Bill Gibson Free Goal Setting Guide

Here’s how 28 Days to Better Selling Works:

1)    A daily task that you can easily implement to improve your sales and business
2)    A succinct daily lesson to help you make the improvement

By the end of the 28 days you will have looked at 28 ways to fine tune and improve your sales process and business.  The daily lessons will be in written, video or audio format and will take less than 10 minutes each to review.

Day1  The ABC’s of Targeting

Day 2 Targeting the Right Referral Sources

Day 3 Prospecting in Person

Day 4 Networking Strategy

Day 5 LinkedIn Prospecting

Day 6 Investigative Prospecting

Day 7 Lead Nurturing

Day 8 Don’t Be A Boring Salesperson

Day 9 Listening in Sales

Day 10 Needs Analysis in Sales Part 1

Day 11 Needs Analysis In Sales Part 2

Day 12 Twitter for Sales Part 1

Day 13 Twitter for Sales Part 2

Day 14 Keeping Commitments

Day 15 Selling Benefits and Results

Day 16 Preemptive Objection Handling

Day 17 Sell the Price Different Not The Total Cost

Day 18 Vital Signs

Day 19 Preparing For a Sales Call

Day 20 Team Selling

Day 21 Just Thinking About You

Day 22 Team Players Make Efficient Sellers

Day 23 Day of Rest, Chill Out and Reflect

Day 24 Influencing Top Level Decision Makers

Day 25 Key Skills and Strengths for Selling Intangibles

Day 26 Reducing Anxiety and Worry

Day 27 15 Ways to Close A Sale

Day 28 Operationalizing Your Sales Process

Want to Close Bigger Deals? Buy the Book:

Here it is:

Can You Use Social Media To Get International Sales For Your Business?

As a small business owner based in France targeting North American clients, social media makes good sense for me. And it works my business. Why? Because there are no significant barriers created by cultural differences between the social media I use and the people I connect with.

If you want use social media to develop your international business, there are two things you need to remember.

Sales Techniques

You will need to develop strong international sales negotiation techniques.

This comes with practice. But you must be willing to put in the personal effort needed to develop these skills.

Adapt Your Business

Have a look at the 5 different cultural scales outlined by Geert Hofstede:

· High versus Low Power Distance

· Individualism versus Collectivism

· Masculinity versus Femininity

· High versus Low Uncertainty Avoidance

· Long versus Short Term Orientation

What are these scales? They are an attempt to categorize and explain cultural differences.

I will not go into them here, but click through the link above. It is a very interesting table. You will see scores for a long list of countries for all 5 of these scales. And you can choose your country and another one to see how the two sets of cultural differences compare.

Although these 5 scales seem complex and they have their limitations, it is easy to understand why you need to approach people from different cultures differently.

And International Social Media?

Read the news and open your ears. Social media has hit the world everywhere. Here are a few points to remember:

· There are different social medial platforms in different countries

· What is popular in one country may not be popular in another one

· People use social media differently

It is not easy to get international social media statistics. And I am not sure I would even begin trying to get a comprehensive world vision of social media.

I suggest another approach…

Instead of taking on the whole planet, simply because social media is “free’:

· Keep your business in mind.

· Choose one country and jump into their social media environment.

Do not start with social media marketing. Instead:

· Start with social media networking

Get to know how people use social media in their country and then work on finding out how to adapt marketing your business in this new country.

There are some international social media networking scenarios where it is easy to create business relationships from a distance.

If you have any international social media stories to share, I would love to hear them. Please leave a comment below and tell me how you have used social media within part of your sales process.

Cindy King is a Cross-Cultural Marketer & International Sales Strategist based in France.  She uses her dual background in sales & marketing to help businesses improve their international sales conversion and develop country-specific international sales guides. Connect with her on Twitter @CindyKing

To Donate the the Vancouver Food Bank Click here or the image below. Every bit helps!

Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank

If you want to improve your sales and have been too busy to put a plan into place you’re not alone.

I have had many people in the sales community including sales professionals, senior executives and high tech entrepreneurs and bloggers who are all looking for ways to convert connections into long-term clients and relationships.

Their challenge is that most resources available are either one time training opportunities, or extensive and over whelming programs that are tough to implement. This program takes care of all of this.

The 28 Days to Better Selling program is completely free and is 100% content and 0% advertising or promotions. All content focused on helping you.

This concept was inspired by a 31 Days to Build a Better Blog program that Problogger.com put on for 12,000 other bloggers. As a participant it was very helpful for me. The concept is simple:

Here’s how 28 Days to Better Selling Works:

1) A daily task that you can easily implement to improve your sales and business
2) A succinct daily lesson to help you make the improvement

By the end of the 28 days you will have looked at 28 ways to fine tune and improve your sales process and business. The daily lessons will be in written, video or audio format and will take less than 10 minutes each to review.

To Register for the program please enter your e-mail address below:

Jay Levinson has sold over 20 million books on Guerrilla Marketing making him one of the top selling marketing authors in history. Following is a brief video interview I did with Jay on Guerrilla Marketing.

Number one Sociable! and it’s principles are needed right now by most of our collective clients.  If we waited a year to release it, and went the traditional book publisher route we would be hypocrites for saying “the rules of business have changed but we are going to write, distribute, market and roll-out our book basically the same it has been done for years.”  So we broke a bunch of rules, and we also set some big aggressive goals that are going to create some real momentum.

