Conrey is for Closers

Priority Inbox Fail

conrey — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:25:10 +0000

So the big news this morning is Google’s new “Priority Inbox” feature that will be rolling out to all of Gmail this week (Coverage here from TechCrunch amongst others).

If you’re in sales you may be thinking that this is a boon to you. Now you can be sure to never miss the important email from that one client you’re waiting to hear from!

If you had that thought, shame on you. If you need a tool like this to find your important emails then you’re treating your clients badly. Every client email is important. Every one of them deserves your attention. They are opportunities for you to be a salesman and to earn business.

Be proactive on email, not reactive. Reply to things as soon as you can after the come in. Clients aren’t going to wait forever for you to respond, they’ll shop around. Take action on actionable items in your email as quickly as is prudent. If you can’t do something on it right away, make a to-do item for it (in whatever format works for you). If you’ve read the email, and/or done whatever the email required, get it out of your inbox. Gmail already lets you do this by archiving it in a way that you can easily search for it later.

Beyond the fact that you shouldn’t be trusting Google to tell you which emails are important, if you are unable to answer the emails that come in from a client in a timely manner then you need to revamp your process.

Email isn’t going away or slowing down. Gone are the days of being able to check your email once a week to see who reached out to you by something other than your phone. Get your inbox habits in place and in order, don’t let Google do it for you.

Priority Inbox Fail is a post from: Conrey is for Closers

So Long and Thanks for All the Fish

conrey — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 22:01:39 +0000

I was talking about Social Media and the connectedness of our world last night at a business event with some folks who are new to “The Twitters” and such things. They were asking me the usual questions about how to get a bajillion followers and what not, then asked how was it possible to follow so many people. So being the showman that I am, I broke out my iPhone to many oohs and aaahs and opened my twitter app. Immediately they saw the screen fill up with tweets from the 300 or so folks I follow, but what caught their eye was a series of a tweets from Gary Vaynerchuck getting geared up for his new SiriusXM radio show. They both recognized Gary right away and talked about how they followed him religiously on Twitter.

Now I like Gary, I think he’s a pretty cool guy in person after playing Wii Tennis with him and Matt Mullenweg at Gangplank, and I agree with a good bit of what he says when he talks business. But at the same time, he’s a relentless self promoter. To the point where I feel as though I understand his message, and repeated exposure to it gains me less and less value.

There are plenty of folks like this out there on Twitter and other Social Media outlets – and I went through last night and unfollowed them all. You could say I was insprired by Carlos‘s post about doing the same with Seth Godin .There is plenty of great content from both of those guys, and others, but once it gets to the point where you start skipping it because you’ve heard a post just like this before, its ok – you can make your own ideas too.

Challenge yourself to unfollow the “idols” on Twitter (and the shameless ballwashers that follow behind them) and start finding new interesting content.

So Long and Thanks for All the Fish is a post from: Conrey is for Closers

A Little Fun: Joy of Salesman

conrey — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 06:51:23 +0000

I’ve seen both sides of this. Funny stuff if you’ve ever been in sales. Some language not safe for work (at all).

A Little Fun: Joy of Salesman is a post from: Conrey is for Closers

Entrenched Culture

conrey — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 16:50:02 +0000

Some conversations at Integrum reminded me of the story of the Netscape Hockey game (story here at Rands in Repose):

This is chill hockey. We don’t keep score. There is bumping and nudging, but rarely a fight, and the rules few:

1. Offsides are enforced.
2. If the puck leaves the surface, whoever gets it, gets to play it.
3. Don’t be a jerk.

Hockey has a slew of other rules regarding tripping, high sticking, and cross-checking, but in the pick-up game, those rules fall under #3 — don’t be a jerk. When new individual players arrive and they deviate from these rules, they are quickly and efficiently educated. Yeah, we don’t play that way.

We often take for granted the power of what the author there calls “social momentum”. How often has something been explained as “it’s the way we’ve always done it”. When you bring new people into an organization, be they new employees or clients, they don’t know about the whole system of things that are “just the way you’ve always done it”. They are reflexive actions for you, they are an unknown world for them.

Take the time to explain why and how you do things, and maybe they’ll make themselves a part of your culture instead of fighting it.

Entrenched Culture is a post from: Conrey is for Closers

Are Your Clients Happy Enough?

conrey — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 21:47:51 +0000

Are your clients happy enough?

Happy enough to not call you when there is a minor annoyance?
Happy enough to not call you when you miss a delivery date?
Happy enough to not refer you to their colleagues?
Happy enough to not automatically think of you for new opportunities internally?
Happy enough to take 2-3 days to get back to you?

Or are they excited to be working with you and willing to tell everyone about it?

