Robert Nikic

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Here's how to transition away from your current "transactional" sales approach that's getting you nowhere.  If you are feeling the pressure to help your company meet its bottom-line metrics quarter over quarter, working in a sales-driven environment is not the only way to encourage your sales team to achieve its goals. Instead, you may want to try a different approach that will also enable you to build a stronger rapport with current and potential customers. Here, 11 Fast Company Executive Board members share the best way to pivot your sales strategies and transition your team away from a "transaction now" mentality when dealing with potential clients. They also discuss how to maintain a good balance and still make the deal.

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It takes a village to grow your company and thrive. When you are just starting out during the first few years of a new business operation, it may be instinctive to keep your head down and focus on how to thrive in your day-to-day workflow procedures and how to deliver customer satisfaction first and foremost. However, it's also just as important to engage in strategic partnerships and collaborations that can impact your company's growth potential. The end game is learning to work smarter, not harder. Leading experts from Fast Company Executive Board experienced positive results when they took advantage of untapped opportunities that moved their businesses forward. Below, they share 13 reasons why business leaders should keep an open mind to exploring new partnerships that may be a good fit right now.

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Here are 11 areas to consider if you want to keep your business up to code. It's essential to remain compliant with marketplace regulations if you plan to stay in business. By doing so, your clients and partners will appreciate your credibility as a trustworthy brand. It also puts you in a better position when times are tough and when they are forced to make hard and fast investment decisions in a budget crunch.   Whether you are trying to comprehend individual state tax laws or trying to navigate how to handle data privacy restrictions that may impact your company and its stakeholders, it's necessary to cover all of your bases so you don't wind up in any legal trouble. Below, leading experts from Fast Company Executive Board discuss the market regulations that have been especially challenging for their organizations and how they were able to overcome the obstacles. In hindsight, abiding by these business requirements has helped some companies thrive even more. 

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If your small business is in the process of branching out worldwide, consider the following points as you prepare for your launch. As a business owner or CEO, expanding your company's reach in other countries is more than just building a worldwide network of team members and doing a deep dive into a business market you may be unfamiliar with. On the contrary, it's also about recognizing the standard guidelines that are in place and could enhance or prevent your organization from thriving if you fail to go about your launch in the right way. Below, 14 Fast Company Executive Board members share advice as they weigh in on the impact (and importance) of globalization for small businesses in a growing competitive marketplace. 

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Now is the time to: reflect and pivot boldly toward your continued career growth and success. It's natural to be anxious or overwhelmed about a recent setback that you or your company may be experiencing in today's fluctuating economy. However, once you assess where things went wrong, you must dust yourself off, and make any necessary improvements (from lessons learned) that will help you stay on track, and set you up to be ready for the brighter days ahead.   At some point in their career, everyone faces some type of hardship—whether it's overcoming a job loss or not making the deal stick with a highly regarded potential client. In times like these, it's even more important to stay connected with trusted mentors and colleagues as you reflect on ways to improve your brand (personal and professional). We asked 20 Fast Company Executive Board members to each share their tips to encourage business professionals not to panic or give up on their short- and long-term goals no matter what marketplace analysts are reporting.