Dave Stelzl's Blog

Archive Page 2

Jan

Where’s the Plan

Categories: Leadership, Sales Strategy, Solution Strategy and Wise Counsel
Tags: annual budget, business plan, business strategy, hiring plan, kick off meeting, partner summit

I’ve written before, no plan is a plan to fail. It’s January – the start of the year for many. And even if your company isn’t on the calendar year, chances are you think about your income that way. Do you have a plan to grow this year?

Most of the people I ask, don’t really have a plan. Instead, they have put together a budget (which is not a bad start), which details what will be spent to keep the business running, and calls for a certain quota on sales. If the sales numbers are not met, the budget will not produce the expected profit. Half way through the year, managers will be sitting around wondering why they are not hitting their numbers, and hoping to make it up in the second half. This is not a plan. This is not a strategy.

Some companies will have an annual kick off meeting. Many companies are doing that this month. What will they accomplish? If they focus on product training, sales number reviews, and parties, I will be a waste of time. No one will remember these things as the year begins.

This week I am headed out to my company planning meeting. It’s a time to look back at what was accomplished, what went well, and an honest assessment of what did not go well. It’s a time to review who performed and who didn’t. In my case, the number of employees I have makes that easy, but for most, it’s an important and difficult step. It’s a time to consider what must change in the vision of the company, the mission you carry out, and how you are approaching the market – it’s strategic, not tactical. This should be taking place on a business level as well as on a personal level. It involves setting the high level goals with a plan to meet them. It means going beyond the dream of hitting a certain number and figuring out how it will be met. It also means getting rid of dead weight – things (or people) that don’t produce fruit. This year I will spend four days on this process – why? Because it’s likely the most important thing I do all year to make sure I am headed in the right direction.

Jan

How Not to Handle Customer Service

By Dave Stelzl's Blog 1 Comment

Categories: Customer Service Stories
Tags: customer relationship management, Customer Service, quality, Sears

For some reason these customer service stories keep coming up, and while I am looking forward to writing about other things, this just stands out as important. I don’t think I am much different than your clients when it comes to customer service. I want to get a great deal, be treated well, and know the company I am working with is responsive to my needs. I’ve been waiting to write about this; just waiting for the final outcome.

I started over a month ago, in mid-November, working on getting my Craftsman compressor repaired. It would seem like a simple thing – a big tank full of air, with an electric motor. I sent it over the Sears repair center, with a $35 diagnostic fee that would be applied to the repair, which was pre-authorized for about $100. A week later I received a call with a $250 quote to replace the motor. Now, I had done some homework on this. I had actually taken this thing apart with my father, and tested the motor, and sure enough, it ran! After questioning the technician, he explained that it was actually related to a capacitor, a part that starts the motor, but is not longer in production. So, the fix is to swap out the entire motor with one that is available.

Not wanting to pay the $250, I picked up my compressor. Once home, a man in my church agreed to take a look at it and fix it, however we both felt it would be helpful to know what part was actually not working. I called Sears Repair center, hoping to get a five minute explanation. Three weeks later, I am still calling, talking to enthusiastic call center people, who are leaving messages for the technician; however, no return call. Christmas comes and goes, and finally I decided, this is great blog material. So the next step was to take this up the ladder. After several attempts, I was able to get the call center person to directly connect me to the manager – what a disappointment. After explaining my situation, he actually told me that “they are not obligated to answer my questions since I have already picked up my compressor!” Wow. Mind you, I have paid the non-refundable diagnostic fee, and if I can’t figure out how to repair it, at some point I would be coming back to Sears. You would think they would value my business.

After I hung up, I decided to go another route. Sears has a department at headquarters called the Blue Ribbon Team. Supposedly this executive office team is dedicated to getting satisfaction. After speaking with David, an official member of the Blue Ribbon Team, he assured me he would figure this out and get back to me by Friday. Friday came and went, so the following week I was forced to make a second call to the infamous Blue Ribbon Team. This time I was connected to Picole, who sits right down the line from David. David wasn’t in, but after hearing my story, Picole assured me he would track down David and call me back with an update by the close of business that day. Well, as expected, five o’clock came and went.

