A big thank you for all who attended SalesCrunch’s Online Class ”Prospecting 2.0: Using Social Media to Prospect, Develop Leads and Foster Relationships,” hosted by Kemp Edmonds of HootSuite.

Below is Part 1 of the online class.

In this class, you will learn:

• Understand your customer better and become the trusted advisor with Social Media
• Discover how thought leadership and positive networking can lead to greater conversion
• Conduct Social A/B Testing for lead development
• Learn new techniques for using SalesForce, Twitter, Google, LinkedIn, email and more

Prospecting 2.0: Using Social Media to Prospect, Develop Leads and Foster Relationships (Part 1) (26:08)

About this class:

 Learning points:

• Learn how to identify buyers and stop wasting time with wouldas, couldas, shouldas, and no pos
• Learn how to reveal their buying motives
• Learn how to struture your questions to get more detail then ever

This class will be held online on Wednesday, May 23rd, 2012 at 3pm EDT / 12pm PDT.

Only the first 40 to register will get into the live online class, so register early! All other registrants will receive a link to the recorded class as soon as it becomes available.

About the Host:

Yan Tsirklin is Managing Director of Gorilla Group. He is a high-performing business development and consulting professional with over 18 years of experience building relationships and solutions for start-ups, early stage companies and enterprise organizations. Yan’s career has given him extensive experience with SaaS platforms, eCommerce, SEO, SEM, Social Media, Digital Marketing, BPM and CRM. He has closed large million dollar plus opportunities with demonstrated success in new-named accounts.

Only the first 40 to register will get into the live online class, so register early! All other registrants will receive a link to the recorded class as soon as it becomes available.

By Linda Forshaw

Your dog died over the weekend, you overslept and you stubbed your toe on the bed frame walking into the bathroom. That’s enough to put anyone in a shitty mood to start the week, but if you want to succeed, you’re going to need to turn that frown upside down. Being a moody bastard is not going to help you close any sales. The old adage says ‘misery loves company.’ If you turn up to sales meetings drowning in a bath of negativity, you’re going to pass it right onto your client. What’s more, it’s very likely that your client has their own problems; chances are they don’t want to deal with yours as well. Leave your emotional baggage at the door.

No one is expecting you to put in an Oscar-winning performance, but if you’re trying to sell, it pays to lighten up. If you can put your customer in a good mood, you’re likely to see a positive impact on your sales. Customers in a glass-half-full kind of mood will be more receptive to your pitch, more willing to try new products and more likely to indulge in a bit of impulse buying. Even if they don’t sign on the dotted line that day, they’re going to associate you with a good feeling that in time will help instill a favorable attitude toward you and your organization.  All this for smiling and being happy.

This stuff’s important for the head honchos, too. Daniel Goleman writes in “Leadership That Gets Results,” a much cited article from the Harvard Business Review, that as much as 30% of the stuff that matters (revenue growth, profitability, return on sales) is directly determined by an organization’s climate. So, if you see one of your top sales guys looking miserable; for christ’s sake, adopt him a new dog.

A big thank you for all who attended SalesCrunch’s Online Class ”Prospecting 2.0: Using Social Media to Prospect, Develop Leads and Foster Relationships,” hosted by Kemp Edmonds of HootSuite.

Below is Part 2 of the online class.

In this class, you will learn:

• Understand your customer better and become the trusted advisor with Social Media
• Discover how thought leadership and positive networking can lead to greater conversion
• Conduct Social A/B Testing for lead development
• Learn new techniques for using SalesForce, Twitter, Google, LinkedIn, email and more

Prospecting 2.0: Using Social Media to Prospect, Develop Leads and Foster Relationships (Part 2) (12:51)

Software Advice

Two telecom sales reps recently stopped by my office to pitch executives on their latest solution. Both toted iPads, which I assume were loaded with dazzling interactive presentations and other tools for elevating the pitch. But neither rep turned on their device.

This got me wondering, did they plan for how they were going to use their iPads? And if they did, what did that plan look like?

One recent study reported that while 78 percent of employers plan to deploy tablets across their organization (83 percent of which will opt for the iPad), more than half haven’t articulated a clear adoption strategy. So, apparently this was not an isolated incident. I asked some mobile strategists what tips they would offer sales managers looking to maximize their iPad investment.

1. Monitor and Adjust Usage

SAVO Group Senior Marketing Director Dan Schleifer said sales management should articulate clear usage goals for their iPad-equipped team and use the results to measure effectiveness. This “governance plan” should monitor such sales activities as deals closed, training materials opened and competitive analyses viewed. In the case of a new product launch, this information will ensure the team is correctly focusing their outside sales efforts. These events are often company’s biggest revenue growth initiative of the year, but also frequently fail in the field due to low adoption.

SAVO Mobile (recently named one of the “Top 11 iPad Apps for Sales”) provides such oversight tools, plus others for delivering the latest marketing assets in real-time. Linking these materials with conversions can also show marketing which of their iPad efforts are most successful and should be replicated.

2. Go Beyond PowerPoint

One of the iPad’s most powerful assets for sales is its vivid display. But just using it to run standard PowerPoint presentations is a “missed opportunity,” argues Gary Galusha, vice president of sales for Upsync, a content management, presentations and integrated business application developer.

