For the last few months, Bloggertone has been a labour of love and indeed a steep learning curve for me and the guys at Channelship. For those of you that don’t know (the new official explanation), Bloggertone is a business blogging community, a place where business professionals can stand out. You can read the specialists; share opinions and sign up to blog about business!

The site went live on the 23^rd of October 2009 and as it now goes through its first redesign, it feels like a good time to look back and access what I have learned in between.

Identity takes time

I had an idea in my head of what Bloggertone would be before the project got off the ground. In some respects, it now resembles those initial thoughts and in other ways it is completely different. “What Bloggertone is” has changed and is changing. I now realise that this is one definition online community, it is an entity that grows and changes and you as the parent need to support rather than resist. I now realise that it may be some time before Bloggertone acquires it’s grown up persona.

Community means you setting the example

I think most Bloggertoners (what they now like to be called) would agree that the single biggest success of the project so far is the community. It was probably 6-7 wks after the launch that this realisation fully dawned on me. Its easy to talk up community, but to really support a growing community like Bloggertone, you must be prepared to put some work in. You yourself need to become the example of the community member that you are trying to create.

It takes all types

The strengths and levels of involvement differ from member to member. Some people are great bloggers and produce excellent content. Others are wonderful networkers who promote, support and interact effectively - while some members come purely for the advice. The point is that people interact in the way that best suits them, while you might like everyone to do everything; this is not a realistic expectation. A better way is to accept this and find ways to make it easier for members to continue their level of involvement.

Summary:

The strength of any community is down to the people, we are very lucky in that we have great people who have invested themselves in the success of the project. This is really what has set the tone for Bloggertone.

Guest Author

Ronan Gavin

Following on from my last blog post on the role of procurement I wanted to share some insight and strategies to help identify a win-win outcome with procurement.

Procurement Managers are under increasing pressure at present to deliver real cost savings. When positioning a solution make sure you can show a savings benefit that he can position with the business i.e. make him look good amongst his peers. Also try and get a clear view on procurement’s relationship with the business as you could win a useful ally if you can bolster his position internally by arming him with new innovative ways to tackle a problem that he can sell to the business.

Understand the process that procurement go through internally with the business from detailing specifications, assessing the market, going through formal evaluation process and selection and negotiation with preferred supplier. Understanding this is as important for you in setting expectations internally in your own organisation as to the effort involved and timelines of a sales opportunity.

Getting procurement to map out their sourcing process from start to finish will also enable you to identify and plan how and where you can differentiate yourselves from the competition. It is important to remember that evaluations carry a price and non-price element and a good relationship with procurement will enable you to get an indication in some instances how the evaluation is weighted.

My final conclusion is that traditional selling approaches of selling to the business and then defending your position at the very end of the cycle is not effective, particularly in today’s economic climate where the spotlight is on procurement. Be brave – invest the time with procurement as early as possible in the cycle and you can reap the benefits of selling through and not at procurement.

What are your views and experiences on the above? Let’s hear from Procurement people as well!

Ronan Gavin is Business Development Manager with Supplierforce. With over 16 years experience in the technology and financial services industries, Ronan has a unique combination of solution selling and procurement knowledge. With a career which has spanned sales, marketing, consultancy and corporate banking, Ronan has extensive experience in new business development and global account management roles across multiple industries internationally.

Guest Author

Ronan Gavin

Amongst senior sales professionals, the word “procurement” typically brings an emotive response, usually in the negative. There are two reasons for this;

1. Sales professionals do not understand the role of procurement within their organisation and the internal challenges that procurement face with their own business stakeholders.

2. There is a great variance in the professional capability of procurement professionals in the Irish market in particular and a lack of awareness amongst senior sales professionals how to recognise the role procurement managers play within the target organisation. This is a contentious point but a very valid one.

On the first point, it is important to understand that procurement grapple with an ongoing challenge to prove their personal value to the business. From experience I advocate engaging with Procurement at the outset as a very useful strategy. This is because capable procurement managers will always look for new innovative ways from suppliers to bring enhanced value to the business (and budget holders). They are primarily compensated on cost savings but delivering increased value and lower cost on a sustained basis is what maintains and increases their value to the business.

