Monday, May 21, 2012
Three Minutes... 300% Improvement in Sales Results
For more than two decades we have helped executives like you quickly "close the gap" of improving the talent level of their sales population to produce better results.
We do this by using our proven methods, tools and best practices to leverage your scarce resources (time, people, capital, money).
Our focus is singular, to do whatever it takes to help you create and sustain a set of high performance sales behaviors.
Performance is "results divided by time". High performance sales cultures are constantly using us to find ways to improve their results while at the same time reducing the time it takes to produce them.
Need help accessing key decision-makers, accelerating close rates, increasing contract margins, or improving customer referrals... These are just a few of the things we do for our customers every day.
Give us just three minutes and we will show you how to get a 300% improvement in your current sales results. No games, gimmicks, tricks, or traps. Just straight forward proven and obvious common sense.
Time is money! Let us show you how we can make the most out of both for you. It's your call!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Just Like Everyone Else
I just got off the phone with one of my current clients. She is the COO of a large public entity in the midst of evaluating some vendors for medical coverage.
The conversation went like this. "Wendy, how did the Finalist sessions go?" Her response, "all four of them provided my team with an overwhelming amount of content with a totally underwhelming amount of impact!"
I paused and asked, "What went wrong?"
Wendy said, "their logos by default got them to our table, but they felt the need to spend the majority of their time reselling us on their credibility? To make matters worse, they talked about all of their capabilities without taking into consideration our business, our problems, our measures for success."
I replied to Wendy, "didn't you tell all of them what you expected?" Her reply, "I was very clear; connect what you offer to what matters most to us. As obvious as I thought my request was, all four venders failed. Now it feels like we're picking the best of the worst."
Are you thinking... Your team would have presented differently? That your team's presentation to Wendy would have been unique?
Guess what... Odds are very high (>90%) that you're unique, JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE.
Stand apart... Change your results by changing your dialogue...
The conversation went like this. "Wendy, how did the Finalist sessions go?" Her response, "all four of them provided my team with an overwhelming amount of content with a totally underwhelming amount of impact!"
I paused and asked, "What went wrong?"
Wendy said, "their logos by default got them to our table, but they felt the need to spend the majority of their time reselling us on their credibility? To make matters worse, they talked about all of their capabilities without taking into consideration our business, our problems, our measures for success."
I replied to Wendy, "didn't you tell all of them what you expected?" Her reply, "I was very clear; connect what you offer to what matters most to us. As obvious as I thought my request was, all four venders failed. Now it feels like we're picking the best of the worst."
Are you thinking... Your team would have presented differently? That your team's presentation to Wendy would have been unique?
Guess what... Odds are very high (>90%) that you're unique, JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE.
Stand apart... Change your results by changing your dialogue...
Friday, April 23, 2010
How do YOU create value for buyers?
Sellers are always being schooled on how to properly qualify by doing their homework up front, asking good questions, identifying and visiting the executive decision-maker, assuring there is budget, and a compelling event. Great. That makes you unique... just like everybody else.
Do you stand WITH your logo or in FRONT of it? Let's face it, if the logo on your business card is a prominent Fortune company, you can pretty much make an appointment and get in to a senior executive. (Assuming of course that your company hasn't blackened an eye there in the past!).
What if your logo isn't so recognizable? I once represented a start-up whose named sounded like an ice cream custard provider. Boy did I get some reactions! OUCH! How do you build value when you cannot rely on the logo? Answer: You build value in yourself.
Salespeople tend to forget or ignore the fact that there are many individuals who charge $350/hour for their advice. Consulting companies come to mind. How many of your customers would pay you $350/hour for your advice if they were asked? How many of you have been asked (after the sale was made) to become part of the day-to-day ongoing advisory council?
If we have heard anything this year we know that Web 2.0 buyers are dependent on social interactions more so than sales calls to make buying inquiries/decisions. Is anyone talking about you in social forums? As the number of face-to-face calls goes down (buyers are granting fewer meetings); the importance of creating value for the buyer once granted, has never been more critical.
Taking the time to build value for yourself and standing in FRONT of the logo will create differentiation beyond any sales process training espoused by so many sales managers today. Don't get me wrong, you need sales process to be able to forecast with confidence and effectively manage time and resources. However, there is more you can do to build your personal brand. How are you going to build yours so that the buyer would be willing to pay for YOU if asked?
