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Archive for the 'Marketing' Category

May

Chicago, Day Three – Marketing Strategy

Categories: Leadership and Marketing
Tags: 6 thinking hats, business plan, David Stelzl, facilitator, marketing plan, marketing strategy

It’s my last day in Chicago, at least for this week (I’ll be back next week). Last night when I returned to my room I looked at the front page of the Wall Street Journal – Headline, Meet the Meeting Killers. Keep in mind, I’ve just spent 8 hours meeting with a group of business leaders, discussing business and marketing strategy; everything from “who we are” to “what we need to become” as the tech market continues to evolve. Unlike this article, which is the norm, our meeting was highly productive. In fact, we didn’t have any of the problems highlighted in the picture to the left…why? Here are some things we did to avoid problems:

The premeeting, meeting; First, I did take the time to talk with all of the participants before coming up here. I wanted to understand each person’s needs and goals for this meeting before having the meeting – this makes for an effective, highly focused meeting.

Our agenda is highly structured. Not that we don’t have brainstorming and flexibility in our meeting – just the opposite. But we have planned times to create and think outside the box in an organized way; we have a way to organize and consider ideas – and ways to stretch the imagination of each participant.

We have a facilitation process that works. Rather than just talking, I use a process called The 6 Thinking Hats, developed by Dr. Debono. Of all of the facilitation programs I have seen, this one really works. I learned this method from a certified 6 Hats Trainer; I’ve also studied more than one book on the subject. If you want to run effective meetings, you need something to move people from spectator to involvement, but with order. But you also need a way to draw out ideas from those who might not see themselves as creative. You need positive perspective from the naysayer, and you need the optimist to consider the cautions. You need a way of getting everyone in the group to consider things from many angles. Debono refers to this as, “Lateral Thinking”.

By planning, structuring, and using a great facilitation tool, I believe the group would agree, we’ve accomplished in one day, what many groups take weeks to sort through. And by the end of today, we’ll have a plan to execute on.

May

Building a Following w/ The End In Mind – Tips on Social Media

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment

Categories: Demand Generation and Marketing
Tags: event, lunch & Learn, marketing with social medial, social media, social media marketing, Technology

When I say “event” or “Lunch & Learn”, the first question is, “How do we get people to come? Tomorrow I am conducting a conference on entrepreneurial thinking and we have over 130 people signed up – how did that happen? Well, there are many factors, but one factor should be the use of social media. If you are not leveraging social media tools in your business to build a following, you should be. If you are, check to make sure you are actually building, and not wasting your time.

Understanding How it Works

First, I think it’s important to say, social media is not a quick, over night kind of thing. People who use social media as another avenue for spam are not going to be successful. No one is going to buy a magazine full of advertisements. I remember watching one of my friends open his Car & Driver Magazine in high school. The first thing he would do is flip through to find the ad pages and rip them out. Then he would hold up the remaining magazine – it would be half the thickness of the original.

Social media is about content and creating value. What do your readers want? What will help them with the business they are trying to build? You can’t just guess on this, you need input. I recommend asking your best clients what to put out there. It also has to be something you are passionate about. If you don’t have a passion for the things your clients need, you might be in the wrong business. When the two come together, something happens – people start following.

Gary Vaynerchuck, author of Crush It, gives us a sense of that passion – check out his blog. Of course, if you know Gary, you don’t read his blog, rather you watch it. On the other hand, David Meerman Scott does a great job explaining how content should work and how to build, what he calls personas of the people you aim to reach – check out his book, The New Rules of Marketing & PR.

Talking Strategy

Yesterday I was on a coaching call with a marketing VP talking strategy and social media. His company has content, but as we read through it, we both saw the same problem – the content is to technical and too generic. His market is pretty specific, yet his content is not. If I ask him to describe his target prospect, he can do it, but when I read the headlines on his blog, they don’t tend to attract the right target – or any specific target.

