The team. Photo supplied

Pakuranga head student Meg Sutton has just returned from a trip to Australia to compete in the FISAF (Federation of International Sports, Aerobics & Fitness) Australian Nationals.

Her team represented New Zealand in the Aerobics Adult Open Division an amazing achievement, as four of the five members are still in high school.

Having qualified for the World Championships in the Netherlands in October 2017, Megs team decided to attend the Australian Nationals to gauge how they would fare against such stiff competition.

The Australians and Czechs are the best in the world,' said Meg, So we wanted to see if we had any chance against them before committing to the World Champs.

They competed against the top team from each of the Australian states and, phenomenally, they placed third to the delight of Meg and her teammates.

We were staggered! she said.

Just really shocked, you know. It was the best five days and we didnt know what to expect. It was just amazing to place against teams who were 25 and older.

The team now faces a tough decision regarding the World Championships.

We dont have any sponsorship, so we would have to fund it ourselves, said Meg.

Plus, most of us are doing NCEA exams this year, so going away in October is a big ask.

View post:

Aerobics success for Pakuranga student - Times - Times Online - Auckland

Doreen junior gymnast and Chirolife regular Brooke claimed a world championship title at the International Aerobics Championships held in Phoenix Arizona this month.

The 12-year-old and her Junior Aerodance team, proudly representing Australia, competed in the AeroDance category, which consisted of individuals, mixed pairs, trios and teams across different division.

In addition to coming home with a bunch of medals, the girls came back with a sense of pride having competed on the international stage and with memories that will last a lifetime.

Both Brooke and her sister Chloe, also an elite national level gymnast, train hard on a weekly basis in a way thats comparable to the gruelling training rosters of professional athletes.

The sporty sisters know just how important keeping their bodies in balance is, both for their posture and flexibility as well as for their mental strength.

Brooke and Chloe benefit from regular chiropractic care here at Chirolife under the care of Dr. Ian Deitch (Chiropractor).

On her recent achievement, Brooke remarked:

I could never have achieved the amazing result of being part of a World Championship winning team, without the help of Dr Ian!

We want to congratulate Brooke on her achievement and wish her all the best in future competitions.

Did you know? Aerobic gymnastics pairs technical execution and artistic choreography with pop music in a short routine.

Chiropractic care a great way to keep your body in balance so you can achieve gold in whatever you do!

About Chirolife: Chirolife is a chiropractic healthcare centre located in the Melbourne suburb of Rosanna. It is run by Dr. Ian Deitch (Chiropractor) who has over two decades of experience in providing a natural alternative to healthcare for the local community.

About The International Aerobics Championship: The championships is the founding organization for sportaerobics/aerobic gymnastics worldwide. This year they presented their 28th Annual International Aerobic Championship in Phoenix, July 29-August 2, 2017.

Read the original here:

Local Gymnast from Doreen Wins Aerobics World Championship - PRWire (press release)

"Attendance numbers at the pool continue to decline, resulting in decreased revenue from user fees to cover the pool's operation and maintenance costs and an increase in the amount needed to subsidize the cost of pool operations and maintenance," said Randy Distad, director of city parks and recreation.

Farmington Mayor Todd Larson said: "It is costing way too much to keep it open and each year there are three or four problems, so it is costing a fortune and it has outlived its life."

In 2013, the city conducted a facility maintenance study and an aquatic feasibility study that concluded the outdoor pool needed $1.2 million in improvements to address deficiencies. Those issues included mechanical equipment, a new filtration system, electrical service and updates to the pool deck, pool shell and bathhouse.

Five years ago, city staff alerted the council about the pool needing significant improvements within five years to continue to operate, Distad said.

In November 2016, a city recreational referendum narrowly was defeated by city taxpayers. If passed, a city pool would have been part of a $12.3 million waterpark complex and new recreational ball fields and other improvements.

Declining attendance

City pool revenues in 2015 were $71,120, and in 2016 pool revenues were $67,419.

