Selling to Big Companies

Who are the top business speakers you need to know?

Jill Konrath — 2009-01-26T21:56:40-06:00

The Speakers Group speakers bureau recently posted the “9 Business Speakers You Need to Know in 2009”. Their criteria includes the ability to:

• Create a positive, engaging workplace.
• Understand their target market and communicate the appropriate message.
• Put a well-trained, modern sales force on the
ground (or on the phone, web, etc.).

I'm delighted to be included in this prestigious group of speakers! which includes my personal sales hero, Neil Rackham, author of SPIN Selling & Rethinking the Sales Force.

Here's what The Speakers Group had to say about me:

"Jill specializes in delivering highly interactive, content-packed workshops and keynotes focused on helping salespeople crack into corporate accounts, speed up their sales cycle, generate increased demand for their offering, and win big contracts."

Have You Read the Award-Winning Top Sales Articles of 2008?

Jill Konrath — 2009-01-01T09:05:01-06:00

Top 10 Sales Articles finally announced it's award winners for this past year. If you're looking to kick 2009 off with a bang, start here.

The winner? "Use the News: How to Create New Opportunities Fast", my article, was voted as the Article of the Year 2008.

Thanks to all of you who supported me! Your votes accounted for 50% of the total score - and you kept me in the running.

The other 50% came from a panel of my peers - other sales experts* from around the world. I appreciate their support too!

You'll also want to check out the excellent articles from the 2008 Runner Ups:

Why Decision Makers Hate Cold Calls, by Paul McCord
The 10 Commandments of Networking, by Ivan Misner
While You Have Their Attention, Opt-In, by Keith Rosen

Winning articles went through a rigorous process to achieve this prestigious award.

Each week, the 8 major sales articles sites** review the thousands of sales articles in their libraries from top global sales experts and submit just one to Jonathan Farrington's Top 10 Sales Articles website.

Each Sunday, the Sales Article of the Week is selected. The weekly winners then compete for monthly honors and ultimately the Top Sales Article of the Year.

So you see, it takes a lot to win this award.
And I'm honored.

_________________________

*Top 10 Panel of Experts included: Jonathan Farrington, Nigel Edelshain, Kevin Dwyer, Terri Dunevant, Cindy King, Craig Klein, Steve Martinez and Lee Salz

**Major sales articles sites: Many thanks to Sales Gravy for submitting Use the News. Other sites sending in articles include: Salesopedia, Eyes on Sales, The Sideroad, Ezine Articles, Build Your Own Business, Best Management Articles and Sales Resources.

Could you help a fellow salesperson out?

Jill Konrath — 2008-12-27T16:47:01-06:00

One of my articles, Use the News, is a finalist for Sales Article of the Year. If you've enjoyed reading my blog, could you vote for me! Just click here. It'll only take a second.

Your support is much appreciated!
Polls close on Dec. 30th

Vote now!

Complimentary Ebook: The One Piece of Advice You Can't Sell Without

Jill Konrath — 2008-12-11T13:55:33-06:00

You've read a lot of advice about selling professional services, and there are a lot of people who claim to know it all. But when you boil it all down — what's really important? What do you need to know?

This complimentary RainToday.com special report includes 11 new articles written by professional services selling experts answering this question:

What is the one piece of advice you simply cannot sell without?

Download now: http://raintoday.com/oneadvice.cfm

Expert authors and advice includes:

Seth Godin, best-selling author of 7 books including Purple Cow and Permission Marketing

Keith Ferrazzi, speaker and author of Never Eat Alone, and a columnist for Inc. Magazine and Fast Company

Sam Reese, CEO of Miller-Heiman, The Sales Performance Company

Alan Weiss, CEO of Summit Consulting Group and author of Million Dollar Consulting

Mike Schultz, Publisher of RainToday.com and Principal, Wellesley Hills Group

Paul Dunay, Director of Global Field Marketing for BearingPoint and Publisher of the Buzz Marketing for Technology blog

Jill Konrath, Chief Sales Officer and author of Selling to Big Companies (Yes! That's me!)

Frank Stasiowski, President of PSMJ Resources, serving the architecture / engineering industries

Larry Bodine, Owner-Operator of LawMarketing Portal and Larry Bodine Marketing, serving law firms

Paige Arnof-Fenn, CEO of Mavens & Moguls and a columnist for Entrepreneur

Michael W. McLaughlin, co-author of Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants with Jay Conrad Levinson and Editor of Management Consulting News

Download now: http://raintoday.com/oneadvice.cfm

Also, check out RainToday's Annual Membership and receive access to all of the resources

Part II: Is your sales team making the numbers?

