Darin Myers

Is there any difference between setting goals for your on-site team and your remote workforce? Certainly, there are striking familiarities. For example, whether employees work in-house or are remotely located, it’s vital that their goals are aligned in some ways with the company’s broader vision and mission. Employees in a physical setting or in their home offices are generally more motivated to achieve goals when they understand how their efforts fit into the company’s growth and purpose. On the other hand, as ZDNet points out, for some remote workers, previous

A drawn-out sales process can be the downfall of an otherwise healthy business – or at the very least, a huge drain on efficiency and profitability. Slow sales cycles are more expensive than their streamlined counterparts and profoundly impact the cash flow and financial stability of the company due to the delayed influx of sales dollars. Eager customers who find themselves trapped in a slow sales process often lose interest and perhaps, look to even higher-priced or lower-quality competitors to fulfill their needs. Even if a drawn-out deal does eventually

User-generated content (UGC) is an increasingly trendy approach to marketing that can wield some remarkable results. UGC refers to content, usually, social media posts that feature messaging, images, videos, or product reviews created by individual users or special endorsers often referred to as brand ambassadors. Target audiences find user-generated content fosters connection among users due to its implied authenticity, candor, and an often-refreshing dose of creativity. And it works. Many businesses spent years trying to convince customers to leave them positive Google or Facebook reviews, but the advancement of UGC

The coming of a new year is the best time to re-think the past year’s professional and personal goals and start cultivating new goals for the weeks and months ahead. Of necessity, this means tearing yourself away from day-to-day operations and thinking more in terms of long-range strategy. Why is this important? Aligning your personal goals with those of your organization “bolsters employee morale, demonstrating that their leader shares the company’s aspirations,” notes Success Consciousness. This can build trust and bolster employee engagement. At the same time, it’s vital that business

There has been a lot of talk lately about Artificial Intelligence and how it is poised to change how nearly every business owner runs and grows their company. And it’s happening. The introduction of ChatGPT has expanded curiosity into artificial intelligence and ignited interest in how to best leverage the tool in everyday business operations. It is by all accounts pretty impressive stuff. Even the big dogs like Google and Microsoft are adding the technology to their platforms and browsers. While AI is expected to quickly impact nearly everything we

Deciding to “stay in place” is not a viable option for most businesses. Marketplace conditions are always in flux, and customer needs and preferences frequently change over time, so business leaders need to engage in effective and realistic strategic planning. While a full-fledged strategic plan can take many shapes, certain key elements should always be included. This helps ensure the plan occupies a meaningful place within the organization, rather than ending up as yet another document left forgotten on a shelf. As you put together your strategic plan, don’t try

Any hard-working salesperson can tell you closing a sale is their ultimate goal. Short-term sale strategies emphasize the value of a clean, efficient transaction with a customer, particularly those that come to a successful (and profitable) conclusion. But since virtually all organizations depend upon sales for their livelihood, it’s crucial to come up with a sales strategy that takes the “long view”—not just what happens in sales today and tomorrow, but one year, two years, even five years from now. Does your company have a viable long-term sales strategy? If

In case there’s any doubt, some statistics on the state of remote work in the U.S. should clear things up. According to the Upwork Future Workforce Pulse Report, “The number of remote workers in the next five years is expected to be double what it was before COVID-19.” What’s more, the report states, more than 36 million Americans will work remotely by the year 2025. Clearly, remote work is here to stay. But what does the future of remote work look like? A different approach to recruitment While hiring remote workers is

The business sector continues to evolve into one of increased worldwide interconnectedness. Though there are arguably both positive and negative impacts of this dynamic, globalization provides many opportunities for SMBs, including increased market access and cost-savings from an expansive range of supply chain options. Perhaps on a more humanitarian note, globalization has also improved the standard of living in many countries and communities throughout the world. The overall impact of globalization really depends on the nature of a business and its industry; but suffice to say that every organization is

No one can say with certainty what the future of business holds—except that change remains a constant. And because marketplace conditions are always in flux, it’s vital that business leaders keep a close eye on future trends and predictions. Being prepared for different eventualities is a lot better than merely hoping to keep up with change. Here are tips on action steps to help future-proof your business: Search for and pinpoint risk. No matter how financially secure a business may be, risks and threats loom around the corner. One example of business