As you can probably tell, I have struggled to find the time to blog on here recently. My intention is to get back to it in the New Year but in the meantime, here are some updates on what’s been happening.

Sales Leadership Ireland: Zero to Here

Our Third SLI event was help last night in the Hampton, again the conversation was excellent led by two wonderful speakers in Vincent Reynolds and Sean Weafer.

Vincent kicked off with a truly insightful presentation - as he took us on a journey into the minds of senior managers. I have undertaken research before meeting with CEOs or CFOs before - but never with the type of perspective that Vincent talked about last night. He recommended that you effectively step inside the world of the senior manager, and that you adjust your thinking and selling - so as to be aware of the opportunities or indeed threats that exist from their points of view. I am not doing his presentation proper justice here, but let’s just say there was a huge amount of learning to be had for those that attended.

Next up was the fantastic Sean Weafer. Sean talked about why people really buy? -they buy feelings. Why USPs are no longer relevant. He demonstrated why proper and expert questioning technique is the most effective way to create points of compelling relevance and how to create win-win situations between buyer and seller. Sean is a wonderful motivator and a fantastic teacher of the craft of selling - but he is also a passionate defender of professional selling and salespeople. He is a true Irish sales leader and we were thrilled to have him.

Bloggertone

Bloggertone continues to go from strength to strength on the back of the wonderful contributions from the bloggers.

A few recent mentions include:

http://www.iia.ie/news/item/1395/bloggertone-brings-together-the-collective-voice-of-business-blogging/

http://www.dubchamber.ie/mn_pressrelease.asp?page=members_news&article=1188

http://www.dceb.ie/news/bloggertone-brings-together-the-collective-voice-of-business-blogging

http://www.dceb.ie/news/50-ways-to-get-more-from-linkedin

http://www.simplyzesty.com/uncategorized/bloggertone-launches/

http://www.connector.ie/2009/11/2009-awards-christmas-connector/

http://blog.iia.ie/2009/get-the-facts-fast/

http://www.scip.org/NewsRoom/PRDetail.cfm?ItemNumber=9007

http://sortmybooks.ie/wordpress/2009/11/19/bloggertone/

http://www.cvsandinterviews.ie/job-hunting-two-great-articles/170/

http://www.codegaconsulting.com/blog/82-bloggertone-launches.html

http://www.cubeonlinemarketing.ie/why-you-should-use-blog-networks/

http://wwwcareerscoacheu.blog.com/2009/10/25/a-new-site-for-irish-businesses-launched/

Here is a link to my articles

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.

Apologies for not blogging in a while, it’s not an excuse but this is easily the busiest I have been since I started the business. I know it’s a great complaint in the present environment.

Wow! What a week this week was, I am both excited and exhausted as a result. I have so many people to thank, it’s not funny

My dear friend and mentor “Dave Brock” was in Ireland all week to help us kick off The International Partnership. Dave is a genuine thought leader on sales and biz development. He has more experience and wisdom in his little finger than most of us could hope to achieve in a lifetime.

Monday: Sales Leadership Ireland – The Buyers Perspective

John O Gorman of the ASG Group and I organised the second SLI event. John is currently writing a book that will no doubt prove an invaluable sales resource. More about that in the coming months.

Dave Brock kicked off the event and talked about “adopting an outward in perspective in conversations with clients will help us all understand our clients a bit better”. Dave has been called “the conversation starter” and the resulting dialogue was wonderful. “We tend to talk a lot about putting the customer first but then forget to put ourselves in their shoes, the question what keeps your customer up at night is as still as valid as ever”

Dave Coffee from Supplierforce was next up. Dave is an expert on procurement and after hearing him talk, I can’t recommend the guy highly enough. The insight he provided was a salesperson’s dream.  “Buying has changed and procurement people within orgs are under immense pressure to help drive the business forward”

Dave’s 10 tips for salespeople.

1.    Seek to understand the level of strategic procurement that is taking place in the organisation you are targeting
2.    Beware of coming in late in the sourcing process
3.    Focus on the total cost of the solution and understand the overall investment that needs to be made
4.    Segment yourself
5.    Don’t oversell
6.    Listen and engage in conversations
7.    Engage across multiple levels before you propose
8.    Don’t stop once you get the sales ensure implementation is successful
9.    Consider your clients efficiency ratio
10.    Make sure you know how to speak to the CFO

When someone of the calibre of Sean Weafer says that he found it “more stimulating that anything I’ve attended in selling here to date” you know something good went down. Thanks to everyone that attended live and on Twitter, the interaction and insight was brilliant.

This is what I had intended SLI to be, when I started the group.

Still to come…..

3 more great events
Talks from 3 of Ireland’s most successful entrepreneurs.
One of Ireland’s leading experts for Tech companies.
The spanking new bloggers network for business in Ireland.
The greatest sales resource on the planet
Why many Irish companies are born International
And a whole lot of networking

Join me next time to find out more

Btb Guest Author

Ian Brodie

A topic I’ve blogged about frequently is the importance of good follow-up and of nurturing relationships over time.

