Monthly Archive for April, 2007

Knowledge is Selling Power

Published
by
Tom Blue
on April 30, 2007
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

I spend at least an hour a day learning about new companies, reading up on competition, and looking at general business news. Not only do I find it interesting, but it helps me as a sales person and as the driving force behind our company. It helps to know what your competitors are doing so that you can pitch your product/service in an alternative or similar way. I want to know when a company(i.e. prospect) gets venture funded. They are usually spending money on ramping on their sales/marketing and that is where our company comes in to play. In addition, I want to know how to talk the talk. What prospect/client is going to be influenced by someone that is uninformed on their industry and in business itself?

Prospecting with News

I like to track specific articles and press releases. Like Venture Fundings, IPOs, New Contracts, etc. I want to know who is really growing fast and which companies have just received an influx of money. Why? Because they usually spend that money on growing revenues and that is where our service comes in to play. Previously, when I worked for a staffing/recruiting agency, I looked for articles that mentioned new office openings, hiring plans, resignations, and new hires. I wanted to know when companies were hiring so I could pitch our services to them. A lot of people just want to know when a new executive has been placed in a company because when a new person takes the reins many times they switch vendors. There are a number of ways that you can get this type of info; our company, Lead411, TrueAdvantage, and if you would like to do it for free you can monitor the news compilers(Google) and business journals(American City). It takes more research time, but the price might be right.

Competition Tracking

I have a few direct competitors that I want to read about regardless of the type of news. Any article, press release, or blog that mentions their name I want to know about. That way I can see what the public thinks of them, what people like about their service, what new products they might be releasing, etc. As a sales person, this helps me pitch our service in a way that makes us more attractive. As an entrepreneur, it allows me to see what the competition is doing so that we can stay on top of the latest and greatest products and features. All of the news compilers have Alerts/Updates that can let you know when your competitor has a story written on them.

Industry Watch

The general idea behind following general business and your specific industry’s news is to be an informed resource for your clients and prospects. Your product alone is not the only thing you are selling. People want to be able to rely on someone that knows where their industry is heading and how to gain the largest return on investment for their product/service. I like to listen to Internet podcasts based on technology and marketing, but there are plenty of news magazines out there.

This article only focuses on the sales aspect of knowing this knowledge. It has many benefits to your future career, job hunting, and social relationships. With all of the information available on the web, this is a definite must for any sales professional.

What Is Enterprise Lead Generation?

Published
by
Administrator
on April 14, 2007
in Uncategorized
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It is Not Telemarketing

There are so many segments of B2B telemarketing, lead generation, and telesales, that using any of these phrases might give a false sense of what we at iTelesource do.  Because of this I started calling it Enterprise Lead Generation last year.  How does enterprise lead generation differ from typical lead generation or B2B telemarketing?  It seems that every company that offers B2B Telemarketing also offers a form of lead generation.  The problem is, they usually use the same model for their lead generation efforts as they do for their telemarketing business.  It is the typical smile and dial script based effort using the cheapest labor possible.  In the space we operate, this model is guaranteed to fail. 

Complex Solution Sales

iTelesource only works with companies that are targeting mostly large enterprises.  Our customers have between a 6-7 figure solution and operate within a 6-24 months sales cycle.  These programs require true solution selling with the ability to identify a pain and adapt the pitch to that issue.  Our clients then give us their top tier named accounts to qualify. 

Experienced Sales Professionals

To tackle this space our model employs hiring experienced solution selling experts.  Our team today averages over 7 years of solution selling experience in both an inside and outside sales role.  They enjoy prospecting because it is what they do best. They have worked in many verticals and are able to pick up new solutions with ease.

A Proprietary Four (4)-Step Account Process

Next, we then apply our proprietary technique of attacking individual accounts and tracking them through our 4 step qualifying process.  This process allows us to work targeted accounts in a manner that brings a group approach from our client’s sales team to articulate the best plan of attack for each specific account.  By targeting accounts in this manner, not only do we produce a higher conversion rate to quality opportunities, but we are also able to capture key intelligence on the targeted market.

Call Guide vs. Scripts

Scripts are ideal in commodity situations where the tele-sales rep is not capable or does not need to craft the pitch to match the pain or challenge.  When working with top US corporations, executives will not tolerate a script reading telemarketer.  The moment they smell a sales pitch, they will give you the dial tone.  This space requires a solution sales approach that cannot come by way of script. 

At iTelesource we utilize a call guide. It is a document designed to generate conversation around potential pain points and give the lead generation specialist leeway in saying what is necessary to have a productive conversation. The best cold calls are ones where the client does 75% of the talking, and a standard script does not allow for this. Our call guides promote dialogue that not only uncovers pain, but allows us to articulate how our clients’ solutions resolve the issues. 