Paid admission numbers showed a decline from 2014 to 2017. Total pool attendance numbers for the summer 2014 season was 10,118, and in 2017 attendance dropped to 7,026.

In 2014, the pool was open 72 days with an average daily attendance of 141. In 2015, the pool was open 69 days with an average daily attendance of 134. In 2016 the pool was open for 63 days with an average daily attendance of 136.

This summer, the pool was open 61 days and the reported average daily attendance was 115.

Group swim lessons showed to be 234 in 2014, and 127 signed up to take lessons in 2017. Private swim lessons were also on the decline; there were 33 private lessons in 2014, and only nine private lessons in 2017.

In the past four years, water aerobics classes showed greater participation with 52 signed in 2014 and that number rose to 92 swimmers signed up for water aerobics classes this past summer.

Punch card swimming admissions declined in the past four years, however. Those numbers went from 3,680 in 2014, down to 1,890 cards in 2017.

Pool closing

The second draft of the tentative 2018 Farmington city budget calls for the city pool to close, according to Robin Hanson, city finance director.

"The draft budget assumes the pool is closed in 2018, and the potential savings kept in the 2018 budget would go toward demolition, fill and reclamation of the pool and bathhouse areas," Hanson said at the Aug. 21 meeting.

The city pool is located inside Evergreen Knoll Park, so tentative plans are to demolish the pool and fill it in to offer more green space at the park, Larson said.

The mayor said he understands the community will be disappointed since the pool is still used by some families and the neighborhood.

Larson said this financial decision had to be made since the pool has outlived its life and does not make financial sense.

As a native to Farmington, Larson recalled swimming in the pool as a boy, and said his family enjoyed the city pool when his children were growing up.

"People need to also understand the pool probably lived 10 years past its lifespan and we have been running on Band-Aids for a long time," he said.

More here:

No-splash zone: Farmington city pool will not re-open next summer - Farmington Independent

Over the years, Robert Kushner has seen many obese patients get tripped up trying to keep pounds off because they rely on fast food, juggle too many tasks and dislike exercise.

So Kushner, an obesity expert, began helping patients plan diet and physical activity around their lifestyles and habits.

We dont necessarily put people on any specific diet; it really gets to what is their life, what are their struggles, he said. We believe obesity care cant be inconsistent with culture, family or how you lead your life.

He recently suggested that a patient split meals with his wife when they dined out, rather than each having large portions or avoiding restaurants entirely. When the man said he was uncomfortable sharing a meal with his wife when the couple was out with friends, Kushner said to do it anyway.

I said, Its a strategy that works whether youre with other people or not. ... Be assertive, said Kushner. I think people dont think about it because they just arent raised to share.

The patient kept track of the foods he was eating, learning to avoid larger portions and fattening dishes. He has lost 15 pounds in six months, cutting about 500 to 700 calories per day.

More than a third of U.S. adults are obese, according to a 2015 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Kushner, who directs the Center for Lifestyle Medicine at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, said he realized in the 1980s that obesity was a looming problem. He started combining diet, nutrition, exercise and behavioral changes into a plan for patients.

Since then, whats changed is the maturity of the area, understanding more about the effects of stress and sleep on body weight, and some of the behavioral-change techniques have expanded, he said.

In addition to promoting good sleep habits and stress management techniques such as meditation, Kushner and his colleagues suggest bariatric surgery for patients with a body mass index of 40 or more and for some who are less obese but who have medical problems such as Type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea and heart disease. They also recommend medication for patients with BMIs as low as 30 who have additional medical problems or have failed to lose weight despite lifestyle changes.

While studies havent generally proved that lifestyle changes are effective for weight loss, Kushner said patients often have trouble shedding pounds unless problems like stress are managed.

Kushners approach proposes gentler, moderate changes. Rather than tell patients to cut out every unhealthy food they love, Kushner suggests focusing on alternatives with higher fiber and water content but fewer calories. (Think beans, vegetables, salads, fruits, broth-based soups and whole grains such as oatmeal.)