On the second point, bear in mind that procurement managers are not all the same. Some procurement managers are only brought in at the end of the sales cycle as a matter of policy to extract lower pricing from you and it is important to recognise these tactical practices. As a general rule the level of sophistication of procurement usually drives how early the business get them involved. By engaging early in the sales cycle with procurement or even when there is no sales cycle in place, this enables you to decide on the most appropriate sales strategy to adopt with Procurement.

There are different approaches and strategies I have adopted over time to ensure the most successful outcome, but the main advice I would give is to clearly understand the role procurement play within their organisation as early as possible in the sales cycle. You may be surprised to know that procurement can be of assistance in some organisations to position new solutions to the business.

Ronan Gavin is Business Development Manager with Supplierforce. With over 16 years experience in the technology and financial services industries, Ronan has a unique combination of solution selling and procurement knowledge. With a career which has spanned sales, marketing, consultancy and corporate banking, Ronan has extensive experience in new business development and global account management roles across multiple industries internationally.

My last post “50 Ways to get More from Linkedin” got a good response, so I decided to do one about using Twitter for business.  Twitter is perceived in some quarters as a lesser business tool and sometimes suffers from a bad press. I personally have found it to be a very effective tool – provided of course you go about using it in the right way. To date,  Twitter has generated for me – the most return vs. the time that I have put it, when compared to the other social media.

When using Twitter for business, It’s important to have a plan so that you have something to measure your results against. In my experience, the individuals and businesses that fail to leverage Twitter effectively are also those who have employed no strategy and/or have not taken the time to understand how to use it.  So what better way to help you to get off to a great start, than taking advice from some people and businesses that use it well. So from me and some of my Twitter friends here are:

# 50 Tips to Get You STARTED Using Twitter for Business

1. @CindyKing Remember that Twitter is a tool in your social media marketing/communication. It is like a hammer or a telephone… and so are all of the fun apps. If it’s a new medium for you, then don’t go blindly wielding that hammer all over the place. Spend lots of time listening to people on Twitter relevant to your business. Notice the different tactics people use. Start slowly. Give yourself 1-3 months to get a feel for the environment and to figure out the best way you can use Twitter to help your business.

2. @CindyKing If you remember that Twitter is just a tool, once you understand the environment it is easy to see how you can use it best to fit in with your business needs. And this approach also helps you to see how to integrate your Twitter activities into an overall social media marketing plan.

3. @whatswhat_sian It’s free and simple to sign up to Twitter. To make your listing look good ensure you have a catchy bio with a link to your website. This way someone can find out more info about you or your business if they need or want to.  Ensure you add an avatar (Picture), preferably of yourself, as lots of people don’t like to interact with someone hiding their identity. If you are on Twitter to market a brand name then make sure your twitter name is your brand.

4. @whatswhat_sian Don’t protect your tweets if you’re aim is to converse with people.

5. @whatswhat_sian To speak to someone directly, type their twitter name preceded by the @ sign – eg. @whatswhat_sian Anyone following both of you can see those tweets. If you wish to say something to someone without anyone else seeing then you send a Direct Message (DM).

6. @davidabrock If you want, you can lurk for a while to get a feel for Twitter and what’s going on.  Both look at interesting people, figure out the etiquette, etc.

7. @davidabrock Know who you are and how you want to be perceived in Twitter.  Stated differently, know your personal brand and be true to it.

8. @skipanderson Post several dozen tweets over a period of several days (or more) before starting to follow people. Many visitors want to know what you’re all about before they follow you, and your tweets do that better than even your profile.

9. @whatswhat_sian It’s great if you already know someone on Twitter and look at who they are following or who is following them – it’s simple to click to follow them then. And the majority of the time they will follow you back.

10. @rbconsulting Plan on how you going to use the service. For me, I don’t really use it for chat, but more for circulating interesting info / links in relation to my areas of expertise or interest.