Ask the person in the mirror.
Do you stand WITH your logo or in FRONT of it? Let's face it, if the logo on your business card is a prominent Fortune company, you can pretty much make an appointment and get in to a senior executive. (Assuming of course that your company hasn't blackened an eye there in the past!).
What if your logo isn't so recognizable? I once represented a start-up whose named sounded like an ice cream custard provider. Boy did I get some reactions! OUCH! How do you build value when you cannot rely on the logo? Answer: You build value in yourself.
Salespeople tend to forget or ignore the fact that there are many individuals who charge $350/hour for their advice. Consulting companies come to mind. How many of your customers would pay you $350/hour for your advice if they were asked? How many of you have been asked (after the sale was made) to become part of the day-to-day ongoing advisory council?
If we have heard anything this year we know that Web 2.0 buyers are dependent on social interactions more so than sales calls to make buying inquiries/decisions. Is anyone talking about you in social forums? As the number of face-to-face calls goes down (buyers are granting fewer meetings); the importance of creating value for the buyer once granted, has never been more critical.
Taking the time to build value for yourself and standing in FRONT of the logo will create differentiation beyond any sales process training espoused by so many sales managers today. Don't get me wrong, you need sales process to be able to forecast with confidence and effectively manage time and resources. However, there is more you can do to build your personal brand. How are you going to build yours so that the buyer would be willing to pay for YOU if asked?
Ask the person in the mirror.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Evangelize, Elevate and Eliminate... REALLY?
A read the following recently from a sales trainer on a social web site: "B2B sales organizations around the world are reporting extended sales cycles, declining win rates, and a growing number of apparently promising opportunities ending in "no decision". They see their prospect's budgets shrinking, more players involved in the decision making process, and increasingly risk-averse buying behavior. Could it be time to re-architect the B2B sales and marketing process?"
The author goes on to postulate: "... to be successful in this new world, B2B vendors - and particularly those who are offering innovative solutions or seeking to create new markets - are going to have to do three things particularly well: First, they will need to evangelize a better future for the markets and prospects they address, and to articulate a clear and compelling vision of the role that their organization intends to play in helping them achieve it. Next, they will have to elevate the prospect's need for their solution. Useful or important needs might help to get a vendor considered or evaluated, but only urgent needs will get them bought. Finally, they must systematically eliminate the common barriers to buying by taking pains to identify how and why their prospects choose to buy, and what they need to do to remove the roadblocks that might stand in their way."
Really? I mean REALLY? Is this a NEW idea?
Don't we all know that the cost of changing MUST be less than the cost of not changing?
Please share your insights as to HOW you are going about aligning what you sell with the priorities of the prospect/customer, how you are establishing success criteria so that the buyer knows how to measure success for the initiative and how you define what is required of Organizational, Operational, and Infrastructure executives to improve the odds of success.
The author goes on to postulate: "... to be successful in this new world, B2B vendors - and particularly those who are offering innovative solutions or seeking to create new markets - are going to have to do three things particularly well: First, they will need to evangelize a better future for the markets and prospects they address, and to articulate a clear and compelling vision of the role that their organization intends to play in helping them achieve it. Next, they will have to elevate the prospect's need for their solution. Useful or important needs might help to get a vendor considered or evaluated, but only urgent needs will get them bought. Finally, they must systematically eliminate the common barriers to buying by taking pains to identify how and why their prospects choose to buy, and what they need to do to remove the roadblocks that might stand in their way."
Really? I mean REALLY? Is this a NEW idea?
Don't we all know that the cost of changing MUST be less than the cost of not changing?
Please share your insights as to HOW you are going about aligning what you sell with the priorities of the prospect/customer, how you are establishing success criteria so that the buyer knows how to measure success for the initiative and how you define what is required of Organizational, Operational, and Infrastructure executives to improve the odds of success.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
"Change is good; you go first"!
These famous words were spoken by the cartoon character Dilbert by Scott Adams. The phrase suggests doubt. Doubt in the idea of change is often times rooted in our own self-imposed confinement of past experiences. These experiences (former collections of ideas and experiences) affects our ability to truly embrace change. Hence the natural corollary to our ability/inability to think outside the box.