In The Importance of Good Follow-Up I highlighted the futility of the “Nice to meet you, if you ever need our services…” email follow-up to networking meetings and suggested a number of value-adding alternatives.

One trend I’ve noticed recently is the increasing use of email newsletters as a follow-up mechanism. The price-point and ease of use have reached a level nowadays that even the smallest of businesses can have their own regular newsletter delivered to clients and prospects.

But just because something is easy doesn’t mean you should do it.

On at least half a dozen occasions recently I’ve found myself subscribed to email newsletters from people and companies who I’ve met briefly at networking meetings. I’ve given them my business card and they’ve plugged it straight into their email distribution list.

This is a follow-up mechanism that has the potential to add value if the newsletter is of high quality and relevant to me. But how does it make me feel to have my details “harvested” in this way?

To be honest, not great.

It feels impersonal. I’ve not had an email or call from them. Nothing mentioning any connection we made at the event and no thought from them on tailoring the message to my specific needs. I’ve just been fed into their email marketing machine.

I wondered whether I was the only one who felt this way, so I posed the question on Twitter to see how others felt:

As you can see from this sample of responses, people’s feelings are almost universally negative. They range from “I want to *smack* them!” and “it sucks!” to at best, “my junk filtering can soon take care of them if they fail to send me anything interesting or useful”. And remember, these negative responses are to something as seemingly innocent as adding someone’s name to an email distribution list after meeting them. For me, Kneale Mann summed up the sentiment best best when he replied: “A handshake does not make you a customer”.

Obviously, Twitter followers are not a sample that’s representative of the public at large. But I do believe they represent an important and growing sensitivity to the appropriate use of information.

So what’s the alternative?

Well, since you are interacting face to face with them, there should be ample opportunity to offer to send the newsletter and get their permission.

If the time isn’t right when you meet them, then send them an email afterwards with a sample copy of the newsletter suggesting it might be of interest and giving a link to sign-up if they are. Personalise the emails – recalling topics you discussed or better still – add value by suggesting ideas for questions they posed or challenges they highlighted when you were talkign with them.

Now don’t get me wrong, this is my opinion as to what you should do rather than something that is proven to have better results. I haven’t done any testing to see what results in better long-term subscriptions, click throughs on the newsletter or eventually sales.

But for me that doesn’t matter. If you want to establish a reputation as someone who can be trusted then you mustn’t do anything early on in the relationship to suggest an abuse of trust. Auto-subscribing people to your newsletter without asking is hardly the crime of the century – but to many people it suggests that you will not treat them as individuals with their best interests at heart.

Personally, I’d rather lose potential newsletter subscribers than lose that reputation of trust.

Ian Brodie has been helping some of the world’s leading organisations with their marketing and sales challenges for over 16 years. He has been interviewed on industry and business issues by the BBC and Business Week magazine. Ian is the editor of Rainmaker Resources – the leading internet portal for partners, businesses developers and marketers in Professional Service Firms – featuring reviews, feeds and links to the leading Professional Services business development resources on the web. He also run the Rainmaker Network – the Linkedin Group for professional service business developers. You can contact Ian on ian@ianbrodie.com or through his website www.ianbrodie.com

In the News

The voting has nearly ended over at Top 10 Sales Articles - if you haven’t voted yet, you can still register your support for your favourite article here

Sales Leadership Ireland continues to go from strength to strength. We now have three further subgroups which are:

INTERNATIONAL SALES

SALES TEAM MANAGEMENT

OWNER MANAGER SALES

This is an new venture for us. Once every month I will attempt to talk to a person in the know about selling or business. If you are interested - please let me know @ nialldevitt[at]btbtraining.com

The Btb Monthly Interview

Anne Perret is a Psychologist, Marketeer, Master Practitioner in Neuro Linguistic Programming and a director of Calyx Communications Limited, www.calyxcomms.co.uk, which provides specialist skills in bid management, sales management, bid writing, tender preparation, competitive tendering and responses to tenders

Me: Anne, is bidding selling?

Anne: You can tell what an organisation’s answer to this question is by how it manages its bids, tenders, proposals and responses to Invitations To Tender and Requests For Proposals (ITTs/RFPs). And by its win rate.

Those with a low win rate see bids as back office activity. Often bids are put together late because they are an add-on to the day job. Or it’s the job of a young graduate to write the bids. Sales people should be out on the road selling, not in the office writing. And a 20% win rate is the norm in their industry.

Me: How do the more successful organisations see things differently?

Anne: Organisations with high win rates see things differently. They regard responding to formal procurements as part of their sales function. And they take the business of bidding very seriously indeed.

Me: How involved should salespeople be in the process?

Anne: Their sales people are involved in bids, ensuring that every last piece of customer knowledge is fed into the bid strategy. And they are heavily involved in writing tender responses and presentations.

Me: Does the sales department always need to be involved in bidding or are there some exceptions?

Anne: Bidding brilliantly is part of a salesman’s job when that’s what customers require. It’s not an option or an add on – it’s an essential part of the selling toolkit.

Me: Thank you Anne, you re-confirmed what I have always believed.

