Exploring the Fascinating World of C-Suite* Access
*C-Suite, Boardroom, Corporate Level Access is Mount Olympus for sales trainers who want to make a contribution to the longevity of sales professionals who turn to us for solutions to gain, repeated, ethical access to top-level decision-makers and influencers.
Mount Olympus in Greek Mythology was the mystical domain of the Gods who ruled Ancient Greece. It is a near perfect analogy to the Corporate Suite (C-Suite) domain. The world of CEO, COO, CFO, CIO, CMO (Chiefs) because it is these few senior decision-makers whom we business-to-business (b2b) sales professionals must gain repeated, ethical access to if we are to control our sales destinies inside corporations.
Repeated, ethical access requires learning a specific skill set to be invited back into their domains because we have something of value to add or a significant, unique contribution to make. Once we earn their trust (and, earn it we must) we are approaching the status of a ‘Trusted Advisor’. OK, enough said about ‘Trusted Advisor’ status for now. I am getting way ahead of myself!
Since beginning this blog in March 2008, my focus has been the tactical aspects of business-to-business (b2b) sales prospecting. I make no apologies for my posting irregularity. I feel as strongly now about my then-promise of only posting when I have something worthwhile to contribute.
These Rules still apply especially in our congested blogging community. Like many serious peers, I resent time-intrusion techno annoyances, such as Twitter, which interrupt my concentration whether I am working or playing. Twitter, to me, is still an annoying, ringing phone I am too busy to answer!
In June 2009, I ranted about Twitter, in my “Twitter, Twatter, Does It Really Matter?” blog. The overwhelming response to my commentary was from ardent Tweeters who were in favor of hanging my cyber entrails from a pole in the Internet Town Square. God love them! They are entitled to their opinions but so am I! While Twitter has gained in popularity, it is just too real-time for me and not a technology I choose to embrace at this time.
Technology to me is like a shovel in my tool shed. It is there when I need it. I am still amazed when I see busy executives wearing two or more PDA’s, cell phones or pagers draped on their belts. They are like newborn infants with their umbilical cords tethered to their mommas. It’s their choice but not mine!
OK, back to my 2010 topic focus of Exploring the Fascinating World of C-Suite Access. I have received many requests to share effective techniques for gaining repeated, ethical access to C-Suite decision-makers, so this is our 2010 starting point. I am excited and I hope you will be too with my heavily researched content. Please feel free to post comments, at will.
Happy Days are Here, Again!
This October-November has been unlike any other I can recall in my 26 years as a marketing consultant and business-to-business sales prospecting trainer. There were more serious calls and Internet Inquiries than I can recall for any 60 day period.
Certainly, I have the Recession to thank for my very positive turn of events. During good times very few marketing decision-makers need a guy to increase sales when sales are booming. But, when the ‘cupboard is bare’ as it has been for the past year, I have been busier than a one-armed paper hanger!
Sadly, a few of these inquiries waited too long and found themselves already drowning in negative cash flow or worse having their assets repossessed. They just waited too long to take corrective action.
I’m not a miracle-worker. Granted, I’ve been fortunate to account for some very exciting turn-arounds but only because the opportunities and circumstances were aligned with my expertise and skills and the clients followed through with my timely recommendations.
The old definition of luck of ‘when opportunities meet the prepared mind’ may seem trite but it’s true and I have my father and my old high school Latin Teacher, John Bell, to thank for his often quoted, “everything one experiences in life is grist for the mill”.
For years, I labored diligently and stayed the course pursuing my laser-focus of mastering the sales prospecting process rather than wandering off course and trying to become all things to all potential clients who needed presentation, closing, and customer service skills training.
Make no mistake; many times I was tempted to accept sales training assignments outside of my area of expertise to pay the bills. I stayed the course and remained focused on b2b (business to business) sales prospecting and new business development challenges and now, I’m thrilled to say, it was the right thing to do!
This past weekend, I finished reading Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, the best-selling ‘success’ book, which was filled with countless stories and affirmations of why it pays to become an expert in a discipline and how where we come from and how those around us are truly responsible for our successes in life.
