sales training « Dave Stelzl's Blog

Posts Tagged ‘sales training

May

Lessons from a Recent Webinar – HP and What Not to Do.

Categories: Wise Counsel
Tags: David Stelzl, how hewlett-packard lost its way, hp, ingram micro, sales training

About a month ago I presented via Webex – an Ingram Micro sponsored session on how to sell security and other risk related projects. The content was focused on the security sale, but the truth is, Risk Mitigation is a powerful motivator to buy. I offered people a free copy of my House & Cloud book (in PDF format). Today I received an email from one attendee who is reading The House & the Cloud as a result, and has also picked up my new book, From Vendor to Adviser. I was encouraged to read, “This is totally transforming my business.” In the email, he attached an article on HP, a company who has failed to apply the concepts I bring out in both of these books. Here’s the article – it’s worth reading if you aim to stay in business.

“For a decade now the company has sometimes seemed more like a tawdry reality show than one of the world’s great enterprises.” Check the link for more on this…

Feb

Event Marketing Webinar Follow Up

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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

Two Great Opportunities

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment

Categories: Opportunities
Tags: informatiion security training, Making Money with Security, sales training

First, I have just announced a free webinar – Unlocking the Secrets of Event Marketing…this is online and free, but I only have a limited number of seats left. Feb 7th – read more and sign up here! (CLICK)

Also, we have scheduled another online Making Money with Security Class. I recently received an email from a rep who used this material to take his career up to one of the top two sales people in his global firm. In his email he makes the statement, “This was life changing!” Don’t miss this…we are half full and early sign-up discounts end on Feb 4th. Read more and sign up here (CLICK)

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.

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

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):

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

Nov

“Save the Date” Letters

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment

Categories: Demand Generation
Tags: invitation, lunch & Learn, marketing event, sales letter, sales training

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.

Nov

Making Money w/ Security – Day 2; Building a Message that Works

By Dave Stelzl's Blog 2 Comments

Categories: Opportunities
Tags: David Stelzl, sales training, security speaker, security training class

We completed Day 2 of our online workshop Friday, with a strong focus on building a message that works, and taking it to market through five different methods. The strongest of the five continues to be event marketing, but not without a clear understanding of what makes it work. I received an email this morning from a long time friend and client stating the following, “Your stuff works!” He went on to say, by using an event over the summer, he was able to connect with two very promising clients, which both agreed to conduct assessments. After an initial look at their business, he was able to up-sell them on a more thorough, fee-based assessment, from which he identified several profitable projects, which then led to managed contracts. This is the way it works…

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

Fait Accompli – Another Well Documented Negotiation Tactic

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment

Categories: Negotiating
Tags: example, fait Accompli, Negotiating strategies, sales motivational speaker, sales training

Timmy Winning the Battle

Fait Accompli – a well documented tactic used in politics and business negotiation is something to keep in mind. This French phrase, translated Accomplished Fact, refers to a deal where one party takes an action that is irreversible. The buyer assumes everything is in place to close the business, but knows full well they are not done negotiating. It’s kind of like, rather than asking permission if you can have a cookie, you just do it. When caught, you act innocent and apologize.

Example:

The client may have you move ahead with purchasing something or installing something while the paper work is being processed. The system in nearly installed when the negotiator comes back with a misunderstanding on price or scope. “O, I thought these software licenses were included – if they’re not, please remove the entire server.” You know it will cost you more to remove it than it will to just move ahead with the customer’s request…what do you do?

Counter Strategy

This is why it is so important to put the agreement in writing, and get the signature before beginning work. Even when dealing with urgent support issues, make the client sign before beginning work. It’s their problem not yours – it’s their system that is down, not yours. If it’s critical, they should be able to get someone in the company to sign off on it. Don’t move ahead without agreement on scope, terms, and signature.

Comment with some more examples of this tactic…