, one rockstar salesperson can match the power of team. Marketing to Inside Sales to Outside sales, all working together to generate revenue. This can only happen if they all use the same CRM to build customer relationships.

Those are just a few tips to put you to sleep for the evening. Check out my Audio CD coming out soon. It will be available at www.edrivenip.com titled The Silent Sales Army:CRM 4 Sales Managers. Later I will have a follow up CD called  The Silent Sales Solider:CRM 4 Sales Professionals.