If your company’s not hitting its revenue targets and underselling its competition, it’s really easy for senior managers and executives to blame the economy. The fact is though, that the economy is very robust right now, and despite high energy prices, it’s pretty clear that the economy is going to stay on a strong track. So unless your market is in a slump, the chances are that your company needs to take a hard look at sales from the perspective of its strategy, process, and people.

It’s not easy to look inward, and we all have a tendency to blame external factors when it comes to underperformance in our sales teams, but the fact is that those of us who have been in the trenches leading and running sales teams for a long time, know that the buck stops with us.

While it’s hard to point fingers at ourselves, it’s absolutely the mark of a top sales leader to do that and to do it quickly when the company is not hitting its sales goals. If you’re a sales leader and your company’s not achieving it’s targets, the first question you should ask yourself is, “am I satisfied with the efforts of my people?” If the answer to this is yes, move on to the next subject. “Are we focusing on the right customers with the right sales process?” If the answer is yes, then we need to dig in and take a look deeper to figure out exactly which of these areas is deficient.

I find that it’s very useful to use a sales score carding processes with my team in order to achieve this result. We use this scorecard with our clients. If you go to the homepage of our website (http://www.cubemanagement.com), you’ll find a copy of our sales scorecard to download. My suggestion is this: take that scorecard and make copies for all of your team members. Then each of you individually complete the scorecard and rate yourself in the critical areas of strategy, process, and people. Then after each of you have done this exercise individually, come together as a team and walk through the scores that you’ve assigned to each of those areas, one by one. Circle the areas where you have the lowest scores, and talk about them as a team. Once you’ve gained agreement on the root cause of the problems, discuss potential performance improvement programs that you can implement as a team.

Why would you do this you ask? Well, some people would think it’s probably a downer to spend time talking about your weaknesses, but top sales teams are constantly evaluating their own performance and looking for ways to continuously improve their sales effectiveness. By doing this, there’s a great opportunity for you to actually build consensus amongst your team about what the biggest challenges are that you face in your team, and what to do about them. By using the sales scorecard process, and building consensus about change, you’ll get everyone on the same page and create a sense of ownership and responsibility for creating a new outcome. We’ve used this with the Western regional sales team for the largest insurance brokerage in the U.S., and is formed the basis for their performance improvement plan. This is a very healthy way to bring your team along and empower them to be part of the solution to whatever ills your sales.

So if the economy continues to stay strong, and your company is still underselling, ask yourself , “why is it?”

Is it the economy? Or is it us?

About Cube Management
Cube Management provides sales acceleration services to emerging growth and mid-market companies in the technology, manufacturing, healthcare and business service sectors. The experts at Cube Management work across the entire spectrum of marketing, sales and business development to provide customized solutions that drive revenue and profit growth. Cube Management combines Strategy, Process & People to produce winning results. Download the Cube Management Recruiting Guide and the Cube Management Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Guide.

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Small business owners often enter their field with great expectations. Unfortunately, reality strikes shortly afterwards. Here’s how you can enter the entrepreneurial battle ground with confidence…

First, embrace the optimism but don’t be blind to the obstacles in your path. You set yourself up for failure when your expectations are too high. You should expect success. You should expect financial rewards. But you should also expect difficulties. There is a price to pay for success and sacrifices will be made. If you prepare yourself, you will not lose heart when the difficult times come.

Second, use this time to build and strengthen key relationships. Pre-conflict deployment is about more than planning and organizing. It is also about building a support network, a supply line if you will, of strong relationships that can sustain you through the battle in which you are about to engage. If you are married, use this time to draw closer to your spouse. He or she can be your greatest advocate or your biggest obstacle. A new business venture can put a strain on even the strongest of marriages, so solidify this relationship above all others.

In addition to strengthening your relationship with your spouse, build strong relationships with friends and mentors who will offer honest and objective advice. Surround yourself with positive and realistic individuals who can contribute to your success. And, on a very practical note, get to know a good banker, insurance broker, attorney, and accountant. If possible, develop a personal relationship with these professionals. You are likely to stretch these relationships to the limits during the initial stages of your business. If these individuals feel a personal connection to you, they are more likely to deliver when you need them.

