Value Proposition « Dave Stelzl's Blog

Archive for the 'Value Proposition' Category

Dec

Looking at the 2012 Opportunity – It’s Time to Get a Plan Together!

Categories: Leadership and Value Proposition
Tags: business plan, business strategy, Sales Plan, technology trends, var

“Have you been reading the investing forecasts for next year? The most optimistic forecasts expect more of the same—slow economic growth, a stock market that’s vulnerable to every little hiccup, continued high unemployment and a sluggish housing market.”…Dave Ramsey

I expect Dave is right, however that doesn’t mean your business can’t grow over the next twelve months. Whether you run a company, or sell for one, or are in charge of marketing, there are some simple things you can be doing to continue steady deliberate growth. Some things you should be considering before year end:

1. Have a Plan! Your plan can’t just be, “We need to grow the bottom line,” or “Let’s grow 50% in the coming year.” I see these kinds of statements all the time, and they don’t materialize. A plan involves the primary solution areas you will focus on, marketing plans and schedules, and strategy. Plan out marketing events and campaigns through the year, not just next month’s effort. Consider training needs as well. But also look at where time was wasted in 2011, what efforts failed and why, where gross profit was lost and why, what kinds of projects seem most profitable, and what client profiles are working well. Managers and owners should be scrutinizing the team. Make sure the right people are on board, and trim non-producers. Also, consider where each player should be focused in the coming year. This might be a great time to consider doing a joint strategy session – I am scheduling companies right now!

2. Look at your value proposition. It might be time to invest in strategies that are driving business in this economy. If you have been working on some area for five years and it’s not working, it might be time to move on. Also, consider your opportunities with security. Security offerings gave resellers an incredible boost in 2011, while other technology areas did poorly. Consider attending my online workshop – Making Money with Security (Click for more info), in January…This program has been a game changer for many over the past seven years.

3. Build you consulting capabilities. Learning to interview, discover, and assess is absolutely a differentiator. Companies that just “sell products” are in trouble, unless they have something very unique to offer. I don’t need to name names here – just look around. If you are a typical reseller, selling the big names, you are likely seeing it too. Your value must come from your own ability to consult and make application to the products you sell. Big name manufacturers are not going to drive your profits in 2012. I just completed an important book, From Vendor to Adviser, this year. Read it…but also consider getting some training in this area. I have been running free webinars on topics presented in this book, and have a workshop which will be announced shortly. The goal being, to bring sales people up to speed on the skills consultants use to sell and fulfill very large projects. Check it out here…(Click)

Don’t wait until January to plan – remember, a business without a plan, is a plan to fail.

Sep

Retail Meeting – David Stelzl Speaking Video (intro)

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment

Categories: Value Proposition and Video
Tags: roi, sales training, technology speaker David Stelzl, value propositiion

Here’s a short clip from today’s conference with retail sales teams…in today’s talk I covered seven principles of building effective value with large retail clients based on my new book, From Vendor to Adviser…should have the final in print by late October!

Sep

The Retail Opportunity; Technology Motivational Speaker David Stelzl Preparing to Speak to Top Retail Sales Teams

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment

Categories: Value Proposition
Tags: assessment, cisco telepresense, David Stelzl, discovery, Marketing, retail market, selling, technology sales speaker

Due out Next Month!

This morning I am headed out to speak to 35 sales teams calling on the top 35 retail organizations in the world – My topic, Moving From Vendor to Adviser – Capturing the Security Opportunity. As I’ve prepared over the past several weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the top performing sales team directors to better understand how they have made their way into C-Level meetings. I’ve used the same discovery process I recommend in my new book, From Vendor to Adviser; the same discovery process I teach sales people to use as they engage in high-end technology projects. The results are evident – I now have the secrets of their success which I can now draw upon as I work with the entire audience (something every sales person should be doing) – an audience that will include people from all parts of the world over Cisco Telepresence. It’s also no surprise to me that these top performing teams are not just selling product, or responding to RFPs. Instead I found:

