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Mergers and acquisitions present challenges to even the most seasoned leadership teams. Executing a strong and organized communications plan—one that delivers the right messages to the right constituents at the right time—can help a merger or acquisition go smoothly and establish unity and profitability. Yet, despite the best laid plans, change management is hard and you’re sure to encounter challenges along the way.

Whether you’re a startup working through a product launch, or a large enterprise operating a small division, there will probably come a point where find yourself in the catch 22 of business growth: You need more accounts to fund a sales team, but you need more sales from your current team to get there. It’s through these growing pains that efficiency is paramount in your sales process. We’ve been helping companies overcome challenges like this for over 30 years, and we’ve got some tips to share from this experience.

Product Launch is Controlled Chaos

Whether you're a newby or a veteran of product launch planning, there's no denying the anticipation of opportunity and the stress of accomplishing all of the necessary tasks. As the launch date approaches, the flurry of activity increases, making it easy to overlook something or cut corners. Keeping track of who is responsible for what and when challenges even the most organized professionals. Many business leaders find it is in their best interest to seek external support to help organize and execute key activities.

Talk of a full-scale trade war between the US and China may sound dramatic, but the latest tariff applied to Chinese goods will have a major impact on the costs of materials coming to the US. The full list of affected goods, available here, includes fresh food and dry goods, consumer goods like hats and handbags, as well as a large list of manufacturing materials such as glass, aluminum, gold, electrical parts, and machinery.

Whether virtual or in person, we’re spending our work lives in meetings that aren’t working. Research shows that 67% of meetings are ‘failures’, and have lost their primary reason–getting things done.

Where have our meetings gone wrong? Over time, the amount of time spent in meetings and number of meetings held has increased significantly. Daily, upwards of 11 million meetings are held in American businesses, averaging a time frame of 31-60 minutes. These longer meetings have led to a 10% increase in the time employees spend in meetings since 2000.

Whether you’re choosing your first CRM or transitioning to a new one, it’s a big decision — one that will lead to even bigger impacts on your team. Training your team to use a CRM efficiently is as important as the data that will be kept in it. If they don’t know how to use it comfortably, the transition into a new CRM tool can be a difficult one.