Articles

Sales & Marketing Management Magazine

"Maximizing your sales coverage" November/December 2008
Are you really leveraging all possible channels?

Growing your existing client base and gaining new accounts is the most basic element of a sales coverage model. Implementing this can take a variety of forms and continually challenges even the most astute companies. Why? Because customer needs continue to change, technology advances add new dimensions to being “virtual,” the competition changes and new products give you exposure to new markets.

If you are reevaluating your sales coverage model, don’t feel like you’re alone. Thousands of firms are doing the exact same thing … including, perhaps, your competition. Here are a few key questions to answer:

"The structured conversation" August 2008
How to make your business indispensable to any client

In my previous column [March/April 2008], I highlighted three proven steps to winning more business and getting your clients to open up: moving off the solution, asking effective questions and driving for hard evidence to the problem. Now let’s talk about getting out all the issues by structuring the conversation.
Every sales consultant knows...

"Getting clients to open up" March/April 2008
Three proven step to winning more business

Wouldn’t it be great if you could find a proven process that teaches you how to get clients to open up, and which does so by engaging them in structured business conversation instead of mere sales-speak? Here are three important steps that, with practice, can help you achieve just that...1. Move off the solution.

"Jumpstart Your Team's Performance" November 2007
Your first 30 days with a new sales force

Let’s set the stage: You’ve been given the opportunity to become the leader of a sales team that has had proven success in the past, but has recently been in a slump.You have been asked to return it to the glory days. So where do you start? Here are immediate actions you can take to jumpstart your team’s performance and get it back on the right track....Learn how to jumpstart your sales team's performance.

"Be Creative in Your B2B Lead Generation" September 2007
There are many ways to stretch your marketing dollars

One of the biggest challenges facing many marketers this time of year is how to get the most from a limited
budget. For many of you, this is a challenge you’re faced with every day! Let’s assume that you are in the process of planning your marketing programs for next quarter or next year and need to select the best initiatives that will generate the most highly qualified leads for the sales force. With a limited budget, you have to be very smart when maximizing your dollars in the right areas.Here are some tips to consider as you’re planning...read more about how to maximize you budgeted dollars.

"Manage From Your Left Brain, Lead From Your Right" July/August 2007
Strategic leaders use both head and heart

One of my favorite books on leadership is Principle-Centered Leadership by Stephen Covey. Written more than 15 years ago, it is still relevant. The chapter that stands out in my mind is “Manage From the Left, Lead From the Right.” In it, the role of the leader is identified as the most critical within an organization. That’s because without strategic leadership, people might follow a certain path but discover that it leads to the wrong destination. Effective leaders do the following...read how to provide vision, direction, value, and
purpose;

"Don't Let the Dog Days Slow Sales" May 2007
How to keep your teams motivated and focused at work

Summer is here. The kids are out of school. Vacations are being planned. As the outside temperature continues to climb, salespeople and managers everywhere are taking longer lunches and ending their days a little earlier to enjoy the nice weather. With the sunshine so enticing, can you blame them? Summer can be the time for lots of excuses; "My decision maker is on vacation;" "Business is slow during the summer;" "The key stakeholders are not available;" or "They spent all their budget dollars in the first half." I am sure you can add to this list...How do you keep your team (and yourself) motivated during the summer months?...read more about slow summer sales.

"Are You Sticking to Your New Year's Resolutions" March 2007
How to Get Back on Track

Many of us made a list of business resolutions at the beginning of the year. Some of you have been relentless in keeping those resolutions: be a better listener, taking more risks, prioritizing the "A's" speaking up more frequently (or infrequently) during meetings. Three months into the yew year, are you still on track? If you've made improvements, congratulations! For those who have fallen back into the old routine, don't give up yet. Now is the perfect time to refocus and recommit...read more about how to recommit to your business goals.

"Workplace Stress: A Survival Guide" November 2006
Are office pressures getting the best of you?

You just finished your 8:00 a.m. Monday forecast call with your manager and are feeling additional pressure to make up the revenue shortfall for the month. You'd like to have a few minutes to regroup before your next meeting, but the phone starts ringing, 50 new e-mails are up on your screen, and your cell phone is buzzing. And now your manager wants the updated prospect "up-side" list on his desk by tomorrow morning. Your afternoon is already full with meetings - and you have to leave the office by 5 p.m. to be at your daughter's soccer game...read more about how to deal with workplace stress.

“Blogs: Marketing Evolves Online” September 2006

As marketers explore new ways to reach their audience, there is a continuing focus on one-to-one targeted approaches. The newest evolution to appear in this space is blogging. It is becoming on of the quickest and most personal ways to have your message seen by scores of people...read more about the evolution of blog marketing.

"Bad’ Profits Can Kill You” May 2006

Every company wants profitable revenue growth. But watch out. -- there's a difference between good profits and bad profits, and if you indulge in the bad kind it can have a lasting impact on customer loyalty. At the recent Institute for the Study of Business Markets (ISBM) conference at Penn State, Fred Reichheld, customer loyalty expert, made just that point...learn more about the difference between good profits and bad profits .

“Where the B-to-B Landscape Will be the Most Challenging” January 2006

In order to manage marketing priorities, you need to look ahead - not just a few months ahead, but at least a year - preferably further down the road. Here's some help with your future-gazing: Every two years, the Institute for the Study of Business Markets (ISBM) at the Smeal College, Penn State University, surveys a panel of business-to-business marketing executives and academic researchers to ask them what will be the most important critical challenges facing business marketers over the next two to three years. ISBM tracks what these leaders feel are the capabilities needed to successfully compete in the future--in this case, the year 2007. The top three priorities on the marketing leaders' minds are: read more about business-to- business marketing challenges.

"A Lesson in Sales Coverage" October 2005
The importance of understanding how clients want to do business

Staying ahead of the competition is the goal of any successful sales organization, and to reach it is to make sure your company is better than the competitor in the areas important to the client. Many businesses have reached parity on features, production costs, and other areas of cost efficiencies; this also brings less differentiation. What is often overlooked as a competitive advantage is the sales coverage model. Are you covering your market as effectively and efficiently as possible? If not, your coverage model may be designed to meet internal needs, not the customer's...read more about understanding your sales model.

Copies of the below articles can be obtained by contacting Mary Donato.

“Changing Gears” October 2005

“The Win-Win Sales Call” June 2005
How to get centered on your client so you both succeed

“Change Agents” April 2005

“Visions of Growth” January 2004

“Learn to Love Your Techies” July 2002

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