Strategy meetings taking place at the top on a regular basis
Operational efficiency and risk mitigation – conducting studies and assessments
Speaking the client’s language and engaging with asset owners throughout the organization

These are just a few of the things I’ve been talking about for years as I work with sales teams around the world, building a more effective go-to-market strategy. The part that was somewhat new to me was how exciting the retail business is right now with regard to technology and security. Millions of dollars are being poured into solving problems and growing sales in ways I had not considered. I didn’t realize that retail operations are losing 8 Billion dollars every year on inventory shortages, and that 30% of that loss is due to shoplifters, but over 60% is tagged as insider theft! Developments in cross channel merchandizing, new forms of payment including Google Wallet, other smart phone apps, and tokenization efforts to get rid of credit card issues and PCI compliance hurdles. Using video to study shoppers moods – which will in turn be used to customize video marketing they may be viewing in the store (this is scary technology). And then there is the QR (Quick Reference) code hype – in England they are using these codes to pay for parking spots, but who is to stop the young entrepreneur who sees the opportunity to replace these 2D bar code stickers with their own, point to their own duplicate paysite - Surely someone has figured this out!

Sep

Selling Yourself Short

By Dave Stelzl's Blog 1 Comment

Categories: Value Proposition
Tags: linchpin, sales skills, selling, selling yourself short, seth godin, time & material

Queenstown NZ

Seth Godin, writes in his book Linchpin, “The moment you are willing to sell your time for money is the moment you cease to be the artist you’re capable of being.”

What a great summary of the T&M (Time and Materials) approach to conducting business. This goes not only for yourself, but for everything you represent when you take your offerings to market. I was meeting with a very successful salesman yesterday, talking about his achievements in selling to major retail accounts. At one point in the conversation he made the astute comment, “Sometimes I think sales people think to themselves – I’m just a sales guy.” He followed up by commenting, “I never want to be just a sales person.” Seth Godin’s comments are directed toward this very attitude – I’m just the sales-guy.

Don’t waste your time being the average sales person, hocking products at your local account. The alternative is to do something great. Become an innovator. This is not something some are born with and others can’t be, but rather something each one of us cultivates as we read, exchange ideas with others, think, and improve each moment of each day. Don’t sell yourself short, start building the skills that move you to that adviser position, a position of great value to those you market and sell to.

Aug

From Vendor to Adviser Book Update

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment

Categories: Opportunities and Value Proposition
Tags: author, book writing, David Stelzl, from vendor to adviser, sales training, selling, trusted adviser, writing

Actual picture of my book in process

Several have asked about the new book, From Vendor to Adviser…so here’s a quick update…

First, here’s a picture of the book in process. If you see any errors on the screen, let me know…

The good news is, I’ve completed the first draft. I am now running through it to make some minor changes, update a few things, and adding a some new ideas to make it more practical. For instance, I’ve added case studies to present a better picture of how some of the concepts and recommendations have been implemented by various clients.

By this weekend, I’ll be shipping 13 chapters (the entire manuscript) to my highly competent editor to comb through it. We’ll spend the month making grammatical corrections and adding some structure. At the same time, I will be adding a few pictures and have my cover designer go to work to get artwork and some quotes for the back cover done.

Then, with fingers crossed, and a lot of help from those who support me in this type of effort, we should have a final product by end of month – September that is. And at that point, we’ll have a listing on Amazon as well as my website at www.stelzl.us.

The hardest part of this whole thing is making sure the content is usable. I have lots of ideas, but the challenge is always in keeping the descriptions brief, while providing enough information to actually allow you, the reader, to use what I’ve written. That is my goal for September – to produce a book that provides concrete ideas that will allow you to truly transform your business approach. Stay tuned…it will be out shortly.

Jan

How Do The Professionals Do It?

