Late last week I received a red alert phone call from the SVP of Business Development of a large tech. company on the East Coast.  She had a real problem.  And need to arrive at an immediate solution.

A complex and significant enterprise deal she had been working on for months was in the final stages.  And all indicators pointed to her crossing the finish line victorious.  Value – check.  ROI validation – check.  Proof of concept – check.  Competitive differentiation – check.  Relationships – check plus.  Further, she was a veteran.  Had done her homework.  Delivered deep and meaningful insights related to business strategy and outcome opportunities that elevated the sense of urgency to expedite a decision and move into implementation/execution.  This was an expertly managed, collaborative sales cycle with a customer showing all signs of a desire to move forward.

Unfortunately, as is sometimes customary in late stage game changing deals, Executives who have been removed from the sales process enter to demonstrate commitment, reinforce value and/or personally offer up the requisite resourcing support.  Certainly C level face time can have a very favorable impact.  However, it can also adversely effect an outcome if the C suite doesn’t possess the requisite client facing acumen and commit to the preparedness necessary to impact the decision.  And that is exactly what happened.

I had a Sales Executive on the line who was frustrated and clearly feeling like  she “never should have allowed her CEO to enter into the conversations at this stage….things were right where she needed them and after the last meeting she now has experienced a setback, unsure whether or not she can recover.”

As we conducted our situational assessment it was readily apparent the CEO had made several missteps during the limited client interface that introduced new concerns around the decision.  Moreover the customer had lost some of the good feelings that were previously associated with the idea of this partnership.  And that shift in “feelings” or “instincts” were communicated by the customer post meeting by a sudden need to take a much closer inspection to a specific competitor.  Never a good sign. And we needed a game plan for this sales recovery mission.

As we began developing our approach/recovery plan to compete through the final phase of this sales cycle there was an overwhelming desire to communicate.  She wanted to pick up the phone. Have a personal review with  all of her key contacts.  Apologize to everyone and get the situation back on track.  She wanted to send e-mails.  Have conference calls.  She wanted the fix.  She considered eating deeply into her margins and discounting in lieu of a serious competitive threat to preserve the sale.  Ultimately we organized a course of action that was more directed and focused on moving the customer back to the shared vision of the outcome that my SVP was capable of delivering.  We did that 3 ways:

-By isolating the new issues relative to the decision, owning them and specifically making sure they were addressed.  How you deal with a misstep in the sales cycle says a lot about what kind of vendor partner you are going to be.  In large, complex, technical sales there are likely to be imperfections.  It was clearly in everyone’s best interest for the SVP of Sales to apologize, own any parts of the process that wasn’t managed properly, understand the new/key concerns specifically and address them head on to minimize their significance in the outcome.  Further, she needed to get back to owning the relationship.  She was a big part of the reason the company was going to buy and it was critical she emerge as the lead to drive the relationship forward.

-By reinforcing value. A new competitive threat did offer up another opportunity to discuss the clear and compelling advantages of this specific partnership in a side x side comparison and reinforce the outcomes.  Building out some customized communication around this and presenting it personally at the right time should prove to validate the business reasons behind doing business.  Absent the emotion, the logic make sense (although that isn’t necessarily how people buy) and we we have the opportunity to interject both back into the consideration.

-Give something first. And while that didn’t mean eating into her margins the idea that new concerns were understood and being met with some specific action will make the customer feel better about the partnership and go a long way to demonstrating the understanding, flexibility and value associated with doing business.  That is good partnering.

This cycle stalled but it’s still very recoverable if the next steps are managed properly.  This SVP of Sales is expert enough to seize this setback and treat it as yet another opportunity to demonstrate that she is truly going to bring the very best solution to bear on the business challenge.  And like all good sellers, she is going to make it all about the customer and build the shared vision of the experience and results in working together.

I like her chances.

Posted in Sales, Uncategorized

Would sales be easier if every call you made was to a prospective buyer who was aware of both you and your organization prior to talking?  Would it be easier to sell to qualified prospects reaching out to you with a direct inquiry?  What if you could turn virtually every cold call into a “warm call”?  Sales Nirvana?  Perhaps.

And it’s all very possible today with a shift in strategy and through the adoption of new tools and technology.

The blend of a traditional networking philosophy and technology integration can transform the opportunity to develop higher levels of awareness and more attention from your TAU (target account universe).  Social selling is all about being expertly informed and demonstrating value early in the sales cycle to achieve elevated interest specific to your product or solution.  While you cannot automate relationships, you can dramatically expedite quality introductions and knowledge transfer by leveraging a Web 2.0 selling platform. Consider:

How easy it for your customers to intersect with your BIG idea?

Are your channels alive with your very best new content?

Is your value proposition abundantly clear, compelling and so differentiated its worth considering a change?

