FEATURE STORY

How to Overcome Prospect Delay Get inside the CIO’s head by Eric Nies, Cincom Director EMEA South and East If you know that your software will have a big ROI for your prospect, you have a great chance of a sale. If you can eliminate fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD), you have an even better chance for the sale. Delay limits their ROI; here are some facts and charts to help your sales strategy. Learn how CIO’s think and use it to help speed your sale. [ Read More ... ] Citrix's New HotSpot: Software Lead Generation HotSpot is a perfect, high-visibility marketing tool for you, your resellers and partners to get more leads, more demos and better results—more sales! Exciting new tool showcases popular applications using Citrix technology. Prospects interact with applications in real time, and a built-in lead engine captures, qualifies and alerts the right sales team of your new leads. More information and samples

 EDITORIAL CORNER

Number-one ROI killer … Sales force incentives … Smoke and you’re fired Jack Scharff, Editor Fear, uncertainty and doubt—this bad mix prevents or delays important projects. In our feature, The Number-One ROI Killer Is…Prospect Delay, Eric Nies demonstrates how ROI can be forever lost. “My boss said that my incentive is to keep my job,” reports one SMD reader. We hope he was joking but incentive programs do not seem to be a high priority for SMD readers. In What sales force incentives work? you’ll find comments on how they work (or don’t) and some strategies to develop an incentive program. Imagine being fired because you smoke in the privacy of your own home. In Smoke and You’re Fired a SMD reader asks your opinion. He thinks it’s an invasion of privacy. Do you agree? Please provide your thoughts. You’ll also find six articles that deliver helpful ideas to help you find customers, develop sales strategies and keep up with software business trends. Please let us know how successful we are at including articles that are relevant to your professional life. By taking a 1-minute reader survey, you could win a free color PDA. To unsubscribe instantly, please see bottom of enewsletter.

"With Runademo, the sales cycle has been reduced by 30%" (PDF) —Universal Tax Systems, Inc.

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 RESOURCES

DestinationCRM Chanimal Joel on Software NotePage, Inc. Software Business Magazine Soft*Letter SoftwareCEO.com Software & IT Sales Jobs Online SoftwareMarketSolution Software Success Weekly

 ASSOCIATIONS

SIIA Citrix Alliance Partners Business Software Alliance Association of Shareware Professionals - Member List Association of Shareware Professionals  [ More ... ]

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Last Issue's Dilemma Question: What sales force incentives work? I’m trying to develop an incentive program for my sales force. Each salesperson already gets a salary plus a commission. I want to offer some non-monetary incentive to reward increased new business. I’m thinking about trips, golf equipment or a gift catalog for all, along with a big-screen HDTV for the highest achiever. Please ask your readers which types of incentives work best? —B.H., Sales Manager, company withheld [ Read the best responses from your peers ]   This Issue's Dilemma: Smoke and you're fired? I’m worried about the recent news of a Michigan company that fired four employees because they smoked—not on the job, but on their own time at home. I hate to admit it, but I’m a smoker. I’m also 35 pounds overweight. Maybe that’s the next invasion—here come the fat police! Obviously smoking is a health concern and raises health insurance costs for employers. I think that termination of employment for smoking is discriminatory and an invasion of privacy. What do SMD readers think? Is the firing acceptable? —Chubby puffer, (name and company withheld) Can You Help? Share your experience. You could win a PDA.

FIND CUSTOMERS
Identify suspects and turn them into prospects

SALES STRATEGIES
It's not your father's sales force, anymore

Relationship Selling: Persistence and Patience Do you have a strategy in place? by Chuck Salter - Fast Company   Use Career Interviews to Motivate Sales Team Better results usually follow by Dr. Tony Alessandra - SpeakersRoundTable.com

THE SOFTWARE BUSINESS
Information on trends that are important to your world

CIO Poll: IT Spending to Fall Security to rise by Sean Michael Kerner - InternetNews.com   Avoid Outsourcing Failure Governance, governance and more governance (PDF) from Booz, Allen, Hamilton