Archive for the 'Demand Generation' Category

15
Feb
12

The One Day Sales Cycle

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment
Categories: Demand Generation and Sales Strategy
Tags: , , ,

I just got off the phone with an excited client – owner of a solution provider company in the north.  He called just to tell me about his one day sales cycle - about a month ago his team did an event, targeting asset owners, focused on assets, revolving around risk and security trends and threats;  the sames stuff I have been writing about since I started this blog.  Yesterday, he and his sales rep went in to meet a business owner who attended the event.  They have never met with this business owner – he is pretty much a cold prospect, except that he did attend the event.

The Aftermath

1. They discovered in their meeting that his company is required to meet PCI compliance regulations – however, following my training workshop guidelines, they asked anyway; “What are you trying to protect?”  The answer was somewhat surprising – The owner knew his company was out of compliance, and in fact,  is paying a monthly penalty for it; but he doesn’t care.  His real answer led them to the deal.

2. They “focused on the assets” – went through the discovery process I outline in my new book, From Vendor to Adviser, and identified his major areas of risk.

3. They could have done an assessment, but he was ready to buy.  So instead of moving ahead with the assessment, they listened, learned, proposed, and closed, all in the same day.  It took them one hour to go from not knowing anything, save the prospects name, to getting a signature.  This is smart business.

I am looking forward to today’s Making Money with Security Workshop – starts at 1:00 ET.  If you didn’t sign up, there may be a seat or two left:  Check it out at http://makingmoneywithsecurity2.eventbrite.com/

© 2012, David Stelzl

25
Jan
12

Building the List

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment
Categories: Demand Generation
Tags: , , , ,

Two of my children have started a business selling holiday baked goods (note: these are their pies!)  Valentines Day is right around the corner, so it’s a good time to be marketing chocolate and cookies, or anything family members might gravitate toward, to express appreciation to each other.  But how do my children build their call list?  The food is great (see picture), but getting the word out is difficult.  “It’s a process of list building,” I tell them.  “If you spend all of your time in the kitchen, experimenting with truffles and flavors, you’ll never sell anything”.  But, no matter what I say, their tendency is to spend their time on the part they love, sometimes letting the business die a slow death.

Building the list takes time.  In fact, you can’t really wait until the list is built, because it never is.  It’s a process that takes a lifetime.  Every contact should be a consideration, and every contact is, or knows someone who is.  With this in mind, we have developed cards with pictures of the treats they prepare, with simple directions to access their “Buy Now” website.  And every time they enter a store where they know someone, or meet a new prospect, they should be asking for referrals, handing out extra cards, and collecting more names.  It must become their passion to collect and maintain these names, treating each one with respect and gratefulness.

This is the process every sales person must go through as they look to spread their value and identify new prospects.  Event marketing depends on it, in fact, any marketing today depends on it, simply because people don’t want to hear from someone they don’t know.  In 2012, your business depends on great marketing – events, webinars, campaigns, and referrals…

PS.  Don’t miss my upcoming webinar (FREE) – Unlocking the Secrets of Event Marketing (Sign up Here)

© 2012, David Stelzl

 

01
Dec
11

Collecting Names

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment
Categories: Demand Generation and Marketing
Tags: , , ,

Don’t stop collecting names!  The success of any marketing program or sales campaign will depend on the quality of  names you have in your database.  Linkedin, Facebook, tradeshows, or free webinars, I don’t care where they come from; you need them.

When I meet someone, I want his or her card.  Everyone I meet is either a prospect, or knows of one.  Both are valid reasons to keep in touch.  Occasionally I meet people who don’t have a card on them, or at least claim they don’t.  A simple strategy helps remove this obstacle…make sure you have something of value to pass along.  If I ask you for a card, it may just mean I plan to make a sales call on you later this week, or add you to a spam list.  But if I have something of value to send you, I have created justification for my request.  I find people are more than happy to Link or hand me a card, as long as they see some personal benefit.

Once back in the office, I will immediately follow up, sending them whatever was promised, but don’t stop there.  Periodically send them information they can use to grow their business or address some personal need.  People forget over time.  In my own business, I have found that a quarterly mailing works well to keep people up to date, but not overwhelmed.  Too much, and they will be asking to unsubscribe, but too little, and they will soon forget.

On occasion, I will find I have not been in touch with someone, only to find that they don’t remember who I am.  When I finally get around to sending an update, they reply back in an irritated sort of way, wanting to know how they got on my mailing list.  I can remind them, but at this point, it is too late.

If your content is good, over time they will grow to appreciate your perspectives.  Then, when you include them in one of your events (online or in person), your chances of having them participate greatly increase.