For the couch potato who finds exercise overwhelming, Kushner advises walking for short periods, building up to three 10-minute brisk walks daily to boost your energy level and mood while you also burn calories.

He also suggests that dog owners walk their pet for 30 minutes daily rather than leave Fido in the back yard. Kushner found that dog-walking helped overweight and obese people lose weight in a study, and he wrote a book about it Fitness Unleashed!: A Dog and Owners Guide to Losing Weight and Gaining Health Together with veterinarian Marty Becker.

I call it an exercise machine on a leash, Kushner said. It is a way for people to think about moving their body around in a fun way.

Most of his patients lose about 10 percent of their body weight (some more than 20 percent) after six months and keep it off during the program, Kushner said.

Patients say they feel understood and more motivated as they are given personalized direction to make positive changes in their lifestyle, he said.

Kushner created a questionnaire to screen patients for traits that prevent weight loss such as eating whats convenient rather than planning healthy meals or having an all-or-nothing mentality traits that Kushner and colleagues found in a study to be strongly linked with obesity.

Once you take the quiz and know your factor type, I can personalize a plan to help you lose weight and keep it off, Kushner said.

Another way Kushner hopes to help patients tackle obesity is by teaching medical students about treating and preventing it. He found in a recent study that the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination was focusing much more on diagnosing and treating obesity-related illnesses, such as Type 2 diabetes and sleep apnea, than on how to counsel patients on diet, physical activity, behavior changes, the use of medications and bariatric surgery.

But Kushner said his approach isnt only about weight loss.

We know that as little as 5 to 10 percent weight loss will improve the health and well-being of individuals and can also improve blood sugar, blood pressure, the fats in your blood, arthritis or reflux symptoms, as well as your mood and energy level.

Read more

Changing your perspective about weight loss may change the outcome, too

A weight-loss expert changes his tune: Focus on enjoyment, not perfection

Weight loss, especially with surgery, tied to lower risk of heart failure

Originally posted here:
Losing weight gets personal: Combining diet and behavioral changes may help - Washington Post

A study suggests exercising on an empty stomach can in fact promote more favourable changes in body fat.

Research carried out by the University of Bath studied 10 overweight men by asking them to walk for 60 minutes at 60 per cent oxygen consumption, first on an empty stomach and then after eating a carbohydrate-rich breakfast.

Blood and fat tissue samples were then taken before and after exercise for analysis.

The researchers found two genes (PDK4 and HSL) increased when they walked on an empty stomach but decreased when they had eaten the carbohydrate-rich breakfast.

The rise in the genes suggests that exercising on an empty stomach burns fat as energy.

Previous research has supported this idea, but other studies on weight loss suggests eating breakfast is essential in shedding the pounds.

Milton Stokes, R.S., author of Flat Belly Diet! For Men, told Mens Fitness: Its like putting logs on a wood-burning stove. You need that initial input to get your metabolism going for the day.

The aim should be to intake around 400-600 calories within an hour of waking up.

Stokes advised focusing on protein, healthy fats and fibre, as these will leave dieters feeling fuller for longer.

There are a few meals to try in the morning that cover all of these ideals.

Jorge Cruise, author of The Belly Fat Cure, advised eggs with avocado/

He said: Avocados are nature's ideal fruit for weight loss. They replace sugar with appetite-curbing good fat."

If you prefer a quick shake, then choose one with whey protein.

David Grotto, R.D., author of 101 Foods That Could Save Your Life said: Whey is rich in branched chain amino acids, which stimulate muscle growth.

The more muscle you have, the greater the fat-burning capacity of your metabolism.

Finally, a simple yoghurt topped with fresh fruit to make it interesting and sprinkled with high-fibre cereal is another option.

See the original post:
Weight loss diet: Eating THIS before exercise could affect how your body burns fat - Express.co.uk

"Game of Thrones" star Emilia Clarke.Jordan Strauss/AP

Emilia Clarke may be fighting for power on "Game of Thrones" as Daenerys Targaryen, but she embraces her trainer and cookbook author James Duigan's approach to health and fitness.