Here’s what Mack had to say:

Undoubtebdly you guys are both experts, but a book in 90 days? As a consumer I am a lot less interested in the book as it seems like something rushed. For you to write three books in a year is a great achievement but as a reader I would prefer one Excellent book in a year instead of three that were quickly banged out.  Maybe my assessment is wrong, I’d love to hear why. (Original comment here)

I would side with Seth Godin on this when he said:

Blogs have eliminated the reason for most business books to exist. If you can say it in three blog posts and reach more people, then waiting a year and putting in all that effort seems sort of pointless. The chances that your effort will be rewarded with income in proportion to the time you put in are pretty low. (See the full post at Seth Godin’s Blog)

In order to create ROI for the writer and be relevant to the reader the way books are written, marketed and revised must change. Here’s my full response via video (please weigh in and add comments, I really want to know what my readers feel about this subject):

I picked up my copy of Leadership Lessons of the Navy Seals today and it really got me thinking about how casual or loose most sales teams and organizations are. If I was to go into battle (so to speak) how many sales people that I know would I actually bring with me? Who could I count? Who can count on me?  Today’s podcast is about how sales management and sales professionals can learn from the leadership lessons of the Navy Seals.

Yesterday was the first day Stephen Jagger and I officially announced our new book Sociable! A book on how social media is turning sales and marketing up-side down.  We did a 30 minute presentation and 25 minute Q&A at the Massive Technology Show in Vancouver. (We will be in Toronto on May7th as well)  The feedback from the seminar was positive and the big question has been when is the book being released?

Based upon feedback from the publisher / printer we’re looking at early June as the soft launch of the book.  We will be announcing a series of events around the book in the coming weeks and how you can get advance copies for review.

If you want to be kept up to date on this you can get on our list here:

I have been working with the Academy of Learning for over a year to launch this program and it is now available through their network of 145 locations across Canada.

New Program Trains Sales Professionals Who Meet the Demands of Today’s Business World

Academy of Learning is pleased to announce the new Sales Professional Diploma program“ said Derek Hamill, President of LaunchLife International Inc., the franchisor of Academy of Learning. “Without sales there is no business. Academy of Learning wanted to deliver a first rate diploma program to guide and prepare graduates for top notch sales opportunities, and that’s what we did.

Academy of Learning, along with speaker, author and global entrepreneur, Shane Gibson, President of Knowledge Brokers International (KBI), designed the Sales Professional Diploma program with the goal to ensure that every student has the necessary sales knowledge and practical tools to succeed in a sales career.

This program is based upon KBI’s methodologies that have been implemented and used by leading business organizations such as SIEMENS, Old Mutual, The Certified Management Accountants of Canada, the Vancouver Board of Trade and dozens of manufacturers and leading financial services companies. Over 100,000 people in the last 10 years have attended KBI’s programs in Canada, USA, Southern Africa, South East Asia, the Middle East and South America.

This program will prepare graduates with the right skills to excel as a sales professional.

Some of the key courses and areas of focus in the program include: Principles of Selling, Business Presentations, Professional Selling, Business Negotiations & Contracts, and Business Law and Ethics. Graduates will be prepared with the right tools for lucrative sales careers in disciplines such as inside sales, outside sales, key account management, retail and large business to business sales careers. This program is ideal for individuals entering the workplace for the first time, re-entering the workplace, or current jobholders who want to upgrade or get formal recognition as a sales professional.

Labour conditions for the sales profession have remained consistent. Jobfutures.ca indicates that there is a broad variety of career opportunities in sales in fields such as advertising, wholesale, publications, hospitality, entertainment, travel, as well as in the telecommunication industry. Companies need to be competitive and that means having the right sales person who knows how to win accounts and maintain business relationships.

A labour analysis conducted by Academy of Learning shows sales positions are still key requirements in the workforce. Additional research relating specifically to the sales profession research found that:

• Graduates of sales related programs can expect a salary at a mid to slightly higher than average annual salary.
• The employment outlook in sales is at a good level for the coming year.
• The Globe and Mail newspaper stated that employers are having difficulty filling Sales Representatives positions.
• 72% of those with previous work experience found a job within one month of graduation.
• 45% of respondents in the Canadian Professional Sales Association study on “The State of the Sales Nation” stated that finding good sales people was very challenging.

According to Rob Simas, Director, Academic Division at LaunchLife International, “the labour market findings allowed us to develop a comprehensive and focused Sales Professional Diploma program, designed to meet the outcomes and objectives of program standards used by many of the community colleges, without sacrificing vocation and integrity.”

Mr. Simas concluded by saying, “We are pleased to provide a program to individuals looking for a well-rounded introduction to sales. We are confident that this program will open the door to entry-level positions within the exciting and rewarding field of sales.”

Contact the Academy of Learning ]]> http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/03/professional-sales-diploma-program-launched-in-partnership-with-the-academy-of-learning/feed/ 6 http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/03/sales-podcast-transactional-vs-relationship-focused-selling/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sales-podcast-transactional-vs-relationship-focused-selling http://www.closingbigger.net/2009/03/sales-podcast-transactional-vs-relationship-focused-selling/#comments Wed, 18 Mar 2009 22:33:37 +0000 Shane Gibson http://www.closingbigger.net/?p=306 Today’s podcast comes from a question submitted to me by Dave Macdonald via twitter (@davemacdonald).  Here’s what he asked: “What are some sound strategies to ensure that positive or negative momentum doesn’t result in purely transactional behaviour?”

It’s an interesting question. Falling into being transactional when things are going well or when things are not going well is a bad long term sales and business strategy.  Non-transactional selling is relationship based, focused, purposeful and customized for your client and market. I answered his question via podcast. If you have a sales question you want answered follow me on Twitter.