Social media is a process – its a set of tools that allow me to address a people group. The group already exists out there. My job is to write compelling content to the group as if I am the newspaper serving a local town. My content has to be great – it has to compete with a million other people. This is where Simon Sinek’s video, which I posted a few weeks ago, comes in; Starting with the Why. When I think about my own business and why it has been successful over the past 8 years, I know it is because I am doing exactly what Simon is describing – I am selling my Why. In my words, I am working to meet the needs of my people group. A concept I describe in detail in my book, From Vendor to Adviser.

When a business owner or VP, of a large company division, wakes up in the morning, I doubt they are thinking about your products and they probably won’t tune into your blog post if it’s all about you. Yet they will probably read their email first. For some reason, even the busiest people go to email first. What are they looking for? If something is going on in their business, it’s likely somewhere in email and like most professionals, they head there first. The question is, will they subscribe to your media, making it part of the morning routine?

So How Did We Get the 130 People?

Building an audience happens through social media – making contacts, building trust, and building interest. It won’t happen overnight, in fact the first year of my blog, I struggled reach more than 10 to 15 readers in a day; sometimes less. Some people continue to buy lists and make calls, and there is a place for this, but calling people you don’t know, and more importantly, who don’t know you, is a tough way to build an audience for your upcoming event.

Apr

Making Money w/ Security Day 2 – Security Sales Training

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment

Categories: Marketing
Tags: cyber crime, David Stelzl, fbi, hacker, Sound Bites, wall street journal

Sound bites are a term I use for collecting and memorizing powerful statistics or statements that come from credible sources like The Wall Street Journal. By themselves, they won’t sell a thing – in fact most technology sales people are guilty of overusing them, or using them with the wrong people. They have two purposes:

They build credibility when taken from the right sources
They soften cries from IT that the company has everything they need – “We have it covered”, they claim.

When the buyer hears powerful statements from The Wall Street Journal telling them that Visa, MasterCard, and the Pentagon have experienced major attacks and are unable to defend themselves, it is hard to sit there and claim to be in better shape – especially in the small and mid market companies. In today’s session we explore marketing theory and what it is that actually motivates the buyer to carve out funding for major security projects. We use the sound bites to accomplish their task, but then move on to more advanced marketing strategies (ones that should be taught in school, but just aren’t). Here are some of the sound bites sent to me as part of last night’s homework…I thought everyone might benefit from seeing some of these things. Note: These are in not particular order, and may not even by the most significant…just a sampling. Feel free to add more powerful ones if you like.

1. The people in the IT department pose the biggest risks to data security. They can access nearly anything on the network, usually with no one looking over their shoulders. WSJ 4/4/12
2. 56% of those surveyed (WSJ) after financial crimes were committed, said the most serious crimes involved insiders WSJ 4/4/12

3. 53% of respondents indicated IT was involved in serious cyber crimes involving money over the past year 4/4/12 (WSJ)

4. Damage is only just now coming to light in the form of millions of false 2011 income tax returns filed in the names of people currently receiving Social Security benefits – reported by WSJ for Puerto Rico, but not the US – just coming out now! Cringely Report.

5. Out of 47 attempts last year, hackers managed to penetrate NASA’s computer network 13 times – Ziff Davis – March 2, 2012

6. Global Payment Inc – shares dropped 9% after disclosing a cyber attack – Reuters.3/30/12 – affected Visa, MasterCard, Amex, and Discover – 10 Million Card holders affected (all 4 had stock price drops as a result).

6. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) runs a very active industrial espionage program because it has the joint mission of ensuring both military and economic security. So when companies from another country attempt to do business with a Chinese company or agency in an important area of technology, the PLA helps give its side an advantage by stealing data from the other side. They use the same targeted cyber-intrusion techniques they use to steal military secrets. They are after the “play books”–the documents that tell what the company is willing to give up and where it will hold the line. That data gives their side an advantage in negotiations. Sometimes, as in the Google case, they just steal the technology they want. (FBI discussion with SANS – March 2012)