Duigan, the author of "Clean and Lean for Life: The Cookbook," has been giving interviews recently that reveal how the mother of dragons stays in such great shape, as first spotted by The Daily Mail. Here's the approach he takes to keep her fit and make Emilia's kitchen "very happy."

In an interview with Whimm, Duigan advocates for sustainable and realistic healthy eating practices. "The only thing that works is balance," he said. "The minute you begin to weigh your food, count your kilojoules, or beat yourself up for going out for dinner, it's over."

He suggests not fighting your cravings and "making it a battle." Instead, he recommended ditching the diet mentality and focusing on what works for you and your body, a principle he highlights in his book.

Clarke credits it in an Instagram post: "Allow me to introduce the key to my very happy kitchen. This book. And this dude [that] wrote it."

Celebrities like Clarke are always traveling and have packed schedules. This isn't an excuse to not workout it's an opportunity to get creative. "This means that we need to tailor the training to be super-efficient as well as achievable anywhere in the world," Duigan said.

He recommends easy to pack gear like resistance bands when traveling. He's also a fan of lifting weights but notes that they aren't often available. That's when body weight movements requiring no equipment, like planks and push ups, come into play.

Duigan spoke with Healthista about how his workouts are designed to help the body feel good, not push people to injury like some other workout programs. "The pay off of exercise is to energize you and make you feel good, you don't want to be dragging yourself out of a class with a sore knee," he said.

"Let's just say for argument's sake someone wants to lose weight, the best way of doing that is focusing on your health and looking after your body, not punishing and working against it because your body will slow down and hold on."

Cooling down after a workout helps your body recover from your sweat session and allows your muscles to repair. This is often forgotten or pushed aside after finally completing your workout, but you shouldn't be so quick to do so.

"One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to not warm-down after a workout," Duigan said. "A cool down will help to gradually push the lactic acid out of the muscles, whilst allowing the blood to circulate throughout your body and carry important nutrients and oxygen to your muscles and cells and assisting in the growth and repair of muscles."

This tip speaks to Duigan's overall approach to health. Focusing on treating your body with kindness and compassion is refreshing compared to the hard core workouts and strict plans that have been popularized over the years. While this plan might be out of character for Daenerys, Clarke herself seems to be loving it.

View post:
Emilia Clarke's trainer reveals what she does to stay in such great shape - INSIDER

Sharing before and after pictures on Imgur, user clockworkindigo wrote: A lot of you have been asking about what I have done to lose the weight.

My biggest tip is to stop eating just because something tastes good.

For example if you are thinking about having ice cream, think about how you are benefiting from it.

In that case you are not benefiting and it will just make your job harder. Simple thoughts like that go a long way.

Going into specifics, he continued: Also try cutting out most of your carbs and drink lots of water (instead of soda or beer)!

I go to the gym four to five times a week and really pay attention to what I am eating. Eating my body weight in grams of protein, limiting carbs and more healthy fats.

His original post went viral, with hundreds of comments. He then shared an update nine months later and showed his impressive physique.

Explaining how he got such defined abs, he wrote: It is a very hard process and diet is a main factor in seeing good results.

For my cut I did Jim Stoppani's Shortcut to Shred. A six week program that has you doing cardio instead of resting.

This is one of the best feelings. You work so hard for this and to finally see it after the work it is so rewarding.

He also revealed he did not count calories to achieve his dream body, and said: I am doing this to show everyone what a real transformation looks like. I don't count my calories with an app, I estimate each day.

This is to show everyone that it IS possible to make a change for the better and that IT TAKES A LOT OF TIME! You have to be willing to put in the time and be PATIENT!!!

But clockworkindigo also revealed he finds it difficult to accept his size now and struggles with body image.

He shared: There are a lot of days where I will beat myself up and tell myself that I am not getting anywhere.

