When is a headphone jack, not just a headphone jack?

Apple's new iPhone won't have a headphone jack and several generally respected reviewers, including CNET, say, "get over it" and, "no big deal".

Whoops and hold up there technology cowboys. The Apple headphone jack is far more than a place to plug in headphones that are, so, five years ago.

TechCrunch apple jack story        TechCrunch agrees with our team. The headphone jack isn't really a headphone jack, it's the port for nearly every add-on, assistance, productivity, and other non-app tool, that lots and lots of people have built to serve niche markets and user communities, on and with the fabulous iPhone, Apple platform.

Proxima B2B reviews technology companies, trends, and solutions. We rarely wade into the product review space covered so well by the CNET's and TechCrunch and ZDnet's of the world.

So why now? Well, besides CNET and some other media, simply blowing this product announcement by obsessing about the cool camera, more than two of Proxima Sales's employees are people with amazing expertise, experience, and skill, who happen to be deaf or HOH (hard of hearing). We also have an employee who is visually challenged who uses iPhone assistive add-ons for what mere glasses can't provide him.

These employees are core staff and we think they should be able to communicate in whatever fashion makes their jobs and their lives work best for them. Each of these employees uses the headphone jack on their iPhone for a different assistive technology (or five). These are every day tools that cost our company a few hundred dollars a year to reimburse our employees for, when they need a replacement or an upgrade. They are cheap and easy because they use existing mini jack and other built in (usually Bluetooth) technology.

When I asked one of our gadget enabled staff members what it was like before she had her plug in device that makes phone calls easier for her, she said, that, "the old stuff, before all the iPhone accessories, was expensive, big, and really out of date. Also everyone could see it was some weird special 'deaf person' thing." She went on to say that she doesn't have to have as much support from friends or co-workers, ASL interpreters, etc. because there are so many tools, including apps, as well as 3.5mm jack enabled, that allow her to do all of her job and life related tasks on her own. This is small jack is no small thing. 

Proxima Sales company reviews a lot of technology roll-outs in a year. We're generally cheering in the front row as sales outsourcing and consulting clients of Proxima Sales debut new solutions, upgrades, and enhancements. Every once in a blue moon we see a roll-out that has the palm slap to face effect -- why did they do this? Why go backward? Why be less customer-centric? Why create even a small storm of user fury over a feature that is well loved, and well understood.

Apple, it's not too late. We know, thinner, yada yada, next generation, blah blah, back down and let us keep our 3.5mm headphone jacks of connectivity. From our seats at the Apple event, it looked like the only cheers for this change were folks clueless about any use beyond old white ear-buds.

Oh, and by the way, Proxima Sales is in the market for a few more great employees. Yep, we're really fierce about offering real opportunities and hiring people who want to work with our team and have skills to bring. Feel free to apply by whatever means works best for you. Email me, Kate Parker, kate@proxima-sales.com, and I'll get you connected to the right people.

Needless to say we're an equal opportunity employer with great benefits, fair salary plus bonus compensation plans, and support for all sorts of diversity.

Brexit vote: The Only Certain Outcome is Uncertainty

After Brexit, The Only Certainty is Uncertainty

The United Kingdom’s vote to depart the European Union has shocked virtually every segment of the global economy and caused immediate, wild gyrations in financial and business markets across the planet.

First: Let’s admit that absolutely no one genuinely knows what will happen next. Proxima Sales reviews dozens of definitive news sources daily; from around the EU and the United Kingdom, as well as the American business media, very little is agreed upon by even the most authoritative voices.

Each and every constituency is trying to drill down through the uncertainty and figure out how the vote--much less the actual exit--would or could impact everything business touches. From currencies to tax and trade structures, to the rules and costs affecting operations outside the UK, to the daily realities of employing staff, business travel across borders, and exactly where and how operations can function effectively…uncertainty rules the day. Credit Suisse, in an immediate post-vote note, described the vote as “the most significant pullback to-date fromthe post-WWII consensus of closer integration and open trade.”

But this could still be merely a bad dream for the technology companies, enterprise software makers, professional services firms and start-ups that Proxima Sales sales teams represent in the US market. The very same Credit Suisse release features a flow-chart (included below) that sets forth a labyrinthine set of (phenomenally complex and confusing) potential political routes to this whole episode ending with the EU intact--with the UK’s special status perhaps revised, but in place.

Nothing in the chart offers relief from huge uncertainty or the pressing need for businesses, in the UK especially and elsewhere in the European Union, to have a plan for stability in place absolutely as soon as possible.

The timeline for the whole unraveling--should it take place at all--is completely unclear as well. EU leaders said, after the vote, that they preferred an immediate beginning to the exit of the UK and the myriad processes involved in accomplishing the withdrawal. That sounds fairly definitive.