“I chose the path less travelled and it has made all the difference’ Robert Frost’s memorable poetic words ring true, again. My purpose with this blog posting is to remind those who are at the crossroads of their careers to pursue a life’s work they genuine enjoy and a career where their expertise can be counted on to deliver relevant and timely value to others.
Years ago, Zig Ziglar, whom I once met at a National Speakers Association Convention, advised me to follow my heart and do well what I enjoy most even though the compensation (at that time) may not meet my expectations because eventually I would triumph and be paid what I am worth.
Those ‘years ago’ are now and I’m thankful I followed his sage advice!
How to Become a Polished Phone Communicator!
Recently, for the umpteenth time, I was asked, “wherever did you learn to communicate so effectively on the telephone.” My usual answer would have been “in the school of hard knocks” but this time I thought about it and replied, “I owed my phone, in-person, written and platform communications skills to my 31 year membership and active participation in Toastmasters International.”
Since joining their Winter Park Chapter in February 1978, the Chapter has grown to 65 members and Toastmasters International has added 100,000 members and robust chapters in nearly every country.
Toastmasters International vision statement empowers people to achieve their full potential and realize their dreams. Through our member clubs, people throughout the world can improve their communication and leadership skills, and find the courage to change.
I joined to improve my public speaking skills but I stayed for 31 years because of the camaraderie and total pleasure I experienced from nurturing others to improve their communication skills. Lifetime friendships have evolved from my active participation in Winter Park Toastmasters. I met my CPA, travel agent, doctor, financial advisor and several business services-providers plus, many of my best social friends at the chapter.
My chapter has become my ‘learning laboratory’ where I have:
- Tested new speech material for my paid sales training seminars and workshops.
- Adapted skills from impromptu speaking venues to enhance my training techniques.
- Applied many communications tools to make my presentations more memorable.
- Acquired the confidence to communicate to 10 or 1,000 audience attendees.
- Learned how to apply humor to anchor my key presentation points.
- Expanded my vocabulary and broadened my appreciation of other languages.
How has my Toastmasters’ Training improved my phone-use skills? Every Toastmasters meeting agenda includes an impromptu speaking segment called Table Topics. During this portion of each meeting, members who aren’t scheduled to participate in the week’s meeting are called upon to speak extemporaneously. The meeting Table Topics Master calls on a member, who will stand and then be given a topic to speak about for 1 minute.
Now, 1 minute may not sound like a very long time but it can be quite daunting to converse on a topic one has had no opportunity to prepare, especially in front of a room full of members.
This impromptu speaking opportunity is excellent training for sales people who use the phone to cold call or who are conducting scheduled phone communications. Its excellent training that prepares one to think on their feet and to respond to the unexpected question or phone objection by the other phone party which often occurs during a phone conversation.
Toastmasters Membership is $95 annually, plus weekly chapter meeting dues and nominal fees for Toastmasters International Training Manuals. Weekly chapter attendees have the opportunity to polish their Table Topics skills where repeated practice leads to confidence and communications ease over time.
Whenever I have been exposed to sales training client sales people who lack communications skills or who shudder at the thought of using the phone to speak with strangers, I encourage them to attend a Toastmasters International chapter meeting in their vicinity.
Hands down, Toastmasters International training is the best investment to develop one’s communications skills. Once one becomes a chapter member, they will have the opportunity to learn, by doing, which is the most effective way to anchor their newly acquired learning skills.
Go to www.toastmasters.org to find a chapter and to participate in this wonderfully relevant and rewarding learning experience.
How to Successfully Cold Call in the Age of the Internet
Last week, I cold-called 90 Community College decision-maker Administrators and spoke with 57 of them. My benefit-laced calling script referenced a website that would quickly answer their questions about an exciting new seminar created exclusively for their back-to-school entrepreneurs.
This is one of the fastest growing community college student populations. Most of these are 40+ year old recently unemployed white collar workers who have decided to become self-employed rather than suffer this same job loss during the next Recessionary cycle. Like locusts, they have descended on community colleges in massive number throughout the nation.
I seldom cold call. As a mail first, call second advocate for 32 years, I seldom break my own rules. I also consider myself a leading edge tactical sales trainer so I cannot afford the luxury of resting on my past accomplishments.