As a whole, these aspects separate enterprise lead generation from other B2B forms of telemarketing, and combined are extremely effective at generating opportunities in a complex or solution selling environment.

Sales Effectiveness…shortening the sales cycle

Published
by
Steve Krause
on April 4, 2007
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

Reducing the time to close a deal is certainly top of mind for any sales executive and has a huge impact not only on the success of the business, but also on the organization’s ability to develop what is commonly described as a high performance sales culture: one of winning, confidence and efficiency. I will share with you five initial ways to affect the sales culture in a positive way by reducing the time it takes to sell a product or a service.

SALES STRATEGY
Make every sales call purposeful.

This depends, to a large extent, on whether your sales organization has a defined sales process. Many don’t and most that do fail to organize their sales education, process and tools around it. More discipline and coaching by sales managers on activities and best practices throughout the sales process can shorten the sales cycle and provide more consistent results.

Conditioning your sales reps to always be thinking about the next step is key, but first they need to know what that step is. Many sales organizations focus solely on opportunity planning versus territory and account planning. Stepping back and looking holistically at the account or territory for more strategic and purposeful selling can pay big dividends with increased pipeline, larger contract values and shorter sales cycles.
Quarterly account planning for high potential accounts and annual (or semi-annual) territory planning can yield results IF those sessions are focused on developing a sales strategy aligned with your clients’ top strategic initiatives and economic value creation.

VALUE MESSAGING
Establish the right intent.

One of the fastest ways sales people slow down a sales cycle is to communicate “me issues” or demonstrate behaviors that are not focused on the client. Symptomatic of this are poor listening skills (or not listening to the client’s real issues and objectives) and jumping too quickly to a feature, function or product presentation or demo. That is why it is critical to establish the right intent from the beginning of relationship. The most successful sales people focus everything they say and do on it. The intent must be quickly backed up with value messaging — clear, relevant and compelling statements to support intent, generate interest and communicate economic value to the client. It goes without saying that value messaging must also include differentiators.

SELLING APPROACH
Take an “influential advisor” approach.

How do you create influence and establish an advisor relationship with your client?
Communicating a clear and compelling capabilities presentation to stimulate discussion is important to becoming an influential advisor. Look for ways to share thought leadership, ideas, case studies, white papers and business acumen. Your selling approach, as well as your actions and behaviors, supports your intent and can create a competitive advantage for your sales organization. Today’s influential seller spends time earning trust and credibility. That leads to a more effective understanding of needs that, in turn, leads to an on-target solution and a faster close than the traditional product sales model.

ASSESSMENT
Conduct a needs assessment.

The best way to qualify an opportunity, prove that a client’s issues exist and show the economic impact of solving those issues is to recommend and conduct an assessment or evaluation. This can be as simple as a 20 question online diagnostic or as complex as a business process preliminary assessment…or something in between. The objective is to prioritize the issues, quantify the issues and present the findings from the assessment with your recommendations to the client.

The best way to qualify an opportunity, prove that a client’s issues exist and show the economic impact of solving those issues is to recommend and conduct an assessment or evaluation. This can be as simple as a 20 question online diagnostic or as complex as a business process preliminary assessment…or something in between. The objective is to prioritize the issues, quantify the issues and present the findings from the assessment with your recommendations to the client.

The assessment allows the sales person to confirm their understanding of both current and desired states (along with the corresponding client impact) with the client. In addition to an on-target recommendation, the sales person will most certainly uncover other opportunities for account growth during the assessment. If the client is not willing to do the assessment, that sends a key signal to the salesperson to de-select, remove that opportunity from the pipeline and move quickly to other higher potential situations.
Poorly qualified opportunities without a substantial economic impact clog the pipeline, lower the close rate, lengthen the sales cycle and increase the cost of sale.

DEVELOP A WINNING BUSINESS CASE
Create a compelling case.

One of the most critical elements in reducing sales cycle time is presenting a compelling business case. Simply put, a business case is a tool that supports executive planning and decision making. It answers the question: What are the likely financial and business consequences if we take (or don’t take) this action? Many sales organizations have difficulty quantifying metrics that demonstrate whether their services or any solutions are worth the extra cost.

Providing proof of demonstrable economic impact — and having the financial acumen to communicate that impact in business terms — is key. In fact, according to IDC research, a cost-justification report and business case increase the likelihood of a project’s approval by 60% and reduce the sales cycle by 30-40%. Strategically, providing a detailed ROI analysis gives decision makers confidence that the seller is also a partner, committed to the realization of promised economic value — reducing risks, increasing returns and improving the bottom line.

These five ideas can help your sales organization achieve tangible results in a short period of time. One of my clients reduced its sales cycle by 25% while increasing the close rate, pipeline and total contract value.
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