Here’s today’s podcast:

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If you could pull together your sales team for three hours, give them just three things to implement that would increase their efficiency by even 5% your Return on Investment over the next 90 days would be worth much more than the 3 hours they spent out of the field. In addition to this, I found the blog entry to be another one of many coaching versus training blog entries. Why can’t we all just get along?

Organizations that really have their sales performance strategy together will be driving forward with both training and coaching working synergistically. Each plays and important role in maintaining competitiveness, motivation and retaining star players. Have a listen to my rant on this topic:

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Your thoughts and feedback would be greatly appreciated

As a sales performance specialist, author, speaker, and someone who loves connecting people; I’m one of the biggest proponents of networking and socializing. Yes I’m referring to non-sterilized out from behind the computer connecting with real genuine people.  If that’s true then why defend social networking and social media? After all, most of my clients pay me to teach their people to teach them how to network, prospect, cold-call, present, handle objections, and then close the deal. I make money from promoting this way of doing business. I like this way of doing business, I’m good at it.

So why? Why defend or promote the medium?  I’m one of those people that is totally open to other people’s opinions, in fact rarely do I debate with or correct people, even if I feel they may be wrong. Unless of course what they’re talking about keeps them in an negative or unhealthy space, even more so if they’re affecting other people.

I have had several people forward me links to an article recently that I think presents a very one sided and one dimensional view of a very multi-dimensional tool and movement.  What I’m talking about is a recent article posted in The Register. It’s at best a one-sided article making an extreme interpretation of an article released in the journal of the British Institute of Biology this past February 2009.

The article in The Register blames social networking sites and social media including FaceBook, Linkedin, and Twitter for cancer, heart attacks, lupus, dementia and more.  Why not blame it for the recession as well? (The ironic thing is the article at the bottom encourages people to “share it on Facebook” or to “digg” it.)

There’s some really bad assumptions made. You can read the original article and the study (PDF) and judge for yourself.  Number one most of the data in the article and the studies cited were from studies conducted observing people for a period of years leading up to 1998! What a leap!

Connecting internet usage in 1998 prior to the advent of Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Blogging, Youtube, Skype, Google was practically an unknown entity.  The study that most of these extrapolations were based upon came at a time of dial-up, slow-broad-band, and Yahoo Chat!, I almost developed an ulcer myself just waiting for the java applet in Yahoo! Chat to load as my Windows OS and first generation Toshiba Satellite creaked and groaned in protest.

Digging up and using old data to condemn platforms that have only existed for less than 5 years is a stretch. In fact a new study that just came out in 2009 out of Taiwan cites that blogging, may make you happier. (Study via Andrew Devine on Twitter) Doctor Ben Goldacre in a recent blog entry shared several counter studies from well known scientists that refuted the Register article as well:

Many of them do not support Dr Sigman’s theory. These are the ones he completely ignores.

For example:

1. Caplan SE published a paper in 2007 entitled: “Relations among loneliness, social anxiety, and problematic Internet use.” Dr Sigman did not quote this paper in his article. Why not? “The results support the hypothesis that the relationship between loneliness and preference for online social interaction is spurious.”

2. Sum et al published a paper in 2008 with the title: “Internet use and loneliness in older adults“. Dr Sigman chose not to quote this paper. Why not? I don’t know, although it does contain the line “greater use of the Internet as a communication tool was associated with a lower level of social loneliness.”

3. Subrahmanyam et al published a paper in 2007 called “Adolescents on the net: Internet use and well-being.” It features the line “loneliness was not related to the total time spent online, nor to the time spent on e-mail”. Dr Sigman ignored it.

What is interesting is these studies are done in this decade, not in the 90′s.  Overall this in my opinion is just an opinion and people are entitled to them. The study was a jumble of other studies mashed together. We all know that statistics can be spun in any direction to support just about any conclusion.  Another good blog and retort of The Register article can be found here by Mind Hacks.

Here’s what’s most dangerous about buying into far reaching claims that sending your Granny a video over Facebook will kill her: It will keep you from enjoying all of the benefits that are attached to using these tools properley.

Anything used to excess is bad. Yes MacDonald’s, Beer, Sunlight, all will kill you if you use them to excess.  Social Media and Social Networking if used properly can help you break the ice and make connections with people in your community or across the globe.  Most people on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin who really jump in and use them (not dip their toe in the water and condemn it but actually try it) will have most likely attended events, had lunch, done business and even collaborated to help a charity using the tools.

These tools don’t replace networking, from my experience they leverage your networking efforts if you use them well.  Before people blamed the internet for anti-social teenagers they blamed Metallica and before that they blamed Bob Dylan (as I digress).

In their book “groundswell” Charlene Li of Forrester Research and Josh Bernoff (Published by Harvard Business Press) state that “this movement can’t be tamed.  It comes from from a thousand sources and washes over traditional businesses like a flood.  And like a flood, it can’t be stopped in any one place.  Often it can’t be stopped at all. This is the movement we call a groundswell. And while you can’t stop it, you can understand it. You can not only live with it: you can thrive in it.”

Maybe people are just afraid.

I personally think I will stick with Forrester Research and Harvard for my data on the benefits of Social Media and Social Networking. Let’s bring this back to the beginning though; I love people, I love networking and building relationships, I make money teaching other people how to do that. I like these technologies because they can accelerate that process. I suggest that you do both, not one or the other.

Criticizing Twitter and saying it’s unhealthy is like saying “hammers are bad,” yes it’s true they have been misused, been responsible for many broken thumbnails, even murder. A hammer is just a tool, it’s how you use it.  Don’t fall in love with any of these tools. Use them to enhance your effectiveness.  I have met no less than 300 people face to face in that past 6 months that I first met through Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin or Meetup. The founder of Builddirect.com Jeff Booth originally connected with me after reading this blog. Jeff and I see each other every week now in person, and we follow each other on Twitter.  How is that unhealthy?