11. @Barros_Isabel Although there are many applications to back up Tweets I think the easiest and more reliable way is to create a RSS feed of your own Twitter account to yourself (email account). This should be done as soon as possible (ideally when you create your Twitter account).

12. @calebgardner It’s OK to start small. Follow some people that interest you, some that you want to network with – and be sure to upload your email contacts and follow the people you already know. Gradually you will start to build your network.

13. @calebgardner Don’t sign on to a service that guarantees you tons of followers in a short amount of time, and don’t immediately start following tons of people. Both are frowned upon in the Twitter community and will make lessen the quality of the medium for you.

14. @emmattdigital Don’t simply just self promote, but join in on conversations. Establish yourself as an expert.

15. @fredchannel ensure not to go mad with the “integration” fever. If you integrate everything you’ll annoy your audience. I would strongly suggest that you DO NOT integrate anything until you understand what’s going on, what message is coming from “here” and going “there”…

16. @fredchannel After launching a blog post for example, make sure that you use Twitter to spread the word. First, use tools like Hootsuite.com or any Twitter client that allows you to schedule tweets. Depending on the frequency of your posts, you’ll go ahead and schedule tweets for the following days (e.g. if you posts only once a week on Mondays, then schedule tweets for the rest of the week), so you post gets exposure to your Twitter audience AM and PM. You only have 140 characters so keep it short. What I suggest is that you first announce that you have a new post, then include the title (tell people what you wrote about!), then include the LINK to your post (extremely important) Finally include an engaging question that makes people want to learn more about your post.

17. @whatswhat_sian Follow people that are in the same location as you, or the same industry as you, and the businesses that you could benefit – there are several different apps for finding these.

18. @whatswhat_sian Put your twitter address on your website, emails, correspondence and your business card.

19. @rbconsulting I use twitter to circulate links to my blogs and articles of interest or discussions that I have started in LinkedIn etc.

20. @calebgardner Be careful just using Twitter as a way to continually blast out your own content. This is a sure-fire way to get ignored at best and unfollowed at worst. Instead start responding to people and having conversations. Share other people’s content. Then, when people come to know and trust you, you can share your own content.

21. @careerscoacheu Your tweets should be relevant and add value to your audience. Ask yourself does this tweet add value for my followers.

22. @careerscoacheu If tweeting a link – tell your followers the subject of the link so they know what they are clicking on.

23. @nialldevitt Twitter allows you to use up to 140 characters when creating a tweet. When tweeting a link, It’s a good idea to use a URL shortener to save space.  Also, if you are planning to get RTed, you will need to leave space for the person/s doing the RTing.

24. @fredchannel I use Tweetdeck as my primary way to handle Twitter. It is a fantastic tool. When you’re actively looking to network, besides the chit-chat, there’s nothing better than look for people asking questions and try to hello them! Go to the very lower left (First column showing the people you follow) and click on the option below: you’ll find a space where you can search for keywords in order to filter the information in the stream of tweets. The best way to find people asking questions is very simple: just insert into that space “?” and everybody asking a question will pop up

25. @whatswhat_sian I believe networking on Twitter is basically done by chatting to people and getting retweeted (RT’d). Using tweetdeck it is simple to see other people talking and there could be something you are interested in chatting about too or maybe someone is asking a question and you know the answer to.  If you are able to see the conversation then you are following them so it should not be a problem if you speak to that person.  Getting something you say RT’d is huge networking as someone with perhaps 1,000 followers will RT you and there’s a possibility of those 1,000 followers seeing your tweet. Even if you think 10% are online at that time you’re still reaching 100 more people that maybe hadn’t heard of you before.  This is much quicker than face to face networking.  I look at it as follows – imagine you are stood on a stage in front of your 500 followers and you say what you want to say (in 140 characters of course lol). Of that 500 only 50 people are actually listening to you and only 5 of them decide to tell other people what you have said (i.e. an RT). Those 5 have a total of maybe 2000 followers between them and working off that 10% your tweet may have reached 200 people who aren’t even in the same place as you are on a stage and have never heard of you.  Of course if your tweet is interesting enough it could be RT’d again and again – growing awareness of you. Don’t know about you but I’d never stand on a stage and talk to people so it’s a perfect way to network for people like myself.