Are humans incapable of original thought?
One of the main points of this idea is defining what an original thought is. All the time we come up with what we think is an original thought, yet this thought has come from somewhere. Humans cannot imagine something that excludes everything they have ever seen. Therefore, are we incapable of original thought? If we are incapable of original thought, is this one of the limiting factors on our advancement as a species?
Many would say that a song writer creating a new song is original. But is it? Is it not a collection of former lyrics/melodies/sounds/notes previously heard or played? Yes and No. The answer would really depend on whether we focus on the question around humans being incapable of original thought or whether we embrace the music and the smile it leaves in our heart.
And so it goes ... sometimes we let philosophy get in the way of change. We fail to take in as much "original thought" from every channel in order to improve and broaden our abilities and our senses. To "smell the flowers" as it were. To "hear the music". How much does this limit your potential?
So my message is: embrace change. Go first. Be a thought leader even when those thoughts are inevitably a compilation of everything you've done said and heard.
Who knows, it might just be perceived as original!
Are humans incapable of original thought?
One of the main points of this idea is defining what an original thought is. All the time we come up with what we think is an original thought, yet this thought has come from somewhere. Humans cannot imagine something that excludes everything they have ever seen. Therefore, are we incapable of original thought? If we are incapable of original thought, is this one of the limiting factors on our advancement as a species?
Many would say that a song writer creating a new song is original. But is it? Is it not a collection of former lyrics/melodies/sounds/notes previously heard or played? Yes and No. The answer would really depend on whether we focus on the question around humans being incapable of original thought or whether we embrace the music and the smile it leaves in our heart.
And so it goes ... sometimes we let philosophy get in the way of change. We fail to take in as much "original thought" from every channel in order to improve and broaden our abilities and our senses. To "smell the flowers" as it were. To "hear the music". How much does this limit your potential?
So my message is: embrace change. Go first. Be a thought leader even when those thoughts are inevitably a compilation of everything you've done said and heard.
Who knows, it might just be perceived as original!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Why CIOs Hate Sales People
... well, most of them... and how to turn this around!
Every day hundreds if not thousands of sales people try to get the attention of a CIO. Some succeed and others fail miserably. Gartner reports that for all the sales calls made on a CIO only 20% of the "ideas" get taken forward for "consideration". That's 1:5. Of those only 20% get funded. That's 1:5. Of that , only 20% deliver to the intended scope/time and resource projections. That's .8% success. Let me state it again; .8% success. What is a CIO to do?
The first think a CIO does is look internally to correct the problem. Why? Because few "vendors" provide anything beyond product insights. Sales people inherently want to be more relevant but in most cases, all they focus on is finding qualified prospects and selling their wares into an existing project. This behavior is fed by their sales managers who have a number to make. And so the story goes. CIOs know this behavior all too well. Sales people have done it to themselves.
In a recent Information Week article, BP's CIO spoke about the wake-up call (actually presentation) delivered by the an industry expert. "If BP did not change its trends, they would be out of business in 4-5 years". This is a $300B annual revenues company. Out of business?
Of the 500 senior managers who received this message, the CIO highlighted his top priority. First he brought IBM in to assess his talent. Result: 80% of his direct reports were replaced with more process-specific experts. Staff was reduced by 1000. Outside contractors went from 45% of staff to just 27%.
Next, each junior CIO was reorganized to report directly to the CIO with specific objectives; "Accountability No. 1 for those CIOs is that they're there to help deliver enablement through IT to drive new revenue and also for helping ensure they're driving standardized shared services to keep cost down".
The third piece to the puzzle was to reduce the number of suppliers (how does that make you feel?), Offer tiered services (price and performance), and move from one-time transformation to an ongoing effort.
Let's stop there. Turns out, this CIO is just like us.
What are you doing to:
1) Assess your talent
2) Gain better control of what is going on in the field
3) Reduce the number of suppliers (rogue sales approaches)
4) Offer differentiation, and
5) Offer yourself and sales teams a plan for ongoing transformation?
With these 5 steps, every sales person would gain early-on and ongoing access to a CIO by showing a better command of Business Acumen, process, sensitivity to cost containment and improving the odds of success for every major IT initiative.