This morning I had it on my list to call Sears, something that has become part of my daily routine, but before I could get to it, the technician actually called me. I sensed that he did not really want to talk to me, as he repeatedly reminded me that he had already spoken to me, but he did give me the details I needed.

The lesson here – The technician did end up having to call me, but look at how much time he wasted. He wasted weeks of my time, while also adding to my stress, and defaming his own brand. He also spent time avoiding my messages. You know it takes some time and mental capacity to get a daily message from someone, and not call them back. And, it greatly eroded my confidence in Sears to provide customer service! For most of my life I have thought of Craftsman as the right brand to buy when talking about automotive tools, mostly because of their reputation for life-time warranty. While electric power tools and compressors don’t carry that same warranty, I expected quality treatment. Don’t let this happen with your customer issues!

Jan

More Negotiation Practice

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment

Categories: Customer Service Stories and Negotiating
Tags: Customer Service, esculate, negotiation, sales training, Time warner cable

I’ve written numerous posts on negotiating, and as I continue to study this area, it gets better all the time. Over and over I have encouraged people to practice! Use every customer satisfaction issue as an opportunity to work through difficult situations! Become an expert at staying cool, controlling the situation, and methodically moving through the process.

Yesterday I experienced another victory – I received a call several weeks ago from a telemarketer asking me to switch from Windstream to Time Warner Cable for phone and Internet. The cost was about half of what I was paying (I think I actually wrote about this sale a few weeks ago – the agent did a great job selling me), so I bought it! Well this was the week to cut over. I am now running my office on digital cable phone for half the price…however, vmail was not included. The sales agent assured me it was, but alas it is not.

So yesterday I decided to see how high I would need to go to have free vmail. I started with the call center who predictably could not give me free vmail. Agreeing that this would be impossible, I asked to speak to the supervisor – Wyatt soon joined me, and we reviewed the situation. He was sure is could not be done, so I simply restated, “You are not able to do this”. He agreed, and I asked for his manager John. John was very helpful, however he was not able to do it either. However, John truly did want to help me, and began reviewing some options. Finally he came back and asked me to visit the local store. Well, who has time to drive to a store in the middle of a work week? So I asked for the store phone number instead, which he gave me. From there I called the store, asking for the supervisor.

The person who answered the phone insisted on helping me before getting a supervisor involved, however, he also could not help me once I explained my dilemma. Finally, I was escalated to the store manager Brett. Within a few minutes Brett was checking to see what he might offer me. I recommended a half year of free vmail, to which he agreed, and then proceeded to add it. Perhaps I could have pushed for more, but I was happy with the response. Time Warner Gets an A+ for customer service on this one (although I would recommend empowering some power down the line to shorten this up a bit). Once again, it pays to work through the process rather than getting upset or giving up. Give it a try.

Jan

Making Money w/ Security Day 1: Sound Bites and Social Media

By Dave Stelzl's Blog 1 Comment

Categories: Sound Bites
Tags: data security, Hacking, security products, Security Sales, social media, wall street journal

Yesterday we completed our first day of Making Money w/ Security – an online security sales course I provide through webex. As security trends evolve, one area has become particularly interesting to me – that of social media and how it can be used as a vehicle for social engineering. After class one attendee passed on an article from the WSJ, Spam Finds a New Target…here are some important points from the Wall Street Journal’s write up…

Facebook blocks over 200 million malicious actions every day!
In August 2011, over 92% of email messages were spam messages, in Nov, over 70%. These numbers fluctuate month to month, but they are always high.
Twitter and Facebook are the new targets – people are on to the email problems, but social media is wide open as people accept friend requests from unknowns. In fact, in another recent article, WSJ reported on a study showing the number of men who gave out sensitive information, including passwords, to a white hat hacker posing as a 25 year old woman using social media! Incredible, but believable.

As I speak to executives around the world at Lunch & Learns and other customer facing events, I am hearing the need to leverage social media as a means of marketing and branding. I agree, this is a tool that can accelerate any company’s business when used correctly. But this also opens the door for users, who are completely unaware of the security risks, to invite predictors to install code on their machines. The same machines that will later access the company’s most sensitive data. If you are not attending Making Money w/ Security this week, stay tuned – we’ll be scheduling more later this year.