7. Shawn Henry, who is preparing to leave the FBI after more than two decades with the bureau, said in an interview that the current public and private approach to fending off hackers is “unsustainable.” Computer criminals are simply too talented and defensive measures too weak to stop them WSJ 3/28/12

8. James A. Lewis, a senior fellow on cybersecurity at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, I think we’ve lost the opening battle [with hackers].” Mr. Lewis said he didn’t believe there was a single secure, unclassified computer network in the U.S. WSJ 3/28/12

9. 24 Million customers compromised through Sony PlayStation last year, over 100 million on NASDAQ. WSJ 3/28/12

Mar

Accelerating Managed Services Sales: FREE Webinar

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment

Categories: Marketing and Opportunities
Tags: David Stelzl, selling firewalls, selling managed services, selling security, technology speaker

FREE Webinar: Accelerating Managed Services Sales, April 3, 2012 3:00 PM ET.

Yes, I am repeating this webinar – the waiting list from last week was big, and few cancelled, so if you missed it, I apologize. You can sign up here:

http://stelzlmrr2.eventbrite.com/

Tomorrow morning I am headed out west to speak to business owners on major threats closing in on their business. Most of the them have no idea how vulnerable they are – yet their data is their most important asset. Some of them are working on new inventions that will take their business to the next level, others are handling sensitive medical information protected by HIPAA and highly guarded by their patients, and still others are processing financial transactions, managing debt, and overseeing investments and bank accounts. These are the owners and business leaders of a city’s small business community – and they all have one thing in common; Data@Risk.

As someone who has sold security solutions, developed methodology, and overseen some very large security/risk assessments, I know first hand that it is easy to get in. I also know that most of these companies think they have it covered because they sit behind a firewall and run anti-virus software. Meanwhile we have companies like Nortel written up in the Wall Street Journal, having had hackers in the bowels of their company for over a decade, siphoning off, who knows what kind of data? It’s epidemic, and it’s urgent.

Attending our event we have over 60 decision makers – all from companies who would benefit from a managed services solution that includes security management. They need a way to detect problems before they get big, and a way to effectively respond…All of this points to managed services…on April 3rd, my goal is to show you what these people need, how to tell them about it, and how to justify the expense, making this a win/win for you and your clients. If you want to know how to build this side of your business, join me on the 4rd – we have limited seating, so sign up soon. Here’s the link again:

http://stelzlmrr2.eventbrite.com/

David Stelzl has a fresh perspective on the high-tech consulting business – he’s taken resellers from selling point products to providing high-end technology solutions, significantly increased company profits through the addition of consultative offerings and managed service programs, and has had the privilege of speaking to and training marketing and sales teams all over the world. As an example, he developed material and trained Cisco’s North American, Australia/New Zealand, and Asian sales forces on how to reach executive managers with a compelling value proposition; a message that grew Cisco’s advanced technology security sales by 38% in 2006, according to internal reports.

Visit us at www.stelzl.us to learn more.

Mar

Answering the “Why” Question

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment

Categories: Marketing
Tags: apple computers, apples success, simon sinek, Start with the why

At least one astute reader asked the question…”Why?” after he read my post on Simon Sinek’s video, Starting with the Why (click to view it) yesterday. I would hope more people are asking, “Why to I do what I do?” – it makes all the difference.

This reader writes me with the question, “Okay, so why do I sell security solutions?” From Simon’s point of view, if we don’t ask the question “Why”? we are never going to see real success. He points to companies like Apple, and people like the Wright Brothers and Martin Luther King, to show that these people and organizations have more than a product; they are selling what they believe in. In other words, they are selling their passion. So how do you answer the question?

What is The Why Question We Should Be Asking?

When I first read the question, “Why do I sell security?” I started thinking of some good answers…but now, I think it’s the wrong question to be asking.