Jill Konrath — 2008-12-10T14:05:36-06:00

On Monday, I posted the first part of my interview with the authors of the Making the Number. As I said earlier, this book can really shake up the sales organization - but in the process, take it to new heights.

I recommend it to any business owner or sales executive who is serious about doing just that.

Here's Part II of my interview with the authors:

1. How does sales benchmarking help predict sales performance?

Sales benchmarking is diagnostic technique that focuses on leading not lagging indicators. Instead of sales leaders reviewing quota attainment results, they can use it to focus on metrics like pipeline-to-quota ratio. In short, sales benchmarking enables sales executives to look over the horizon instead of drive using the rear view mirror.

2. What are the first steps in getting started with a sales benchmarking effort?

Here are four things you can do immediately when you visit our www.salesbenchmarking.com home page.

Watch a video about how Bill James and his how Sabermetrics approach helped the Boston Red Sox win the World Series. You'll learn why this has relevance to sales benchmarking.
Download a copy of the World Class 100.
Check out the video from NetSuite CEO, Zach Nelson. He discusses how sales benchmarking helps his company close business.
Take a sample benchmark at www.salesbenchmarkindex.com/benchmark

3. How much does something like this cost?

Our programs start at $1,500 and go to $500,000 plus. It is based on a pay as you go cost per metric. Typically, the cost of a sales benchmarking program is less than 1% of the benefit it provides.

4. What are two or three takeaways for everyone who reads your book?

Takeaway #1: You can and should compare yourself and your sales force to peers.
Takeaway #2: Look at world-class sales organization performance to determine where you should close the gap.
Takeaway #3: Use best practices benchmarking as the means of closing the gap and driving shareholder appreciation.

Many thanks to author Mike Drapeau for the sharing his thoughts on sales benchmarking. If you embrace it, everything changes!

Is your sales team making the numbers? If not, check this out

Jill Konrath — 2008-12-09T17:08:43-06:00

It's been a long time since I've read a book that has the potential to shake up the sales profession!

But Making the Number: How to Use Sales Benchmarking to Drive Performance, the new book by Greg Alexander, Aaron Bartels, & Mike Drapeau is one that will.

The authors show you, step-by-step, how almost any sales organization can improve dramatically - and I mean that! But it's not a cakewalk. If you're an entrepreneur or sales leader, you'll definitely want to check it out.

While you're waiting for your copy to arrive, here's Part I of my interview with the authors:

1. What motivated you to write this book?

We all came to the subject from separate paths. Greg came from the sale management and was tired of the claim that sales artistry trumped sales measurement. Aaron came from sales operations and was frustrated with the difficulty of comparing one organization to another. Mike, who came from marketing, had struggled to find a way to depict the inefficiencies in the Sales-Marketing interface.

2. How do you define "sales benchmarking?"

It's a rigorous methodology that uses empirical 3rd party sales data to help executives understand how they're performing relative to a peer group. The output of this effort is:

Accurate identification of sales process weaknesses
The ability to prioritize improvement initiatives
And the ability to apply best practices.

3. How does sales benchmarking benefit the individual?

There is a whole chapter in the book on just this very topic. Let me quote:

“Sales benchmarking allows salespeople to better manage their most precious resource—time. It allows salespeople to focus on those opportunities with the highest probability of success.

"Data-driven decision making enables sales reps to eliminate non value-adding activities that consume selling time.

"Furthermore, it can assist individuals in making more informed decisions about which types of companies and for what kind of sales leadership to work.”

In summary, the book title says it all - a sales leader will make their number after reading this book.

4. What's the difference between sales benchmarking and sales analytics?

Sales analytics is when companies collect and analyze sales data. They run reports, compare current to past performance, stack rank sales reps, and attempt to build forecasts.

In order to do sales benchmarking, an organization must be doing some form of sales analytics. The difference, though, is that with sales benchmarking, an organization also does the following:

Adopts a common classification scheme for their internal data.
Compares internal data to external data of peers.
Leverages sales best practices from high performers in other industries.
Tracks leading indicators.

Sales benchmarking helps you compare what your organization is doing to companies in other industries - as well as make significant improvements to you bottom line in the process.

On Thursday, I'll publish Part II of my interview. The authors will answer these questions:

How does sales benchmarking help predict sales performance?
What are the first steps in getting started with a sales benchmarking effort?
How much does something like this cost?
What are two or three takeaways for everyone who reads your book?

Once again, if you'd like to check out this book on Amazon, here's the link.

