Are You Customer Centric in Words Only?
Ask a company executive if their organization is customer-centric and you will receive a resounding and emphatic “YES” followed by several concrete examples. Is this reality or fantasy? Customer-centricity can have different nuances of meaning. First, it can mean that an organization places the customer at the center of their universe and realizes that without […]
6 Common Complaints of Sales Professionals!
Sales professionals are a rare breed. Most are self-starters, personable, inquisitive, intuitive and passionate about their craft. They enjoy selling and revel when they are in contact with prospects or customers. They thrive on challenges and relish the benefits of being the CEO of their territory. The welcome the freedom to design a formula to […]
Crafting Good, Better, Best Value Statements
Consider for a moment the “life cycle” of a value proposition for a testing product in the pharmaceutical science area. It began (see the image below) with a very brief technical description. Then the product development group took a stab at writing a description. At the third stage, marketing got involved and the lipstick and […]
Are You RFP Ready?
For many of us the RFP is a way of doing business…but it is not without options. In this blog we will explore keys to developing a successful sales plan in an RFP process and how to connect with the buying organization’s underlying needs. The RFP process may be disruptive for even the most […]
Selling from the Third Platform: Challenges for the Sales Executive
The Pillars of Sales Transformation In November 2013 International Data Corporation (IDC) published a seminal article entitled “The 3rd Platform: Enabling Digital Transformation.” This white paper explored the confluence of four transformational technologies that serve as the foundation for the 3rd platform: cloud computing, social, Big Data and mobile. IDC pointed out that we have […]
Tools to Help the Seller Close the Complex Sale
There are many stumbling points in completing a complex sale—conducting effective meetings with senior executives, delivering compelling presentations, selling to committees and crafting messages that convey value. It comes as a complete surprise to us that after all the effort, planning and time devoted to the initial stages of the selling process that sellers […]
12 Ways to Make Sales Training Stick!
Every year organizations spend billions of dollars on training and professional development, yet there are still pundits that say “sales training doesn’t work.” Why is it that a sales training program works well for some organizations while others struggle to gain a measurable ROI? We have some answers. Ensure it’s the Right Solution – There […]
Lost & Found: Finding Who Cares & Who Pays
As buying processes become more complex, sellers find it increasingly difficult to identify all of the stakeholders and buying influences. There are two over-riding reasons. First, the seller never bothered to “map” the buying process in the target organization. Without that vital information, it’s difficult to appreciate how multi-layered a buying process can become. Often […]
Sales & Business Pet Peeves
We thought it was time for a little venting and levity. Sales is a tough profession and occasionally folks make it a lot harder than it needs to be. Here is a list of “pet peeves” that we have encountered recently. Several have been provided to us from colleagues we know and respect. Please add […]
Customer Retention: The Holy Grail of Sales!
Every sales executive and sales representative needs to make an annual revenue goal. It’s no secret that the easiest path to “making your number” is to keep your existing business and sell more to an existing account. Why? The easiest customer to sell to is one that already buys from you. Current accounts know your […]