© 2011, David Stelzl

29
Nov
11

“Save the Date” Letters

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment
Categories: Demand Generation
Tags: , , , ,

It’s tempting to think that fancy online ads will attract executives to your next marketing event – chances are they will never even be seen. The likelihood of a business owner, CIO, or other decision maker clicking on a link to your next lunch & learn is slim.  Instead, try using a simple Save the Date letter.  Assume you will be calling them, and let them know right up front in your letter, asking them to respond if there is a best time, but to expect your call some time next week.  Avoid the typical insurance advertisement-looking letter claiming to save money, and instead think, business-owner to business-owner.  Even if you’re the sales person, the letter should be from your company president, inviting their executive-level asset owner to something of business value.  I recommend a format that looks something like this:

  • Greeting – targeting either existing clients or prospects.  Create two versions of your letter in order to create a more personable feel to the letter.
  • News-worthy trends you are meeting to address.  No product spin here, just something informative.  If you are calling executives to a meeting, you will need a topic worth leaving the office to hear about.  I recommend news briefings, and in particular, like the security news best.
  • Meeting format – let them know you are calling this meeting over lunch, to review major issues and provide community business leaders with information they can use to improve or safeguard their business.  Remember, people respond to urgent risk before operational efficiency.
  • Name dropping – perhaps the most important part of this letter is that part that lets them know they will be among peers, not wedged in between two technical geeks arguing about the best web coding language.

End by letting them know you want them there and plan to call them to review any details and gain their commitment to attend.   Make sure you call as promised.

© 2011, David Stelzl

23
Nov
11

Contracting with Call Centers – Often a Big Mistake

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment
Categories: Demand Generation
Tags: , , , , , ,

How do you get people to attend your next marketing event?

Recruiting attendees for your next marketing event may not be as simple as it looks. The tendency here is to assume that you know how to do this, and when everyone seems too busy to get involved, to assume that a call center is a great alternative.  The problem is, I have yet to see this work.  Since event attendees really need to be management level, and if possible, senior level – asset owners, there is more selling required here than might be obvious.  A track record from past events suddenly becomes irrelevant when you look back and realize, most of your events have been sold out to IT and other non-asset owners.

In a recent event, where the invitation process was contracted out, I was told by the manager of the call center, “We are professionals and don’t require any input.”  Wow!  That’s great, so I can stop worrying about attendance, and just show up to speak on the appointed date?  Far from it.  Instead, their response turned into a last minute fire drill, with rooms rented, food ordered, speakers paid for, and only 2 qualified attendees signed up.  With two weeks to go, this solution provider was forced to either cancel and take a loss of the committed expenses, or open the doors to unqualified IT-level attendees.  The lesson here is this; the call center can fill seats, but it takes a higher level of expertise to reach people who can actually buy something.  Our event went forward, with predictable results.  A long list of attendees, high attrition on the day of the event, and very few resulting sales.  Event marketing can be highly effective, but when approached incorrectly, can produce “nothing” at a great cost.

© 2011, David Stelzl

16
Nov
11

Conversion Rates

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment
Categories: Demand Generation
Tags: , , ,

Recent Conference Photo

What is a conversion rate?  It’s the percentage of attendees or prospects involved in an event that choose to buy as a result of the event.  It should be the focus of every event; sadly, most are leaving thousands, tens of thousands, and even hundreds of thousands of dollars behind as they engage in demand generation activities.   One of the best next steps is the assessment – however the assessment must be approached with conversion in mind.

I was talking with a recent attendee of my online Making Money with Security workshop, this morning.  As we walked through some of his assessments from past engagements (mostly paid), we were able to identify some of the elements that lead to conversion.  In one case, a well written assessment led to zero project work.  This was a fee-based assessment, and issues were uncovered, however, still no follow-on business.  In the second assessment, also a fee-based assessment, remediation work was sold.  But it didn’t stop there. This client’s business has continued for over ten years! What was the difference?  The first two pages.  The first assessment contained no relevant executive level information.  It was not asset focused.  The second had a large box on page 1, following the cover page, that read, “Urgent Issues Found!”  No wonder the managers of that firm continued on with the remediation phase.  Urgency is a major factor in increasing conversion rates.
© 2011, David Stelzl

19
Oct
11

David Stelzl – reviews breakout session from VTN on conducting assessments

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment
Categories: Demand Generation and Video
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Here it is – ten minutes of review from my session at the Ingram Micro VTN invitational in Las Vegas – 2011!

© 2011, David Stelzl

 

 

06
Oct
11

Lunch & Learns; David Stelzl Speaks to Business Owners In Richmond

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment
Categories: Demand Generation and Marketing
Tags: , , , , ,

Entering Richmond

It would seem that security people tend to gravitate to the sophisticated attacks; attacks that use clever technology, exploit some esoteric feature that was designed for ease of use but can now be used against the user…but more often than not, people are losing on the easy things.

More than half of the lost data reported by SC Magazine over the past year seems to be on portable media.  Media that could have been encrypted, but just isn’t – like an iPhone that stores as much data as many small computers.  Then there’s security settings in Facebook that lead to leaked information, while also opening doors to web-threats as knowledge workers inadvertently download malware along with apps built for their social media habits.  Backups that run nightly, but never get tested, or as we saw in a recent assessment, a server backing up to itself (almost funny isn’t it?).

