From the category archives:

Strategic Selling

Tell Them Your Story

March 7, 2012

Our Consulting Executives agree: most sales calls they’ve taken have turned out a poor use of time. Why? Digging deeper reveals a general issue often lost on sellers.
To be sure, sellers lacking product knowledge wasn’t the issue. Without exception, our Consulting Executives agreed that most sales professionals they’ve met with were enthusiastic and skilled in [...]

KISS: Keep It Simple, Smartly

November 7, 2011

Special guest post by Randall Yim, Executive Conversation Consulting Executive
We’re all enamored with the latest shiny new products and applications. Buzzy trends like smart infrastructure, smart cities and smart information abound. But high-tech is not a silver bullet. It’s also not always the best solution.
New technology has many attractions – including higher profit margins for [...]

To the Cloud – Are We There Yet?

October 26, 2011

Special guest post by Randall Yim, Executive Conversation Consulting Executive
Everyone is selling migration to the cloud as the next big thing. However, be sure to avoid the “trip to grandma’s house” effect.
Expectations and reality must be consistent, and you must calibrate customer expectations appropriately. Cloud solutions will enable the infrastructure for positive business operation change, [...]

Ten Key Elements of Successful Channel Programs

October 24, 2011

Special guest post by Scott Karren, Executive Conversation Consulting Executive
The success of your channel program hinges on a broad number of factors which, of course, vary considerably by industry and market. If you haven’t recently evaluated what’s working, what’s not in your program, take the time to do so. Here are 10 elements to specifically [...]

Good Elevator – Bad Elevator

September 27, 2011

Special guest post by Randall Yim, Executive Conversation Consulting Executive
I hate the term “elevator pitch”. It demeans an extremely valuable skill: the ability to articulate a complex statement clearly and succinctly.
Finding good and bad examples to critically review can be difficult. But the Washington Post recently had a readers’ poll contest to determine the “best” [...]

To the Cloud! A Vehicle, not the Destination

September 14, 2011

Special guest post by Randall Yim, Executive Conversation Consulting Executive
The rush toward cloud based storage and computing confuses “means” with “ends”, an issue particularly prevalent with new technology. Many of the very good arguments in support of cloud adoption focus on the benefits for IT departments within businesses and governments. They tout IT-centric savings [...]

Implementing a Strategic Sales Philosophy

July 25, 2011

Special guest post by Scott Karren, Executive Conversation Consulting Executive
Lots of people say they support solution selling. In fact, it is hard to find anyone who does not espouse some sort of solution selling. Problem is that like TQM (remember Total Quality Management?), solution selling is often no more than a slogan.
Serious about [...]

Costco CFO Richard A. Galanti talks with Executive Conversation about sales professionals

June 15, 2011

Mr. Galanti joined Kirkland, WA-based Costco Wholesale Corporation shortly after its founding in March 1984 as Vice President of Finance and later became Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Executive Conversation spoke with him about retail investment trends and the factors that influence capital investment decisions at Costco.
Q: With all of the vendors who [...]

ROI: Using Assumptions and Estimates

June 9, 2011

Presenting ROI to executives and business decision-makers can challenge sales professionals as much as any part of the job.
Why?
Common reasons we see are sellers:

Mistakenly presenting Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) numbers – which don’t recognize the required investment; only cost reduction.
Neglecting to take the customer‘s hurdle rate into consideration.
Relying on an [...]

Lost in Translation: What are you selling, exactly?

April 21, 2011

Leading. Scalable. Unique. Streamlined. And of course, optimized. Ever use these terms to a) sound businesslike, b) impress customers or, c) explain your solution?
If so, the good news is you are not alone. Of course, the bad news is also that you’re not alone.
Business decision-makers hear this messaging too often. It’s ineffective. It won’t [...]

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