Andrew Rudin
Andrew Rudin
Andrew (Andy) Rudin is Managing Principal of CONTRARY DOMINO, and faculty at George Mason University's School of Engineering and Information Technology. Andy provides comprehensive services to companies for sales governance, risk management, and compliance (GRC). Andy has a BS in marketing and an MS in information technology, both from the University of Virginia. In 2018, he was recognized as a Hall of Fame author on CustomerThink.
Revenue Generation: A Little Hope is a Precious Thing
Business developers know about scarcity: paltry lead flow, tight marketing budgets, and not enough time. I could go on. Thankfully, we’re optimistic people. Optimistic...
No, This is Not the Age of the Customer
Astrologers peg the Age of Aquarius between 1447 and 3597 CE – a range of 2,150 years, give or take. The Age of Enlightenment...
Top Global Risks in 2019: Coming Soon to Your Community!
Whenever I visit a chain grocery store like Safeway, Albertsons, or Publix, I experience sameness. Same layout, same products, same experience - regardless which...
Sales Process: Stick to the Path or Go Your Own Way?
Ask a top sales producer about keys to success, and they’ll share insights like “prioritize your work,” “maintain a good opportunity pipeline,” “serve the...
Feeling Morally Queasy at Work? Tips for Voicing Your Values
I’d like to encircle the workplace with yellow safety tape. Long ribbons of it. “Caution! Do not enter!” That would give others an inkling of…
Five Elements that Create Service Stress for Customers
Despite rigorous measurements and sentiment analysis, the number of bad customer experiences that occur every second isn’t known. How many living trees currently populate our…
Revenue Growth: Don’t Let the Funnel Fool Ya!
Sales funnels symbolize a widely-known reality among marketers: s*** happens. Funnels instantly remind us that interactions between buyers and sellers are fraught with risks –…
One Sales Interview Question Best Unasked
Every day, I read articles online that I disagree with. No biggy. Much rarer is when I read business advice so ill-conceived, so dangerous, so…
How to Execute Better Strategy
In these tumultuous times, I lust for every bit of surety I can find. I search for rules, immutable truths, and superlatives. My motive is…
Acquisition and Retention: The Yin and Yang of Customer Strategy
For customer retention, which of the following do vendors commonly perform: Provide outstanding service and loyalty benefits Impose switching costs through technological impediments and contractual…
Sears: Bankruptcy through Management by Magazine
Sears, the company that gave the world Kenmore appliances, Craftsman tools, Sears houses, and catalog retailing “limped into bankruptcy” on October 15, according to The…
Hiring Sales Talent? Seek Evidence of These Three Skills
As a strategist, I look for performance gaps. They are often concealed within operating statistics, and can require sleuthing to flush out. For me, an…
Nike and Kaepernick: Oh Baby, Show Me The Money
I’ve often wondered why companies hammer sharp social stakes into the ground. Ben and Jerry’s. Hobby Lobby. Chick-fil-a. Lately, Levi’s – my jeans brand –…
Three Myths about Customer Loyalty
The characters in the HBO series Silicon Valley make us laugh because we’ve met them in real life. The sardonic, whip-smart software developer Gilfoyle. The…
Marketing for Business Growth, Forty Years on
The temperature in Washington, DC is steamy hot, and my dogs don’t bother lifting their heads when the UPS truck rolls up. Not even a…
Ethical Selling: American Express Offers a Teachable Moment
“Every ethics question a business person could face comes down to a question you face on your very first sale: what are you willing to…
Revenue: MiMedx Shows How to Fake It Till You Make It
Suppose your company pioneered a product able to improve the health of millions of people. Suppose that over the past five years, you reported at…
Long-term Revenue Success Depends on Moral Leadership and Sound Ethical Conduct
Elizabeth Holmes, CEO of Theranos, and John Zimmer, CEO of Lyft, have much in common. They are the same age – born less than two…
In Sales Forecasting, Quality Is the New Accuracy
“The sales team forecasts $100 million in revenue for the quarter.” Many companies motivate employees with incentives for matching sales results to predictions. Some punish…
First, Stop Using the Term “Win/Loss”
“Things are not always what they seem.” We can thank Phaedrus, an Athenian who lived around 400 BC, for that insight. He’s also credited…