Staying current and relevant means getting my hands dirty, in the sales trenches, experiencing what my b2b sales trainees experience as they go about their daily and weekly sales prospecting activities.
Had I NOT coaxed those of the 57 who were not responding on their cell phones and who had Internet access, at their fingertips, it would have been very difficult to create a visual image or word picture of my calling proposition. Difficult, but not impossible.
This is the strongest argument FOR mailing first before conducting an initial follow up phone call. An effective mailing sets the stage for the phone call. It never tells the whole story! The mailing should only tease the target prospect to want to hear more during the announced, expected call.
Having a website which features quantified testimonials and very specific program benefits enables one to sell very effectively when cold-calling, since an electronic brochure is a timely tool.
So, if you plan to conduct cold calls, make sure your website is easy to navigate and visitor-friendly. Recently, my website, www.salesprospectingexpert.com was face lifted with this process in mind.
Those who go to my Contact Us page can, by providing minimum information, receive a PDF download with itemized details for whichever program they select. It’s a simple, non-intrusive method for responding to all inquiries. It works well and it’s generating more inquiries than I ever anticipated.
B2B Direct Mailing Campaign Achieves a 83% Response!
Because 83% of the B2B target prospects who received the 3-piece greeting card mailing campaign over 15-days made the connection between the telemarketer’s scripted opening remarks and their just-read mailings. Making this connection was critical for 2 reasons, namely:
- To transition from printed mailing piece to spoken, opening dialogue.
- The person conducting the follow up phone calls felt less like a cold-caller and more like a selling professional who is following up with a promised call, on a tasteful, relevant direct mailing!
The most frequent question raised by attendees at my sales prospecting seminars is: how do you know this copy and this greeting card selection will work?
My answer: I do not, but I do understand Human Nature. If you do something tastefully different with a whiff of imagination and you make a relevant point, mailed recipients will most often respond in a positive fashion when you call them.
Personalized greeting card mailing campaigns eliminate the cold-calling stigma. No matter how call reluctant or green a sales person, this process has repeatedly achieved remarkable results.
In the course of my 32 years of conducting thousands of client direct mailing campaigns, I have dropped a few real direct mail bombs!
For one client many years ago, who was selling $500,000 ocean-front condominiums, we created a very unique mailing piece with fine silica sand to remind recipients of their beautiful new ocean-front addresses nestled on the shores of one of Florida’s most pristine beaches. The accompanying 4-color glossy mailing piece and matching copy were brilliantly creative and printed on the most expensive paper.
The recipients never received their mailings! We failed to print ‘hand-cancel’ on each envelope. The Post Office sorting machines at the mail processing center ruptured some of the interior envelopes and literally ‘ground to a halt’ when the fine silica sand jammed their sensitive gears! It happened with a few pieces so equipment operators shut the system down before irreparable damage occurred.
When someone else handles the entire personalized message preparation with variable name-insertion for multiple addressee mailings and mail processing is completely automated including stuffing, addressing, affixing first-class stamps, sealing the envelopes and mailing; it is a very welcomed relief.
Pictures and cartoon drawings of animals work well on greeting card covers. The desired response is a person opening the folded greeting card to peek inside. One of my most effective greeting cards pictures a cat looking down at a tiny mouse inches from its nose. “Someone not doing their job?” is the caption copy. Inside the card copy is: “We will”!
Suppose you were trying to get the attention of Information Technology (IT) Managers at Fortune 100 corporate data centers? This serious group of decision-makers is under constant pressure. But, they are still people who enjoy a humorous pause from their stressful daily regimen.
Back to the cat and mouse stare-down greeting card with “Someone not doing their job?” Add a 17-word sentence, inside the card, conveying the message your company “can do the job”. Then, a second greeting card received by this same person 5 days later with an IT Manager’s testimonial quotation serves to reinforce your ‘can do’ theme.
And, 5 days later a third, and final greeting card, arrives with another ‘can do’ statement and an announcement to expect a phone call, soon. This is all it takes. Three folded greeting cards inside envelopes with affixed first class stamps, direct-addressed, not a label-address on the envelopes.
