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Interesting question – best not to hold the conclusion to the end. So no! It is not a career risk to be out front advocating your company place a priority on sales training.
But it is prudent to base your career on more than a leap of faith. So first let's explore this notion of "lack of evidence" of what constitutes sales excellence which is one of the main reasons why those advocating sales training might feel they are on soft footing and then turn to some research that examines the business case for sales training.
Lack of Evidence of What Works. When the search for evidence is carried out in regard to what works and what doesn't when it comes to selling, the results do tend to be meager. However, has some solid research been done on what constitutes sales success? The answer is – Yes!
For example, my colleague Neil Rackham did some great research on what specific sales behaviors are more frequent in successful sales calls. More recently, Dixon and Adamson, who did the work around the Challenger Sale, backed up their findings with credible research.
Brian MacIver of BMAC has been and continues to write extensively about the results of an evidenced-based approach to sales excellence. So is there as much solid research as one might want – probably not, but we do know a fair amount about what works and what is merely myth.
Plus, it is important to remember that selling is a social not physical science. Therefore pre-post control group type research designs are not applicable. So you are not going to find cause and effect RIO studies. Second, if one went looking for that same level of research in regard to compensation frameworks, CRM systems, or needs assessments the same lack of data would be the outcome – that is sales has some good company.
Business Case for Sales Training. CSO Insights recently published a particularly informative study that relates directly to our career question – The Business Case for Sales Training. The entire study is definitely worth a read but here are some of the key findings:
- How satisfied were the companies with their sales training? Within the sample of 2000 companies 10.7% said their training exceeded expectations. Forty-two percent (42%) reported that it met expectations and 43.5% felt it needed improvement. So the first point is – there is a perceived need.
- Performance results. The study used the percentage achieving or exceeding quota as a metric to assess sales team performance. Companies with sales training programs that exceeded expectations reported 5% more of their salespeople achieving quota than companies whose sales skills training programs met expectations, and 9% more of their salespeople achieving quota than companies whose sales skills training programs needed improvement.
Those companies reporting that their sales training exceeded expectations also reported both lower competitive loses and less loses to "no decision" as compared to the other two groups.
The bottom line for the study was: "Sales organizations looking to boost sales performance should consider implementing high quality sales skills training programs coupled with sales coaching training for sales managers. Our analysis of the Sales Performance Optimization study indicates that sales organizations that have implemented sales skills training programs that exceed expectations enjoy a higher percentage of salespeople achieving quota, higher percentage of deals won, and lower sales rep turnover."
If you talk with Directors of Training and VPs of Sales, a modest number have had one or more past bad experiences implementing a sales training effort. Once bitten, twice shy. Unfortunately this expression is ever so true when it comes to doing something where you put your reputation or career on the line.
But our sense is a substantial amount of great work has been done to uncover what constitutes sales excellence. Likewise if you examine the sales training available today versus even five years ago you will be pleasantly surprised. So getting serious about sales training could actually be a reasonably smart career move.
If you found this post helpful, you might want to join the conversation and subscribe to the Sales Training Connection.
©2014 Sales Momentum, LLC


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South likes: Anastasia Ax at Steinslad Berliner, Stockholm
South likes: Anastasia Ax at Steinslad Berliner, Stockholm
Swallowed Fear
Gallery Steinslad Berliner, Stockholm
February 22 – March 21, 2014
Anastasia Ax, known for her powerful performances and installations, presents in this solo show a new identity mostly built around the two dimensional format. Ax has created sculptures and posters of brittle 50-years old archived papers, yellowed and faded by the ravages of time. Paper, a recurring medium in Ax' body of work, is taken as a symbol of intellectual culture and at the same time as a living, untameable material, programmed to decompose, be reshaped and finally revived.
These tattered yellowed sheets of paper, in the word of the artist the remnants of a forgotten residence, are closely related to Ax' previous series Exile, which was developed through a kind of brutal transformation. Ax constructed an imaginary refugee camp only to go berserk and smash it into pieces afterwards. In the end what remains are just the ruins of dried plaster, dust and an apocalyptic feeling. Swallowed Fear arises from the same idea, but instead of creating a concrete physical world this project focuses on exploring the imaginary. Cryptic ink symbols form a wordless language, whispering about inner emotions, in a moment frozen in time.
Jorgina Stamogianni