The battle plans are drawn. The men and material are in place. You are about to engage in one of the most incredible, gratifying, difficult and terrifying experiences of your life. You should stop for a moment and take a deep breath. Remember what got you this far. Remind yourself that this won’t be easy, but tell yourself that failure is not an option.

Paul Evans is the executive creator for http://www.embattled.net - A site for small business owners with the will and desire to become wealthy. Join other small business owners at http://www.embattled.net/inv.htm

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Your list of things to do when starting your move to Germany may seem a neverending one and don’t forget, your trusty pet has needs too!

For sure you won’t want to leave them back home, after all, you’ve loved and cared for them for so long, so how are you going to take them with you? What’s necessary to do and when should you think about it?

Of course, Germany is a very welcoming place for pets, even if the red tape and paper work makes you think otherwise. For example, it’s commonplace to see a dog owner sat at a table in a restaurant with his best friend. It’s also not unusual to find dogs sat alongside their owners on trains. In fact the dog has his own ticket too. Simply ask at the ticket office before you travel, just to make sure. You will often see dog owners WITH their pets in the most unexpected places, compared with your habits back home. Some places however, do draw the line at dogs other than Guide dogs for the blind, and this will be made clear at the entrance to the place with a picture of a dog in a red circle with a line through it, similar to a no smoking sign. Examples of such places include bakeries, butchers, kindergartens, hospitals, some bars and restaurants etc.

There is also a requirement that your dog is not considered a dangerous animal and that if it should be a type of dog that is known to bite, kill or maim, then you will be required to keep your dog muzzled at all times in public places. This rule is not so clear at the moment as there have been several high-interest cases in courts recently and so changes to these rules will surely happen soon. One point to mention here, you as the owner are completely responsible for the actions of your pet and any damage or injury caused by the animal will come under your responsibility to rectify. This is why lots of dog owners take out a third-party accident insurance on their pet that covers things like breakages in shops, injuries caused by tripping someone up in the street etc etc. Contact an insurance broker for more information on this topic.

Your dog is not allowed to make, lets say, solid deposits in any public place unless there are bags/gloves provided for the owner to clean-up after them. Failure to do so can result in a huge fine and many local walking places now provide these bags at all entrances to the paths. Take a plastic bag or two with you whenever you take your dog out just to be sure that you’re prepared. Remember also that even clearing up after your pet is not a tolerated behaviour in childrens’ play areas as it is thought that bacteria from dog dirt can lead to infantile blindness. Keep your dog tied up outside of such play areas just to be sure.

If you are flying with your pet, you will often find that the pet has to be locked-away in a special travel carrying device so that no ‘harm’ can come to the pet or the passengers onboard. You may even be allowed access to your pet throughout the journey, be it at your seat or at a designated part of the plane. It’s unlikely that your pet will be stored in the hold of the jet as temperatures in these areas could mean that your pet arrives as a frozen version of it’s former self!

Before you travel.

There are of course rules and regulations concerning the import and export of animals to and from any country in the world and Germany is no exception. You must not forget to comply with these long before you start your journey as you may find that your pet could be taken away from you for a period of quarantine, which is never a good thing for either of you.

If you are travelling within the EU, you now need a pet passport which contain the list of vaccinations recieved as well as any tagging info that may exist under the animal’s skin. This is an EU scheme to ensure or lower the danger of rabies spreading within the EU member states.

Do your research early.