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment

Categories: Sales Strategy and Value Proposition
Tags: close ratio, CSP, NSA, presentation, professional speaking, quota, sales, sales cycle, sales presentation, selling, solution selling, speaker, Stelzl, Technology

How do Professional Speakers Improve?

Yesterday I compared professional speaking to selling…here is what the professionals focus on:

o Stories. This topic deserves more later, but in short, stories are central to any great presentation. Recall your favorite conferences and I bet the speaker had great stories. And they were likely personal stories. Practice them, write them out, record them, listen to them, tighten them up, and make them perfect.

o The Alpha. The alpha is the opening – the point in the meeting when your listeners either tune in or check out. Memorize it, rehearse it, know it, and speak it. Every sales call is different, but contrary to popular opinion, your opening can be memorized and modified slightly to meet the need. Assume you have about six seconds to grab their attention.

o Sound Bites. Sound bites bring credibility, create interest, and build your case. Don’t over do it, but be armed with well-rehearsed sound bites from credible sources; sources your target audience will recognize and believe.

o The Close. Next steps are the key to moving the sales cycle forward. Make sure you know where you are going and you have a compelling process to move your client forward. Seth Godin, Author of Permission Marketing, writes about steps of permission that are gained along the way. What is the next step needed in the permission chain.

Almost every time I speak, I record it. Sometimes I have video; other times I just have audio. Watching and listening to yourself will give you a whole new perspective. Is your presentation style high-impact, emotionally charged, exciting,… enthusiastic? Is it credible and do you deliver concrete concepts that allow the listener to visualize the issues and proposed solutions? If not, head back to the lab to rebuild. Don’t expect this to be easy. It’s like golf, every move matters, and lots of practice is required. It also pays to take a lesson from someone who knows. But just imagine doubling your effectiveness and cutting your sales cycle in half. If there is one area that deserves some investment, it’s your message and delivery.

Jan

10 Ways to Kill a Sales Presentation

By Dave Stelzl's Blog 1 Comment

Categories: Value Proposition
Tags: death by power point, great power point, keynote, learning to speak, made to stick, Marketing, microsoft, power point, presentation skills, sales, selling, solution selling, speaker, speakers school, Technology, training

At the end of yesterday’s Making Money with Security Online class I mentioned the upcoming “Principles of an Effective Value Proposition” online program scheduled in April. There is nothing worse than sitting through a terrible presentation or being stuck in boring meeting for several hours. So why would we subject our prospects to this kind of torture? To get us started, here are ten things that will absolutely kill a Power Point presentation…

1. Opening with an agenda slide – your first task is to grab the audience’s attention; the agenda slide is a sure way to lose everyone.

2. Using the standard bullet point format in Power Point – this makes for boring slides with too many words.

3. Showing slide after slide of meaningless numbers, statistics, financials, with values that are too big to comprehend. The human brain needs a comparison when dealing with large numbers – a point of reference. A slide or 2 is okay, but don’t go overboard on statistics and sound bites.

4. Talking about “Self”. Especially true when presenting to new prospects – no one cares about your company before there is a reason to do business.

5. Bad colors and no graphics. Most people are visual. They want to see pictures – this is why people watch movies rather than listen to stories on the radio. If you want your information to be memorable, use grabbing graphics! The best way to do this is by changing the slide background to an image.

6. Reading your slides – no! Look at the audience. This requires that you know your material.

7. Too many words on the slide. If your audience can’t read the whole slide in a few seconds (5 or 6 words) you’ve lost them. They will either listen to you or read the slide…most will read the slide and ignore you.

8. No climax. A presentation must build. If it’s flat people will lose interest quickly.

9. Obvious. Most sales presentations look exactly the same. They discuss company background, offerings, features, a few client names, etc. This is predictable, boring, and obvious.

10. When he presenter is not a speaker. This is the final presentation killer. If you’re going to stand up in front of a crowd, you had better be good. This is not a genetic trait. It’s simply a matter of learning the skill and practicing until you’re great at it.