Hidden Gems: What I Found Hidden Deep In My E-Mial

Jill Konrath — 2008-12-09T15:22:20-06:00

After viewing Merlin Mann's 1-hour Inbox Zero video presentation at Google, I decided it was time to tackle my unwieldy Inbox. It felt great to delete, delete, delete all those old messages I intended to do something about at one time, but were no longer relevant.

But every once in a while I uncovered a hidden gem. Earlier this year, Brand Extension blogger Tobias Singer sent me this great story on buying a rug in Turkey. Having been through this experience myself, I totally appreciated it!

Plus, writer Mitchell Weisburgh does a great job pointing out the relevant sales lessons, even for business-to-business sellers. I thought you'd really enjoy it.

What I Learned Buying a Rug in Turkey

I had no intention of buying a rug on our trip to Turkey in December 2006. Certainly, not on the first day. I’d already purchased a rug; when my son and I had been abducted in Tunis, Tunisia in 1999. But, that’s a different story.

Yet, there I was, just 4 hours after arriving in Istanbul, shaking hands with a rug merchant as he packed up our newly purchased kilin carpet. How did this happen?

Educators, business people, publishers, we all seek to influence others, and we are all influenced by others. Perhaps my experience in Turkey, seen through the prism of an expert in the principles of influence and persuasion can help us all.

First, let me describe the events leading up to the purchase. Then, I’ll relate those events to principles contained in the book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini.

Our hotel, the Mavi Ev, or Blue House Hotel, was just across the street from the famous Blue Mosque in Turkey. As soon as we stepped out to go visit the mosque, the first person approached us,

Salesman: “Do you want to buy a rug?”

Me: “No thank you.”

Salesman: “Where are you from?”

Me: “No thank you, we’re on our way to view the mosque.”

In the 50 yards between the hotel and the entrance to the mosque, we were approached at least 5 times, in similar ways. The sales people were pleasant, often humorous, never hostile. But always persistent, asking at least 5 to 6 questions to try to engage us.How long are you staying in Turkey?”

“How do you like Turkey so far?”

“Are you thirsty or hungry?”

“Would you like some apple tea?”

“Do you know where you are going?”

After the Blue Mosque, we walked across the park to the Hagia Sophia, and were approached another 5 to 6 times. But, as we walked up to the Hagia Sophia, we found out that it had just closed, and someone came up to us.

Person: “It’s a shame that the Hagia Sophia closes so early. Have you seen the Cisterna Basilica, yet? It’s still open.”

Me: “Yes, that’s one of the things I’ve wanted to see.”

Person: “Let me show you where the entrance is, it’s just a block from here.”

Me: “We can probably find it.”

Person: “I know, but it is really no trouble and will save you some time. How long are you in Turkey for?”

Me: “We’re staying for 9 days.”

Person: “The entrance is just here, make sure that you walk through all of the passages. Some people just go into the Cisterna, take a look, and then come back up. There is a whole passage to follow, and you’ll see the pillars of Minerva and eventually come out about a block down the street.”

Me: “Thank you.”

Person: “I’ll wait for you at the exit. In case you’d like to have a glass of tea and see our showroom. There won’t be any pressure for you to buy anything, but as long as you’re in Istanbul, you should get to know what types of things are on sale.”

Me: “Thank you, but we’re not buying anything today. If we buy anything, it will be on our last day.”

Person: “I didn’t say anything about buying anything. After all, no one needs to buy a rug. But, this will just give you a chance to get educated, and no museums or mosques will be open at that time, anyhow, and it will be too early for dinner.”

We entered the Cisterna. And, sure enough, at first it seemed that we should just go in and take a look, but we walked around the whole path, and it was definitely worth the extra time. By the way, if you do end up in Turkey and visit the Cisterna, bring a tripod. It’s large and dark, and you can get striking pictures with a 2 to 3 second exposure. As we emerged from the exit, who do you think we saw?

Person: “How did you like it?”

Me: “It was pretty extraordinary.”

Person: “Did you get to take any pictures? Can I see them?”

Me: “Sure, take a look.”

Person: “And, now, maybe you would honor me by taking some time to have a glass of tea, relax, and learn about Turkish carpets. My shop is just 20 meters this way.”

And so, on our first day, we ended up in a Turkish rug merchant. But still, we had no intention of actually buying anything. The job of the first person was to bring people to the shop; he was the shill. This was actually the end of our interaction with him. Once in the shop, we primarily interacted with one of the owners.

Owner: “Come, sit down. Let me explain the different types of rugs to you, and educate you so you’ll know a good rug from a cheap one. Here, have some tea.”