There are days when I think that I am still overweight and it destroys my confidence. It's very hard on someones mind to go from overweight to an average size.

The man has shared his weight loss story as it has been revealed what you eat before a work out can affect how the body burns fat.

Read more from the original source:
Weight loss: Man loses over three stone by swapping fizzy drinks for THIS - Express.co.uk

Sales performance

Constant change has always characterized the business world. Looking in the rear view mirror has never been a recommended strategy for determining future direction. However, from time to time the nature of the change takes on a different look. The scale and speed of the changes during these periods can truly be labeled disruptive. In the early 19th century the Industrial Revolution changed everything.

Lets fast forward to the present and ask the question are we now in such a period? If you are a VP of Sales, a sales manager or a salesperson, where you come down on this question will dramatically impact what you do as the future unfolds.

The folks at McKinsey answer the question in the affirmative in their recent book No Ordinary Disruption. The authors summarize their answer as follows: Today our world is undergoing a dramatic transition due to the confluence of four fundamental disruptive forces (urbanization, technology, aging population, and global connectivity) any of which would rank among the greatest changes the global economy has ever seen. Compared with the Industrial Revolution, we estimate that this transition is happening ten times faster and at 300 times the scale, and roughly 3,000 times the impact. Although we all know these disruptions are happening, most of us fail to comprehend their full magnitude and the second-order effects that will result.

In Sales, these forces will alter in a fundamental waywhat customers buy, how they buy, and what they are willing to pay for it. If you are on the sales side of the table, the resulting changes will produce a new set of winners and losers. To be on the right side of that binary choice, sales leaders must up the bar as to the acceptable standard for sales performance.

There are a number of looking glasses through which this reexamination can be viewed. Here, lets explore the notion that average is over from the perspective of the individual salesperson. What can they do given that superior performance is the new black?

The good news is there are more ways and means to accomplish this feat than ever before. Some suggestions: blogs (list of top rated sales blogs) work better than books and self-directed online training (Udacity, Udemy, edX, Coursea) can augment formal company-based training.

To support this idea sales leaders need to emphasize self-motivation both in terms of the selection and ongoing management of salespeople.

Here again there is good news. Today, there are more innovative sales training companies and the training is more customized and creative than ever before today sales training is being redefined and the new ideas are exciting and they actually work.

Sales leaders need to divorce from old notions like: the only time we can do sales training is at our national meeting or we trained all our people two years ago so were okay.

The good news exciting mobile-based coaching software is coming online to support coaching efforts so that coaching can be better, faster and cheaper than in times of yesteryear.

To support this idea sales leaders should put in place a rigorous talent management effort for their front-line sales managers. The development of a superior sales team will always be a bridge too far if the selection, training and retention of front-line sales managers is not a top priority.

If you found this post helpful, you might want to join the conversation and subscribe to theSales Training Connection.

2017 Sales Momentum LLC

Technorati Tags: biotech sales training, sales coaching, sales performance

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Sales Training Connection | Innovative Training Ideas Blog

Strategy

Learning organizations are under constant pressure to prove their value to the enterprise. And learning leaders must design budgets that deliver performance gains while being defensible and justifiable from a business standpoint.

This requires careful planning, a considered approach and a transparent process that illustrates exactly where and how they intend to spend company funds.

Before learning leaders can secure the funding needed to deliver on business objectives, they first need to make budget requests that are justifiable and defensible. The learning function must deliver performance gains and measurable ROI both of which require careful planning and a transparent process illustrating exactly where and how funds will be spent.

Dont just cross your fingers and hope the dollars come through take a more strategic approach to budgeting.

First and foremost, understand who ultimately controls the purse strings, what kinds of information they need and want to know and the optimal timeline for submitting budget requests. If the request involves an outside vendor firm, get ahead of the master services agreements approval process to avoid getting tripped up by red tape.

Additionally, lay a little political groundwork. Identify and court supportive business stakeholders who can champion your efforts. Where possible, tie your pitch to their own pet interests and priorities. Youre much likelier to get a sales training initiative funded if the vice president of sales is an active proponent of the project, for instance.