But German chancellor Angela Merkel said over the weekend, “Great Britain has not put into motion this proposal, and also the agreement isn't finished." Her tone and comments suggest that she hopes that this leap into an abyss of Brexit uncertainty can be reversed. She continued, “Great Britain continues to be a full member of the EU with all rights and responsibilities.”

Our international teams at Proxima Sales are convinced that the German record--of holding sway on important EU matters--will likely be extended, making Chancellor Merkel very active in every way she can assist any UK party prepared to roll up their sleeves and reverse the exit.

In everything about to come after the Brexit vote, uncertainty is the only consensus.

Proxima Sales specializes in assisting companies with all aspects of sales and marketing, particularly in the US and Canadian markets. There has never been a better time for firms in Great Britain and in the European Union to establish a presence, and a pipeline of revenue in dollars, in the relatively predictable business climate of the United States. The US economy is stable, profitable and welcomes Proxima Sales European and UK-based client firms.

And yes, Proxima Sales is hiring. No matter where you live, if you have sales and marketing expertise, we may have a position for you. 

Brexit vote: The Only Certain Outcome is Uncertainty

After Brexit, The Only Certainty is Uncertainty

The United Kingdom’s vote to depart the European Union has shocked virtually every segment of the global economy and caused immediate, wild gyrations in financial and business markets across the planet.

First: Let’s admit that absolutely no one genuinely knows what will happen next. Proxima B2B reviews dozens of definitive news sources daily; from around the EU and the United Kingdom, as well as the American business media, very little is agreed upon by even the most authoritative voices.

Each and every constituency is trying to drill down through the uncertainty and figure out how the vote--much less the actual exit--would or could impact everything business touches. From currencies to tax and trade structures, to the rules and costs affecting operations outside the UK, to the daily realities of employing staff, business travel across borders, and exactly where and how operations can function effectively…uncertainty rules the day. Credit Suisse, in an immediate post-vote note, described the vote as “the most significant pullback to-date fromthe post-WWII consensus of closer integration and open trade.”

But this could still be merely a bad dream for the technology companies, enterprise software makers, professional services firms and start-ups that Proxima B2B sales teams represent in the US market. The very same Credit Suisse release features a flow-chart (included below) that sets forth a labyrinthine set of (phenomenally complex and confusing) potential political routes to this whole episode ending with the EU intact--with the UK’s special status perhaps revised, but in place.

Nothing in the chart offers relief from huge uncertainty or the pressing need for businesses, in the UK especially and elsewhere in the European Union, to have a plan for stability in place absolutely as soon as possible.

The timeline for the whole unraveling--should it take place at all--is completely unclear as well. EU leaders said, after the vote, that they preferred an immediate beginning to the exit of the UK and the myriad processes involved in accomplishing the withdrawal. That sounds fairly definitive.

But German chancellor Angela Merkel said over the weekend, “Great Britain has not put into motion this proposal, and also the agreement isn't finished." Her tone and comments suggest that she hopes that this leap into an abyss of Brexit uncertainty can be reversed. She continued, “Great Britain continues to be a full member of the EU with all rights and responsibilities.”

Our international teams at Proxima B2B and Northstar Services are convinced that the German record--of holding sway on important EU matters--will likely be extended, making Chancellor Merkel very active in every way she can assist any UK party prepared to roll up their sleeves and reverse the exit.

In everything about to come after the Brexit vote, uncertainty is the only consensus.

Proxima B2B specializes in assisting companies with all aspects of sales and marketing, particularly in the US and Canadian markets. There has never been a better time for firms in Great Britain and in the European Union to establish a presence, and a pipeline of revenue in dollars, in the relatively predictable business climate of the United States. The US economy is stable, profitable and welcomes Proxima B2B’s European and UK-based client firms.

And yes, Proxima B2B is hiring. No matter where you live, if you have sales and marketing expertise, we may have a position for you.

Proxima Sales Clients get Acquired.

Yes, we are hiring. Proxima Sales technology sales teams deliver sales outsourcing projects to growing tech companies that need to increase reach in the US market. 

What do all of these companies have in common?

They have been acquired in 2016. Some have been acquired to grab their talent. Some have been bought for their technology. A few have even been bought just to stop them from selling any more into the acquirer’s market space.

This list is huge. It features a lot of companies that in previous investment cycles would have been considered too small to be ready for acquisition. What made most of them attractive to the companies that bought them is that they HAD SALES.

In today’s fast turnaround invest, produce, or die, cycle, companies with revenue, real sales out in the market place are virtually irresistible to companies looking to acquire technology and talent yes, but also an immediate source of revenue.

There are plenty of Proxima Sales clients on this list. We congratulate them for their success. We know that the revenue we built helped you get noticed and we hope your next venture will give us another chance to work together.