In the News

Jonathan Farrington, our captain at TSE is confused, he thinks it’s Christmas and is giving away free places to TSE Masterclasses at his blog. - Make sure to keep an eye out, it’s on a first come first serve basis.

SLI (linkedIn)

We had our first Sales Leadership Ireland meet up yesterday in the Burlington. By all accounts, it was a success and the feedback has been excellent.  What surprised me, was not just the number of people that showed up - but the quality of these same people. I will be publishing a report of what transpired shortly.

We will be running another event soon, To join click here.

This is a meet event organised by the Sales Leadership Ireland LinkedIn Group. This is a not-for-profit initiative.

When: Wed, 03 Jun, 2009, Start time: 07:00 - End time: 09:00      Cost: 15 Euro

Where: Burlington Hotel, Upper Leeson Street, Dublin 4 ireland. View on Map.

Des: A practical look at how companies and sales people might respond to the current challenges and opportunities in the market.

SECTION 1: Interactive sessions with Speakers (45 minutes)

1) Introduction to Sales Leadership Ireland
- Niall Devitt, Beyond the Boardroom Training

2) “Removing the New Bottlenecks in today’s Sales Processes” – 10 minutes
Niall Devitt will lead a discussion on how sales challenges are always changing with changing markets, how to identify these changes and how to respond.

3) “Partnering into New Markets” – 10 minutes
Donagh Kiernan of Maidsfield Associates will present a case study of how corporate partnering is an effective method of entering new sectoral or regional markets.

4) “Engaging with Customers through New Media” – 20 minutes
Damien Mulley of Mulley Communications will discuss how new media can be used to communicate with your market and gain new business.

SECTION 2: Key Challenges Roundtables (1 hour)

Maximum attendees 30 – 3 round tables of 10

A number of identified Key Challenges in the industry today will be discussed and debated to share insights on how challenges can and are be met by members. The key challenges will be collected from the Sales Leadership Ireland - Linked-In Discussion Group.

Structure:
a) Introduce identified “Key Challenges” – (5 Minutes)

b) One “Key Challenge” will be assigned to each roundtable. Each table will select a spokesperson to chair a discussion and collect suggested actions to meet these challenges, taking notes on a flipchart page (30 Minutes)

c) Each table’s spokesperson will present their findings to the whole group (30 Minutes)

d) Session Summary and Close

COFFEE & NETWORKING

A session report will be submitted to the Sales Leadership Ireland LinkedIn Group Discussion

SIGN UP FOR THIS EVENT HERE

Carlsberg run a TV advertising campaign, based on always having more than 2 choices. The punch line, “there is always choice c”. Choice c, in this instance refers to some on the spot clever thinking - leaving the person in the ad with an out - from some kind of sticky situation.

When faced with the competitor question, a business or salesperson may believe they have 3 choices.

They can:

Join the Competition

Beat the Competition

Ignore the Competition

Why is it, that many continue to choose c?

Markets are smaller, competition is greater than ever, yet many companies and salespeople persist in choosing to operate “a head in the sand” approach - when dealing with competitors.

A Wake UP Call!!!. Competition is fierce and it’s not going to go away. There are only two real choices, because c is not a choice - It’s in-action and a non-decision.

Wait a minute, I hear you say “what about cutting prices”. Surely; this is an effective way to deal with competitors.

“NO, NO, NO, it’s not”. It’s taking choice C again. Here’s why, cutting prices may have a short-term impact. It will initially win you business. However, sooner rather than later, the competition will work out how to effectively deal with your price-cutting - or they will match it.

So around and around you will go, until you are right back where you started, only this time - you have created a whole new set of problems for yourself.

So here are the 2 real choices.

a. Join the competition through forming strategic alliances and partnerships.

or

b. Beat the competition through competitive positioning, developing a strategy for dealing with the competition question and using competitive selling skills effectively when selling.

When dealing with the competition.  Remember, there is only a and b…………there is no choice c.

In the News

Check out these four posts:

Dave Stein asks “How Do You Fix Sales Ineffectiveness?”in a brilliant post that’s generated lots and lots of debate. Dave says “There is a proven path.  The answers are there for everyone to see.   There are companies you can read about and observe that have achieved sales excellence. So, recession aside, why is sales as a profession and function, losing ground?”

Dave Brock investigates  and attempts to provide answers in his three posts ” Sales Force Ineffectiveness, Conjecture on the Future of the Profession Parts One Two & Three“

Over at TSE

On Tuesday, we will witness the launch of the new Top Sales Expert’s site - probably the most significant sales related site on the internet. To coincide with the re-launch, a new Executive Board has been formed to oversee the team, and a “working commitee” will also be appointed in the coming weeks.

Here is the new board.

Top row, left to right: Paul McCord, Jill Konrath, Jonathan Farrington, Colleen Francis, Keith Rosen and Joanne Black.

Bottom row: Wendy Weiss, Dr. Greg Stebbins, Nancy D. Solomon, Kevin Eikenberry, Linda Richardson and Kendra Lee.

Over at SLI (Sales Leadership Ireland)

Now 145 members and counting, To join click here.

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