When Simon kicks off his 18 minute video, he doesn’t ask, why does Apple sell computers. He talks about doing things differently – that is what Apple believes in. The “WHY?” question answers why you exist, not why do you sell what you sell – it asks “What is your organization’s purpose or passion?” (and the purpose isn’t profit – that is simply the result of doing what you do, according to Simon)? In his Apple example he states, “In everything we do, we challenge the status-quo, we think differently”. Apple does this by making simple, user-friendly, beautiful products – this is the HOW, the second question that must be answered. Then comes the WHAT – “We make computers”. Security is the product…the WHY question has more to do with WHY you exist…not WHAT you make.

Interpretation/Application

So how does this translate into the reseller’s business – how is the reader’s question answered according to Simon? Well, I am not Simon, but I have listened to his video more than once and have put some serious thought into my own business, as I think through what he is saying. I have a passion, a belief system, and a people group I am working to serve. I focus on helping people with entrepreneurial exuberance get somewhere with their business. I love to see people create something out of nothing, or build a business where others have failed. The business owner, the sales person, the inventor – these are my people group. Some are students who I encourage to take a new route to business – I encourage them to avoid the status quo route so many people take, landing them in some J.O.B.; one I know they will grow to hate after doing it for 40 years, every day, all day. I work with the student and the sales person – I believe they have gifts and talents to give which can be used to do something fantastic. The business owner is the same. This person has stepped out in faith, believing they can do it – they can be one of the 4% who will actually stay in business over 10 years. They are risk takers and embrace the freedom and responsibility that comes with owning and running a business, or living on a highly leveraged compensation plan that promises a reward to those who make it.

In Apple’s case, the HOW comes through the simple, easy-to-use product. Mine comes through developing great messaging, sales and speaking skills, and consulting that can truly transform a business. I believe there is a better way than the average sales methodology. The people my clients serve need help, and my clients have a way to help them – they just need a way to articulate their value clearly.

The WHAT with Apple is the computer – they make and sell computers – great computers I might add. I have the desktop, a notebook, and the phone…I’m a fan. My WHAT comes through my coaching, my teaching, and my speaking and writing. I am a communicator of truth, using whatever skills I have, or can build, to reach my people group with my passion for their success. To equip them to succeed.

So my reader with his security practice, who happens to be an entrepreneur – someone with a passion for his client, has something to give. He’s passionate – but security is still his WHAT. He has a people group, which I have heard him speak about. It’s the business owners of the SMB market he serves…he should be looking at his people group and asking, “Why do I love serving these people – what am I passionate about that will help them?” If it’s just about security products, he won’t succeed – but if he has a vision involving their success, then he has something; something he believes in. Now, how will he do it – he believes they need help keeping their systems up and running, safe from security threats, and performing every day of the year to enable their business. He believes this can be done better by a central program, that offloads the responsibility of daily maintenance and oversight from those working in that company he serves. My read has put together a unique offering that happens to be security focused. Why? Because he saw this as a way to carry out his passion. It may change one day, but if he really embraces his passion, and his people group, he will likely still be doing something for those he calls on today – just replacing the “WHAT”.

Mar

Looking at Google+

By Dave Stelzl's Blog 1 Comment

Categories: Marketing
Tags: David Stelzl, google, Marketing, social media

I’ve been looking at Google+ this week…why? Because it seems like everyone is on Google for something, and that means Google+ will likely gain a strong following. I have a Facebook company page, and of course, everyone is on Facebook too – so what should we do with Google+?

First – click the g+ and connect with me on this page!

Well to start with – you need a way to connect with clients and prospects – Linkedin is a great networking tool for me, but are your clients using it actively? I suspect they have a profile set up – but are they paying attention to the posts? Probably not. In my own experience, Linkedin is a great way to keep track of where people are as they move from job to job. If you call on the larger enterprise, this can be useful – IT people leave every 18 months on average, so keeping track can be an important part of territory management. On the SMB side, hopefully you call on business owners – they are probably not moving around. If they are, their credit is probably not very good…

Facebook has a strong following – and the business side is growing, but for the average sales person, you probably don’t have your own corporate page – so now you are somehow mixing your personal friends, high school and college contacts, and business contacts all in one. This just doesn’t do it for me. I don’t think my clients are interested in old fraternity pictures taken several decades ago.

