April 2009

Few people are against a variable salary. We certainly aren’t, especially not when it’s at the higher end. But, such salaries should be earned. It shouldn’t reward tepid underachievers, but those who have given their blood, sweat and tears, who give it their all, who keep at it when others would give up – there’s absolutely nothing wrong with rewarding these people with a bonus. And, such a bonus should, of course, be proportional. If you work at a company that has landed in the red, despite your brilliant efforts, then a bonus is simply not appropriate. Unsurprisingly, most people agree on this...

March 2009

It’s becoming harder and harder to find something positive between all the miserable news. The downwards spiral of negativity, boosted by the effects of self-fulfilling prophecies is in full swing. For a while there, we thought that Barack Obama, with his State of the Union, could jolt the spiral back in a positive direction, but unfortunately the stock market has just continued on its miserable plummet...

February 2009

We have big news – very big. Over the last few months, the youth unemployment rate has been growing at a much faster rate than that of unemployed people over 27 years. What’s not new is that these kinds of news stories generally call people over 27 ‘old’, which we find odd, but have come to terms with. According to the article the LIFO rule is still used in the Dutch corporate world...

December 2008

<< Translation - greed: excessive desire for more of something than is needed>>

We have a little question for you. Do you remember what the last financial crisis was called? Indeed, it was called the dot.com crash. Everyone older than 30 remembers it only too well. Start-up companies predicted billion dollar markets and nothing but success… They were masters at procuring financing. However, the bubble burst just before most were able to cash in on their stocks. Those that were in time are still laughing all the way to the bank, whether in hot pursuit by angry journalists or not...

November 2008

Would you also like to become the President of the United States of America? Well, it’s possible: you simply have to have been born there, must be at least 35 years old and have lived there for at least 14 years. Most of our newsletter’s readers will sadly not qualify, however, we think that the application process is not only a trial by fire, it’s educational too. Something that we all should have a shot at...

September 2008

One in four employees admits that their company discriminates against older people. According to a study by Intelligence Groep, many people over 36 feel that their age works against them. This surprises us at Cobben & Van Tulder...

June 2008

"Help, Help... COMMITTEE PLEASE!"
What do politicians do when they’re coaxed into a debate they can’t possibly win? They appoint a committee. What do you do if nobody in your company believes in you? Well, you call it a ‘difference of opinion’ and whoosh, you’re gone. It can cost the company an arm and a leg to get rid of you, but it’s usually not too complicated. As they say in English, ‘he cried all the way to the bank’...

May 2008

Who do you think of when someone mentions drive and entrepreneurship? Yourself? Congratulations, you possess the self confidence required to make a success of your life. Someone else may think of a public figure with a known success story, like wealthy Dutch business tycoon John de Mol, creator of reality TV...

June 2007

A promise is a promise. We said we’d get back to you on the question of whether Sales can be taught or if it is simply in your blood. We asked the visitors to our website, most of whom are Marketing and Sales experts, and they came to the rather controversial conclusion that Sales cannot be taught. See the results of our poll...

March 2007

As a reader of our newsletter and visitor to our website you know that we love sharing knowledge about our industry. This month we will be focusing on one of the most underrated factors in successfully targeting sales talent: the job title. Not only does it have to create the right expectations about the content of the job and the position within the company, but it also has to sound good...

December 2006

Who can remember this? It was November 1995, and Ruud Lubbers had just arrived in, where the ambitious former Dutch MP was scheduled for a meeting to discuss the position of Secretary General of NATO. An alert journalist asked him whether he considered the meeting as a job interview. Lubbers cleverly side-stepped the question by giving the cryptic reply, “Well, I did polish my shoes…” It does raise a point though – if you’re going to a job interview, make sure you polish your shoes...

When was the last time you bought a second-hand car? You probably remember the process: popping the bonnet like a pro, going for a test-drive, deftly negotiating the price and securing the deal. In the end, you must’ve trusted the seller and that’s what it’s all about. The attitude of a salesman, his tone of voice, word choice, facial expressions – it’s all part of the subtle sales game. A game designed to persuade you that you’re really onto a good deal if you agree to the ‘super low, low, low price’ the friendly salesman is offering you. Luckily you’re a positive person who’s willing to let yourself be seduced by a good sales pitch. And, after all, there must be at least one car out there that did really belong to an old lady who rarely used it, so why shouldn’t you be the lucky one to take it off her hands...