When discussing project proposals with business unit stakeholders, share cost information with them. Karen Freedman, vice president and manager of enterprise learning for FM Global, a large commercial and industrial property insurance company, recalled the time a stakeholder discussed a learning budget request with another business leader.

Freedman had previously made the case for training including insight into the cost so, lo and behold, the business leader defended the budget request and it eventually went through.

Its all about communication and relationships and making sure they understand what we do, she said. Dont wait until budget season to do that.

Do Your Research

Its tough to ask for money if you cant clearly articulate how it fits into the overarching learning strategy. Before building your budget, account for the various projects, deliverables and initiatives that are in progress and on the horizon along with their anticipated ROI.

Know whats happening elsewhere in the industry by reading research reports, benchmarking surveys and trade publications. This valuable intelligence can be used to provide context and support to frame your own budget requests.

Determine how much comparable organizations are spending on similar projects, what your project headcounts should be and what technological advancements are needed to remain competitive. Likewise, use industry data to compare your learning organization to high-achieving counterparts that you aspire to match and to determine alignment to accepted best practices and standards. If you do your research right, even assumptions and forward-looking guesswork will be rooted in reality.

Of course, it doesnt matter how well the budget is supported by evidence if stakeholders dont understand how the learning initiatives will deliver on the business case. Make sure that executive management sees the connection between L&D operations and corporate aims.

Learning organizations that have well-defined and carefully considered learning strategies aligned to enterprise goals and objectives are far likelier to achieve budget fulfillment.

The reason is obvious: Business leaders have a clear understanding of exactly what the funds will be used for and why it matters in the bigger picture.

Be able to explain in some detail the thinking and analysis behind each budget request. To this point, its critically important to have the right metrics and measurements in place ahead of time in order to clarify how the budget will ultimately add value back to the business.

Gregg Spratto, vice president of operations for the global customer service organization of California-based software company Autodesk, said when learning budgets are rejected, its often because the request was either too ambitious or the organizational payoff was unclear.

Pretty frequently, people go after too much budget right away, he said. Go after the low-hanging fruit first. Solve that show that ROI and say, If we can apply that technique across everything, here is the ROI we could get.

Illustrate the Alternatives

Theres the cost of training but theres also the cost of not training.

If your budget requests are indeed defensible and justified, then there will be a tangible negative impact if funding fails to come through. Lay out the implications of a funding shortfall, making informed projections where necessary. Aim to explain in measurable terms the ill effects of subpar training. That could mean estimating a dollar figure for a given customer service mishap or calculating the lost productivity of workers taking outdated and inefficient training.

Dont assume that business stakeholders fully understand these implications make them understand. Its up to you as a learning leader to make sure theyre working with a complete view of the situation.

In some cases such as compliance and regulatory matters, the cost of training may be dwarfed by potential penalties that could arise from poorly trained workers. For such mission-critical endeavors, it may be worthwhile to take a more heavy-handed approach.

Draft a risk assessment statement that details the knowledge and skills gaps that will persist if the training doesnt take place and the ensuing liabilities and business challenges that will result from inaction. Then insist key decision-makers sign it. Beyond documenting your efforts to get needed training funded, this bold tactic effectively forces stakeholders to personally accept the risks associated with not moving forward with training, which they may be reluctant to do.

Or they may stand by their decision. Executives making budget decisions likely have a more complete view of the organization, including goals, outlook and finances. Freedman advises learning leaders not to give up when a budget request is refused.

When a budget gets cut, it may not mean, No, we wont do that, Freedman said. It could just mean, Not now.

Tell a Story

When framing a budget request, craft a through-line: Start with the business problem, explain the identified solution, illustrate how the L&D initiative will achieve that solution and paint a picture of the desired end state. In other words, tell a story.

Every budget needs a story, Freedman said. Otherwise its just numbers on a page and people just want to cut the numbers.

