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Hot Tip: Let Your Sales Team Sell

By changing the office duties of their sales team, Giftcorp has increased sales by 30%.

By Ilan Mochari | 
 

CEO's Notebook

Sheila Shechtman, CEO of $3-million Giftcorp, in Hartford, had two goals for her sales team: visit as many prospects as possible and build long-term relationships. She knew achieving those goals would be easier if her salespeople had plenty of time to court would-be customers. So last October she stripped her sales force of all its clerical duties. Now salespeople do virtually no paperwork. Rather than write up orders, they give customers a toll-free number to call in-house service reps. And they never attend meetings. Their sole function is to get customers to buy Giftcorp's edible products. Since October the company's sales have climbed 30%.

CEO's Notebook

Scoring the Credit You Need
Hot Tip: Product Mix
Hot Tip: Let Your Sales Team Sell
Seed Capital from Uncle Sam
Perennial Growth
A Taxing Recruiting Problem
Clothing Allowance
In a Former Life: C. Richard Reese

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