I would really like to hear readers thoughts on this and any stats for or against my opinion.

As they say in Nova Scotia SOCIABLE!

Networking Interruptus. Here is a very typical networking situation: Sam and Salima are talking and someone comes over, interrupts, and proceeds to talk only to Sam. You can picture Salima’s expression! What should have happened? Let’s start by saying that sometimes you do have to squeeze into the conversation. But barging in and completely ignoring the other person is not how to do it. Instead, the person should have entered the conversation by saying “Sorry to interrupt, but do you mind if I just have a quick word with Sam?” The interrupter should then remember to keep the circle open so Salima is not left hovering. Most conversations aren’t ‘spy-worthy’ so everyone can be included. Besides, if it is highly personal it really shouldn’t be discussed at a networking event.

– Darcy, Gayle and Judy

Got a great networking tip? Share it with us at: info@workthepond.com We are giving away a copy of the audio version of Work The Pond! for the best one!

This podcast talks about the difference between certification and qualification. It also talks about how we may want to select and mentor or coach in the future. If you like what I have to say or you disagree please comment, I would like your feedback.

I’ve heard many people (including myself) talk about the fact that the rules of business have changed.  In sales and marketing this is true.

What’s interesting is that the rules of leadership are universal. Offline and online networking and building social capital follow a very similar strategy. Today’s podcast addresses this challenge and opportunity.

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Thank-you to Split Mango (Ubertor and WordPress Specialists) for editing the CSS and PHP for this quiz to make it legible and functioning!

Careers in High-Tech and Web-Based Industries

For every successful technology company there are dozens that fail and leave behind an array of lost promises, disappointed investors, and stressed former employees.  This sector offers a highly engaging, and potentially lucrative career in sales. With that in mind, we must be willing to ask some hard questions about the company we are going to potentially work with.
The following are examples of questions and topics we need to address when seeking out potential employers:

1.    What is the basis for their technology? Do they have something proprietary or innovative that will allow me to build up a client base? Will this technology give us a sustained competitive advantage?  Or are we just another “me too” technology that can eventually be built better and cheaper by some other company?

2.    Is this technology proven, scalable, and have a track record? Many organizations make grand claims about their latest invention but cannot back it up. Remember, when you are out prospecting, presenting, and visiting potential clients, you are going to get some hard questions. Make sure there is something of substance that you can sell.

3.    Does the company have a solid infrastructure, quality control, technical standards, and sufficient resources for customer support? Too many start-ups lack this infrastructure and back-office support. What occurs is as we land larger clients and sell multiple instances of our software or solution, and the production side of the company fails to keep up. This results in delayed projects, poor customer service, and loss of clients, market share, and opportunity.  Make sure the company you work for has those key systems in place.

4.    Does the company have a proven executive team? Leadership and the personal motivation and drive of key executives are very important, especially in the initial stages of business growth. Has the CEO surrounded themselves with intelligent, competent division heads, or have they surrounded themselves with an entourage of “yes” people?

5.    One of the most important questions is: “Is this solution a cure to a pain or a problem?” If it is, creating a business case for people to buy it will be achievable. If it is one of the many technologies with no real market demand (i.e. just another interesting technology tool) it is not going to be a priority purchase for anyone.

6.    Does the company and solution have a defined, accessible market? If the target market is difficult to reach or is ambiguous, much of our initial tenure at the company will not be spent selling, it will be spent trying to define the market and through trial and error, learning how to access it. This is not a formula for large commissions.

7.    Does the company equip the sales staff with the right marketing and collateral materials as well as tools necessary to sell the solution? In addition to this, do they have a well-defined and potentially lucrative compensation plan that will reward me for my efforts?

If you find it hard to answer positively about one or more of these questions the reality is you’re probably not being offered a sales job of real substance in web or high tech based industries.

I know of several sales people who’s resume’s are full of 3 or 6 month stints at half a dozen of these companies. The time frame makes them look like flakey employees who can’t commit or be loyal. The reality is they were great sales people who worked for companies of no substance.

- Shane Gibson

Following are the five key elements of Operationalizing sales:

1.    Tools

In order to operationalize our sales process and achieve our goals we will need the right tools to get the job done.  These tools include everything from electronic devices, research tools, business cards, marketing materials, software, and accounting and billing tools to name a few.  It is important to be aware of the core tools needed to effectively execute the plan.

2.    Measurement

What gets measured gets improved.  Without measurement there is no feedback, positive or negative, regarding our progress.  A goal helps us push ourselves in positive ways and fuels improvement, motivation, self-esteem and team spirit.

What gets measured gets improved.  Without measurement there is no feedback, positive or negative, regarding our progress.  A goal helps us push ourselves in positive ways and fuels improvement, motivation, self-esteem and team spirit.

3.    Processes and Knowledge

Once you have a goal, a measurement process, and the right tools needed to identify the process to follow, you can identify any knowledge or skill gaps that may affect progress.  Being a master at sales is a process of constant improvement, self awareness and personal growth.

4.    Maximize Selling Time

Your end goal is to build solid client relationships that result in sizeable amounts of revenue.  Using this as a core goal, we can  maximize the time spent doing the things that move us toward that goal.  Many sales people have failed because they became experts at paperwork, staff meetings, research, and a myriad of other activities that have very little to do with closing the deal or building relationships with the right clients.

Sales professionals need to have a process that supports the core goal and the courage to fight for the time needed to do these things.  This process is about delegating, automating or deleting these activities from our life that are not harmonious with our goals.

