Leading Experts Discuss Changes in Sales Management Brought About by Crm and Other Sales Technology

Houston, TX, April 30, 2008 --(PR.com)-- Much has been said and written about the technology of Client Relationship Management (CRM), Sales Performance Management (SPM), and Sales Force Automation (SFA) systems, but how will these technologies impact how the sales function is managed and the sales team members? The real day-to-day impact of these technologies has been largely ignored—until now. Sales management consultant and author Paul McCord has launched a new blog, The Management Curve (http://themangementcurve.com) to ignite discussion and debate about how technology is changing and will continue to change how companies manage sales and salespeople.

“All of these technologies have great potential for both good and ill,” McCord says. “Although in many respects these technologies are in their infancy, the discussion needs to be had--and had right now--as to what these technologies really mean to managers, salespeople, and the company itself. Are they really producing anything of value to salespeople and managers? If so, what? How is it changing what they do, how they manage, and ultimately, their results? And for the company, is the investment worth it? If so, what tangible benefits have they received to justify the investment?”

Since McCord’s area of specialization is training managers how to use the data the systems generate to increase sales and salesperson productivity rather than not the technology itself, and since there are a great many views concerning the technology’s impact, he has invited an international group of management trainers, consultants, product developers, and researchers to join him as regular contributors and commentators.

Currently, The Management Curve’s lineup of experts besides McCord are management consultants Jonathan Farrington, James Obermayer, Jan Visser, Michael Webb, and Silvaraman Swaminatha; product developers Alan Timothy of i-Snapshot, Patrick Stakenas of ForceLogix, and Razi Imam of Landslide Sales Workstyle Management; and Dave Stein, President of ES Research Group, a sales performance research and advisory company. Additional commentators and analysts are continuing to be added.

In addition to articles and commentary by the experts, The Management Curve will include interviews of salespeople and sales managers to discover their real-world experiences with the technologies and corporate executives for their insight into what their expectations where when the products were purchased, their evaluation of the product’s impact, and where they would like to see the technologies to go in the future.

“The Management Curve isn’t a tech blog,” McCord insists. “It is meant for sales managers, salespeople, executives, sales trainers, management consultants, and product developers who are interested in how the technology is currently and will continue to impact the role and function of sales management and how it will enable—or hinder—salespeople and managers to do their jobs. And certainly it isn’t a technology cheerleading site. We intend to take a serious, real life look at the technologies, whether that look is complementary to the technology or individual products, or not.”

Launched on April 20, the blog is also in its infancy but has grown rapidly through word of mouth. McCord invites other sales management or technology consultants, product developers, or researchers who would be interested in becoming regular contributors to the blog’s discussion to contact him directly at pmccord@mccordandassociates.com.

For further information, contact Paul McCord of The Management Curve at pmccord@mccordandassociates.com or at 281-216-6845.

###