Marketing | PrairieSkyGroup

Step 1: Admit You Have a Problem – Presentations Don’t Work

Many companies still rely on the “presentation” as a sales tool. But a couple recent studies may indicate a major problem with this approach.

Trend Spotting: Access to Experts

Recently I wanted a piece of information from a web company for a service in which I was interested. This time I really didn’t want to “read the whitepaper,” so I called for a “demo.” The resistance I had was that this would begin a sales cycle, yet all I wanted was information.

Resistance is Futile

Like drug resistance for pathogens in evolutionary biology, resistance is evolving and increasing to the ways we market and sell. What if we just provided easy to find, valuable information, for free when our prospects wanted it? Would that be giving into the Borg?

Tattoos, Group Think, and The Road to Abilene – Part 4

Group dynamics in meetings and decisions are influenced by the social pressures of the group. You’ve heard the cynical old expression that the best decision of a committee is worse than the best decision of any one individual in the meeting. Here are some signs that you may have a problem and what you can do about them.

Tattoos, Group Think, and The Road to Abilene – Part 3

In the past two posts, I’ve tried to answer why we, as humans, are so ready to agree with others, even when we know it’s wrong, or not what we think? The real question is what can we do about it?

People who know me might say I am a bit of an iconoclast, always questioning the prevailing norm (see There Are alligators in the Sewers of NY). But I often have others say to me after a meeting, “I wished I’d asked that question.” It’s a kind of a pain in the ass trait, and not one that will endear you to some management or others.

Tattoos, Group Think, and The Road to Abilene – Part 2

A recent experiment and research at the Weizmann Institute by Prof. Yadin Dudai and his students may show why we are suseptible to group pressure. So what do you do when everyone around the conference table nods in agreement to an idea that no one individually would agree to?

Tattoos, Group Think, and The Road to Abilene – Part 1

Once my teenage daughter said she wanted to get a tattoo while on a trip we took to Playa del Carmen, Mexico. All her friends were getting them. Our dialogue on subsequent days, as we negotiated, went something like this….

Peer pressure and group think is especially dangerous in business, and it’s something that marketing or sales managers, and CEOs have to guard against.

What Coaching Kids Teaches Us About Management – Part 7

There’s an old adage in coaching that says when the team wins, the reason is because the team played well, and when the team loses, the reason is due to the coach.

What Coaching Kids Teaches Us About Management – Part 6

One of the teams they played was an inner city school, Como. Many of the kids at Como couldn’t afford good soccer equipment and often showed up in tennis shoes. The first time they played Cretin, they lost eight to nothing. The Cretin coach used subs, and made everyone pass three times, and shoot with their off foot.

What Coaching Kids Teaches Us About Management – Part 5

Management and MotivationWe played a better team to a two-two draw at the end of regulation during a state semifinal game. It was a tough game. At the end of the first overtime, the other team scored on us, and they celebrated like they had won the championship. During the one-minute break before the second overtime, my U14 team came in dejected.