26. @davidabrock Use Twitter as the starting point to build relationships.  Reach out and touch them, get to know them over the phone, in person, via something more than 140.  Some of my most valued relationships started in Twitter.

27. @rbconsulting Find out who tweeting on areas of interest to me and RT their tweets ts or reply with a response/question to their tweet.

28. @ganeca I’d suggest finding those local people & businesses using Twitter. Connect with them, and join in on their conversations that you can add to. You can use these sites to do that:

Twitter Advanced Search
ChirpCity
Nearby Tweets
Tweepz
Twellow Pages

29. @calebgardner Add yourself to services like Twellow and WeFollow. Start following people in your field and have conversations with them. See when others are posting their content and comment on it. Twitter is a fantastic networking tool when used that way.

30. @nialldevitt Its easy to get sucked in and waste a lot of time on twitter. At the start just spend a few hours a week seeking real results such as making X number of introductions etc.

31. @careerscoacheu Be disciplined about your time. Don’t get distracted with idol chit chat – that is if that is not your objective.

32. @calebgardner I’ve found that turning off Twitter completely for a period of time is the best ways to get things done that absolutely need to be done. There are also programs like Concentrate for Mac that will actually close programs for you and not allow them to open until a certain amount of time has passed.

33. @davidabrock Find good tools and leverage them.  For example, Hootsuite is fantastic.  It allows me to have a great twitter presence without actually spending a lot of time on Twitter.

34. @davidabrock Don’t let Twitter consume you.  You can be seduced into spending all your time on Twitter.  Set specific time for tweeting, stick with it, and again use the tools to leverage your presence.  While I have a pretty good Twitter presence, I actually spent less than an hour —spread through the day—on Twitter.

35. @skipanderson Be real. Be yourself. Find your “Twitter Voice.” Authenticity will set you apart from all the Twitter noise and make you attractive to potential followers.

36. @careerscoacheu Follow mentors and competitors as well as targeted customers.

37. @whatswhat_sian Start building up your Twitter friends by following people – use friends that you already know or follow and look through their followers and followers.  It’s likely you’ll have the same interests if they are friends of your friends.

38. @calebgardner the most important thing to remember on Twitter is: be a human. No one wants to follow a robot, and more importantly, robots don’t gain loyalty or get RTs (unless you’re a Dell or NYTimes, which you’re probably not.

39. @davidabrock Follow who you want, don’t feel obligated to follow everyone who follows you.

40. @davidabrock It’s about quality, not quantity.  It’s actually very easy to get 1000’s of followers very quickly.  But who cares if they are never paying attention to what you say.  Focus on developing a strong, loyal following.  Be loyal to them.

41. @davidabrock Be generous in your RT’s and in crediting others.  Twitter is about sharing, RT’s are a great indicator about sharing.

42. @rbconsulting A great way to engage on Twitter is to place a short question at the end of your tweet – e.g. “Windows7 provides great performance – are you seeing this improvement on your pc?”

43. @calebgardner two keys to getting RTed are loyalty and quality of tweet. If people are loyal to the person behind the account, they’ll RT you just out of that loyalty. The more compelling your message, the more interested your followers will be and more likely to get RTed.

44. @skipanderson If you must directly self-promote yourself on Twitter (“Read about my new affiliate program that makes me money while I sleep!”), make sure you submit 50 non-promotional tweets for every self-promotional tweet. Blatant self-promotion makes me exercise my unfollow finger.

45. @careerscoacheu Be polite – Always acknowledge new followers and thank for RTs and Mentions.

46. @elainerogers Use the Pareto Principle – 80-20 rule – 80% of your tweets should be interactive and informative (including RTs), No more than 20% should be self promoting and declarative (without replying to anyone)

47. @davidabrock If Twitter is a part of your business strategy, then you got to be there.  You can’t come in and out. You have to build relationships and results over time.  Too many tweet for a few weeks, are disappointed in the results and give up.  It takes time and building a presence and reputation. Related to the previous point, be clear about how/if twitter fits your business strategy.  If twitter fits your strategy, there is not an excuse for not tweeting on a regular basis.