subset: commoncrawl


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1010-397 Front St W (Front & Spadina)
Price: $615,000
Status: Sale Pending
- Tax: $2,212.91 (2020)
- Maintenance:$558.86
- Community:Waterfront Communities C1
- City:Toronto
- Type:Condominium
- Style:Condo Apt (Apartment)
- Beds:1+1
- Bath:1
- Size:700-799 Sq Ft
- Garage:Undergrnd
- InteriorLaundry Room
- ExteriorConcrete
- HeatingHeating Included, Forced Air, Gas
- Sewer/Water SystemsWater Included
- AmenitiesGames Room, Gym, Indoor Pool, Media Room, Recreation Room, Sauna
- Lot FeaturesPublic Transit, Rec Centre, School, Waterfront
- Extra FeaturesCommon Elements Included, Hydro Included
Listing Contracted With: ZOLO REALTY, BROKERAGE
Se Facing Corner Suite (690Sqft +26Sqft Balcony) W/Panoramic Windows. High Demand, Very Well Maintained Building W/ Solid Reserve Fund And Low Maintenance Fee Including All Utilities.Walking Distance To Financial District, Rogers Centre, Ttc, Union Station, Close To Highway, Uoft And Waterfront.Pwened Parking Lot Conveniently Located Next To Elevator.7 Acre Project Across Called "Well" Coming Soon.
Stainless Stl Fridge, Stainless Stl Stove,Stainless Stl B/I Dishwasher,Stainless Stl Microwave,Staked W/D, Blinds, All Electrical Fixtures, Balcony Deck Tiles,Wardrobe Organizer In Den.


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What do a handful of businesses, bosses and bureaucrats have in common? Fierce and unrelenting opposition to the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) birth control benefit.
The ACA established minimum standards for health insurance to ensure that individuals can get the health care they need to lead healthy and productive lives. Contraception was included in that coverage. What should be uncontroversial and common sense has met swift opposition from a small minority since the law pulled out of the station in 2010. And on March 25, that train arrives at the Supreme Court.
Businesses and bosses—including the owners of Hobby Lobby craft stores and Conestoga Wood Specialties manufacturers—are suing the federal government over the law. They argue that they should not be forced to include the full scope of Food and Drug Administration-approved contraceptives in their insurance plans, as required by the ACA.
In other words, these employers want the Supreme Court to allow them to effectively overrule their employees' health-care needs. The case is not only novel in where it seeks to take the law; it is a fundamental affront to good medical care and public health.
The gold standard of health care is medicine backed by science and rooted in patient need. This is what every patient wants, deserves and expects to receive. These medical standards of care are uncontrovertibly clear: birth control is crucial to women's health. Indeed, it is one of the most accepted aspects of comprehensive care and part of the daily lives of more than 100 million American women.
The bounty of evidence is immense. Access to family planning has paved the way for women to map out their lives and secure better economic futures. Proper spacing between pregnancies allows a woman's body to support healthy babies. Planned pregnancies can diminish low infant birth weights and neonatal death. This is why the American Public Health Association has endorsed universal access to family planning for more than 30 years. And no wonder then that every major professional American and Western European medical academy includes family planning in women's care.
Contraception is much more than just family planning. For millions of women it can mean the difference between life and death.
Nearly 6 percent of pregnant women are exposed to prescription drugs that are contraindicated during pregnancy and put fetuses at risk. Heart disease—the number-one killer in the U.S.—can wreak havoc on a woman's body when coupled with the changes that happen during pregnancy. As a result, doctors sometimes counsel affected women to avoid pregnancy.
Women with diabetes—a condition that disproportionately affects African-Americans, Latinas and Asian-Americans—must take care not to become pregnant until their glucose levels are controlled. The risk of death for pregnant women with lupus is 20 times higher than for other women.
For these women, contraception is not about politics and ideology; it's about health.
Left out of the polarized Obamacare debate is cost. Health care is expensive. No one debates that. It is not surprising then that one of the biggest roadblocks to tackling unplanned pregnancy is the lack of contraception use. Cost has always kept some of the most effective methods out of reach. Because of this, the ACA requires that insurance plans cover contraception without out-of-pocket costs.
Before the law, co-pays alone could set a woman back up to $600 a year, or $50 a month. Fifty dollars may be pocket change for the well heeled, but for the two-thirds of working women who earn only minimum wage it is anything but. That extra $20, $40, even $60–cost varies widely depending on brands—adds up. Even a mere $10 co-pay for generic contraception can strain a financially struggling woman's bottom line. And when the budget gets tight, something has to give.
Tight finances along with a host of other factors impeding access to care are why women of color continue to experience some of the highest unintended pregnancy rates.
Remarkably, the business owners taking their cases all the way to the Supreme Court would have us believe the government has waded into an entirely new arena. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The ACA comes on the heels of similar requirements in the Federal Employee's Health Benefit's Program, which covers more than 8 million workers; health coverage offered to millions of military members and their families; and the more than 60 million Americans on Medicaid—America's largest insurer.
Claiming that contraception coverage is a "new thing" is patently wrong. These programs have long recognized that requiring contraceptive coverage is a core tenant of equality and consistent with good medical practice. Instead, the opposition ignores decades of settled policy trying to ameliorate the health and economic toll that unplanned pregnancy takes on American women.
What is new, however, is asking the Supreme Court to allow an arts-and-craft chain or cabinetmaker to dictate the health-care needs of employees and their families.
Hobby Lobby's owners claim that certain contraceptives, such as IUDs, cause abortions—an assertion flatly contradicted by science. Conestoga Wood's owners would like to impose their personal views on their employees by claiming federal overreach.
Both are free to believe what they want to believe. Neither should be allowed to impose their ideology on their workers.
What is at stake in these cases is an entirely new America, one where employers would have unprecedented say in workers' personal lives and jeopardize women's health.
A woman must be able to make her own health-care decisions without interference or input from her bosses. Asserting otherwise puts American workers in a perilous position and takes women back to another century.
Susan Berke Fogel is director of reproductive health at the National Health Law Program.