October 2006

Have you ever noticed that the Sales discipline isn’t as strictly monitored on efficiency as other areas in a company? While Production, Finance and HR have to make every Euro count, it seems that in Sales everything is possible. How can that be? That’s a good question, isn’t it? Sometimes it helps to delve into the history of a company.
Once upon a time there was an entrepreneur who had an idea that caught on and his company grew and grew. He hadn’t ever heard of SAP and KPI’s, but was always on top of exactly how his company was doing. He would empty the cash register every night, and would look his customers in the eye...

September 2006

You could say that recruitment is a no-brainer and an easy way to make money.  That’s probably the reason why our field attracts so many entrepreneurial newcomers who all want their slice of the pie when the economy starts booming. We’re fine with this, after all it was getting a bit quiet at all those industry minglers, and a few new faces always does wonders for the atmosphere. 
Why is recruitment so simple? To become a consultant at our company you have to be able to answer one little question... 

August 2006

You could say that Sales is an easy job, because you don’t need to think for yourself.  Think about it – the R&D geeks create a new product, the Finance gurus come up with a good price point for it, and the Marketing folks wrap it up for you in a nice little sound bite.
So, you basically only have to get in your flash company car, wind your way to the right clients’ doors, and do your sales thing.  Which, come to think about it, is pretty much also a brainless activity, because clients often give you all the information you need beforehand – on their website, for instance, and also in their personnel ads.  If you read the monster.com’s of the world, and the Saturday papers with your Sales goggles on, you’ll see one lead after the other.  However, you’ll also keep seeing that pesky little disclaimer:  ‘Acquisitie nav deze advertentie wordt niet op prijs gesteld.’ (Canvassing not welcomed.)...

June 2006

This month’s poll on our site has confirmed something we already had a hunch about – you don’t change your job just for the money. You change jobs because you want a change, a new challenge to get your adrenaline pumping, or to get ahead.
Work can make you happy – just ask anyone who is unemployed.  Anyway, we won’t push our theory too much, because we all know that most people like to have a lot of money... 

May 2006

Every Queen’s Day it once again becomes abundantly clear that Holland is a nation of traders, and that Dutch East India Company blood still pumps through the veins of even our youngest generations. While one sibling creatively thought up soft drink flavours and built his own soft drink stand, another borrowed money from dad, did the purchasing, and voila – a successful beverage outlet start-up was born...

April 2006

Peter’s colleagues were pleasantly surprised when we recently found him a job as Sales Manager at a fast-growing company. They know Peter as a dedicated and straight-forward Key Account Manager, and a fun after-work drink buddy.
At his farewell party, many of his colleagues told him that he was absolutely right to grab the opportunity we offered him on behalf of our client...

There has been a lot of talk lately about the so-called lack of highly trained professionals in the Netherlands. The Dutch government has promised to invest more in training, but expect people to work longer before their retirement. 
Apparently, they feel that labour, and with that we mean white collar workers, should be around in uncontrolled and unlimited numbers, which just doesn’t make sense...

February 2006

Everyone knows that business owners sleep late every day, earn piles of money, delegate something to their managers every now and then, and spend leisurely days on the golf courses of the world.  And, what’s so hard about that?  This month’s poll shows that approximately 80% of the visitors to our website dream about owning his/her own business. So, what stops them... 

January 2006

It could easily be the quirky name of the pub where you’re about to have your Christmas lunch: ‘The five legged sheep’. Does this name make you think of an afternoon of culinary delight, or of genetically manipulated food?...

December 2005

The mark of a true businessman is his ability to make his clients feel in control, when in fact he’s running the show to his own tune. He asks the right questions, knows intuitively what his clients want, pitches the right offers at the right time, and he’ll go through hell and high water for his clients. It’s all about communication – listening and understanding – and if you master these skills then doing business will seem like a relaxing and lucrative activity. Hiring the right people to do business for you, and inspiring them also revolves entirely around communication...

November 2005

Despite the marginal economic growth, and the slim macro-economic forecasts for 2006, we’ve noticed that our clients are under a lot of pressure.  Expectations are high and companies are expanding and investing in raising the impact of their sales force.  We approached various account managers on behalf of our clients over the last few weeks, and their reactions certainly made the situation clear...