Owner: “You know, no one comes to Turkey to buy a rug. It’s not something that you need. Yet, most people end up buying one. Why? Because, it’s art. It’s something they decide that they like. And, it’s something that they will have and enjoy for the rest of their lives. A good rug will last for over 100 years.”

Then, he proceeded to explain the five different types of rugs, the different materials, the different types of knots, and how rugs changed colors as you looked at them from different angles.

And also, how December is their slowest season, how they would never be able to devote this much time to someone in the summer season, how to tell real wool and natural dyes from synthetics, and how the prices of rugs are usually 25% less in December than in the summer.

After about 45 minutes, with the education winding down, he asked us which, if any, of the rugs we liked, and if we wanted to see more of that type of rug. Rightly or wrongly, at this point, I felt a little guilty.

We’d used up 45 minutes of his time, along with three assistants, we’d drunk his apple tea, we’d learned a lot about rugs. I was still not willing to purchase a rug, but we were at least willing to let him know which of the rugs, we liked.

Once the family had picked one of the rugs, he then proceeded to show us about 20 rugs of the same type.

Next, he asked us which three of those rugs we liked the best.

It was then that my wife said, “you know, we really do need to replace the rug in the dining room sometime, as well as the rug in Rosie’s (our daughter) room. But, we do not need to purchase a rug at this time.”

The owner then asked my daughter, “if you could have one of these rugs, and if you didn’t have to pay for it, can you see any of them working in your room?”

And she pointed to one of the rugs. “I really like that one.”

Owner to Rosie: “You have very good taste. That rug is 100% wool. Look here, that’s how you can tell that they dyes are natural and not artificial. Look at the weave, this is how you can tell it is not machine made. It takes someone three to four months working full time to make a rug like this.”

Owner to me: “I know that you are not looking to purchase a rug. In the summer, I would start off with a price of around $3,000 for this rug, and we would easily sell it for more than $2,500. But, if you were interested at all, I’d offer you this rug at $1,800.”

Me: “Thank you, but we really are not interested in purchasing a rug right now.”

Owner: “Nearly everyone who comes to Turkey is not interested in buying a rug. But, you know, nearly everyone who comes ends up buying one. Because they find something that they really like, something that is going to last them the rest of their lives, and something that they will forever remember their trip to Turkey with.”

Owner: “Is there any price, where, if you could own this rug for that price, you would walk out of here happy?”

Me: “Well, I’m really not looking to purchase a rug.”

Owner: “Yes, and you may end up not purchasing one. But is there any price where you would say, ‘I am happy to buy that rug.”?

Me: “I guess, if I could have that rug for $800, I’d probably be happy.”

Owner: “This is a rug that I would be selling in the summer for over $2,500. But you know,” looking at Rosie, “you are a very lucky young lady to have a father who has the means and the desire to purchase something like this for you that you really want. I hope you appreciate him.”

Me: “Wait a minute, that’s a line that I’ve used in sales training before. That comes right from Joe Girardi.”

Owner: “You are in sales? What do you sell?”

Me: “I’m in education, but I used to sell and I used to train sales people.”

At this point the owner comes right up to me, within about two inches. He grasps my right hand in his, starts shaking it, and says, “I think we can come to a deal. How about $1,500 for the rug?”

Me: “I really didn’t come here to buy a rug. I said that I’d be happy to purchase the rug for $800, but it really wasn’t my intent to purchase one.

Owner, still holding and shaking hands with me: “How about $1,400?”

Me: “Well, maybe $900.”

Owner, still shaking my hand: “$1,300.”

Me: “1,000”

Owner: “I just cannot sell it for 1,000, let’s say we have a deal at $1,100.”

Me: “Okay.”

And that was it. My daughter now has a Kilin rug from Turkey in her bedroom. My son is just shaking his head, “Dad, you did it again.”

How did the two sales people do it?

According to Robert Cialdini, there are 6 weapons of influence. We can all use them, and they are used on us, either knowingly or by accident:

Reciprocation: we try to repay what another person has provided us
Commitment and consistency: we desire to be consistent with what we have already done
Social proof: we tend to rely on what other people are doing to determine our own actions
Liking: we tend to go along with and follow people we like
Authority: we feel a sense of duty to follow someone who has authority
Scarcity: opportunities seem more valuable to us when their availability is limited

You can see how the rug salesmen used practically every one of these weapons in getting me to purchase the rug.

Reciprocation: The shill gave helped us find a suitable site after we were unable to enter the Hagia Sophia, then, he provided additional instructions to make sure we enjoyed it fully. The shop owner gave us snacks and apple tea, plus spent a lot of time with us educating us on oriental carpets.

