Here are several excerpts from an interesting article by Andrew Boyd, Chief Research Officer for the Aberdeen Group, 3 Low-Cost or No-Cost Customer Management Tips for Uncertain Times:

In a recessionary environment, sales and marketing managers should prepare themselves for lengthened sales cycles and decreased pipeline velocity. Tried and true tactics that have always worked — e.g. month-end discounting, bundling and promotions — will begin to sound increasingly desperate as sales reps struggle to make the quotas that were set months ago in the budgeting process. Customers — those in a buying mood — will buy on their own terms, and it is increasingly unlikely that they will be “sold to.” Therefore, price erosion will take hold as vendors struggle to adapt the new competitive conditions.

With reduced headcount and frozen budgets, organizations may be tempted to put technology and capabilities investments on hold. However, now is the time to act; below are some low- or no-cost actions organizations can immediately take to retain a competitive edge though tough times…

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Here is a synopsis of a very good post by Jeb Blount, in the Eyes on Sales blog, 5 Tips For Beating Your Competitors in this Recession. Check out the complete source article for more on each tip:

CNN calls it issue #1. You cannot open a newspaper, turn on the TV, or even have a conversation with friends without talking about the economy and the “r-word” - recession.

Doom and gloom are everywhere. And there is no hiding from the fact that trepidation in the market is having an impact on the paychecks of Sales Professionals across the globe. It can be depressing and people are looking for answers. Hardly a day goes by that I’m not asked by someone, “What should I do?”

While I don’t have all of the answers, and certainly don’t hold myself out as an expert on recessions, I offer salespeople five tips for prospering during a recession….

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Is your company ready for the online holiday rush?  Here is a summary of several issues to consider that appeared in a recent article by Cindy Waxer for InsideCRM, Ho-Ho-Hold on to Your Customers:

With the number of online retail sales expected to grow to a whopping $271.6 billion by the year 2011, companies simply can’t afford to fall out of favor with their Web shoppers. Here’s what businesses need to bear in mind as they strive to keep their customers happy during the holiday crunch:

Manage your inventory. “Adequate inventory is something e-tailers can have difficulties with if they experience a spike in demand,” warned Michelle Warren, a senior research analyst with Info-Tech Research Group.

Keep tabs on your technology. Unanticipated spikes in online traffic can send an e-tailer’s servers crashing — and Web shoppers running elsewhere. For this reason, Warren advised to “consider working with your solution provider to ensure that you have the right amount of technology in place.”

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Here are several excerpts from an informative article by Heather Clancy, a freelance high-tech industry journalist, that appeared in bMighty.com, Cheap, Easy Tools For Productive Online Meetings:

Looking for an easier way to set up a Web conference or share presentations while you’re on the run? You’re not alone. The worldwide market for collaboration services — including audio conferences, Web presentation sessions, and various video meetings — logged its first $1 billion quarter in 2007, according to Wainhouse Research. Wainhouse researchers project that in North America alone, revenue from audio, video, and Web collaboration services will reach $4.4 billion by 2011, a compound annual growth rate of 8%.

One thing that the big players in this market (LiveMeeting, WebEx and GoToMeeting) didn’t expect were the numerous free collaboration services popping up all over the Web, many of which are designed by entrepreneurs fed up with the complexity of existing options.

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I recently came across a web site that can be a valuable resource for advice, CanDoGo. The following quote from the web site explains what it’s all about:

“CanDoGo is packed full of timely “how to” sales, personal development and motivational advice that answers your questions to help you overcome immediate business challenges. With a true expert community you will set yourself apart every day with CanDoGo at your fingertips. Get concise CanDoGo Insights in video, audio and text formats!”

With categories such as Marketing, Sales Basic, Prospecting, Qualifying, Customer Service and many more, this site is obviously targeted to people who have direct contact with prospects during the pre-sales process and who assist existing customers with service and support processes.

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