Google+ seems to have a friendlier interface for this type of thing. The circle thing works for me, but the “Create pages” feature is really powerful. You can now set up your profile, and then create a special page – which, unlike Facebook (at least from what I see here), you can create a unique landing page in a matter of minutes. You can post pictures and bio info specific to what you do, add daily info and insight, and begin building connections that center around your professional side, without getting caught up in the personal side. 80/20 was recommended somewhere – 80% professional, with about 20% personal to give this a personal feel without going overboard. If you are involved in other leadership activities with outside organizations you might consider building more pages for these things. Unlike Facebook, they are unique pages with no connection between them – other than you manage them from a central place. The people who connect to you don’t see a bunch of unrelated tabs and posts.

I am now exploring how I might use this to create landing pages for books I’ve written, and more. Check it out – and see if this might be a way to set up your personal web landing page to communicate your value to those you call on.

Feb

Finally on Facebook

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment

Categories: Marketing
Tags: David Stelzl, facebook, Marketing, online reputation, social media

I admit I am not an early adopter, but recently I have been doing some research on how to use social media more effectively than I already am. David Meerman Scott and Chris Brogan have been strong influences on what I do in this area, and of course, they highly recommend it! Coca-Cola uses it, and, well, I guess everyone is out there with the exception of me (until now – visit my page).

Do you have a company page up? Since just about everyone has a Facebook page at this point, it would make sense that we all get on board and build some business pages. The more online presence you can build the better off you are. However, I continue to warn people not to put garbage online. What you do in your spare time is none of my business, but what you post becomes the business of every prospect and future employer. Don’t get careless and start posting pictures and updates that turn people away.

On the other hand, imagine the power of you having many pages out there with links to valuable content, videos with educational material, and a forum to interact with your clients. Leverage this tool, and keep it up to date with the latest. In the mean time, be sure to visit my page, give me some ideas on improvements (which I am working on slowly in my “Free” time…) and hit the LIKE button while you are out there!

(Visit my page)

Feb

My New Site – WWW.STELZL.US

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment

Categories: Marketing
Tags: easy, Marketing, new website, Stelzl, template, wordpress

Websites – Mine was getting pretty old and tired, so this year I am celebrating the New Year with a new website. Check it out at www.stelzl.us and let me know what you think. Some goals I had in building it:

WWW.STELZL.US

Simple to use – simple home page, easy to navigate, and easy on the eyes
Less pages – No one likes to read lengthy dissertations, so I don’t have any
Digital down load store – no more CDs or DVDs; I am using the Fastspring store to automatically deliver digital media, and of course, I still ship physical books (But I do have From Vendor to Adviser on Kindle now) – Be sure to check out my new store!
Video and pictures – I had this on the old site, but I think this is easier to use
Easy to update – I am using a WordPress template for this site, so no more HTML coding on Adobe
Beautiful – yes, that’s right. I wanted great pictures. My personal photographer (who also happens to be my oldest daughter) did the photo work… (notice the on-location photos from Charlotte – our home town).

Let me know what you like, what you don’t like, and if you find an error! If you do find a mistake, I will send you a 50% off coupon for any digital product!

Feb

Event Marketing Webinar Follow Up

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment

Categories: Channel Management, Marketing and Opportunities
Tags: educational marketing, event marketing, marketing ideas, sales training, Technology Sales

This afternoon I had the opportunity to present Event Marketing tips to a large group on Webex. This is such an important topic, it needs more time. For those who missed it, and perhaps a refresher for those who attended:

1. Getting the right people is both the most important part, and the most difficult part. But, contrary to what most sales people believe, it is not impossible, and not even as hard as you might think. It just takes some strategy and time. While most people don’t really like call scripts, a well rehearsed script can do wonders. Some have accused me of making this into a robot sounding message, but far from it…you would never accuse Russel Crow or Brad Pitt of reading from a script, but they do it all the time. It’s just that they have practiced to the point of sounding natural. The fact is, if they just did their own thing, the movies they are in would fail. They use a script, but add their own personality to it. Once practiced, this is not hard to do.