Commitment and consistency: Once the shill told me that he would meet us at the exit, and once I had not denied that we would, consistency led us to follow him to the shop. But the real and masterly use of the consistency weapon was by the shop owner, who came up to me and started shaking my hand as we negotiated price.

It’s hard to back down from making a deal as you are affirming it by shaking someone’s hand. I’m going to try that technique sometime with my kids when I need them to do something that they really don’t want to do, like pick up their rooms.

Social proof: There was the shaking of hands by the shop owner; if he was signaling that we had a deal, who was I to say we did not? But, there was also the assumptive closing by the shill, saying that we would meet at the exit of the Cisterna Basilica.

Liking: Both the shill used helpfulness, stories, interest in our concerns as ways to get us to like them, to create a rapport, before any selling started.

Authority: We went into a lot of shops in Istanbul. I have to say that in practically every single one, we ended up talking with the owner. Of course, I have no way of knowing if it was really the owner, but the person spoke as someone in authority.

Scarcity: knowing that prices were generally a lot higher, and that was confirmed by my son, who’d been in Istanbul for the past three months, let us feel that we would not have the opportunity to purchase at that price in subsequent trips.

What lessons can we take from this?

First, in subsequent negotiations and interactions, we can be more cognizant of the techniques that the sales people were using; “Oh, this is the ‘reciprocation’ technique, don’t feel that you need to reciprocate. Only purchase if you want the item.” Being more aware of these weapons let’s us be more resistant.

Second, we can utilize these techniques ourselves. Instead of launching into immediately telling someone what to do (as in “go clean your room”, or “do you want to buy this service?”), we can find a way to offer something, we can spend time to insure that the person is in a receptive mood where they like us, we can create a perception of scarcity.

Third, read Robert Cialdini’s book. It will provide even more examples to help you manage better, lead better, and resist others who would try to influence you to do things that you don’t really want to.

And, with all that, we’re happy we bought the rug; it will provide us with a lifetime of memories of our trip to Turkey. If you want to view a short slide show of our trip along with commentary, you can view about 40 pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/mweisburgh/sets/72157594454226960/.

Posted by Mitchell Weisburgh on January 03, 2007 at 03:28 PM

This article was initially published on the AcademicBiz blog. Click here to go to the original post.

Should You Waste Time on LinkedIn or Not?

Jill Konrath — 2008-05-02T23:17:07-05:00

Check out my newest ebook, Can LinkedIn Increase Your Sales? Learn how others are leveraging LinkedIn to connect, create opportunities and increase sales.

In this ebook, you'll discover tips and strategies from numerous entrepreneurs, salespeople and business professionals who found ways to use this new sales tool to their best advantage. Real ideas from real people.

Click here to get your copy.

Sales Idiots: Here's a survey to share your real thoughts with marketing idiots

Jill Konrath — 2008-04-02T07:48:43-05:00

Yes, the title is playing off John Jantsch's recent posts on sales idiots & marketing idiots. But seriously, it's a chance for people in Sales to share their two cents. If you have something to say, take this survey.

The CMO Council and it's new Coalition to Leverage & Optimize Sales Effectiveness (CLOSE) are benchmarking the current state of sales & marketing alignment and integration.

Your insights are needed to understand what's really happening in your company and what you really need from Marketing to be more effective. You'll be asked for info such as:

Is your company sales or marketing focused?
How well do you align with Marketing? How well does Marketing align with your needs in Sales?
If you could ask Marketing for one thing...what would it be? Better leads...better collateral...better messaging? Where do they rate?

Please share your thoughts re: the reality of the sales/marketing relationship and help get the conversation started!

Go to the survey now.

An Idiot in Sales Strikes Back!

Jill Konrath — 2008-03-26T10:04:12-05:00

As any self-respecting person would do, I must stand up for my profession. Today John Jantsch wrote a post called, "Those Idiots in Sales Don't Get It!"

Clearly he's pointing the finger in the wrong direction. As all of us in the sales field know, the issue is with Marketing.

In fact, that's why I wrote an ebook on What Sales Really Needs From Marketing: 7 Strategies to Get More & Better Prospects into Your Sales Pipeline.

I know those marketers try hard to do a good job. But they're putting all their efforts in the wrong direction. If you'd like to close the gap between sales & marketing in your company, make sure your leaders read this ebook.

You can download it on my official Selling to Big Companies blog.

(P.S. John also wrote a post on Those Idiots in Marketing Don't Get It. Both of us are trying hard to get sales & marketing together.)