As a relatively new father, my 2-year-old son never ceases to amaze me at the pace that he both learns and adjusts. He is very vocal and has a great repository of words that grow daily, so you get to hear how his thought process plays out. Like most kids,…
Building on previous blogs, change is hard and in complex selling environments, a business case is typically required as part of the buying process. They will vary in formality and content, but in the land of consensus decision making, the business case for change is the one common denominator that…
Further to our latest blog titled “Are Your Customers Your Real Competition?”, the next concept is about how can you work with your customers and prospective customers to enable them to make change. If your team is creating the demand, when you show up the customer is firmly entrenched in…
How many of you want to get off the wheel and do something for yourself? Who would like to pick with whom you work and invoke the “no @#$hole” rule? Being an entrepreneur is unbelievably hard and under appreciated work. That said, in the season of giving and resolutions, I…
According to recent studies by CEB and others, when your reps get invited into an opportunity [lead, RFP, etc.], the prospect is already 57% of the way through their purchasing process. The implications are significant on your cost of sale and your win rate. Chances are pretty good that the…
This statement sounds obvious. When you think about your respective corporate strategy, the choices you make are about driving sustainable revenue growth. For most corporations [large and small], the concept of strategic planning tends to feel more like the annual budget process. Correspondingly, budgets project revenues, but by their nature…
The discussion question that I am posing to those of you in the world of complex sales is when you choose to pursue an opportunity, do you develop clear Win Strategies? Based on how you are going to be judged, do you have a clear sales strategy (that aligns the…
There is a lot of debate and discussion in the blogosphere about the concept of Insight Based Selling being fueled by the Corporate Executive Board (CEB) and some of their researchers and thought leaders that wrote the book The Challenger Sale. Is this new? Is this unique? Is this just…
So, just so we are are clear, I am the “old white guy”. Whenever we get into a conversation about anything “social” (LinkedIn, Twitter, et al) with a CEO, regardless of their background, it feels like a bunch of old guys discussing something they know is important, but they have…
I have always liked the fishing metaphor for sales. There is vast opportunity, but spending time in the wrong places yields poor results. “Most of the world is covered by water. A fisherman’s job is simple: Pick out the best parts.” –Charles Waterman A rare occurrence happened the other day.