Sustainable Development Questions

  • How do we define sustainable development as it applies to our business and core values?
  • Where do we see sustainable development trends and drivers affecting our business in the future?
  • Are we doing enough to address these trends today, or could we clearly be doing more to gain business opportunities in this way?
  • Do we have all the competencies we need to make progress?
  • Can we learn from

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Linkages to the Local Economy

  • Does the firm/project make use of an especially underutilized asset, i.e., certain segments of the labor force/current office space?
  • Will the firm/project create significant contracting opportunities for local firms, especially small/disadvantaged business?
  • Does the firm/project fill a hole in the Austin economic base, such as key supplier relationships?
  • Does the firm/project have the potential to either seed a new cluster or bring additional firms to Austin?
  • Will the

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Job Creation

  • Will the bulk of the new hires be local or imported?
  • What is the average wage paid? How does it compare to the local or national industry average?
  • What is the median wage paid? How are job categories and wages distributed within the overall structure?
  • What training is provided? Are there opportunities for advancement? Are there funds available for additional education (tuition match, etc.)?
  • Does the firm actively promote diversity

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Overall Economic and Fiscal Impact

  • Is the firm a headquarters operation? Does it represent the “headquarters” of a new product/service?
  • Is the firm growing? Is the firm in a growing industry? How stable is the firm?
  • Does the firm or project significantly enhance the local tax base?
  • Does the firm make a disproportionate demand on infrastructure/environment?

Source:
Austin’s Economic Future: The Mayor’s Task Force on the Economy – Subcommittee Findings
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Cultural/Quality of Life/Environmental Considerations

  • Does the firm have a track record of being an active participant in the arts and cultural life of the communities where it operates?
  • Will the firm have a proactive cultural outreach program?
  • Does the firm actively encourage employee volunteer/charitable efforts?
  • Does the firm have a track record of conducting its business in an environmentally responsible way?
  • Does the firm have a track record of supporting environmental initiatives/concerns?


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4 Questions to Ask of Your Project Activity

  1. Economic: Will the project generate prosperity and enhance the affected economies?
  2. Social: Will the project be implemented in a socially responsible manner and benefit the affected communities in a fair and equitable way?
  3. Environmental Quality: Will the project cause long-term damage to the environment?
  4. Use of Natural Resources: Will the project protect and enhance natural capital?

Source:
Bringing Corporate Responsibility Down to Earth
by Justin Keeble
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Security Capability Assessment

Risk Assessment/Management
Does your organization:

  • Regularly perform vulnerability assessments?
  • Act on the results of a vulnerability assessment in a timely manner?
  • Identify critical information assets?
  • Identify the threats to critical information assets?
  • Determine the financial and other impacts of a successful attack on critical information assets?
  • Evaluate and manage your information security risks on an ongoing basis? In other words, are risks to critical information assets managed

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Sales Presentation Questions

  • What percentage of your sales presentation/proposal is devoted to describing your company and your solution?
  • What percentage of your sales presentation/proposal is devoted to describing your customer’s business, their problems and objectives?
  • How well do customers understand their own problems?
  • How much of your presentation is focused on persuading and convincing?
  • How well can your customers connect your solutions to their business situation?

Source:
The Presentation[ Read more ]

Questions for Sales Managers

  • Do you know who your most profitable customers are and why? Or who the most valuable prospects are? Does your sales team spend the majority of their time focused on the highest value targets?
  • Is your value proposition compelling and relevant for the highest-value segments?
  • Do you tailor your selling approach and offering only by customer size and geography, or also by customer value?
  • Is your sales

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Qualifying Prospects

Who?
A few excellent “who” questions you might consider using in order to convert “suspects” into highly qualified prospects are:

  • Who has the most obvious need for your products or services?
  • Who are the ideal prospects? Don’t limit yourself to existing customers.
  • Who has the money to buy your products or services immediately?
  • Who has the most urgent need to buy your products?
  • Who has influence on

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