The Power of Naming Plays (and People) Right:  Win by Choosing the Right Words By Desiree Grace Once upon a time, a newly minted VP of Sales had the brilliant idea of evaluating rep agents consistently, fairly, and data-driven. Sounds reasonable, right? Yes, and also no. The concept was solid. The execution? Not so much. Armed with an impressive academic background, our well-intentioned VP dubbed the evaluation tool a Report Card . Cue the cringing. Thankfully, her team didn’t hold back. “ Report Card makes it sound like we’re treating our reps like children.” “It feels condescending and not at all collaborative.” “C’mon, boss, these are grown men we’re working with. How about calling it a Scorecard instead?” And just like that, collaboration saved the day. The tool was rebranded as a Scorecard , a much more team-oriented, grown-up term. Even better, the process became mutual. The rep agents were measured against clear metrics, and in turn, they evaluated th...

Marketing With a Blueprint, Not a Blindfold A River Heights Consulting Marketing Moment By Desiree Grace In today’s fast-paced digital world, a rock-solid marketing content strategy is essential to connect with your audience, leave a lasting impression, and drive meaningful results. Think of it as your blueprint for telling your brand’s story in a way that sticks.   Wait… What Exactly Is a Marketing Content Strategy? It’s your plan for creating, managing, and sharing content that aligns with your business goals. Whether you're aiming for brand awareness, lead generation, or customer retention, it all boils down to understanding your audience and delivering content that hits the mark.   6 Ways to Nail Your Content Strategy 1. Set Clear Goals Start with the end in mind. More visibility? More qualified leads? More loyal customers? Whatever your goal, defining it up front keeps your strategy on track. Make them SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and...

From Passenger to Pilot: Own Your Career with SMART Goals ! By Desiree Grace Last week we talked about SMART goals. But now it's time to look at things from the perspective of the salesperson. Salespeople, it’s that time of year again, the mid-year review. Like any good traveler, preparation is everything. And when it comes to your career, you need to be SMART. Think of it like this: if you’ve ever spent a night in an airport hotel without your luggage, you’ve probably learned to stash a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a clean t-shirt in your backpack. The same logic applies to your performance review, except your backpack is full of data, accomplishments, and SMART goals. Step 1: Preparation is a Year-Round Activity Mid-year reviews shouldn’t sneak up on you like turbulence over Chicago. You prepare all year long. How? Save the wins. Every large order, every glowing customer email or thank-you text? File it away. Keep a running record on your desktop so you're ready when revi...

Over the last few years, I have been asked to put some of my articles out in podcast format.  I think mid-year planning is super important so I created this short podcast for you to check out. Game Changing Half-Time Strategies Podcast

SMART Goals: Your Mid-Year Reality Check By Desiree Grace You don’t need to be Einstein or Stephen Hawking to succeed in sales. What you do need is planning, discipline, and a little vigilance. Is this some scientific breakthrough? A new AI tool? Nope, it’s as basic as 1+1=2. Creating SMART goals and tracking your progress is the tried-and-true formula for breakthrough results. As we hit the mid-point of the year, it’s time for a little self-inventory. Are your goals still on track? Is your team performing as expected? Let’s start with the foundation, the goals themselves. They must be SMART: Specific Measurable Attainable Relevant Time-Bound If your goals are missing any of these five elements, it’s time for a rewrite. Consider this example: Vague goal: “Increase cross-selling.” Not bad, but not necessarily  SMART .   SMART goal: “Increase product categories sold by at least two categories with your top 10 customers by the end of fiscal year 2025. Each new...

Game Changing Half-Time Strategies:  Coach Your Team Like a Champion By Frank Hurtte Podcast Version It’s June 30th. The 2025 half-time buzzer is about to sound. Whether you’re up, down, or locked in a defensive struggle, it’s time for a gut-check. Distributors, this is your moment to reassess, realign, and get back in the game. Since sports history is full of great half-time stories, let’s take a few minutes to reflect on some momentous events and the power of a pause. Your sales team might benefit from the same kind of mid-game magic.   Super Bowl LI, 2017: The New England Patriots trailed the Atlanta Falcons by 18 points. At halftime, head coach Bill Belichick and his coaching staff made critical strategic adjustments to counter the Falcons' dominant performance. The result? One of the greatest comebacks in NFL history with the Patriots scoring 25 unanswered points to tie the game and force it into overtime. Ultimately, the Patriots won Super Bowl LI in the first-e...

Sink, Swim… or Go for the Onboarding Gold By Desiree Grace Onboarding is often treated like an afterthought. It should be an event, a meaningful, well-planned one. But too often, organizations fail to invest the time, thought, or discipline into welcoming new employees effectively. Worse yet, a sloppy onboarding experience can give your new hire a bad case of buyer’s remorse.   Want your onboarding to feel more Olympic podium than office hazing ritual? Want positive morale, enthusiastic employees, and maybe even a glowing Glassdoor review? Let’s dive into best practices for turning your onboarding into a gold-medal performance.   1. Culture: Show, Don’t Just Tell What do you really want your new hire to understand? Beyond the slick video about corporate values, how do you actually live your culture? If your meetings start and end on time, model that. If your team genuinely cares about one another, show it. Introduce the new hire to colleagues, ask your CSR about...

Your Organization’s Makeover: More Than Just Wallpaper! By Desiree Grace Some companies reorganize as often as my Mother would redecorate, meaning, every 3 years or as styles changed. In the case of Mother, it was her passion to redecorate and keep up with the latest trends in interior design. Some companies develop costly habits by following the latest trends in organizational design. In both cases, it's not advisable to blindly follow trends without justification. There should be a logical reason for making changes, such as a shift in the needs of the family or the company that necessitates a redesign. If your corporate strategy or target market has changed, that might be a good impetus to check your current structure against your strategy. A few examples will illustrate the point. Let’s say your new CEO has been charged with improving profits. He or she might look for redundant functions within the expensive VP, SVP, and C-suite functions. If your functions overlap, that c...

Turning Likes into Gold: Measuring Your Social Success A Distributor Channel Marketing Moment By Desiree Grace You know you need it- a social media strategy. Whether it’s LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, or even a Substack newsletter, if you aren’t on social media, you simply don’t exist . The age-old marketing conundrum, however, is how to measure what’s working in this newer world. In traditional advertising, you paid for a television ad, you monitored the Nielsen ratings, and you knew how many households were exposed to your message (reach) and how often (frequency). It’s a bit different with social media. First, you have media you own . This is the most similar to ye olde TV ad. Your company’s Facebook page or LinkedIn account- that’s owned. You control what goes in, and you can measure how many people visit, how long they stay (how “sticky” your page is), and even completion rates, like whether they finished that “about us” video. The good news is that you can measure and mo...

Leave Them Alone and Let Them Sell? Are You Out of Your Mind? An angry man's rant By Frank Hurtte Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve masochistically subjected myself (voluntarily, mind you) to a greasy, day-old buffet of podcasts, think-pieces, and smug online lectures from sales "experts" who believe the solution to all of life’s problems is to just leave salespeople alone. “Let them do what feels best,” they coo, or maybe spew, like back-alley dope pushers. If it feels good, do it. “No need to manage them. Don’t you dare ask what they’re doing. And for the love of God, don’t mention CRM.” It’s an exhaustingly long-winded sermon of anti-accountability. And like the Jonestown cult, the Kool-Aid line is long. Looking back, I wish I’d made a list of those slobbering all over themselves in the amen corner of the comment section. Note to self: deprogram them before even reading their resume, much less hiring them. Rather than yelling at my screen or punching drywa...