48. @nialldevitt Remember Twitter is like any other business tool, it’s possibly to use it effectively and it’s possible to use it poorly. Ultimately all social media is really about people and not technology. Always try to keep that in mind!

49. @careerscoacheu Engage, Engage, Engage – You have no visibility unless you contribute.

50. @davidabrock Have fun and don’t take yourself too seriously.

Please share your Twitter Tips in the comments section below.

Related links:

The Beginner’s Guide to Twitter

137 Small Business Twitter Tips

13 Twitter Tips and Tutorials for Beginners

35 Twitter Tips from 35 Twitter Users

Twittering Tips for Beginners

Twenty-One Top Twitter Tips

The Ultimate Guide To Twitter

Salesjobs.ie recently surveyed over 14,000 sales professionals surveyed on the their current economic status, attitudes to work, remuneration, through to sales targets, to key motivators, to work-life balance and everything in-between.

Key findings of Survey

Helping their employers get through the current economic crisis is high on their priorities

• 40% would take on additional responsibilities without additional pay to help their company get through the economic crisis.
• 36% of respondents had been asked to take a cut and a further 40% noted they had been asked to take a pay freeze.
• 71% state they work over 40-60 hours a week with one third of the total working in excess of 50 hours.
• 25% work at weekends, only 12% of sales people surveyed have answered that they never work weekends.
• The sales sector is not immune to the recession by any means with 40% of sales professionals stating they felt their current role is under threat of redundancy in 2009

The survey revealed One third of sales people when asked if the current economic climate has impacted on their sales performance replied they were either on or above target, encouragingly there are some healthy sales out there and it is not all doom and gloom

Only 10% of people are happy with how their companies are dealing with the financial crisis. The majority thought investment in sales and marketing should be increased in order to deal with the crisis.

Of the many options which we gave for how employees within the ‘sales industry’ would measure their success, a huge 24% responded that they would measure their success on ‘peace of mind’ and how fulfilled they were. This compares to only 8% who value material wealth and money as an indicator of success.

A full PDF sales report on findings can be accessed here

My Good friend Sean Weafer launches his SellingEQ™ programme on the 18th of Feb at the The Hampton Hotel, Morehampton Rd Dublin.

How do you easily create high-trust, long-lasting and compelling business relationships with your clients and customers? Through the unique SellingEQ™ 100 Day programme.

The root word for ‘selling’ is ‘Selje’ meaning ‘to be of service’ and this unique programme shows you how to be of indispensable service to your clients and customers.

1. Understand the role of a modern ‘high trust’ advisor

2.Understand the importance of PCR’s over USP’s and the ‘new’ v the ‘old’ models of selling

3.Acquire and retaining high value clients through focused and strategic networking

4.Build high trust relationships where clients see you – their supplier – as an essential ‘non-equity’ partner and high trust advisor in their business

5.Recognise and adapt to a customer’s communication styles to deliver solutions in the client’s preferred manner – ensuring long-term, sustainable, business.

6.Learn the latest questioning techniques to unlock the emotional reasons why the customers and clients buy, overcome objections, achieve absolute clarity in your communication with clients, control business meetings and build more business.

7.Share ideas with other business people in your SellingEQ™ group.

SellingEQ Programme 1

Master Class 1: 18th of February (10-12.30pm)

Master Class 2: March 25th (10-12.30pm)

Master Class 3: April 14th (10-12.30pm)

Master Class 4: May 12th (10-12.30pm)

Master Class 5: June 9th (10-12.30pm)

SellingEQ Programme 2

Master Class 1: March 25th (2pm-4.30pm)

Master Clas 2: April 14th (2-4.30pm)

Master Class 3: May 12th (2-4.30pm)

Master Class 4: June 9th (2-4.30pm

Master Class 5: July 7th (2-4.30pm)

Created and facilitated by Seán Weafer , an international corporate specialist in ‘high trust’ business relationships, the SellingEQ™ programme provides the skills of driving revenues by creating compelling business relationships. Your SellingEQ™ programme comes with 5 x 90 minute monthly ‘live’ sessions and your own personal SellingEQ™ workbook with full audio CD seminars, unique articles and coaching exercises – all for just €995 per person. To register for our Feb 18th 2010 programme and get a FREE sales DVD call us at 01-2101934 and register BEFORE January 19th next.

