Selling is getting more and more complex, yet few companies are implementing formal sales processes that would bring the degree of management control that is needed. Too many managers have no reliable way to measure the performance of sales people other than by orders produced and bulging 30-60-90 day forecasts with little or no backup. There is pressure to adopt sales automation, but there isn't much evidence of its improving sales effectiveness. The decision is not a simple one, successful implementation is even harder. If you want to improve your competitiveness you may need to change the...

A big percentage of marketing and sales work can and should be done as projects. These are jobs where a "specific" product, system or other deliverable must be produced by a "specific" date within a "specific" budget. One of the most challenging of these is a project to launch a new product - the focus of this book. Here are some of the things that must be ready on the launch date: the product itself including packaging, documentation and demonstration packages product support, including trained people and tools for customer support, broad-based promotion such as print ads, articles and white...