Our 2006 Test Mailing response rate of 83% was no accident. Proof: multiple, 3-peat greeting card mailings to b2b decision-makers in 55 industries since 2006 with response rates of seldom less than 62%.
In our Age of e-mail and v-mail, this is proof snail-mailings thoughtfully executed can very effectively set the stage to enable sales professionals to ethically access decision-making prospects, on the first call.
If you are inclined NOT to experiment, buy my $40 Power Prospecting® eBook. This process is well documented and includes the original 83% response mailing campaign conducted in 2006. You will also find a set of follow up phone calling scripts with all working forms and a chapter of expectations and reality performance yardsticks to guide you through the process.
1 Year Ago……………When the Sky Was Falling
Then: The naysayers were quick to predict the end of our economy and the start of a Domino Effect that our demise would have on the world economy. Many predicted the 2nd Great Depression was almost upon us. Why didn’t we listen to those survivalists who were preparing all along for our cataclysmic demise!
Now: But, 1 year ago, more of us than anticipated did the American Thing. We dug our heels into the dirt, rolled up our shirt sleeves and did the heavy lifting. We did what Americans do best when others doubt us: we demonstrated our true grit!
Here is the true story of one small business owner who demonstrated the guts to grind it out and succeed in this tough 10 month economic period. He did it without any fanfare, government handouts or help. He prospered, in an industry which experienced a 56% failure rate of his service-provider peers, serving a former Top 5 Florida Growth Industry which has experienced an 81% decline since December 2008.We met in November 2008. A business associate who knew us both brought us together.
He described it as: the ideal marriage. The client needed a marketing guy with fresh ideas and a proven track record for making positive change become a bankable reality. I needed a new challenge, in a new industry plus, a client with the ability to pay me and the courage to step outside his comfort zone to try something new.
Together, we made it happen for less than an investment in 1 Chevy from the New General Motors. Our process increased his monthly sales 273% over the same 2008 period. He added new jobsite work crews while his competition’s assets were being auctioned on the courthouse steps.
He insisted I add his testimonial to my website at: www.salesprospectingexpert.com. Remember folks, ‘it ain’t boasting if you make it happen’, in the homespun words of FSU’s most famous football coach. The process began with a quality mailing list of ideal target prospects. So, what’s ideal? Ideal prospects were large enough to weather the peaks and valleys of this economic storm with the ability to pay plus, a continuing need for my client’s services.
We needed a ‘scrubbed’ list of named decision-makers with their current business addresses and phone numbers. There were 2 sources. One, at the Florida Department of Professional Regulation in Tallahassee which maintains the database of all licensees, permitted to offer these services inside the state. The other, and the one we chose, was the statewide membership directory of their professional trade association.
It was harder to get and it took 3 months of happy hour drinks to get one printed directory. Next, we assigned a telemarketer to call every ‘pre-selected’ name in the directory to correct any changes or inaccuracies. This ‘scrubbing’ process, no matter how time-intensive, was critical to the success of our mailing campaign.
During my 32 years in business, I can name, from memory, each mailing list vendor who didn’t bother to verify the correct spelling of my name. You would be shocked at the number of misspelled versions of my name, Gordie Allen! Spelling someone’s name correctly demonstrates respect and professionalism. It takes minutes but it’s worth it, especially when you may ask this person to take action on your behalf at some future time.
In my next blog, I’ll discuss the mailing campaign which led to the resulting 273% monthly sales increase.
OK, it’s your turn! Please share your good, bad or even ugly mailing list experiences.
“Go Ahead and Make My Day!” (Why Americans Love Being Carded)
Dirty Harry Callahan got it right with this most famous movie one-liner. In the context it was spoken in The Enforcer it was never intended to improve anyone’s day. Today, in this blog let’s consider a more positive, fresher version.
Sometimes an e-mail or phone call just won’t work to help a friend through their ‘bad day blues’. Especially, in today’s ruthless, roller-coaster economy where lots of people are suffering serious personal and financial challenges, with many ending in tragedy.
When tragedy hits close to home it’s a quick splash of cold water reality in the face. Last week, we heard about two in our church family. One lost his job and house to foreclosure. The other, unemployed for 8 months with lapsed health insurance, discovered his wife had an advanced-stage cancer.