There are two basic methods of building a budget. The first is top down, in which total categorical expenditures are given spending limits with costs divvied among line items. The second is bottom up, where departmental subunits and managers make allocation requests which are then totaled.

Both approaches have benefits and drawbacks, which is why its best to use one method to cross-check the other. If you choose to start from a top-down approach, apply real world hypotheticals to the numbers to make sure they are workable and plausible. If starting from the bottom up, compare the categorical totals to past years actual data, trimming the fat where possible and taking budget requests down from a dream scenario to a more realistic level.

Prove Your Successes with Metrics

An L&D organization that lacks an effective metrics and measurement program is going to have a difficult time proving its business value and that in turn means budget requests may not be taken seriously. Comprehensive learning metrics help L&D gain respect and trust from business leaders and it goes a long way toward getting talent development initiatives funded both now and in the future.

When establishing a metrics and measurement program, its critical to measure training ROI but also important to measure things like a learners intent to apply the training, transfer of knowledge and whether desired performance change is taking place.

Take a strategic approach to budgeting and make this the year your learning organization achieves its true business potential.

Gary Schafer is president of Caveo Learning, a consulting firm that delivers ROI-focused strategic learning and performance solutions. He can be reached ateditor@CLOmedia.com.

Tags: budget, budget planning, learning and development, learning budget

Read the original here:
Designing a Learning Budget You Can Defend - Chief Learning Officer

WALTHAM, Mass., Aug. 29, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Brainshark, Inc., delivering SaaS-based sales enablement and readiness solutions, today welcomed Colleen Honan as chief sales officer. In this role, Honan will lead sales team initiatives worldwide, as Brainshark continues to help new customers on their paths to better sales training, coaching and overall effectiveness.

Over the course of her 20-plus-year career, Honan has specialized in selling software and services that support the B2B sales community. She was most recently vice president of worldwidesales at SiriusDecisions, where she led the firm's business development, customer support, sales enablement, sponsorship and worldwide sales teams.During her nearly three-year tenure, SiriusDecisions saw rapid revenue growth and expansion globally. Previously, Honan also served as senior vice president of global sales and service for Avention.

"Colleen comes to us with a wealth of executive leadership knowledge, having had experience in almost every facet of the sales world," said Brainshark CEO Greg Flynn."We're thrilled to have such an accomplished and talented sales professional join our team, as we continue to move Brainshark into an exciting new era of innovation and growth."

Brainshark continues to build on its position as a leading innovator in the sales enablement technology space. Over the past few months, Brainshark has released a host of new product enhancements, won multiple industry awards, and publicly launched its research and innovation incubator, Brainshark Labs. The company welcomed more than 25 new customers in the second quarter of 2017, as more organizations choose Brainshark to effectively prepare their teams to reach new levels of sales productivity and results.

"Brainshark has shown tremendous momentum in the rapidly growing sales enablement software market, as companies crave new ways to improve sales effectiveness and achieve growth objectives," said Honan. "As a former Brainshark customer myself, I know first-hand the value it provides to sales organizations. I'm excited to join this team of passionate professionals and help Brainshark continue to cement its position as a market leader."

About Brainshark, Inc.Brainshark sales readiness software equips businesses with the training, coaching and content authoring capabilities to achieve sales mastery and outsell the competition. With Brainshark, companies can: prepare sales teams with on-demand training that accelerates onboarding and keeps reps up-to-speed; validate readiness with sales coaching that ensures reps master your message; and empower sales organizations with rich, dynamic content that can be created quickly and accessed anywhere. Thousands of companies including more than half of the Fortune 100 rely on Brainshark to identify and close performance gaps, and get better results from their sales enablement initiatives. Learn more atwww.brainshark.com.

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Brainshark, Inc.

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View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/colleen-honan-appointed-as-brainshark-chief-sales-officer-300510376.html

SOURCE Brainshark, Inc.

Originally posted here:
Colleen Honan Appointed as Brainshark Chief Sales Officer | 08/29 ... - Markets Insider