It’s only first quarter. What sales numbers does your company need to hit to be on next quarter’s hot acquisition list?

Fall is for Hiring

Proxima Sales is hiring. Yes, we were hiring at the beginning of 2015 and we are hiring now. We are on the grow.

In between we've added eleven excellent people to our staff and congratulated one departing sales person on her adorable new twins (yes we begged her to work part-time but for now she wants to do the whole 24/7 sleep deprivation and posting the oh-so-adorblz photo of the hour on Facebook gig. Mazel Tov).

We're hiring because we're growing. Businesses are more aware than ever that sales matter. Brand new start-ups and veteran service firms need reliable revenue and a pipeline of new clients.

Some of our clients love sales and actively participate in every aspect of their revenue growth side-by-side with their Proxima Sales team. Others know that they have great talents and sales is not in the top three. Another group wants to focus on current clients and sees the Proxima Sales model as a great way to build new business without hiring more people and spending more time managing the people they don't want to hire. New product or service? We can laser beam in on the best prospects for the new offering and leave your current team committed to current customers. We probably already attend the conventions and industry conferences that our clients want and need to attend.

Did I mention we've got this cool new platform that makes our time more effective and is making everyone more money? Proxima Sales reviews resumes by hand so check out our website at Proxima-sales.com and then Shoot us a note at Kate@proxima-sales.com and tell Kate Parker about why you think you'd like working in our results = rewards environment and we'll chat. If you have the background and the quirky mix of industry experience and love of sales that Proxima Sales people share, we'll talk more and show you our new not-so-secret weapon. We promise the process won't be boring.

Proxima Sales company hiring people who want REAL balance.

News stories keep crossing my desk at Proxima Sales responding to the recent NYT piece on Amazon. The theme seems to be: "Here's our take on working our tech company staff to death: they like it." I'm pretty sure the authors of these essays can't hear the historically resonant tones of the pre-union-era (read wayyyy before unions) bosses saying that their immigrant, ethnic minority, and other under-class workers just love to work that hard.

All this glorification of how nicely workers are treated, while working for their entire careers with 24/7 availability to their employer, is just a bit too much to swallow.

The lovely CEO at VMware, Pat Gelsinger, is a good Christian guy who, back in the day, literally wrote the book on work-life balance. Today, he extolls in Business Insider the many ways that his company makes it easy to cheerfully work endlessly. He shows no signs of self-consciousness when he describes how easy they make it at VMware to bring your family on campus to share dinner with you AT WORK. He nearly broke an arm patting himself on the back for the annual Halloween family event. Recently, while salmon fishing at the mouth of the Columbia river with his son, he even found the off switch on his phone! (Pro tip: the Columbia is a nature-bats-last kind of river. If you think you can fish, take a call and survive the mighty Columbia rolling on....you just might be a tech CEO).

My intention is not to dun any particular company, or worse, blame the workers who go along with these arrangements. Nope. My intention is to invite you to apply to Proxima Sales. You will not be asked to be available 24/7. You will in fact be required to use your vacation, volunteer, family, and other leave time because we don't enjoy working with clinically exhausted martyrs. You'll make more money and have real time off. This value proposition is the very real reason that Proxima Sales has no trouble at all recruiting and retaining talent, in every department, that is far superior in skills and more experienced than our size should allow.

Will you ever take a call from a Proxima Sales client at 4pm on Christmas Eve? Maybe. I did last year, but Christmas isn't big at our house so I held phone duty for everyone on the team who was busy celebrating. Did one of our salespeople cut into her own vacation to onboard a new client who said their availability required it? Yes, she did. Will she do such a favor for that particular client again? That's another post.

We have no problem admitting that our distributed company, focused on building sales for our clients, is not a low-effort place to work. With genuine power to build your own schedule, we expect you to deliver phenomenal service to our clients and your co-workers when you're at work. We do not serve dinner so you'll need to arrange to eat with your family. Our bonus system rewards results rather than role-playing Mad Men, though, so if you have call reluctance, please continue avoiding the phone and don't call me.

If some of this sounds great, shoot me an email: kate@proxima-sales.com. If you think any of this was helpful or even slightly amusing, please join us so you can help share blogging duties.

Have we mentioned that we're hiring skilled, professional sales staff?

Recently, our partners have been brainstorming about options to present the value of working at Proxima Sales.

What we can promise is, we're not crazy. We won't assert a right to monitor your movements 24/7, through a required tracking app installed on your phone. We won't fire anyone who objects to being managed by a process of looking at location logs & criticizing time spent en route...and if your sales manager thinks that adds value, one of you isn't necessary.

Seriously, Intermex? Today's free sales management tip: Good salespeople won't accept salary plus ankle bracelet.