21
2015Death of a Salesman – Fact or Fiction?
No, this isn’t an article about Arthur Miller’s Pulitzer Prize winning play about Willy Loman. Instead, I want to address one of the three big myths that were debunked at the recent SiriusDecisions Sales and Marketing Summit last week in Nashville. They reported that popular metrics indicate that buyers are 57% of the way through their purchase process before they engage a sales rep. They…
22
2014Do You Provide a One-Size-Fits-All Approach?
Have you ever noticed that some organizations appear to have a one-size-fits-all approach to their: Customer’s Problems, Sales Campaigns, Marketing Campaigns and Collateral and Product Development? Why is that? Well, I believe that it is due to the lack of understanding of what their customers need. I believe that there is a lack of alignment between those sales, marketing and product development departments and their…
30
2014Talk about the Problem First, Not the Solution!
I happened to attend a round table discussion recently, that was put on by the Social Executive Council, hosted by Judy Mod, who is one of the Principals at Social Gastronomy. The discussion centered on today’s buying process, from the buyers’ perspective. The bottom line of the discussion was that the key to success for sales people and companies, trying to sell their products and…
05
2014The Blind Men, the Elephant, and Componentization of Content
I recently commented on a Sales Craft LinkedIn discussion in which Sharon Little with Appcelerator had the following discussion: Enablement and the Content Paradigm, and in her discussion she included an article that was written by Corey Sommers, VP of Business Development at WittyParrot. I was so impressed with what Corey wrote about that I contacted him and asked if I might use his article as…
02
2013How do you deal with the “I’m too busy” excuse?
Ever said or heard this: Sorry, I’m just too busy to consider taking on anything else right now! I’ve resurrected this article that was posted in early 2012 because it is one of the most sought after articles that I have posted, so I hope you enjoy it again. I’m sure that we all have seen similar cartoons that do a great job of exposing…
07
2013Success is 90% Preparation, 10% Perspiration
We’ve all heard the adage “Success is 90% preparation and only 10% perspiration”. The great scientist Louis Pasteur once said, “Chance favors the prepared mind”. This is an area that I believe needs to be addressed more effectively by sales people and the organizations they work for today. So, let me start by asking: Are your sales people as prepared and effective as they need…
20
2013Top 10 Reasons Why Your Marketing Team is Failing You and How To Fix Them
My good friend Michael Cannon, who is the CEO of the Silver Bullet Group (www.silverbulletgroup.com), is clearly one of the top people in the industry that I believe consistently has the inside track on what Marketing organizations can do to be more effective. With his permission, I am presenting his article and hope that you, too, will become a follower of Michael and the Silver Bullet…
08
2013Don’t Talk About Products, Instead Talk About Solutions!
In thinking about creating my latest blog, one of the things that came to mind was a credo that I actually have posted on my wall above my desk. The credo that I created goes like this: Think the way your Customer Thinks Look at yourself through your Customers’ Eyes Listen to yourself through your Customers’ Ears Speak in terms of what Matters to Them…
24
20124 steps to fixing your sales and marketing disconnect
Every CEO or business owner is painfully aware of the disconnect that often exists between marketing and sales. But, surprisingly, awareness doesn’t always lead to action. Even though aligning the efforts of the sales and marketing teams can lead to 25 percent higher quota attainment and a 20 percent increase in win rate, some 80 percent of companies admit that they have no formal strategy…