5.    Support and Accountability Structure

“One is too few a number to achieve greatness” – John Maxwell.

John Maxwell, leadership expert says it well in this quote.  We need a team to help us reach our goals; many of us will do more for other people than we would do for ourselves.  Having a set of checks and balances and a manager, coach, mentor or peer that holds us accountable is a key ingredient in driving sales results.

- Shane Gibson

Enjoy:

People and companies do not generally seek out technology; they seek out solutions to their pains or positive emotional states. Technology for the sake of technology is not a great marketing strategy. When our clients purchase from us, they are really buying outcomes, feelings, results, and solutions.

Too often those involved in the high-tech sector bury their prospects in endless streams of jargon, highly technical diagrams, and gratuitous numbers of acronyms. These terms and over-complicated descriptions often confuse the client, clouding the core benefits and failing to answer the basic questions: “What’s in it for me?” and “What’s unique about this solution?”

Some of the most effective sales professionals who sell these types of solutions are good at taking complex solutions and communicating their benefits in very powerful but non-technical terms.
The following example is a technically filled pitch for web development and marketing that contains a lot of unnecessary jargon:

Example #1: Technical Jargon

I would suggest that when we build your site that we use an open source CMS that has a WYSIWYJG editor built in. Drupal would suffice, in fact it is also very SEO friendly and can be formatted to have an RSS feed for each page. This will be important when we’re trying build you back links, as back links are an important part of the Google page rank algorithm.

This description really misses any opportunity to talk about value. It simply rattles off multiple technical terms. In this example, the salesperson most likely thinks they sound like an authority when what they are really doing is potentially excluding the prospect in the process.

The following example is a benefit-oriented pitch for web development and marketing:

Example #2: Benefit-Oriented

You said that you would be frequently updating your website and that you wanted to save as much money on doing the updates as possible by reducing the need for a web developer in the future. My suggestion is that we us a CMS called Drupal with a WYSIWYG editor.  The site will be constructed in a way that search engines like Google will give it a higher ranking on search results than some of your competitor’s sites. This will of course result in more traffic and business for you.

Drupal is free software that requires no on-going fees to be paid. A CMS is a Content Management System which basically allows you to make changes to the look and feel of your website, and even where information appears on your site without having to do a lot of expensive redesign.  A WYSIWG editor stands for “What You See Is What You Get” and what it allows you to do, without any additional software or understanding of programming, is to log into your site and access a page that looks much like a Microsoft Word document. From there you can create new pages and edit existing ones without the assistance of a technical guru.

This example takes and expands the technical terms, educating the client in an inclusive manner, and focusing on the core outcomes, results, and benefits of using the technology.  The bottom-line is when we talk over people’s heads, use jargon and lack empathy we don’t get the deal.  Keep it simple, include the client in the process, and position yourself as a resource and a coach.

One sector that often comprises both intangible and complex sales is the high-tech sector. Many of the solutions are literally invisible—they run in the background and the majority of people are oblivious that they even exist.

Saying that someone is in the high-tech sector or industry is somewhat ambiguous in this era, as most organizations harness technology to make their businesses run. Everything from engineering solutions, to cars, cell phones, and legal services use technology as part of their offerings to the marketplace. So even if you do not consider yourself to be “in technology,” you will most likely be selling solutions that involve technology now or in the future.

Communicating the Benefits of Technology to Different Types of Buyers

We have to realize that there are often many types of people that are involved in the procurement of high tech solutions. For instance, if you were selling Customer Relations Management software implementation to a client, the following buyers may be involved in the decision making and evaluation process:

•    The CEO
•    Finance/Accounting
•    The sales staff who will use the software
•    The VP of Sales
•    The training department that will insure use and implementation
•    The IT department or team who will have integrate and support it once it is installed

Each of the buyers or contributors will need to have the solution communicated differently:

•    The CEO will most likely want to know the big picture, the bottom-line and how the  return on investment will be measured. They will not want to get bogged down in details and specifics and should not be asked questions related to those specifics.
•    Finance and accounting will be concerned about capital costs, warrantees, process management, risk and on-going fees.
•    The sales staff will want to know how to use it, how it will impact their ability to do their job, and the amount of  control others will have over them.
•    The VP of Sales and the training department will want to know about measurement, implementation, tracking tools, and how it will impact their ability to support the sales team.
•    The IT department will want to know specifics on programming, quality assurance issues, debugging, scalability, programming language security, and a myriad of other technical issues.

Most people are comfortable communicating with one or two of these types of stakeholder groups. Great salespeople in this sector have a strategy to address the needs of each of these groups, and they communicate the benefits in a way that is unique and applicable to each buyer type.

In addition to this, there are several other important attributes relating to great high-tech sales professionals as follows:

Knowing the Market

Understanding our target market and niche is critical. We need to understand the unique circumstances, competitive environment, and business processes of our target market.  In doing this research and preparation, we are better equipped to address the needs of our target market and identify what core business challenges our technology can address.

Knowing the Client

We need to go beyond the market and spend time getting to understand each individual corporation’s situation and circumstance. Each client will have unique business challenges and processes that need the support of technology in a customized way.

Factors that will affect the type of solution needed will vary depending on their stage of business growth, existing business processes, corporate goals, immediate and long term challenges, as well as management and operations philosophy.

Know All Applications and Limitations of Your Solution

In order to fully service the client and become a true resource and problem solver, we must understand all the applications of our products and services. In addition to this, it is imperative that we also understand our weaknesses and limitations.

At times clients have un-reasonable or un-defined expectations—by understanding our limitations and communicating them effectively we can dispel any misconceptions.
Why this is important is that a small misunderstanding early on could result in a largely off-target project or solution. On the positive side of course, by knowing all of the applications of our solution we make sure that we truly maximize revenues and client satisfaction.