Many times we focus on getting the sale, getting it closed, and then getting it done. Anyone can do that. It takes a real salesman to nurture that relationship though. When I was selling cars one of the guys I learned from would say “I don’t want to sell you a car. I want to be your car guy so that whenever you or anyone you know needs a car, you call me even if its not “. Is that the attitude you are taking? Or are you settling for making them happy?

I recommend reading Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless by Jeffrey Gitomer for 256 pages of this line of thinking and how to get better at it.

Are Your Clients Happy Enough? is a post from: Conrey is for Closers

Like Arnold Says:

conrey — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 00:37:00 +0000

Yeah its been a while, I was recharging my batteries, resting my brain, and dealing with some reality. But expect more Conrey is for Closers this week.

Like Arnold Says: is a post from: Conrey is for Closers

Outkicking Coverage

conrey — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 22:59:34 +0000

What do you do when you are outselling capacity? Is it a good thing? The proverbial “Good problem to have?” or are you harming yourself long term? A good salesman should be in sync with the production team wherever possible without letting them hold themselves back. The sales force should be the foot on the gas pedal for your production. The production team will usually be the significant other in the passenger seat telling you to slow down before someone gets hurt.

Find that balance to keep both sides happy and everyone wins, but if you’re slowing down – especially in today’s economy – then you will lose ground. Momentum is the most powerful force in business.

Outkicking Coverage is a post from: Conrey is for Closers

Commissions = Motivation?

conrey — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 23:05:25 +0000

I’ve recently been reading Drive by Daniel Pink, who you see above in his TED talk. The basis of the book is that people are motivated differently by intrinsic and extrinsic things. Pink argues that for creative work, extrinsic motivation leads to short term success but is not a good long term method of motivation – however extrinsic motivation works great for menial mechanical tasks.

Now if you consider sales to be a menial mechanical task you should probably stop reading here. In fact, you probably should be asking yourself why you are reading this blog at all. If you agree with the premise that sales is “creative” work in the same way that visual design, software development, art, or music are, then it leads to the obvious question. SInce 90% of salespeople’s pay plan is commission based, and commissions as an extrinsic motivator are shown to be a less effective motivation technique, why wouldn’t you pay a salesman a good wage and let the commission structure die on the vine?

Surely a good salesman can make more money through commissions than with a base salary alone, and some salespeople “need” that extrinsic motivator (see Justin’s 2-4-6-8 problem post), you could argue that Pink’s premise is exactly what leads to the 2-4-6-8 problem.

In full disclosure, I’ve been both a 100% commission based employee and worked on salary and the mix of both. The book did stir up my brain though and made me wonder if -as Pink says repeatedly in the book- there is a gap between what Science knows and what Business is doing.

Commissions = Motivation? is a post from: Conrey is for Closers

Time Flies

conrey — Fri, 21 May 2010 17:20:30 +0000

As part of my “reclaiming my commute” push, I’ve been listening to Punk Marketing on audiobook this week. This is not an old book, it came out in February of 2007, but the sense of how dated the examples and references are are amazing after just 3 years.

Myspace was still huge, Twitter didn’t exist, the iPhone didn’t exist, and the TV ads and other campaigns are long forgotten by now. And the cell phone companies they reference, Cingular and Alltell, no longer exist.

Remember that when you think that Facebook or Twitter are going to continue to be the dominant social network in the future. When you think that you will continue to be the dominant player forever, you’ve already lost the future.

Time Flies is a post from: Conrey is for Closers

Green Grass

conrey — Fri, 07 May 2010 17:36:02 +0000

I’ve been in Boulder this whole week for Boulder Startup Week and being here has reminded me of all the awesome things from my 5 years here previously. I’m not the only one effusive with my praise for this rapidly growing tech town. See Chris’s writeup at RWW, or the Tweet stream for the #bsw hashtag.

At the same time, Francine Hardaway posts a beautiful piece at Fast Company about Gangplank and the young but growing startup culture in Phoenix.

Everyone talks about how great the startup community is here in Boulder, and I can definitely see that while I’m here. But I’m sure I’m not seeing everything, I’m sure there is infighting and backbiting here too – just like our beloved Valley of the Sun. Does that mean we can’t learn from Boulder? Of course not, this is a town smaller than Chandler or Mesa but still has this reputation of openness. Boulder is farther from Denver than Chandler is from Phoenix but it doesn’t feel as far away.

I love it here in Boulder, but it just gives me more hope for what Derek and the rest of the Gangplankers are doing in Chandler. Remember none of this tech community was here in Boulder eight years ago. The grass is awfully green here, but its green where you live too – don’t forget that.

Green Grass is a post from: Conrey is for Closers