The list goes on: Wireless networks that are open, people gmailing data to their home computers (sensitive data) in cleartext, only to find that their kids have that system connected to all kinds of stuff through peer-to-peer networks.  Emailing confidential information at work without encryption, no controls to stop data leakage or access to websites that may be infected with spyware…most of these things are easy to spot, it’s just that business people are out doing business, and don’t take the time to lock down systems that are by design, open and easy to use – thus easy to corrupt.

All of this leads to a simple yet compelling relationship between the business owner and the IT consulting firm.  The owner must be able to focus on his business, the business probably can’t afford to hire people who really understand security (unless they are larger organizations), and the need for a more serious detection based security strategy continues to mount.  It’s a win-win arrangement between you, the provider, and just about every business out there.  The key to moving forward is having a strong education program to help business leaders understand the issue, then following that up with a simple but effective assessment process, with a solid offering to address the most common urgent issues.

Thanks to Zenith Infotech for sponsoring a large part of today’s executive briefing in Richmond!

© 2011, David Stelzl

04
Oct
11

Funding Demand Generation / Marketing Events

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment
Categories: Demand Generation and Opportunities
Tags: , , , , ,

My son's first Dentist Appt.

My new book goes into great detail on this subject, as well as the upcoming webinar on Oct 14 – which is filling up fast: (CLICK) to sign up.

One issue I bring up is the availability of funding – how many times have you been told, “We don’t have any money”, or “Our company doesn’t provide JMF”?

One of my clients received both of these responses…made a call, followed some of the guidelines I give in my book, and a few minutes later received $4000 in sponsorship!  How did that happen?

A few tips on acquiring funding…

1. It helps to have a track record.  Don’t engage in marketing events that don’t really produce anything.  Funding sources don’t want to hear things like, “This is just a customer appreciation event.”  Track your results as you go along so that you can use them to sell future potential sponsors on supporting you.

2. Schedule the event – then invite the sponsors to join you.  It’s easier to get money when people see you taking off – rather than sitting around looking for handouts.  If you have momentum, people will want to join you.

3. Work for those that sponsor you…help them make their numbers.  Leverage this with future sponsors.  If your partners don’t support you there is no reason to stay with them.  There are many great solutions out there…don’t stand by those who don’t stand by you.

4. Have a plan.  Show your potential sponsor how you plan to sell their product.  In our case we have close to 40 decision makers lined up for this week’s event.  Our reports show that we should close about 30 of these attendees on conducting a discovery process, and from there, more than half should turn into some type of business.  No one can turn this kind of results away…
Join me on Oct 14 to find out how we did, and how we did it….(CLICK)

© 2011, David Stelzl

31
Aug
11

Back to School

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment
Categories: Demand Generation, Sales Strategy and Wise Counsel
Tags: , , , , , , ,

Back to School!

It’s time to get back to school…that means our kids are back on a busy, productive schedule, with goals and timelines.  But before that can happen, my wife and I sit down to evaluate where we are and figure out where we are going.  Soon activities, holidays, and school work will crowd our days, and if we’re not careful, we’ll find ourselves busy, but not necessarily headed toward anything important.  The end of summer signals a time for strategic planning for all of use!  Don’t miss this moment!

Review the Plan

If you’re on the calendar year, you have one quarter left to make the year worthwhile.  Hopefully you have a plan your working through to build your business – prospects you’re working on, a pipeline your closing, quotas you plan to meet, and career goals to take your business to the next level.  If you don’t, you might want to get something in place for Q4.

Plan to Fill Your Pipeline Now

Once the holidays hit, people are hard to reach.  Sure, there may be budgets at year end that must be spent, but setting up a strong pipeline early in the quarter makes year-end a whole lot easier.  Get a call plan in place and start setting up meetings through September.  Make a strong push to get as many meetings lined up as possible right now, so that you are working toward closing in October, or early November.  Most projects can’t be invoiced until they are completed, so give yourself time to close and implement before year end.

Event Planning

Demand generation events are one of the best ways to build your business if you are looking for new clients.  There is still time if you start now.  It takes about 60 days to plan a worthy event, so that puts you into mid-October.  Plenty of time to do the event and execute the follow-up plan.  Follow-up could take anywhere from two to four weeks, so start thinking now.  Otherwise you’ll be into January before you know it.  You don’t want that.

Review Time Usage

The biggest issue in sales is managing time wisely.  Where do you spend it, who do you focus on, and where is time being wasted? Sales is a busy business.  Review your last three quarters – where are you wasting time?  It’s like your family budget – if you don’t review it monthly, you may find yourself floating along, working hard, but not actually accomplishing your primary goals.  Soon, you’ll look back and see that your time is spent, people are on holiday, and you’re hoping to make a come back next year.  Too late…do it now.

© 2011, David Stelzl

 

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