Take our free Business Acumen assessment (20 minutes) at www.iSalesman.com and see how you rank against your peers.
Every day hundreds if not thousands of sales people try to get the attention of a CIO. Some succeed and others fail miserably. Gartner reports that for all the sales calls made on a CIO only 20% of the "ideas" get taken forward for "consideration". That's 1:5. Of those only 20% get funded. That's 1:5. Of that , only 20% deliver to the intended scope/time and resource projections. That's .8% success. Let me state it again; .8% success. What is a CIO to do?
The first think a CIO does is look internally to correct the problem. Why? Because few "vendors" provide anything beyond product insights. Sales people inherently want to be more relevant but in most cases, all they focus on is finding qualified prospects and selling their wares into an existing project. This behavior is fed by their sales managers who have a number to make. And so the story goes. CIOs know this behavior all too well. Sales people have done it to themselves.
In a recent Information Week article, BP's CIO spoke about the wake-up call (actually presentation) delivered by the an industry expert. "If BP did not change its trends, they would be out of business in 4-5 years". This is a $300B annual revenues company. Out of business?
Of the 500 senior managers who received this message, the CIO highlighted his top priority. First he brought IBM in to assess his talent. Result: 80% of his direct reports were replaced with more process-specific experts. Staff was reduced by 1000. Outside contractors went from 45% of staff to just 27%.
Next, each junior CIO was reorganized to report directly to the CIO with specific objectives; "Accountability No. 1 for those CIOs is that they're there to help deliver enablement through IT to drive new revenue and also for helping ensure they're driving standardized shared services to keep cost down".
The third piece to the puzzle was to reduce the number of suppliers (how does that make you feel?), Offer tiered services (price and performance), and move from one-time transformation to an ongoing effort.
Let's stop there. Turns out, this CIO is just like us.
What are you doing to:
1) Assess your talent
2) Gain better control of what is going on in the field
3) Reduce the number of suppliers (rogue sales approaches)
4) Offer differentiation, and
5) Offer yourself and sales teams a plan for ongoing transformation?
With these 5 steps, every sales person would gain early-on and ongoing access to a CIO by showing a better command of Business Acumen, process, sensitivity to cost containment and improving the odds of success for every major IT initiative.
Take our free Business Acumen assessment (20 minutes) at www.iSalesman.com and see how you rank against your peers.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Monetizing Sales and Marketing Investments
THE ENGAGEMENT PROCESS
Monetizing Investment in Sales and Marketing
More and more pressure is being placed on Demand Creation- both Sellers and Marketers- to generate qualified leads that hopefully lead to net new logos. Metrics are being gathered and analyzed to know how many leads were converted to a sale and everything in between on the sales "process" flowchart.
CSO Insights offers an annual research paper detailing industry averages for ratios such as leads-to-presentation, presentation-to-proposal, and proposal-to-close.
The industry is not at a loss for vendors peddling their sales and marketing automation wares. Suffice it to say that with CRM advancements, key activities can be tracked and measured. Except one. The Engagement Process.
In an article written by Tony Jaros, Sirius Decisions, he illuminates the "why not" around sales and marketing practices.
"Ask the engineers at General Electric how to manufacture jet engines, and you'll get a set of documents detailing a painstaking process followed by everyone with razor-like precision. Ask the software designers at Microsoft how they built Windows, and you'll get a hard-and-fast list of code provided in stepwise fashion. But ask these same companies the process they use to sell their jet engines, software or services, and you'll likely get as many different answers as people you ask."
While part of this may be true for some companies, over 93% lack a defined engagement process that can be taught, monitored, measured, and hold people accountable with full transparency.
Why not? Some say that a manager cannot be on every call with the rep and rationalize that the verbal debrief is effective.We call this subjective. Some say that selling has its own "style" and should not be disturbed by "scripted" or "canned" pitches. We couldn’t disagree more. Some say that every buyer is unique and requires slightly differing approaches and therefore intuition. We say intuition cannot be taught.
If your goal is to improve Demand Creation and Demand Monitoring in order to monetize investments and improve results, all the automation in the world will only report bad news from a flawed or non-existent Engagement Process.
Knowledge Advantage's Dimensions of Success Engagement Process will help your team "jet" to the top with the reliability and effectiveness of a GE Aircraft engine!
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