LinkedIn Events

Btb Guest Author

Cindy King

Most businesses would like to develop their markets and embrace the opportunity of developing internationally… but very few actually do anything about going global.  Part of the reason behind this lethargy is a lack of knowledge about their international market opportunities.  Some in-house international market research can provide you with the knowledge you need to move forward.

Let’s look at 7 mistakes in international market research that are keeping many businesses from developing their international markets to their full potential.

#1: You Don’t Research Your Own Client And Prospect Data Base Thoroughly

If you already have a few international clients spread out over the world you are should take advantage of this.  Your own data base on international clients is the most useful resource you have because it is the most relevant one to your own business.

Remember to dig through this thoroughly.  Look for any trends or trigger events concerning the sales you have already made that could help you develop effective strategies today.

#2: You Don’t Identify Where Your Competitors Are Overseas

It is a big mistake not to spend some time researching your competitor’s international penetration history and current international targets.  This information can give you a wealth of information for your own international markets.

Remember to spend time observing what your competitors are doing abroad.

#3: You Don’t Research Industry Data Well Enough

Many unpleasant international blunders can be avoided with a little in-depth industry research.  Although this research is usually easy to find online, your particular industry might need some feedback from the relevant local advisers, the key is to know when to ask for help.

Remember to research the differences in industry standards and regulations on the foreign countries you are looking at and to get the right advice your business need.

#4: You Don’t Listen To What’s In The Press

Staying current on topics related to your international business development can help you avoid errors and it can also help you open doors. You need to stay up-to-date on what’s happening in your industry, the country and the area of the world you are interested in, in order to have the right conversations.

Remember to keep an eye on what is published in your own country and also in both the country and the region of the world you are focusing on.

#5: You Don’t Do Local SEO Research

Localized web research can provide you with some useful insights into local markets. This will give you a better idea of who your real competitors are in these countries.

Remember to check out the most popular local search engines and do keyword research in those countries.

#6: You Don’t Go Beyond Online Research

Online research is great, but it can only take you so far. You need to get information from good local sources too.

Remember to make contacts within your local foreign markets.  Instead of spending most of your time with online research, as soon as you have identified the names of the players and possible trends, reverse this trend and spend more time networking with the right players in your local target market.

#7: You Don’t Talk To People In Your International Markets

Business is carried out between people all over the world.  If there is one thing you should do, it is to pick up the phone and connect with people.  You might need to call and reach out to different people continually for several weeks or a few months.  You might need to improve your cross-cultural communication skills to get more out of these calls. But reaching out and connecting with local people will always help you to develop your business internationally.

Remember the value of speaking to the right people in your international markets.

Spend Time On International Market Research

When looking at the 7 mistakes above, it is obvious that the biggest mistake of all is not spending enough time on international market research.  This is why it is a good idea to allocate time every day to combine international networking with international market research activities.  All you need is to include this into your daily routines. It usually only takes a couple of months before most businesses get a very good idea of what they need to do next and how to go about doing it.

Do you want to get international clients?  What are you doing about it?
What other mistakes do you think people make in researching which markets to develop?

Cindy King is a cross-cultural marketer and international sales strategist who specializes in social media marketing. She is the Managing Editor of Social Media Examiner. Follow Cindy on Twitter @CindyKing or visit her Facebook Fan Page

“Top Sales Experts International is the most successful, innovative and inspiring collection of professional sales gurus ever assembled in one location”

I joined the TSE team earlier this year and they are a truly inspiring group of International sales leaders. Jonathan Farrington is the TSE captain and has acted as a good friend and mentor to me on many occasions.

To celebrate the launch of Bloggertone - he has very kindly offered the new TSE Autumn ebook completely FREE to readers of this blog. It’s another absolutely brilliant sales ebook from Jonathan and the TSE team.

