- > We’ve got this!
EXECUTIVE COMMENTARY
By Walter Tobin, ERA CEO[caption id="attachment_34210" align="alignright" width="160"] Walter Tobin[/caption]
Vacations are over and summer is winding down – at least for us in the northern half of North America. Business travel is picking up and customers are beginning to open back up, albeit slowly, as many still prefer video …
- > QBR vs. SPM
FROM THE TOP
by John O’Brien[caption id="attachment_28834" align="alignright" width="150"] John O’Brien, CPMRCoakley, Boyd and AbbettERA Presidentjobrien@cbane.com[/caption]
I’ve always believed you can never know where you’re going until you understand where you’ve been. Today, this is still true, but I also believe in Einstein’s theory: “The definition of insanity is doing the same … - > If I knew then what I know now…
VIEWPOINTS
by Chuck Tanzola, CPMRChuck Tanzola, CPMR
The Fusion Sourcing Group Inc.
ERA Chairman of the Board
ctanzola@fusionsourcing.comHindsight, people say, is 20/20. Two aspects of that statement stick out to me – hindsight (looking back) and 2020 – a year defined of course by the once in a lifetime pandemic that seemingly wouldn’t …
- > Communication is key
FROM THE TOP
[caption id="attachment_28834" align="alignright" width="150"] John O’Brien, CPMRCoakley, Boyd and AbbettERA Presidentjobrien@cbane.com[/caption]by John O’Brien, CPMR
As I was sitting in a colleague’s office, I read a small plaque on his windowsill for the thousandth time. It reads, “Poor performance doesn’t lose lines, lack of communication does.” I left his office … - > Can you teach a new dog old tricks?
VIEWPOINTS
[caption id="attachment_28847" align="alignright" width="150"] Chuck Tanzola, CPMRThe Fusion Sourcing Group Inc.ERA Chairman of the Boardctanzola@fusionsourcing.com[/caption]by Chuck Tanzola, CPMR
Since my last column, I can report that I have successfully traveled to and returned from the EDS Summit in Las Vegas without the burden of any further “lost my wedding ring” incidents; … - > So, what’s next coach?
EXECUTIVE COMMENTARY
[caption id="attachment_34210" align="alignright" width="160"] Walter Tobin[/caption]by Walter E. Tobin, ERA CEO
So here we are, in the middle of summer, back from the excitement of EDS. Our business cards filed, action items done and followed up on, perhaps more than once. We reconnected with old friends on follow up emails …
- > Focusing on marketing programs to drive new opportunities and continued growth
FROM THE TOP
[caption id="attachment_28834" align="alignright" width="150"] John O’Brien, CPMRCoakley, Boyd and AbbettERA Presidentjobrien@cbane.com[/caption]by John O’Brien, CPMR
We keep hearing that companies are opening back up, but what does it really mean for us as reps and salespeople? Are we going to be able to return to our standing weekly visits to … - > We did it…and now we are doing it again!
EXECUTIVE COMMENTARY
[caption id="attachment_8095" align="alignright" width="150"] Walter E. Tobin, ERA CEOwtobin@era.orgT: 617-901-4088[/caption]by Walter E. Tobin
Can you imagine packing a suitcase full of your best “business costumes?” (Now where did I put that blue blazer??? I bet I will be the only one wearing one…) Where is my Global Entry Card? Do …
- > Have we come full circle?
VIEWPOINTS
[caption id="attachment_28847" align="alignright" width="150"] Chuck Tanzola, CPMRThe Fusion Sourcing Group Inc.ERA Chairman of the Boardctanzola@fusionsourcing.com[/caption]by Chuck Tanzola, CPMR
Tuesday evening, February 25, 2020 – A record-setting ERA Management Conference has just concluded and I’m joining a group for a celebratory dinner honoring the inaugural recipient and namesake of the Tobin Bridge Award when … - > Trends in Proposed Contracts: Representative Viewpoint
VIEWPOINTS – The Representor, Winter 2022
[caption id="attachment_28847" align="alignright" width="150"] Chuck Tanzola, CPMRThe Fusion Sourcing Group Inc.ERA Chairman of the Boardctanzola@fusionsourcing.com[/caption]by Chuck Tanzola, CPMR
(Foreword note: One of the observations I wrote about in my last article (“I Think, I Think”) was pandemic fatigue. Sadly, I could write about that again, but …
- > Pushing Forward New Initiatives in the New Year
FROM THE TOP – The Representor, Winter 2022
[caption id="attachment_28834" align="alignright" width="150"] John O’Brien, CPMRCoakley, Boyd and AbbettERA Presidentjobrien@cbane.com[/caption]by John O’Brien, CPMR
A lot of times in a new year article, I would take time to look back on everything we’ve been through in the previous year. However, I think enough has …
- > What a great year 2021 was … “Wait What?”
EXECUTIVE COMMENTARY – The Representor, Winter 2022
[caption id="attachment_8095" align="alignright" width="150"] Walter E. Tobin, ERA CEOwtobin@era.orgT: 617-901-4088[/caption]by Walter E. Tobin
No, the above title was not a typo – and I have not [yet] lost my marbles.