2. Mistakes are common. I reviewed several serious mistakes even the most sophisticated companies make. Why do they make them? Simply because no one is really studying and optimizing this process. One simple mistake is not gaining commitment there in the meeting. A follow up program that starts an hour after the event will take a 75% response down to a 5% response and you’ll never really know what happened. You don’t want this to be salesy – but that doesn’t mean you don’t sell anything. I heard one woman refer to this as the Invisible Close. By educating attendees, and providing a place for them to get more of what you are talking about, you help them get what they need. This can be done professionally without sounding like an encyclopedia sales person. Much more of this is addressed in my audio series – Important topics from Vendor to Adviser…in fact there are 5 hours of critical concepts in this series.

3. Conversion is key. If you aren’t focused on conversion rate, there is no reason to do this event. There are customer appreciation dinners, but you don’t really need to spend this kind of time and money on IT level customers…there are a handful of customers that deserve this type of treatment, but not many. Instead, measure your conversion, and work on building the percentages. Focus on getting the right people, and test your messaging, repeating the same kind of program over and over. Make minor changes – and there are millions of secrets I have discovered, including reducing attrition, getting higher level audiences, using better topics, etc, that draw the right people and increase the rate of conversion. This is a science, not a hope…don’t be fooled into doing the event for as little as possible. Make a wise investment and get a strong return. That is good business.

Jan

Find Out and Join Them…

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment

Categories: Channel Management and Marketing
Tags: call list, channel management, channel strategy, mailing list, Marketing, networking

In yesterday’s post I wrote about list building, as my children diligently work to increase their marketing reach – but how exactly do you grab the attention of new people?

The best way to make an immediate connection is to have something of value to offer. In the case of my children, they are offering a way to avoid having to think too hard about what to do for the holidays (in this case, what to give a loved one for Valentine’s Day). Having a handy picture of the treats they sell makes this possible. Originally my daughter wanted to just list the items, but a picture is worth a thousand words, and the emotional impact of seeing delicious chocolate does wonders for the person considering a purchase. They must to be able to picture what they are paying for – in fact you want them to be able to picture the experience of handing this gift to their loved one, and receiving praise for having done something really special.

Connecting with a businessperson is no different. Everyone is looking to succeed in what they are already doing; they are not thinking about helping you make your number. Do you see the difference? I think more sales people are out there expecting people to drop what they are doing in order to take a look at some new products or services. This isn’t the way busy people operate. They all have jobs; busy jobs; demanding jobs. No one has time to stop and take a look, and no one really cares about helping you make your number, at least at this point in the relationship. So what do you have that helps them? Find out what they are doing and then join them in helping achieve it.

I was talking with a client the other day about partnering with a certain manufacturer. We were discussing the value of some of these relationships, and comparing them to the lack of value in other reseller relationships. I mentioned another client of mine who has no full time sales people. “How do they do it?”, he asked. They are getting leads from their primary vendor partner. “How?” he pressed. “They have become the go-to provider in this city,” I answered. We then went on to talk through some of his partners. His technical group has made most of the decisions, purely on features, as to what they sell, but this is not the only qualification. Vendor partners need to be just that, partners. In order for that to happen, you must find out what they are doing and join them. Find out what their numbers are, where they are making their money, and where they are missing. Then help them figure out how to solve this problem. Join them by putting together a joint plan to fill in the missing piece. An immediate connection is made when this happens.

Do the same with businesses that you aim to call on.

If you work on the vendor side (for instance, as a channel manager), the same would be true in recruiting strong partners. Find out what they working to build, and if you can somehow get involved to help them build their vision, you just might become the product they lead with. Connecting with people is a simple process of finding out what they are doing, and joining them to help them achieve their goals. When it fits within your vision, it works, when it doesn’t, the partnership or relationship just doesn’t make sense.