I prefer to send 3 greeting cards over a 3 week period to let people know we really care and we’re here for them, for the long haul. Why 3? It sends a strong signal their friends are in their hearts and prayers and they are not weathering this crisis alone.
Like many, my busy schedule gets in the way of going to the store to pick out the right card to send. Unlike others, I’ve taught time management training so I feel double guilt when I don’t do what I instruct others to do. Shame on me!
Here’s my near-perfect solution for personal and business card-sending. You may recall, I train sales pros and small biz owners how to painlessly get new customers.
In 2006, I discovered a process for opening doors, minds and hearts. It is the single most effective component for ending cold-calling described by some as the scourge of the selling profession. Since then, I have created dozens of greeting card-based direct mailing campaigns that have achieved double-digit sales-buster results.
In 2007, I’m was almost embarrassed to sit opposite a CEO of a $130 million dollar software company to tell him I was replacing his expensive, slick direct mail marketing campaign, which he paid his former advertising agency, big bucks to create and print, with 3 off-the-shelf personalized greeting cards.
Almost embarrassed, because I snail-mailed him these 3 off-the-shelf greeting cards with the right message. My reward was our first in-person sales appointment because I gave him a live demo. I proved it worked with my in-your-face Mr. CEO Demo!
I demonstrated exactly what I had in mind for his sales team to use to get the focused attention of starch-collared chemical engineers who made the final decision to buy his expensive software solution or that of his competitors.
His former advertising agency rep thought it was funny until he was instructed not to come back which gave me a great deal of ‘make my day’ satisfaction!
The right greeting card with a matching right message snail-mailed to the right decision-maker at their business address is all it takes to set the stage for a timely phone follow up call. But ‘right’ is the key. Executed properly, this process completely disarms the coldness associated with communicating effectively with a stranger.
Here’s why. We are people 24/7 underneath our decision-maker, doctor, lawyer, nurse, starch-collared chemical engineer’s skin. Even on the job, when we become our alter work egos, we still laugh, tear and act human when triggered to do so.
In our cut-throat economy with paper-thin margins, tight budgets and longer work days people crave a quickie break from their daily grind. Relieve this tension, for a few seconds, and they will remember and appreciate your tasteful, funny gesture.
You can do it for less than the cost of a cup of 7/11 coffee and in nearly the same time it takes to pour, mix and cap that cup of hot java. I’m still astonished at how few marketing professionals apply this psychology to their positioning advantage. Their oversight has become my competitive advantage.
Personalized, funny, colorful graphic images on off-the-shelf greeting cards can be used very effectively to trigger these human nature tendencies we all share.
I use Sendoutcards.com, an online greeting card processor, headquartered in Salt Lake City, UT to automate this need. What www.sendoutcards.com has so brilliantly done is made the process of sending personalized greeting cards a time-saving, no-brainer anyone can execute from the convenience of their favorite chair and computer.
In minutes, you can select a card from several categories of a constantly refreshed 7,000 card online inventory. Appropriate-to-the occasion glossy, coated cards with eye-popping colors and/or pictures with serious or humorous wording are available.
A very user-friendly online navigational system prompts you to open the electronic image of the card on your computer screen; type a personalized message; add a first name or title (Mr., Ms, Mrs.) last name; colorize the type font and even add your picture and your facsimile signature. Other options include adding denominational gift cards from The Home Depot, Chili’s, Barnes & Noble and other nationwide retailers.
Names and contact info, including a company name are captured in a database which can be imported from an Excel or other common CSV database files, or manually entered.
Merging the selected card(s) with the database addressees takes minutes and your personalized greeting card mailings are ready to go! The entire process of sending a snail-mailed, personalized greeting card (or as many as you choose) takes minutes, online, instead of the hassle of shopping for a card and manually processing it, the old-fashioned way.
Once you proof your message, you CLICK on Send Card and the named addressee, your return address, the selected card with your message are electronically transmitted to SendOutCards’ computer servers in Salt Lake City, for processing within 24 hours.