Jan

Anonymous – Expect Security Issues to Dominate Headlines

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment

Categories: Opportunities, Sales Strategy and Sound Bites
Tags: anonymous, hacker, Marketing, roi, sales, selling security, Technology, Value Proposition

Anonymous strikes again (read the Article)…if you look through news articles on technology in 2012, most likely you will find Apple, Google, and Anonymous dominating headlines…at least on the business side news (e.g. Wall Street Journal). Of the three, most of us stand to capitalize on security news more than Apple or Google, unless you work for the latter. Do you have a plan for 2012 that leverages security trends? You should. Of all my clients, those specializing in security experienced the greatest bottom line growth. Areas to consider:

1. Companies that offered managed services with a security slant (Messaging), grew the most. When I say “Grew”, I mean, profit. Who cares about top line growth? Manufacturers and very large resellers who are publicly traded, perhaps, but for the traditional reseller and even small, privately held manufacturer, gross and net are more important. Managed services, is always a “security” sale (but often not treated as one), and is the key to developing financial stability.

2. Assessments where also a hot topic. In my latest book, From Vendor to Adviser (which is doing very well since it’s release in late December – buy it here), I discuss the need to move into a more consultative approach using discovery and assessment strategies. Clients who have made this a core part of their business development strategy are building business faster and more profitably than any other group of clients I serve.

3. Marketing events continue to produce strong results! Lunch & Learn marketing has been around as long as I can remember, yet few can tell me how they are benefiting from these expensive and time consuming events – with the exception of those engaged in security. We continue to get large audiences, executive level attendees, and a very strong sign up (Conversion) rate – averaging 75%! Still, companies continue to try other things, looking for diversity and point product selling.

Today we kick off the first 2012 Making Money with Security workshop! (You can still sign up – starts at 1:00 PM). I am looking forward to exploring all three in detail. Those that master security sales, will win in 2012.

Jan

Great Marketing: 60 Minutes, The Internet is Infected!

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment

Categories: Sound Bites and Video
Tags: hacker, internet, symantec, 60 minutes, infected

Happy New Year! 2012 is just starting, and promises to be another great year for those providing security solutions. In fact, I am kicking off the new year with a workshop on selling security – Making Money with Security. We have a great group, so if you are not signed up, you should be – here is the link (below). Either way, this is a powerful video to send out to business people who don’t really understand what they are up against. With the growth in mobile and home workers, this type of attack (illustrated on the video) is easy money for any hacker targeting the average end-user, especially on home computers not controlled by corporate security policies.

http://makingmoneywithsecurity.eventbrite.com/

Dec

Enjoy the Christmas Holidays!

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment

Categories: Opportunities
Tags: author, Book, christmas, David Stelzl, sales, selling

Photo Taken By Hannah Stelzl

It’s my favorite time of year – spending time with family, listening to great Christmas music, attending concerts and Christmas programs, and looking back over the year…Merry Christmas! (Yes I am a day late – it’s been a busy week!). If you didn’t get a copy of From Vendor to Adviser in your stocking this year – we still have a few at:

http://www.stelzl.us/vendortoadviser.asp

Dec

Negotiating; Playing the Annuity Card

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment

Categories: Negotiating
Tags: annuity, David Stelzl, negotiating, roi vs. tco, sales training, total cost of ownership

I have written several posts on negotiating with customer service and sales people as a way of practicing. You can do this almost every day at home as telemarketers prey on you and your family. It makes getting unexpected calls more interesting. In a recent webinar on fee setting (which is also discussed in my new book, From Vendor to Adviser – #VendortoAdviser), I talk about the need to understand the value, and get to the point where your client really understands, before quoting price. This same principle is key to the negotiating process as demonstrated on a call I had yesterday with Time Warner. Here is what happened…

I received an unexpected call from a telemarketer selling phone, cable, and Internet packages. He started by asking me what I do for Internet connectivity, then went to cost – how much does it cost me. Keep in mind, this is not a return on investment sale, but rather a classic TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) sale. When I told him, he said, “Wow, that’s high”. His comment was not scripted which made me feel like he was actually listening to me. This one principle kept me on the line in the midst of a busy day!

