Ed Marsh Consulting

A great sales manager must have very strong tactical sales skills. That's table stakes. But a great sales manager must have a broad range of additional skills, particularly when they're asked to make the very difficult transition from peer sales rep to sales manager. That's often compounded in the industrial manufacturing space when engineers become technical sales reps. The skills they've been taught often work against their ability to sell business outcomes. They have rewarding conversations with technical buyers, but struggle with business buyers. Mike Miller, Director of Sales and Marketing at AZO, Inc., has navigated this journey. From degreed engineer and United States Air Force vet, to technical sales engineer to sales manager. In his recent conversation with Ed Marsh ????, host of the Industrial Growth Institute Podcast, Mike shared frank and authentic insights and lessons learned. #TechnicalSales #SalesEngineer #IndustrialSales #MachinerySales #SalesManager #SalesManagement #SalesProcess https://hubs.ly/Q03bld2n0

Is your revenue growth option as simple as organic vs. inorganic? Organic growth is often oversimplified to just new customers and growth within existing accounts. That overlooks the opportunity to drive revenue through new product development. But consistent product innovation isn't a natural part of the DNA of many companies. The energy and fire that drove the first innovation upon which the company was founded may have faded. Eric P. Rose, founder of Pinnacle Product Innovation, Inc. helps companies build and exercise that muscle. Ed Marsh ???? chatted with him recently on an episode of the Industrial Growth Institute Podcast, and they covered a wide range of product development topics. #ProductDevelopment #ProductManagement #ProductRoadmap #NewProductDevelopment #NewProductInnovation https://hubs.ly/Q0399k4H0

How hard is it to hire a service technician to support your machines in the field? It's a thankless job! How hard is it to hire skilled and committed technicians for your factory? And what system do you have in place to capture and organize the immense knowledge and wisdom of your soon-to-be-retired veterans whose years of practical exercise mean the difference between brief downtime and extended crisis? These are hard challenges - particularly with 8,000 boomers retiring every day. That's why I'm excited to chat with FINDIQ founder Sina Volkmann (K?mmerling) on Tuesday 25 February at 11:30AM Eastern. Sina will share stories of what life in a German software startup is like (different than the US!) and information on the tool she and her team have created to solve this difficult challenge! Please register for the LinkedIn Live conversation.

Preview of today's 11:30 et live event with Sina Volkmann

Bring a group of people together, and you'll create conflict. That's human nature. Bring that group together around business goals, and the elements of money and "power" will engender even more conflict. Make that group family, and watch out. It's hard. Family-owned businesses are charming and inspiring contributors to our economy and communities. But for those inside these businesses, there are tensions and undercurrents that are frustrating and poignant. Yet realizing the full potential for growth and success requires that families tackle and resolve these challenges, no matter how seemingly intractable they are. That's where Joshua Gentine comes in. Josh grew up around a family business, and was fortunate to have family members and business leaders who proactively addressed governance, strategy and family issues. Further, he was afforded latitude to carve his own path - a journey that took him from college football to seminary to consulting. And finally back to the family business as a board director. Josh's Bench Consulting and Family.Inc businesses help family owned businesses unlock growth potential and create harmony. Because family owned business is so fundamental to our industrial manufacturing ecosystems, host Ed Marsh ???? spent time on a recent episode of the Industrial Growth Institute Podcast chatting about these thorny issues with Josh. #IndustrialManufacturing #ManufacturingRevenueGrowth #Strategy #FamilyBusiness #IndependentDirector #Governance https://hubs.ly/Q0389fZN0

Does anyone get pissed off at any of your content? Are your executives known for arguing points that may be mildly controversial but help your prospects and the market frame their understanding of situations in fresh and helpful ways? If not, you're probably not creating "Thought Leadership" content. You're likely doing a lot of work, producing a lot of words, and not moving the needle. And that might not be your fault. It's really hard to push back and challenge senior leaders from the mid or entry-level roles that are often charged with turning executive ideas into content. That's why Jake Meth, founder of Opinioned, argues that having an outside thought partner, particularly one with his type of experience, is critical to shaping a consistent, impactful body of thought leadership content. And that's just his most recent chapter. He started his journalism career covering the Arab Spring! Listen in to his full conversation with host Ed Marsh ???? on the Industrial Growth Institute Podcast. https://hubs.ly/Q03755nt0

Many industrial manufacturers see membership in trade associations as an obligation. They join to check the box, but they're too busy to get too involved. Maybe they attend an annual meeting. They may leverage membership to exhibit in the industry trade show. And perhaps they pull some of the industry data and research. In other words, they're generally passive participants. But is that enough? The answer depends. Maybe it is. But maybe they don't realize the full range of services and potential of their membership. Unlocking that value requires active engagement. And that's a commitment of time - which nobody has enough of. In this recent episode of the Industrial Growth Institute Podcast, Stephen T. Sears, CEO and Executive Director of the EIFS Industry Members Association (EIMA) joined host Ed Marsh ???? to discuss industrial trade associations from an insider perspective. Stephen offers a variety of insights on how members can leverage association memberships for maximum value. https://hubs.ly/Q0367V3F0

What if your prospects provided an instruction manual for how to market and sell to them? Imagine the power of understanding what's going on inside your prospects' company walls and between their ears. Sound like a fantasy? Only if you don't undertake to create proper buyer personas based on buyer interviews. This qualitative research framework gives you what you need to speak to each member of the buying team with the right information at the right stage in their buying journey. Listen in as Jim Kraus, president of the Buyer Persona Institute chats with host Ed Marsh ???? on this episode of the Industrial Growth Institute Podcast. https://hubs.ly/Q0359RZ_0

Sales training. Companies used to routinely invest in it. Today that's much more unusual. Why? Join Dave Kurlan and host Ed Marsh ???? as they take a deep dive into sales training, accountability, sales coaching and more in this episode of the Industrial Growth Institute Podcast. https://hubs.ly/Q034hnn-0

How often do family members impair their company's success because of myopia? And how often do they hesitate to welcome the next generation into executive leadership because so much of their own self-worth is tied to their role? They both happen, and Debra Boggs has some interesting ideas on how to overcome both situations. When executive management engages as independent board directors in other companies it affords them broad new perspective and also starts to build a bridge to what their next chapter might look like. I hope you'll join Debra and me on Tuesday, Feb 18th at 11am Eastern for a discussion on why she suggests family business owners should actively seek outside director roles with other companies.