Is it clear at “the moment of truth” why urgent action is required?

Are you leveraging quality assets early and often in the cycle to add value first?

Now, benchmark against your competition.

In Professional Selling YOU are the the brand, company and marketing strategy in the eyes of the marketplace.  A good foundational strategy will get you off the phone and in front of customers.

Building Sales Influence with your customer community make sales happen.

Posted in Sales, Uncategorized

Tags: Influence, Sales 2.0

Great relationships are resilient.  They ebb and flow.  Time passes.  But the most meaningful one’s can quickly come back to center.  I am lucky to have some real authentic relationships like that.  I count my friendship with Brian among them and that is why it was so great to catch up last night over dinner while he was passing through Minneapolis on business. Although the years had passed, last night it was like we hadn’t lost a step.  Lots of reminiscing, reflection and laughter.  And a few life lessons worth sharing.

Brian was my after college roommate.  We lived in Cincinnati, OH and were pretty inseparable.  Flag football, softball and basketball leagues, road trips and a few hazy weekends.  I encouraged Brian to ditch the accounting career and get into professional sales.  He did.  And became a raging success.  Sellers that are genuine, unselfish, and put other peoples needs ahead of their own have several legs up.  That’s Brian.  No surprise that today he is running his own growing/thriving media business.  He is one of those guys that makes success happen. Works real hard at it.  And success for him isn’t all about the business.  It’s about the balance.  He has a wonderful wife and 3 adorable children.  Success is fulfillment.  Its an approach.  A philosophy on life.  And that philosophy is his foundation to take great pleasure in the good and face up to the inevitable challenges that are part of living.

Brian had (and still does) the world in the palm of his hand.  Great life.  One of those guys that other people love to be around.  Centered.  You could call him lucky.  Or, realize he works hard to make his own luck.  But there was no luck in the medical news he received 3 months ago about the tumor on his brain that required immediate surgery.  There were great risks to that kind of surgery.  It was very delicate.  And he might not be the same.  But it was the only decision.  You could call that really unfair.  Say it just doesn’t make sense. Ask why?  Brian never did.

Last night he shared with me that getting the news was a real tough day.  His life changed.  He knew that.  And he gave himself 15 minutes – from the doctor’s office to his home to be angry, feel sorry for himself, ask why…..and when he pulled up into his driveway and prepared to walk into his house and see is family he turned on the switch to turning his approach and attitude into something positive.  The next couple weeks were all about about preparing for surgery.  The workouts to fine tune his body.  The education to prepare to deal with what might happen next.  The mind space to know this wasn’t his time – he had things left to accomplish.

He has brought that same attitude to his recovery.  The pain meds stayed in the hospital.  No drugs to dull his mind and numb his body to the reality of his recovery.  He was on the fast track – like he said to me last night, “I had a business to run, a family raise and a life to live”……the surgery was by all accounts a success.  He lost his hearing in his left ear which effects his balance but you’d never know it.  We were in a restaurant that was a bit noisy last night and I could see him sitting across from me laser focused on what I was saying.  Intense concentration.  I realized soon, he was reading my lips.  Adapting.  Adjusting.  Improvising.

He is back in the gym, back on the road and back to living the life he loves.  He shared with me how the experience has renewed important relationships for him.  Brought him closer to the people he loves.  How the worst situation is becoming a positive event.  He told me that he has gained so much from the whole experience.  Yes, he had to give up some things.  But he doesn’t take his new perspective for granted.

Brian is special.  So is his outlook on life.  But a big take away from last night was about his choices.  He could have complained, been angry at the world or felt sorry for himself.  Bad choice.  For himself.  For the people counting on him.  Choosing his attitude is part of his DNA.  But even he realizes it was a real conscious choice.  He is getting involved in patient advocacy now.  Wants to volunteer time to support others who are facing the same life altering obstacles.  I couldn’t imagine someone better equipped to offer that kind of coaching and counsel.

We also chatted a bit about fear and regret. What are the things that hold us back from doing the things we want in life?  Strong consensus that its better to take some calculated risks, to try, learn by doing…..to conquer those fears and come out on the other side.  It usually ends up being different then you might expect….but that is a whole lot better than always playing the safe move and living with regret.

Whatever comes your way, realize you have choices.  And even when its hard, its probably not brain surgery.  But when it is (or worse) we could all take a page from Brian’s playbook.  He has the approach and outlook nailed.  Its all about PERSPECTIVE.

Last night was a gift for me.  Thanks B.

Posted in Sales

Tags: Life, Success

Remember the movie, Meet the Parents?  Where Gaylord Faucker was hopelessly left outside his soon to be father in law’s magic circle of trust despite his every effort and very best of intentions. Once he was outside the circle it took quite the herculean effort to get back inside.