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Join the Auckland City School of the Arts family to experience the best in dance instruction. Our expert team of skilled, award winning teachers and choreographers offer years of experience in education, performing and the arts.
Dancers of all ages and levels of experience are welcome at ACSA. We offer a large variety of classes for everyone plus holiday intensives, masterclasses, guest tutors and our own red carpeted ACSA Show! Our goal is to create excellence in a supportive, nurturing, family environment inspiring each dancer to achieve their personal best.


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Todd has a very strong leg for field goals, but his specialty is kickoffs. He demonstrated his leg strength on Sunday with some long field goals over 50 yards including a long kick of 63 yards! His kickoffs were equally impressive with most kickoffs at the goal line or in the end zone with an average hang time around 4.0 plus seconds.
Next up Austin Starr...
Austin had an excellent field goal workout going 12 for 13 with a long of 58 yards and his only miss was from 60 yards. He was kicking with confidence and in rhythm. Austin has really worked hard on the drills and his technique since I first saw him two months ago.
The injury he sustained last year affected his kicking motion and form. He has worked extremely hard to get his kicking technique and consistency back and take his game to the next level.
I believe this trip was a success for both Todd and Austin as they both were able to put together a workout for the website. I want to wish both of them good luck in the upcoming 2009 NFL Draft and in the future.
Stay Tuned for More of Coach Zauner's Blogs!


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In time, the kitchen has become the place to meet with family and spending time together, gathering around the table is probably the only time that all family members are present. Why rustic? This decorating style is very warm and welcoming and the presence of wood is in large proportion. Use as many natural materials and textiles as possible. Solid wood, natural-looking "worn" is the best choice in this case, whether is a table, countertop or a kitchen cabinet. The easiest way to achieve such a setting is to "steal" one piece of furniture from your grandparent's home. The years passed over them creates the atmosphere that you need. Another option is to give a run at vintage fairs where you can find really great reconditioned parts, or you can go directly to the manufacturers of this kind of kitchens. Besides the furniture itself can accessorize your kitchen with all kinds of textile decorations such as cushions, embroidered tablecloths, curtains, etc.. In addition, a string of red peppers, hung in a hurry, will give the room a familiar note, while stone, wrought iron or wicker, and flowers, leaves, chestnuts, pine cones or twigs, are all elements that can be inserted in a rustic setting. Use warm colors. Chromatic talking, cream, green, brown, pastel colors in general are among the main basic shades used.
Traditional arrangement, as is the case with rustic kitchen involves many elements "of the house" openly exposed. Porcelain, ceramic pots, terra cotta or copper, wooden tableware, paintings and photographs, all be integrated to obtain an authentic style. The rustic decorating style is very "playful" because it allows you to combine opposing elements and the result will be a special one. An example would be using a sophisticated chandelier, towering in the middle of the kitchen, or the finishing of precious furniture. As for appliances, there are both products with a retro design / vintage that can be used in all their splendor, and modern appliances, built-in furniture that can be embedded, that if you want to be updated with latest technologies .
Photo Courtesy: Random Internet Sites