He then asked about phone and TV. I don’t watch TV, so he went right to the phone/Internet bundle and started talking prices while mentioning faster speeds. He did not try to argue DSL speed vs. Cable, which I have heard one too many times. I wasn’t complaining about speed – just price. So as long as the speed is comparable, the price is all I care about. So where does the negotiation come in? As soon as we started talking quote…

Once we came to the real numbers it came out that there is an installation charge of almost $100 between my two phones, fax, and Internet service. Knowing that annuity revenue far outweighs the installation charges, I asked told, “I’m good to go if we can wave the fees”. “Can’t do that,” he said, the people who come on site have to be paid. But we all know that the money I pay for installation is not going directly to the installer, and there is no way the managers of that group are going to give up two phones and an Internet for $100. I’ll be paying $100 every month from now until I die, unless a cheaper solution comes along next year, so I said, “I guarantee your manager will wave the fee to do this deal, go ask him.” He was skeptical, but willing to go to bat for me. Within 60 seconds we had a deal, free installation, and half my current bill, without a long term commitment! It pays to learn what matters most when negotiating.

One more thing: Don’t miss our Vendor to Adviser Webinar coming up December 21st – you can check to see if there are still seats open at: (CLICK HERE) – if not, get on the Waiting List!

Dec

I’ve Finally Made it To Kindle

By Dave Stelzl's Blog 1 Comment

Categories: Opportunities
Tags: amazon, author, David Stelzl, from vendor to adviser, kindle, The House & the Cloud

No, I didn’t buy they Kindle, but people have been asking me to put The House & the Cloud and From Vendor to Adviser on Kindle for while now – so, I did! If you have a hard copy of The House & the Cloud, don’t be fooled by the black cover. It’s a new cover – one I will likely use if I ever get around to updating my book; something I hope to do this year! You can see them online at:

1. The House & the Cloud

2. From Vendor to Adviser

Buy one and let me know how it looks…

Dec

The Security Value Proposition

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment

Categories: Opportunities
Tags: sales training, security sales training, selling security, Value Proposition, webinar

In last week’s webinar on fee setting, one of the 5 secrets I shared had to do with understanding value before quoting a price. By this I mean, you personally have ownership of the value your are providing and the client agrees – they too see the value. On the call I discussed various ways to ensure this happens, along with some key technology areas that demonstrate it well. One of these areas is security…you might have guessed if you’ve read my book, The House & the Cloud.

Upcoming Making Money with Security Workshop (Online) – Click to learn more

Why Security Does this so Well:

Security issues are in every company – if you can find them, most of the time they are urgent. In a recent coaching call we were reviewing assessment results from a complementary risk analysis. The client’s email system had been compromised and was acting as a spam relay! What is the likelihood of closing the remediation business on this one? 100%! In another situation the client’s report revealed no firewall – the network was actually set up to bypass the firewall! Another 100%…and finally, I worked with a client recently only to discover that everyone in the company had full admin rights to their database – this is a healthcare company with HIPAA requirements! Again, there is a 100% likelihood of closing business. Why? Simply put, we found urgent issues and had asset owners involved.

Executives are still interested in security…you may not think so, but the fact that Wall Street continues to write about security tells me the readership – mostly management level people, are interested. It’s not that hard to arrange marketing events and sales calls around educational security related material. The success comes as sales people focus on the business aspects, not the technology itself.

Every technology deal has a security aspect to it – one that is central to the success of implementation. Whether you sell unified communications, applications, core networking, storage, or specialize in managed services, security is key. It’s a differentiator. If your competition is selling storage, the deal is likely dependent on price. When security enters the equation, the value equation changes. Here, success is dependent on understanding how to weave the security story into the deal. It’s always relevant, making it the right thing to do.

Find out more on this – join us the first week of January before things get to hectic – 3 days, 2 hours each day – online, so you don’t have to go anywhere! Sign up here (hurry while early registration discounts apply):