Just Click on the banner to download

I would openly encourage anyone involved in sales and developing business to join the TSE site as a VIP member….. It’s a great sales resource that offers simply amazing value for money – Make sure you check it out!

When: Wednesday December 02, 2009, 06:00PM - 08.00PM GMT

Where: Hampton hotel, 4 Morehampton Rd, Dublin 4. http://www.hamptonhotel.ie

Price: 15 Euro on the day.

Zero to Hero

This SLI session will share with you some of the key strategies to help you get back on top in challenging times. Vincent Reynolds of Rapport Consulting will share the keys to working with C level executives and encouraging them to engage and buy high level solutions while Seán Weafer of Seán Weafer Consulting will reveal some of the secrets for ‘making the numbers’ and the challenging questions that every sales leader should be asking themselves to keep themselves ahead of the competition.

Speakers:

Seán Weafer is a top-level sales leadership consultant, who helps build alpha sales organisations by helping management ‘build trust and get things done’.

His clients develop practical, profitable and effective sales management solutions to their business challenges and how to continue to grow the bottom line even in tough times. His next book is ‘Rebel in a Business Suit - The Business 1%ers’ (due 2009) - outlines the emergence of a new breed of business professional who makes change rather than watches it change around them.

Rapport Consulting is led by Vincent Reynolds FCCA, an experienced senior manager with a background in consulting, corporate training and development, change management, finance and human resources.

Vincent started his career in general accounting practice before moving to a series of management and senior management roles with multinational companies.

He is a Chartered Certified Accountant, a former chairman of the Irish Association of Corporate Treasurers and a member of the Irish Institute of Training and Development. Vincent is also an accredited facilitator under the Irish Government’s Skillnets programme.

If you are involved with sales, you won’t want to miss it - reserve your seat here.

Sales superstars close more deals and ramp up business for their companies.

Do you know one?

AllBusiness and Top Sales Experts want to honor the top-performing salespeople who deliver results in today’s competitive market. You can help make that happen.

We need your nomination. The panel of top sales coaches and experts will select one salesperson each month from among the nominees.

Monthly winners will:

Be recognized by their peers for their outstanding contributions

Be profiled in a feature article for AllBusiness and its sister site, Hoover’s

Receive free twelve month VIP membership at Top Sales Experts

Receive a signed copy of a panelist’s book

Be offered the opportunity to receive a free sales profile (Value $195)

One annual winner will receive a package of sales training and coaching programs (Value $3000), life VIP membership in Top Sales Experts, a selection of signed books from the panel, plus of course the AllBusiness Sales Star trophy.

Top salespeople inspire those around them and help drive company success.

Take this opportunity to recognize them for their leadership and contributions to the selling profession. Nominate a true sales star!

Every nominee will receive a FREE six month VIP Membership over at Top Sales Experts

Full details HERE

Btb Guest Author

Jonathan Farrington

INTRODUCING…………..

Last Wednesday, we shared some exciting news with the entire Top Sales Experts team, and now I can at last share that news with you.

When we formed Top Sales Associates in 2007, our original plan was to follow the successful launches of Top 10 Sales Articles and Top Sales Experts with a number of other “Top Sales” initiatives and create a global brand.

However, as we all know, time is a great “educator” and based on the experience we have gained during the last two years, and after lengthy discussions with the TSE Executive Board, we have decided to change our strategy.

The desire to ornate the definitive sales related location remains strong, but instead of diluting our offerings, we are going to merge them and build an all-encompassing, one-stop, “sales supermarket” – so welcome to …..

Top Sales World…The Global Sales Resource.

We intend to use the Top Sales Experts project as the foundation, and in fact, we will only be promoting the products/services/solutions of the TSE team, plus those of our  Sponsors and TSE Strategic Partners.

This is of course, our most ambitious project to date, and it is outside the scope of our existing resources. We will therefore be working with outsourced expertise where necessary, specifically; website design, copywriting and marketing.

The projected launch date is January 12th.

So let me share with you what precisely is involved.