Be a Problem Solver

This is an integral part of selling technology. Most new technologies evolve out of a client problem for which there is no solution.

Have Great Consulting Skills

Elevating ourselves from the status of order taker to trusted advisor can give us a real advantage in the marketplace. To be seen as a consultant, we need to have a thorough needs analysis approach, build our profile as a subject matter expert, have a high level of rapport with the potential clients, and look for ideal solutions—not just “our solution” to client problems.

Great Project Planning and Management Skills

Many large high-tech sales deals will require numerous people on our team to help us close the sale. There most likely will be a need to engage technical and support staff and then coordinate their interaction with key staff in our client company. Once we have the deal, there will be a need to continue to monitor these interactions to ensure that the promises we made to the client are in fact fulfilled.

Risks:

Not Targeting
If we do not have a clear idea of who our ideal clients are (referred to as A’s or the 20 percent that bring us 80 percent of our revenues) then we can be spending a lot time prospecting the wrong companies and opportunities. It is often a large effort just to get in the door and if we are knocking on the wrong doors, it can be costly.

Not Managing Pipeline
Being organized with a clear game plan is imperative as there are so many details and variables in a complex sale the deal can easily get side-tracked. By being organized in our sales process and managing our pipeline, we can reduce the chance of losing the deal due to apathy or distraction.

Not Knowing the Buying Process
We need to really understand how the client assesses potential suppliers and what process they use to do so. Too often we push our own agenda at our own demise.  Spending time probing, asking questions, and researching is critical in helping us understand the likelihood of landing a deal. It also ensures that we do not miss critical pieces of information and steps that are important to the prospect.

Taking the Wrong Advice

We need to gather information from multiple sources to make sure that our approach is in line with the values of the key decision makers. If someone is blocking your access to the internal network of your client company, and all the information comes from that source, there is a good chance that your proposal will miss the mark.  Take advice and gather information from people without personal agendas.

Not Having a Bid Qualification Process
Just because a big company sends you a Request for Proposal (RFP) it does not mean you should apply. Many companies have failed because they won the wrong contract and went bankrupt trying to service a large client and/or one with unique and expensive specifications.

As big complex deal hunters, we need to know what a profitable deal looks like. More importantly, we need to know how we could lose money or burn up time on deals that are a misfit.

About Mike Desjardins:

Mike is a graduate of UBC’s Sauder School of Business with a specialization in Marketing. Immediately prior to joining ViRTUS as the “Driver,” Mike was the President of Purity Water Treatment Products, a company which manufacturers and distributes hot tub and pool treatment products throughout North America with offices in Surrey, Oakville, and San Diego. Under Mike’s direction, Purity became the only Canadian based chemical company to have its entire product line registered for sale in the US, distributing to twenty-nine states.

Mike is a health and wellness fanatic, an avid downhill skier, beach volleyball player, and motorcycle enthusiast. His energy and enthusiasm are matched well to his desire to build relationships and help connect the right people together in his ever-expanding network.

Mike’s role as the Driver is to focus on strategy, growth, day-to-day operations, and the quest to continually improve every aspect of the experience customers have with ViRTUS.

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• Ian Watt of http://www.ianwatt.ca posted a video review of yesterday”s Seminar I did for the Vancouver Board of Trade on Selling and Succeeding in Turbulent Economic Times.
• Vinetta Peek Vice President of Marketing and Communications for the Certified Management Accountants shares her thoughts on the event as well.

Ian’s Video:

Shane Gibson Selling and Succeeding in Turbulent Economic Times from Ian Watt Vancouver Condo on Vimeo.

Vinetta Peek’s review of the event:

On behalf of the Certified Management Accountants of British Columbia – I wanted to let you know how pleased we were to participate and sponsor your event yesterday with the Vancouver Board of Trade.

Selling and Succeeding in Turbulent Economic Times is definitely something any company who wants to survive the upcoming Economic Storm, needs to focus on – and your presentation went into great depth as to how to focus on those positive opportunities – which will ultimately result in growth vs. decline.

In talking to some of your guests after the event, the comments were extremely positive: in the information you provided, your great sense of humour – which makes learning enjoyable, and the overall positive benefit to them attending the event.

I look forward to attending more of your seminars in the future – as I find them refreshing and relevant to the challenges businesses face each day.

Vinetta Peek, CMA (Hon.) Vice President, Marketing and Communications CMA Canada – British Columbia Suite 1055, Two Bentall Centre 555 Burrard Street, Box 269 Vancouver, BC V7X 1M8 1-800-663-9646 ext. 7003 | Fax: (604) 687-6688 or 1-800-663-8715 Website: www.cmabc.com

cmabcjobs.com – The exclusive job site of the Certified Management Accountants of BC!
BC’s Best Employers, BC’s Brightest Students & Graduates, BC’s Top CMAs.
We encourage you to visit this new site often as job postings and resumes are added on a continual basis.
Visit www.cmabcjobs.com today!