Remember that you will need several documents that have to be readable to the German immigration authorities and do not think that they will not be checked, as they most probably will be. You will be required to visit a vetinary surgeon at your starting place and ask him for a list of vaccinations required and already received. This list must include rabies vaccinations and it should also be in a typed format. You then must take this list to your local Germany authority, be it the German Embassy or Consulate, depending on your country, and ask them to make a certified translation of this list of vaccinations in German - possibly even with an apostile (An apostile is a certificate that proves that the first certificate is really a certificate !! - well, not quite as ridiculous as that sounds, it is simply a wax sealed certificate to say that the two papers attached are identical for all content except language - it is often required for other documents such as birth certificates or driving licenses.) It may be possible to get an international vetinary certificate nowadays that has the list of check-ups and vaccinations performed and received and is in English, French, German, Spanish and Italian. One reader has told me of such a certificate that was issued by a vetinarian in Ireland some years ago.

If you are crossing International borders (and this includes flying from the UK to Switzerland for example), then you will need to prove that your pet has received all the required vaccinations within the month prior to your date of entry into the country and you need a document for each pet that you bring. This covers up to three pets and any more will require an Import license. Pets that require this type of attention include dogs AND cats. You should find that smaller house pets require no such attention and you certainly would not expect to provide certificates for hamsters or fish that you bring with you. You will not be allowed to bring birds, such as homing pigeons or parrots with you without prior written permission and a period of quarantine - due to current bird-flu restrictions. Snakes, ferrets and rats are not considered house pets, rather vermin and so you may face very hard times ahead when bringing these pets to Germany.

If you have brought a dog with you, as soon as you have got yourself settled into your new home you need to get yourself a dog license. Like in the UK and Ireland, this can cost up to 30 Euro’s a year but it also depends on which part of Germany you are living in. All other house pets do not require such a license. Simply make a point of enquiring about this license when you register yourself and your family at the einwohnermeldeamt.

Don’t forget that the person you rent a house or an apartment has the last say as to whether you may bring your pet or not, so make sure you check whether you may have pets/haustiere living with you. Many apartment owners say no to pets unless the owner is blind or partially sighted, due to reasons known only to themselves.

Bringing Dangerous Dogs into the country from the USA

In response to a series of dog attack upon humans, Germany’s state and federal governments have enacted measures to ensure public safety. The states bear primary responsibility in this area, and the regulations bearing upon the breeding and ownership of dangerous breeds vary from state to state. In some states, for example, dogs of certain breeds must be kept on leash and muzzled in public at all times. Travelers planning to bring their dogs with them to Germany are advised to contact the appropriate state authorities: a list of the breeds affected by state legislation is given below.

At the national level, the Bundestag has passed legislation banning the import of breeds deemed especially dangerous. The ban applies, notably, to Pitbull Terriers, Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers and Staffordshire Bull Terriers. Dangerous dogs accompanying travelers remaining in Germany for no more than four weeks are exempt, as are public service and guide dogs. Any dog owner wishing to bring an animal into Germany must have appropriate documentation. Travelers are advised to contact the nearest German Consulate General for further information.

Breeds Subject to Dangerous Dog Regulations

The breeds of dogs listed here are classified as generally or potentially dangerous under the regulations of one or more of Germany’s states. Other breeds not listed might also be subject to regulations. Dog owners interested in bringing their dogs with them to Germany are advised to contact state authorities for more information.

- Akbas
- Alano
- American Staffordshire Terrier *
- Bandog
- Berger de Beauce (Beauceron)
- Berger de Brie (Briard)
- Bullmastiff
- Bull-terrier *
- Cane Corso
- Carpatin
- Chinesischer Kampfhund (Chinese fighting dog)
- Dobermann
- Dogo Argentino
- Dogue de Bordeaux
- Estrela-Berghund
- Fila Brasileiro
- Kangal
- Karakatschan
- Karshund
- Kaukasischer Owtscharka
- Komondor
- Kraski Ovcar
- Kuvasz
- Liptak (Goralenhund)
- Maremmaner Hirtenhund
- Mastiff
- Mastin de los Pirineos
- Mastin Espanol
- Mastino Napoletano
- Mioritic
- Mittelasiatischer Owtscharka
- Perro de Presa Canario
- Perro de Presa Mallorquin
- Pit-bull terrier*
- Polski Owczarek Podhalanski
- Pyren

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