Site Content – Existing Sections:

Top Sales Experts
Top Sales Masterclasses
Top Sales Roundtables
Top 10 Sales Articles
Top Sales Articles/Top Sales Podcasts/Top Sales Guides
Top Sales Newsletter/ Top Sales Ebook
Top Sales Assessments
Top Sales Blogs

Ok, so that’s the eleven existing successful sections. Now let me introduce you to the seven new ones …..

Top Sales Leadership Zone
Top Sales 2.0
Top Sales Tools
Top Sales Jobs
Top Sales Store
Top Sales Events
Top Sales Advice

Those then are the eighteen areas that we have identified, and there may be two more to be added before we launch.

For example, it would make sense to have a “Top Sales Resources” Section  where we promote our Strategic Partners.

Project Timetable:

Site design chosen – October
Build begins – November
Testing phase – Mid-December
Launch – January 12th

In Summary:

We are building the significant sales related location
It will contain every conceivable sales resource
We will only be promoting the products/services/solutions of the TSE team and those of our sponsor and strategic partners

Top Sales World – Where in the world do you want to go today?

More soon….

This post appeared in Joinathan’s blog on October 3rd.

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Jonathan Farrington is a globally recognized business coach, mentor, author, and consultant, who has guided hundreds of companies and tens of thousands of individuals around the world towards optimum performance levels.  He has authored in excess of three hundred skills development programmes, designed a range of unique and innovative process tools and has been published extensively on a wide range of business topics including organizational and sales team development, leadership and the customer imperative.  Jonathan’s first book, “Tougher At The Top” will be published early in 2009.  Visit his website @ www.jonathanfarrington.com

For anyone just tuning in, this series of posts is my attempt to describe one of the busiest weeks; I’ve had in a long while.

In part one; I talked about our second SLI meet up “From the Buyers Perspective” and in part two and three about our International Partnership events “International Success for Tech Companies”

Thursday: IT@Cork Internationalisation Event

The it@cork is a member-driven not-for-profit business association representing the interests of ICT professionals which has over 280 corporate members based in the Cork region.

Again Dave Brock enthralled with another presentation and talk about the challenges of Internationalisation. This was Dave’s 4th talk of the week to an Irish audience, his ability to teach, to communicate and to engage as fresh as ever. Had Dave been an Irish man, he would in my opinion have come from the People’s Republic of Cork….a Roy Keane or Christy Ring of the sales world!

Since Dave has settled back home in sunny California, he has written two blog posts about his trip to Ireland. They are Intensity, Clarity, and Purposefulness & The Courage To Admit You Are Wrong make sure you check them out, I think he likes us :).

Just after Dave on the day was Pat Phelan of MaxRoam. Talk about a brilliant Irish technology business! MAXroam have negotiated voice deals with more than 700 mobile carriers in over 213 countries and data deals in 139 countries across the globe. Through these international partnerships, they now offer up to 80% lower roaming charges to people all over the world by simply replacing your regular SIM with your MAXroam SIM card.

Pat talked honestly about having to completely change their route to market strategies mid stream, and how ultimately this realisation has led to their great success. He talked about the long hours and challenges of dealing with so many different time zones and the pressure it puts of the support mechanisms within the business.

Interestingly to me he also talked about how he has so effectively used social networking to identify and capitalise on new business opportunities. In fact, he only uses social marketing!

As he talked, a thought struck me… could Pat Phelan be the most sophisticated user of social media in Ireland? I think he very well may be - particularly if you consider how quickly he has grown the biz to a multi million organisation. It was our 3rd inspirational talk from a leading Irish Tech entrepreneur that week.

Friday: Digest and Catch Up!

Our tech leaders are now intrinsically tied to our economic recovery, not only that, they are fundamentally important people, if we are ever hoping to realise our aspirations of becoming a smart economy.

Irish software companies are born International, there is no choice! We may be good at supporting them but we need to get better, there is no choice! The International Partnership, bringing ladies and gentlemen of the calibre of Dave Brock to these shores and getting International results is something I intend to see happen.

In the meantime…..Phew!!… That was some week.