Allow me to put aside the tragedy of the sickness and death caused by COVID. With …
- > I think I think …
VIEWPOINTS – The Representor, FALL 2021
by Chuck Tanzola, CPMR
The Fusion Sourcing Group Inc.
ERA Chairman of the Board
ctanzola@fusionsourcing.comThe leaves are starting to change color, my trip to the office is taking a little longer as I follow frequently stopping school busses along the way, and despite highly researched draft strategies, my …
- > Lessons learned through Covid-19
FROM THE TOP – The Representor, FALL 2021
by John O’Brien, CPMR
Coakley, Boyd and Abbett
ERA President
jobrien@cbane.com
We are entering a world of blended sales where the virtual calls augment our face-to-face meetings, where speed and accuracy are keys to our customers’ success, and where preparation will be paramount to capturing the attention … - > Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead … safely
EXECUTIVE COMMENTARY – The Representor, FALL 2021
by Walter E. Tobin
ERA CEO
wtobin@era.org
T: 617-901-4088Like most of us, we are all just “over this.” We are ready to put behind us the many restrictions around masks, social distancing, fist bumps, elbow bumps, vaccination cards, talk of booster shots and on and on.
Don’t get …
- > A very special trade association
OBSERVATIONS & REFLECTIONS – The Representor, Spring 2021
by Harry J. Abramson
Founder (Retired)
Electronic Salesmasters Inc.Harry Abramson founded Electronic Salesmasters Inc. in 1972. He established industry notoriety by virtue of his firm’s peak performance, hundreds of articles and speaking appearances at ERA’s national conferences and chapter meetings and sister trade association MANA. …
- > Declaration of interdependence
VIEWPOINTS – The Representor, Spring 2021
by Chuck Tanzola, CPMR
The Fusion Sourcing Group Inc.
ERA Chairman of the Board
ctanzola@fusionsourcing.comWhen in the course of human events, it becomes necessary to write an article, and you’re not exactly sure what to do, reach for something in plain sight.
On Sunday last, we celebrated the founding …
- > What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger
EXECUTIVE COMMENTARY – The Representor, Spring 2021
by Walter E. Tobin
ERA CEO
wtobin@era.org
T: 617-901-4088I hope that all of you are enjoying the summer and getting to spend some time with your family and friends (remember them?). Things seem to be getting back to normal a little bit at a time: traffic is …
- > Reconnect, realign and recommit at EDS 2021
FROM THE TOP – The Representor, Spring 2021
by John O’Brien, CPMR
Coakley, Boyd and Abbett
ERA President
jobrien@cbane.comAs we all start to see that light at the end of the tunnel, the beacon calling us all to get out there and get together is the 2021 EDS Summit. EDS will be held Aug. …
- > Hope is not a strategy
Representor Winter 2021 – From the Top
by Chuck Tanzola, CPMR
The Fusion Sourcing Group Inc.
ERA President
ctanzola@fusionsourcing.comIt’s a new year — time for new resolutions. As we turn the calendar page, there seems to be a universal determination to put 2020 behind us; an aspirational hope that life will return to normal …
- > What doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger
Representor Winter 2021 – Executive Commentary
by Walter E. Tobin
ERA CEO
wtobin@era.org
T: 617-901-4088We listened and calibrated our products as we went along, all to make ERA better and stronger … to become an even better resource for our members …
I never really understood this saying. I thought it was a bit self-serving. … - > You are now entering the Twilight Zone
From the Top, The Representor, Fall 2020
by Chuck Tanzola, CPMR, ERA President
[caption id="attachment_8518" align="alignright" width="150"] Chuck Tanzola, CPMRERA Presidentctanzola@fusionsourcing.com[/caption]“You’re traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind; a journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. Next stop … the …
- > Stay the course or full speed ahead – what ship are you the captain of?
Executive Commentary, The Representor, Fall 2020
All of us want to be recognized as ‘the company’ that continues to get things done despite COVID and have others ask: ‘How do they do it?’
[caption id="attachment_8095" align="alignright" width="150"] Walter E. Tobin, ERA CEOwtobin@era.orgT: 617-901-4088[/caption]
by Walter E. Tobin, ERA CEO
By now all of us …
- > ‘Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore’
The Representor, Summer 2020
From the Topby Chuck Tanzola, CPMR
The Fusion Sourcing Group Inc.
ERA President
ctanzola@fusionsourcing.comIn the 1939 movie, The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy says to her dog at one point, “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” It’s a phrase that has come to mean that we have stepped …
- > The times they are a-changin’
The Representor, Summer 2020
Executive Commentaryby Walter E. Tobin
ERA CEO
wtobin@era.org
T: 617-901-4088The summer months are upon us. This is usually a time to look forward to getting away from the office and spend more time with the family, to travel to new places, fly on planes, check into hotels or resorts, eat …
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