Best of all, there are no label-addressed envelopes. It’s a direct-imprint on the outside envelope and it even includes an affixed first class stamp for first-class personalization.
FACT: Whether you choose to imitate my success or not, Americans love to receive greeting cards at work or at home. Putting Human Nature to work in the marketplace can be a very rewarding experience for those who demonstrate tasteful creativity to achieve their corporate marketing goals with this innovative and inexpensive process.
I encourage you to investigate www.sendoutcards.com. Should you wish to wander around their website, enter ID # 8265, to gain online access.
My Power Prospecting® ebook for sale for $40 includes my 4 card campaign with the copy if you wish to duplicate my 83% success response while minimizing your risk. Just CLICK on the Power Prospecting ebook button in the right margin. You can download my FREE minibook before you buy at my www.powerprospectingebook.com website.
So, go ahead and make someone’s day and discover what I learned (and, maybe, profit too) about why Americans love to be carded.
Human Nature Can Make Your Response Rates SOAR!
For starters, do you prefer to receive a USPO delivered greeting card, e-mail or voice-mail?
I still prefer a greeting card, delivered the old-fashioned way by the mailman; even when I don’t know the sender. To me, it’s always a mysterious little package.
I’m not alone because so does most of America! NOT advertising hype from THAT card company who often pitches us to “always send the very best.” According to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive Research, 51% of Americans will direct mail at least 25 greeting cards between Halloween and year-end.
Americans enjoy being carded, even while at work. They are people first and business professionals, second. Sending cards to people at work is appropriate and attention-getting even if they are strangers and you are trying to introduce yourself.
Using greeting cards as a solicitation tool isn’t new. What is new is a lesson I learned as a result of conducting a 2006 Test Mailing. The Lesson: mail 3 funny message cards over 15 days to decision makers. Then, place a phone call within 4 days of their receipt of card # 3.
To your delight, you will discover you will NOT be speaking to a stranger. Mail 3 appropriate cards to a business person so they receive one card, 5 days later – another card, and 5 days later – another card. That person will be waiting for your call, provided your 3 cards:
1. Don’t hard sell you, your company, product or service.
2. Are tastefully funny and your message is direct and business-like.
3. Include your basic business card info: name, job title, company, cell ph
Even when they are up to their backsides in alligators, busy people will take a few minutes to speak with someone who creatively contacts them out of respect and curiosity. Respect for imagination and curiosity about the mailing. Human Nature, at work, at its best.
The Secret Sauce: link your call purpose with your 3 just-mailed greeting cards, and maybe you, too will speak with a shocking 83% of mailed addressees, as we did in 2006. No kidding, an 83% response to my Test Mailing!
Stay tuned and next week, you will learn why 332 of the 400 mailed card addressees responded favorably to my 2006 Test Mailing, in my blog titled, “Why Americans LOVE to be Carded”.
How Paying Attention Netted me a $127,000 Contract!
In 2000, I was one among many trainers competing for a six figure sales training contract with a South Florida software company who was dissatisfied with their outbound telemarketing sales results from the prior two financial periods.
Mrs. Jimenez, the gatekeeper, whose contact information was e-mailed to the other 19 trainers and me, invited to bid on this sizable training assignment, was very matter of fact during our first phone conversation, as would only be expected.
During our conversational exchange I detected a real sense of stress in her voice so I asked if she would prefer that I call her back at a later, less busy time.
“No”, she said and continued with, “I just received some distressing new about my husband’s job and I’m a little distracted, now and I apologize to you.” I empathized with her and offered to help, commenting I had local contacts I’d be glad to call, on his behalf.
Her husband, a mid-level bi-lingual manager, who had been employed for 18 years with a large OEM tool distributor in Miami, just received his pink slip. This was a complete surprise since his recent job performance report awarded him a 5 of 5 stars ratings.
Getting this news, without any prior warning, was cruel and unusual punishment, especially for a loyal employee with an 18 year one-company employment history!
When I inquired further about his job title, responsibilities, bi-lingual skills and whether he was interested in seeking employment since he was already close to retirement, she affirmed my suspicions that his salary loss, at this time, would be ‘catastrophic’.
I made no promises but I ended the call on a pleasant note.