His company’s tool allows sales teams to create interactive presentations on the go that make use of the iPad’s pinch, twist, swipe and other unique display functions. Users can also combine images, videos, PDFs, HTML 5 and other digital assets. Viewers can also instantly share on social networks and rate the presentation.

3. Think Big

Many companies make the mistake of thinking about their mobile strategy in pieces. First they mobilize their CRM system, then they roll out an app for sales, another for accounting, another for data storage, and so on.

“Companies that build a bunch of disparate apps find it’s not sustainable, then have to rebuild one platform and end up spending way more then they should,” Excellis Interactive Marketing Director Molly Maple explains.

Users were frustrated. They needed a way to integrate several applications with activities where the sale happens in the presence of the customer, Maple said. So, Excellis created a single application that allowed reps to schedule meetings, manage account information in CRM, check inventory, place orders, collect payments and sign contracts. This centralized all of their sales activities and eliminated the manual processes of sending orders and invoices separately.

When implemented into the selling process with some careful planning, the iPad can be a useful companion for a sales rep. But don’t expect the device to be a silver bullet for your team. Ultimately, it’s up to management to craft an implementation plan that makes full use of the device.

By Sharon Drew Morgen 

Do you know why you don’t close all the sales you deserve to close?

Do you know, on your first prospecting call, who will buy?

Do you know where buyers go when they say ‘I’ll call you back?”

Do you know what takes buyers so long to buy when it seems so obvious to everyone – including them?

You don’t know the answers to these questions. Because the sales model is geared for solution placement. Of course you give good service, ask all the right questions, understand the need and how it fits with your solution.

But the sales model is not set up to manage the personal, human, political, strategic, and hidden systemic issues that buyers must handle internally to get the buy-in and develop the pathway to bring in a new solution.

See, the buyer’s environment is kinda a system, with people, and policies, initiatives and relationships, all working together, fighting to maintain themselves (as systems are wont to do). And when they consider fixing something, they have to manage everything that touches it or face chaos. Just as you can’t just purchase a new house on the way home and announce to your family that you’re moving tomorrow, so a buyer cannot just choose a solution to add to the well-functioning mix of givens within the status quo. It’s not about the house.

To continue with the analogy, the sales model merely understands the family needs for a house and finds the house. It does not handle the fight between the parents and teenagers who don’t want to move from their friends, or the decision to move closer to in-laws, or the discussion around a possible divorce. To sell the house, these details are unnecessary. To buy the house, it’s imperative to resolve first before they know what or if to buy. And everyone must buy-in somehow before a choice is made.

BUYING FACILITATION®

I’ve developed a new skill set that works alongside of sales. It’s not sales, but it’s a change management model that can be used in any change situation (management, negotiation, coaching) to help others reorganize and reconsider their status quo so something new can enter. The material is original, and based on a servant-leader goal, to truly help others make their best decisions.

Here’s an example. The head of Consumer Banking of Barclays Bank called to ask if Buying Facilitation® could be used with a program they were developing. Here’s the dialogue. Note that I am not doing a sales job here (that will come later – buyers need solution data only when their other decisions and internal change issues have been handled) but helping him figure out how to bring change and get buy-in… all of which would include my help at some point, but not specifically about my solution.

BANK: Can Buying Facilitation® be added to the software we are developing so customers will be able to choose the best product?

SDM: Yes. But what’s stopping your tech guys from trying to do that for you?

BANK: Nothing. They’ve already bought a few of your books and are trying to put your ideas into their software design.

SDM: So I’m hearing they’d rather do it all themselves. How would you and the rest of the Buying Decision Team know if you’d prefer the capability you’d get working with me directly or with the outcome they’d get from the tech guys using my books?

BANK: They won’t know the difference, but I’ve read some of your books and I know that you keep some of the How To out of the books. So I know you’d provide more, but they won’t.

SDM: What should you and I do to help them decide what will be their best solution?

BANK: Let’s set up a conference call.

At that point, he named 2 department heads that needed to be involved – technology and training. I suggested he might add the heads of HR (to train 4000 people), internal consulting/project management, sales, and retail banking. He set up a conference call. On the call, the CEO of Barclays joined the call. We all worked together a month (I’m on the Buying Decision Team at this point) to figure it out. And I ended up with my piece of the pie – with no proposal, no visit to UK, no price discussion, no competition. My solution was irrelevant until they understood how they needed to bring in something new and fit it in, and until all of the right people were on board to fully define the need.

Sales is great. But if you add the change management piece to the front end – before you sell, or understand needs, or make a presentation – you can easily know: who will close, approximately when, and how to help them discover, prepare, and facilitate buy-in for the buyer…and, get onto the Buying Decision Team on the first call. And halve the sales cycle.

Until or unless buyers have all of the change management issues covered, they will not buy, regardless of the match between your solution and their need: they are doing ‘well-enough’, and if they could have resolved the issue, they would have already. Add Buying Facilitation® to your tool kit, and increase your productivity.