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Mara, a New York City street musician, has had horrible luck with men, including the death of her college boyfriend. Horton, a young fisherman in Truro, is troubled by an incident in his past. Randy, a retired New York City school teacher, has recently lost his partner of 30-plus years, and is haunted by his one big regret in life.
Ernie, a retired plumber from the south side of Boston who has been living a lie his entire life, moves to Wellfleet for the oysters, and finds he has a knack for making birdhouses.
Serendipitously, they all end up in the summer at the tip of Cape Cod in beautiful, spirited Provincetown, where a gifted and rather unusual street musician, Reed, brings them together and changes their lives forever.
Paperback: 384 pages Publisher: Krance Publishing (December 3, 2015) Language: English ISBN-10: 0990806235 ISBN-13: 978-0990806233 Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds ()


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TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Hundreds of environmental activists gathered in Trenton on Monday for a rally that became a celebration of a delay in natural gas drilling in the Delaware River watershed.
But the drilling opponents, including actors Debra Winger and Mark Ruffalo, cautioned that their battle isn't over yet after the Delaware River Basin Commission decided last week to delay a vote on rules for drilling, leaving a moratorium in place. "We have more time for building more evidence and more allies," Maya Van Rossum, head of the advocacy group Delaware Riverkeeper Network, told the crowd.
The commission, which monitors water quality in an area that includes parts of four states and provides drinking water for more than 15 million people, had been scheduled to vote Monday on rules on natural gas drilling in the region.
Opponents and supporters of drilling were preparing to descend on Trenton for the vote. Some opponents on Monday suggested they were prepared to engage in civil disobedience to disrupt the meeting.
The commission, which has board members representing the governors of Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania and the Obama Administration, abruptly postponed the vote last week after Delaware Gov. Jack Markell said he would vote against the rules, making the outcome uncertain. The commission has not said when a new vote could be scheduled.
Energy companies are eager to drill in northeastern Pennsylvania's portions of the Marcellus Shale, a giant underground rock formation. Opponents say the method, known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, endangers drinking water. Its supporters say the drilling would not harm water supplies.
The debate over the rules is emotional. Energy companies and many residents say the drilling would bring desperately needed jobs to a downtrodden area. Many of them say the proposed rules, which would initially limit the number of wells to 300 and require a $5 million bond for each one, are too onerous.
But environmentalists say any drilling is potentially disastrous. They chanted on Monday, "No fracking way," and some had signs linking the cause to Occupy Wall Street. They walked to the State House in hopes of persuading New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to vote "no."
Most observers expected Christie to support the regulations, but at a news conference on Monday, he said he had not committed. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett was expected to vote in favor of the regulations. Markell and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo were expected to vote against them. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which represents President Barack Obama on the commission, has not said how it will vote.
Christie said commission members need to work harder to come to an agreement. "I haven't taken a position yet on those rules, and I'm glad I didn't because now it appears that a number of the states want to change the rules as they were proposed. It sounds like there's some confusion with Delaware and New York in terms of their positions on it," he said. "So, my view is, let's have everybody go back to work and be talking to each other and try to come up with a set of rules that, if possible, people can be supportive of."
The activists took credit Monday for flipping Markell's position, pushing back the scheduled vote and putting the fate of the rules in question. "You shut them down by swarming them with calls, swarming them with emails and the threat you'd show up here today," said Josh Fox, who made the anti-fracking documentary film, "Gasland."
Winger said protesters need to keep working. "I get scared right after the victory," she said.