The next day, I made six calls to local friends, associates and past training clients. One of them ‘knew of a plastics manufacturer just a few miles up the road who was adding an export sales department.”
Aha, wasn’t Jimenez bi-lingual? My friend agreed to immediately seek more information. He called his contact at the plastics manufacturer who told him, “Yes, we’d like to interview a bi-lingual person, as soon as possible, since we have no one on staff and we have bushels of export inquiries which need translation.”
Shortly after, I called Mrs. Jimenez and gave her the details and contact information. I can’t begin to describe, in words, her surprise and jubilation. Surprise, that a stranger would make the effort to help and jubilation with my instant results. She asked, if I’d mind calling her husband at home that evening which I agreed to do.
When I hung up the phone that evening, I can’t begin to tell you the feeling of personal satisfaction I enjoyed as a result of making a few phone calls which resulted in something positive happening even though I had no idea whether a job offer would result.
In Paul Harvey’s lingo, the rest of the story is: Jimenez interviewed well and was hired, part-time, which became full-time 22 days after his first interview.
As a result Mrs. Jimenez became my inside scout at the software company. When I asked her who the power broker was on the Training Review Committee and if I should be aware of any past good or bad history with contracted trainers, she gave me the competitive intelligence I needed to make ‘the convincing presentation’.
Talk about a win-win opportunity.
The Lesson: Pay attention! You just never know where it will lead.
PS When I visit Miami I always have an open invitation for dinner.
When Sales Opportunities Knock Will You be Ready?
In 1983, I opened the doors to my current company, Leads-Plus Inc. Then, I decided (against the advice of my peers) to narrow focus my sales consulting services rather than become a generalist, as did most of my peers. My niche was then and still is: training b2b sales professionals and small b2b owners how to painlessly and systematically get new customers. Much to the chagrin of my wife, I have passed up other sales training assignments outside of my niche expertise. I even coined the phrase: Power Prospecting® from which I developed a copyrighted formula.
From 1967-1978, I repeatedly tested and perfected my sales prospecting formula. In my early years it was primitive. While it produced results it wasn’t consistently successful. Oh, it worked well enough for me to book enough new sales clients to exceed my sales quotas and to rapidly progress up the corporate sales ladder. I became National Sales Manager for a computer industry leader at age 32 which is still remarkable by today’s career path standards.
Today, several hundred b2b clients later, the Power Prospecting® Formula continues to consistently improve and work its magic even in this lean economy. My point is simply this: dedication, perseverance and patience continue to payoff. When planted in fertile ground, they sow the seeds of prosperity, even in today’s economy. Here’s a case in point.
About 9 months ago, a CPA referred me into one of his b2b clients. The client provides technical OEM services to major corporations in one of the three very competitive growth industries which fuel our Central Florida Economy. Sales were flat, even before the effects of this Recession began to trickle down into our marketplace.
I was hired to work with one sales person and tasked to help him develop new market segments and to grow his prospecting skills. We developed a solid personal chemistry and worked well together. This young man, while lacking formal education, was highly motivated to learn from my experience and to apply my expertise to his selling style.
Since January he has become a first-rate sales prospector with polished, confident phone qualification skills and a disciplined mind for staying on-point and on-purpose, regardless of the sometimes sour attitudes of those he calls on, weekly.
As a result, he has become a sales star by greatly exceeding the expectations of his boss, his peers; and even himself. When we started the process he had doubts. I didn’t! I’d worked with enough raw sales talent since 1983, to have an experienced eye to spot a ‘diamond in the rough’. This young man was hungry to improve himself and to succeed.
I welcomed this opportunity to help him fulfill his destiny and mine, too. In sales, results speak louder than promises. Monthly sales and the size of the individual sales contracts have both tripled over this same period last year. Competition is a distant memory and the sales pipeline is full of qualified new prospects ready to join the ranks of satisfied customers.
Can I take all the credit? No. I was presented with an opportunity and the right set of circumstances with a client that needed my polished and proven skills set. I was ready for that ‘knock’, ‘knock’ on my door.
My question for you is this: What have you done lately to improve your skills set so when your sales opportunity knocks, you will be ready?