About Sharon Drew Morgen: a visionary and thought leader, speaker, trainer and author of several bestselling books such as Selling with Integrity that explore the buying decision path and different aspects of the behind-the-scene issues buyers must manage before they can buy. To learn more about Sharon Drew, visit her on http://sharondrewmorgen.com/

By Linda Forshaw

The elevator door opens, you step inside and there stands the head honcho of the firm you’ve been trying to get a meeting with for months. In all likelihood, it may very well not be in an elevator — you might be sat next to him on the same flight, attending the same conference or be waiting for a coffee fix in the same queue — but wherever it happens, you must be prepared.

1. Have more than one pitch: In other words, know your targets. Say you want to do business with a particular company. You should know who all the decision makers are — often there is more than one. Be ready to tailor your pitch for whomever you see when the opportunity presents itself. After all, there’s little point in trying to solve their colleague’s problems. Whomever you are speaking to, keep it concise. You need to have your pitch sufficiently succinct to cover all you need to in the time it takes to ride an elevator about ten floors.

2. Keep it about the business and not you: Unless you want your potential client to walk away thinking you’re a complete jackass, it pays to remember that while you should be confident in yourself, you’re selling your company and what it can do for the prospect. Hopefully, this chance meeting will be the start of a beautiful friendship, so there will be plenty of time to tell them how wonderful you are.

3. Be real: Yeah, okay, we can all do outlandish at times, but at some point you’re going to have to put your money where your mouth is and deliver. There’s a damn fine reason why the phrase ‘under-promise, over-deliver’ is thrown about like a hot potato; it’s true. Do yourself a favor and tell it like it is.

4. Be prepared to answer questions: Preparing an effective elevator pitch goes much further than preparing a few short blurbs about how great your company is. You’ve got to spend some time thinking about potential questions. If you’ve done your job, you’ll have piqued their interest and they’ll ask you questions. For god’s sake, be prepared to answer them.

5. Be passionate: So you’ve practiced what to say in all possible occasions and to a variety of potential audiences. You have your pitch down pat. Is that enough? Heck no; if you recite that pitch monotone, you’re going to send that prospect running for cover faster than Usain Bolt. Show a bit of passion for what you do. Excitement is contagious.

6. Okay, so I said top five. I never did learn to count, so here’s one more for good measure. Know what you want from the opportunity. Do you want the chance to give them a virtual demo? Perhaps you want them to dial into your next company web conference. Maybe you want a shot in a sales meeting? Be clear on what you want to achieve and steer your pitch in that direction.

A big thank you for all who attended SalesCrunch’s Online Class ”Funnelomics: How to Build Marketing Automation into Your B2B Strategy,” hosted by Adam Stein, Head of Marketing at MobileIron.

Below is Part 2 of the online class.

In this class, you will learn:

- How to best integrate your sales and marketing programs for measurable and repeatable results
- What works in Enterprise B2B sales
- How marketing accelerates sales efforts and ensures an actionable sales playbook is in place.

Funnelomics: How to Build Marketing Automation into Your B2B Strategy (Part 2) (14:10)

A big thank you for all who attended SalesCrunch’s Online Class ”Funnelomics: How to Build Marketing Automation into Your B2B Strategy,” hosted by Adam Stein, Head of Marketing at MobileIron.

Below is Part 1 of the online class.

In this class, you will learn:

- How to best integrate your sales and marketing programs for measurable and repeatable results
- What works in Enterprise B2B sales
- How marketing accelerates sales efforts and ensures an actionable sales playbook is in place.

Funnelomics: How to Build Marketing Automation into Your B2B Strategy (Part 1) (36:27)

By Linda Forshaw

Short of not turning up, there are a number of ways you can effectively ruin a sales meeting. Best of all, there is pretty much no effort required on your part.

1. Don’t prepare. One easy way to ruin a sales meeting is to fail to prepare in any way. That’s right, you should rely on a generic pitch and make absolutely no attempt to tailor the meeting to the client. Making no effort whatsoever to target your sales presentation to the client’s needs is a sure fire way to ruin your meeting without even trying, way to go.

2. Use crappy software. Make your customer spend the first half of your online sales meeting trying to download some outdated piece of software. Make sure they’re utterly pissed off before you even get the chance to say ‘good morning, nice weather we’re having.’ Voila, you’ve successfully ruined your meeting. This shit is child’s play, right? You might be thinking this is a sneaky way of pitching SalesCrunch as an alternative. Erm, you’re right; damn you’re good. (P.S. Talking about the weather is another fairly easy way to ruin a meeting.)

3. If a total lack of preparation hasn’t put them off and it turns out you’re dealing with a masochist who just happens to love WebEx, you’re in trouble. You might have to pull out all the stops to get them to walk away. Despite your best efforts, if you’ve somehow got a prospect on the hook, whatever you do, do not make any attempt to close the deal. Don’t do it!! Don’t invite them to your next web conference and certainly don’t offer them an online demo of your amazing product. If you do, they might actually want to buy it.

So, there you have it; three easy ways to ruin a sales meeting. Who said sales was a difficult profession?

P.S. If horrible sales meetings is your thing … we want to hear all about it at DontSuckAtMeetings.com!