Our president is a member of TEC (now Vistage International - the world's largest CEO membership organization) and at his most recent chapter meeting, the question on every CEO's mind was "how to drive the top line."
Then, as fate would have it, the most recent issue of the Harvard Business Review (July-August) arrived on my desk and is all about selling. Thomas A. Stewart, editor, notes that the topic of sales has traditionally failed to get the attention it deserves from serious researchers. This double-issue seeks to rectify that to the extent that it can.
I haven't read all the articles yet but one statement from Fred Hassan, CEO of Schering-Plough struck me:
No strategy can succeed unless a company takes control of its top line.
Has your firm taken control of its top line (revenue)?
"Taking control of your top line" - that phrase gave me the organizing principle I've been seeking to better communicate both the opportunities and threats I see to our top line on both a short-term and long-term basis. You see, I've been thinking about Mercer Capital's top line a great deal. As our firm and profession changes, a bolder strategic vision is needed and we're grappling with that vision and the action steps necessary to make that vision a reality.
As the CMO and a member of the board of directors (we have no formal sales staff and even if we did, I'd still be thinking about the top line), I add value if I spend a good deal of time thinking about how to drive revenue growth and then obtaining buy-in from the appropriate folks here to actually make things happen that positively impact the top line.
Yet, even if I were not the CMO or a member of the board, I would be thinking about the top line, and you should too.
What part do you play in driving top line growth? What part can you play?
Over the holiday, I'll be devouring this issue and will report back some of the findings.
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