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Managers’ Toolbox

Speaker:	Shane Gibson, President (North America), Knowledge Brokers International Systems Ltd.
Topic:	SELLING AND SUCCEEDING IN TURBULENT ECONOMIC TIMES
	Many sales professionals and entrepreneurs are concerned about how they are going to weather today’s global financial storm. The rules of the game have changed with the meltdown in the banking sector, along with globalization and the introduction of disruptive technologies to almost every industry. Succeeding in turbulent economic times is about proactively taking control of our own personal economy. Shane Gibson, president of Knowledge Brokers International, will share with you strategies to succeed in any economic condition. Fortunes have been made during times of change and economic downturn; sales people and entrepreneurs must develop a tool kit to help us adapt to and succeed in this ever-changing environment. It’s not what happens that defines an event; it’s how we respond to it that matters. This fast-paced session will give attendees the tools, insight and strategies needed to respond to today’s marketplace conditions. You will also learn: How to develop and fine-tune your sales process for any environment; Why the best time to gain market share is in turbulent times; The power of community and connecting; How to use technology to reduce your marketing and sales costs; How and why to swim against economic tides and trends; Tips and steps to maintaining sanity and focus in tough times. About the speaker Shane Gibson is a Vancouver-based international speaker, author of Closing Bigger: The Field Guide to Closing Bigger Deals, and a global entrepreneur who has addressed several thousand people over the past thirteen years. As a trainer, coach and motivational speaker he combines a diverse background in sales force leadership, new entrepreneur development and extensive sales and leadership coaching. Who should attend Business owners, executives in the areas of sales, marketing, business development, sales staff, entrepreneurs and anyone responsible for or part of a team that needs to generate revenues. Presented by The Board’s Small Business Council MAKE IT COUNT The Vancouver Board of Trade’s 2008 Managers’ Toolbox Series qualifies for The Company of Young Professionals Engaged Leadership Certificate Credits. One session = 2 credits. Please refer to http://www.tcyp.ca for further details.
Event#	090722
Date:	Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Time:	Registration: 7:30 a.m. Program: 7:45 – 9:45 a.m.
Location:	The Coast Plaza Hotel & Suites, Stanley Park – Comox Ballroom 1763 Comox Street
Sponsors:	Certified Management Accountants Presented in co-operation with: Small Business BC
Tickets:	Members Individuals $64.00 + GST Register Online Table of 6 $462.00 + GST Register Online Members save at least 30% ! Future Members Individuals $96.00 + GST Register Online Table of 6 $750.00 + GST Register Online Not a member yet? Click here for Membership Benefits!

Here’s today’s podcast on “Using Social Networking and Social Media to Succeed in Tough Times.”

When this credit is pulled back, people reduce purchases; this creates negative news, bulging inventories, fear and panic.  In service businesses bulging inventory is people.  Lay-offs begin, purchases reduce, inventory is liquidated, and more bad news hits the marketplace and the fear multiplies.  The severity of this most recent downturn has been created by the evaporation of available credit due to the insolvency of so many major banks.  Eventually we hit a point of excessive pessimism in the marketplace. (I had to dig through the entire business section of the New York Times to find one positive article yesterday).

The question is: “What stops the economy from continuing its downward plunge?”  The answer is of course “Smart Money.”  We all can recite the phrase “buy low and sell high” and a few smart individuals begin to do just that.  The “Smart Money” is bargain hunting for everything from stock to real estate, and corporate acquisition targets stabilize the market, it creates the floor.  From there the tide begins to turn as optimism builds.

You as a sales person or entrepreneur don’t have to have Warren Buffet’s billions to profit from this environment, but you do need his mindset.  Realize that your competitors, not unlike today’s investors, do not see the real value of the market, and most are refusing to really play.  They are too busy hiding out by the water cooler and watching the stock ticker and the negative news on CNN.

So here are 7 tips on how to profit from today’s economic downturn:

1. Build a fence around your key accounts.  Of those clients that you are presently doing on-going business with, how many do you have really strong relationships with?  Make a list of your top 20% and immediately call them, if possible go visit them.  Not to sell them stuff, but to find out how you can better service them.  If things are really slow, take advantage of it, engage them more, buy them the lunch you never had time to when the economy was hot.
2. Harness physical and web-based networks in order to connect with positive people.  Most of us have goals and dreams that require resources beyond those that we possess.  By engaging your online and offline communities, sharing resources, ideas, and inspiration, you can collectively achieve greater things.  Now is not the time to go to less Board of Trade meetings, it is the time to really connect.
3. Reach out beyond your existing community with social networking tools such as Linkedin, Twitter, and FaceBook.  Recently as a resident of Vancouver, BC Canada I secured a new client in Asia through my blogging and activity on Linkedin, while some of my existing markets are suppressed, I am finding new ones across the Pacific Ocean using technology (free technology!).
4. Have a pro-active game plan for every day.  You have fewer competitors now, and the ones that are still in business are probably not that motivated.  This trend will continue until we reach the bottom of the downturn.  This is the time to gain market share.  Get to work an hour early, and plan your day out the night before.  It may take more calls to land the same number of clients, but also realize that you will be able to gain more market share due to less competition, or at least a mentally weaker competition.
5. If you have some cash reserves start investing in your business.  If you use advertising as a tool to attract clients you can now negotiate a better rate with publishers, and because competitors have pulled back their ad spend your message will have less noise to compete with in the marketplace.  Fuel prices have dropped and people are traveling less, this also means better rates for business travel to far-away markets.
6. Take control of your own mental economy.  The most expensive thing we can do as sales professionals and business people is have a day of negative thinking.  When we are focusing on what we don’t have, and we are wallowing in our own self-pity, we’re not thinking about creating positive business outcomes.  My suggestion is to commit to reading at least 30 minutes of positive news, or personal development books per day, find some great motivational CD’s or podcasts (iTunes has thousands that are free) and pro-actively seek out and associate with other people that are refusing to participate in the recession.
7. Be disciplined in your execution.  At the top of an economy when clients are abundant and optimistic, closing the deal is easy.  If you miss a deal because of bad follow-up, or a poorly written proposal there is always more opportunity out there.  Anyone can look like a rainmaker when things are hot.  When things slow down our bad habits become more evident.  When you do have a great prospect in your sights, have a sound sales process and follow the fundamentals of great selling obsessively.  There are no mundane steps in a sales process, treat every detail like it is the deal-maker, especially when prospects are fewer and more easily dissuaded to buy.

“Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle. ” – Abraham Lincoln

As sales professionals we have to realize that it is not the events in our lives, but our interpretation and response to those events that will impact our level of success.  John Maxwell goes further than this to state: “A leader is defined by the size of the crisis.”  The core message here is that almost anyone can captain a ship in fair weather, but during a storm or turbulent conditions it becomes obvious which people truly should be wearing the rank of Captain.

As the storm hits the shores of our industries and communities many people will begin to jump ship, looking for safe harbors or metaphorically tying themselves down and just waiting for the storm to pass.

It is impossible to write on this subject without reflecting on the millions of people whose lives have been affected by what is going on in these turbulent economic times. It is equally clear that this is also a time of immense opportunity to define ourselves in this crisis as leaders in our industries and respective professions.  You can succeed in this present state. In fact, in many industries this is a time of unparalleled opportunity.

What I do know is that in North America alone there have been major recessions or turbulent times approximately every 7 years since 1900.  In each of these instances there were people who panicked, froze, or opted out of society in general and some never recovered.  On the other side there were people who prospered; in fact there was more new wealth created coming out of the great depression than any other time in history.  If your in the profession of selling, turbulent times can be a gift. This represented a major shift in the world power base from an economic standpoint as well.

Just to illustrate this point here’s a run down of the level of turbulence in the economy over the past 100 years, look at these trends and you decide when the best time to be selling or marketing.  I personally think it’s not about the environment but our reaction to it that determines our destiny.

An overview of turbulent times in the past 80 years.

1930′s

1929 Wall Street Crash
1934 Depression
1935 Spanish civil war
1937 Recession
1938 War clouds gather
1939 War in Europe

1940′s

1940 France falls
1941 Pearl Harbour
1942 Wartime price controls
1944 Consumer goods shortages
1945 Post-war recession predicted
1946 Dow tops 200 – “too high“
1947 Cold war begins
1948 Berlin blockade
1949 Russia explodes A-bomb

1950′s

1950 Korean War
1951 Excess profits tax
1952 U.S. seizes steel mills
1953 Russian H-bomb
1954 Dow tops 300 – “too high”
1955 Eisenhower ill
1956 Suez crisis
1957 Russia launches Sputnik
1958 Recession
1959 Castro seizes power

1960′s

1960 Russia downs U-2 plane
1961 Berlin Wall erected
1962 Cuban missile crisis
1963 Kennedy assassinated
1965 Civil rights marches
1966 Vietnam War escalates
1967 Newark race riots
1968 USS Pueblo seized
1969 Markets fall

1970′s

1940 France falls
1941 Pearl Harbour
1942 Wartime price controls
1944 Consumer goods shortages
1945 Post-war recession predicted
1946 Dow tops 200 – “too high“
1947 Cold war begins
1948 Berlin blockade
1949 Russia explodes 70 Cambodia invaded
1972 Record US trade deficit
1973 Energy crisis
1974 Nixon resigns
1977 Market slumps
1978 Interest rates rise
1979 Oil prices skyrocket

1980′s

1980 Interest rates at all-time high
1981 Steep recession begins
1982 Worst recession in 40 years
1983 US Marine barracks bombed
1984 Record federal deficits
1985 Economic growth slows
1986 Dow nears 2000 –”too high”
1987 Record market fall
1988 Junk bond scandal
1989 October “Mini-Crash”

1990′s

1990 Persian Gulf crisis
1992 Riots sweep Los Angeles
1993 Bombing of World Trade Centre
1994 Rising U.S. interest rates
1995 Oklahoma City bombing
1997 Collapse of Thailand economy 1998 US impeachment proceedings
1999 Y2K

2000′s

2000 Internet stocks plummet
2001 September 11
2002 Corporate earnings scandal
2003 Iraq war
2004 Oil price rockets
2005 Oil price rockets further
2006 Emerging market sell-off
2007 Sub-prime crisis
2008 More of the same!

Even with all of the negative news that we have been bombarded by there are still positive things happening in the marketplace.  For instance, in Canada there has been a record drop in the currency value and the stock market, yet there were still over 100,000 new jobs created in the same month (September 2008).  This is the largest one-month gain since they started keeping records in 1976.  This was coupled with a 4.6 percent year-on-year increase in average wages (inflation was 3.5 percent).

We have so many dichotomies in the marketplace because this is not just about an economic downturn. The rules have changed, and technology and globalization have had real impact on how we do business.  We are no longer economic islands and those that realize that and embrace the new landscape can win, just like the legions of millionaires created during the great depression.
There are a few things we can count on at the bottom of an economic cycle:

1. You will have fewer competitors during turbulent times than you did during easier times.  Many will go out of business, or pull back any proactive efforts that cost money.
2. Those competitors that are left will be less motivated.  Most will make fewer calls, spend more time watching negative news, and lack the confidence they had when getting orders was easy.
3. Your competitors will spend less on advertising and training.  There will be less noise in the marketplace and they will also stall in the areas of personal and professional development.
4. Your competitors will pull back and isolate themselves, becoming self-focused, further spiraling their motivation level and reducing their networking, selling, and community connections.
5. Many people will resist trying new things and getting creative, sticking with what has always worked.  The problem is, of course, that what got them here, is not what is going to get them to where they want to go.  A new economy needs a new playbook.

Check back shortly for part 2 of this blog post

Here’s today’s show:

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