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