TRUST is a major issue in the workplace today.  Employee engagement has waned and the prevailing feeling in so many organizations can only be described as anxious and trapped.  It matters little whether the marketplace is talent rich, if the talent on the team isn’t aligned to the objectives and invested in the outcomes.  And invested just enough not to get fired doesn’t count.  I know a lot of passive jobs seekers, working and waiting for something better to come their way.

Sales and Marketing have a Circle of Trust with their customers.  So does Recruiting and Leadership with their employees. And trust and engagement are never higher than the moment someone says YES!  Once the big decision is made the trust should solidify and escalate into endearing loyalty and evangelism.  But it usually doesn’t.  The circle breaks down.

When interest is elevated and engagement is high its a violation if the ‘experience’ doesn’t meet the ‘expectation’.  Brands (and employer brands) that can deliver an experience, that exceed expectations consistently (exceed once and fail twice and you’ll drive people crazy and right into the hands of the competition) build loyalty and have the opportunity to drive evangelism.

Transparency and Authenticity are the new mandate.  You better BE what you SAY.  I read a great quote about this on the Edelman site last night.

“Audiences expect companies to interact with authenticity and transparency. Companies need engagement. Both will only achieve these if driven by compelling content that courts, plays and engages with credibility and professionalism. As Peter Whitehead wrote in the Financial Times, Web 2.0 is a world in which anyone can have a go at generating content; Web 3.0 is where professionals take the lead in shaping that content.  And those professionals are the production experts and the multichannel, multimedia engagement experts. A new world, needing a new marketing offer. It’s all for the taking.”

Content is everywhere.  Quality is another matter entirely.  And better communication inside and outside the company is imperative.  And experience is what really counts.

Authentic, Sincere, Transparent, Timely and Relevant Communication builds TRUST. With employees and customers.

How is your company doing?  Are they inside your circle?

Posted in Brand, Communications, Employee Engagement, Recruiting, Sales, Uncategorized

Tags: Trust

In professional sales the sellers are often taught to “find the pain”.  Uncover where they are really hurting.  Expose that.  Spend time there.  Dig into the pain.  Talk about the pain.  Ouch.  I’ve been through that sales training. Ouch again.

The problem with the pain is that its usually painfully obvious.  To the buyer.  To your competition.  Most people are aware of their most significant problems.  And most sellers selling in the pain zone sound like all the other sellers.  Not all that compelling or differentiated.  Eventually someone offers the lowest price to win the business. The other problem with pain is that it’s rather unpleasant.

There is a better way.  If you want to elevate the relationship, value proposition and potential, sell into the opportunity.  Not just what you solve, what is gained.  Not what you save, rather what is made.  Not what you fix, what is built.  Discover.  Innovate.  Deliver the new.  The best salespeople leverage their category expertise to understand and subsequently coach, counsel and help…..to get there you have to do your homework, ask great questions, listen.  Sellers are students first.  Then teachers.

The best sellers always serve…as guides on the journey.

Posted in Sales

Tags: Opportunity, Value Proposition

I’ve enjoyed the pretty active discussion in the Sales Management Association Group on LinkedIn in response to the post, “I am facing the problem when cold calling on how to handle the initial resistance:  I am not interested;  We already have a supplier;  I don’t have the budget.”  A number of the responses offer  helpful insights and would serve sales professionals in need of script/strategy updates to get more out of their outbound phone (cold calling) efforts.  I added my two cents:

The warm call concept is the right approach. There are many things that need to transpire before the call and live connect that can dramatically improve your opportunity to elevate interest. Most importantly, RESEARCH. Call with POV (point of view and position of value that is compelling and differentiated) based on thorough preparation – use the web and all of the available research tools to understand how/where your solution may benefit their specific situation. Have an example at the ready. And make your lead introduction all about them: ie. (I noticed in your recent press release; in conducting some web research I learned that). It shows insight, effort and prep work that most salespeople ignore. Cold calling is sometimes necessary, but truly one of the least effective and potentially most inefficient uses of a sales professionals time. VALUE based lead generation is the way to go. Educate your TAU (target account universe) and be the ‘go to’ resource to minimize the need to rely on calling strangers in the hope they answer the phone or return a call (we all know, they usually don’t). There is a new way.  A better way.  A ‘game plan’ for professional selling in the knowledge economy.

While cold calling may still be standard practice in some sales organizations, more progressive (and successful) sales organizations have realized that by creating value in their specified market segment, preparing more thoughtful and customized introductions and earning the reputation as experts in their category minimizes the reliance on spending the day leaving voice mails that won’t ever be returned.  When you’ve created value first and have a brand/reputation that precedes you the calls become warm (or HOT) and conversion ratio’s can skyrocket.

Posted in Sales