Dec

Stop Dreaming About Yesterday

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment

Categories: Value Proposition
Tags: cell phone, discontinuous, Geoffrey Moore, Innovation, laptop, mobility, pager, PC, sales training, smart phone, Technology, trusted adviser, Value Proposition, wireless

Photo By: Hannah Stelzl

I’ve met too many sales people over the past decade who are stuck dreaming about the 90’s. They had large accounts, perhaps covered one large global client. They made big money, have impressive contacts, traveled the world, and won awards. Innovation was high, new technologies drove early adopter buyers to research and seek out differentiating technologies. And they were on the ride side, selling it all. They had it made!

Sales were high because companies were seeking out new technologies that would put them ahead. Perhaps the first restaurant to use pagers was a hit, the first realtor to use a cell phone beat his competition to the sale, and the first company to deploy email changed the way people communicate, gaining an advantage somehow. Sales were strong and margins were good. But it seems as though today’s technology developments are improvements on yesterday’s innovations. They’re faster, cheaper, and in some cases more reliable. Digital cell phones are much clearer than the old analogue, desktops are a fraction of the cost we paid twenty years ago, and the size of mobile computing devices has made it possible to carry the power of yesterday’s mainframe technology on our hip. And with this era of improvement comes commoditization and thin margins.

Commoditization of technology is speeding up and the number of ways to purchase just keeps growing as prices fall. The old days are not coming back, and sitting around wishing, won’t improve your numbers. Expect sales to get harder going forward, margin to grow thinner, and buyers to be smarter. As a sales person, you can’t be coaches anymore, responsible only for bringing in the team. You have to become consultants, bringing knowledge and ideas, and prepared to solve problems; in short, you have to demonstrate that you are the best choice to advise business leaders on the direction to take with technology. The more a sales person dreams about past success the less likely he is to perform in the coming year. Margin can no longer come from product alone, but rather the intellectual capital you bring; ideas that are better than any other, work ethic that out performs your competitor, and creativity. All of this starts with your message; the thing that positions you above the noise and creates an opportunity to demonstrate lasting value.

Dec

The problem with most corporate presentations…

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment

Categories: Value Proposition
Tags: power point, presentation skills, Value Proposition

Another great Value Proposition workshop today in NYC – hot topic today was making corporate presentations stick! Top issues I see with resellers all over the world:

1. Marketing departments pump out Power Points with no understanding of the client’s needs or wants.

2. One size fits all: Execs should not have to sit through the same presentation as IT.

3. Power Point and Word are two different applications. With 50 words to a slide your client can either listen to you or read your slide – or you can read the entire slide to the client. None are good options.

4. Presentations are all about you – prospects don’t care about your company until after you’ve given them something interesting to buy. Save the stats for another time….(20 years in the business…so what?).

5. Overview of your company sounds like a technology Wal*mart, but not with Wal*Mart prices..bad marketing strategy.

6. Too many slides – will an executive tune into 20 or 30 slides? Even IT is going to lose interest at some point.

7. No call to action. Is this an overview or are you there to move them to do business?

Dec

This is NOT Consultative Selling…

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment

Categories: Sales Strategy and Value Proposition
Tags: agent, business plan, consultant, consulting, Information Technology, planning, procurement, purchasing, sales methodology, Sales Plan, sales training, security, Strategy, Technology, Value Proposition

Selling installation services along with your product is not consultative. Neither is training, RFP responses, fulfilling orders, or selling to those who already know what they need. Most of these things are sold on price alone. There may be a hint of existing customer loyalty, but in today’s economy, don’t expect that to last. If you are dealing with purchasing, IT, or other procurement functions primarily, consider yourself a transactional product sales person. This role is destined to be replaced by Google. Now is the time to rethink your strategy…don’t give up, instead get a plan to transform your sales in 2011!