Blogs - Page 2

The other day I was in the car with my 6-year-old, Mason, when we spotted a rainbow.

That led to a discussion of the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

You can imagine how his eyes lit up talking about that one. For a 6-year-old, a pot of gold is about as good as it gets.

But that got me thinking ... everyone has a different pot of gold. Maybe your pot of gold is retiring early, or a fancy car, or more time away from work.

For most people who are in business, especially salespeople and entrepreneurs from professional services, there is one “pot of gold.”

They want to increase their client base and their revenue.

But here’s the problem… most businesses can’t handle what they wish for.

And if they double their customer base, it means double the workload while paying less attention to each customer. Not so good, right?

If you’re a typical consultant, coach, writer/speaker, or other professional services business owner who provides a “done-for-you” service like a huge chunk of the businesses that make up the U.S. economy, then getting a flood of new clients all at once would be both a good thing and a very, very bad thing.

Want to attend the learning event of the year? How about for FREE? You can, with Connect!

How? By Adding and updating contacts between now and September 12th! Two adders and two updaters will each win a Dreamforce conference pass, a roundtrip flight, and a four-night stay at the beautiful Axiom Hotel in San Francisco, in the heart of all the Dreamforce activities! There are also tons of runner-up prizes.1

Today, as a small business, it is virtually impossible to have a thriving business without a strong social presence. Social media has transformed from something that a few companies had to a marketing tool that all businesses must use. It has the power to create brand awareness, attract new clients, promote engagement with current and former customers, drive sales, and so much more.

Small business owners need to know that social media marketing isn’t just for Fortune 500 firms and national retail chains. Local businesses and smaller companies benefit from having and executing a strategically crafted social media strategy. However, many don’t because they think that they can’t. They think that they don’t have the resources, time, money, or skills needed for successful social marketing.  Some post on their social channels sporadically, while others don’t post at all. I have witnessed it all and seen the companies that do engage grow, while the ones that dismiss it stay stagnant.

I was having breakfast with a client in Denver before a training program I was giving, and we were talking about the importance of asking questions and listening. He told me that a few years ago he was working for a company selling an IT solution, and that while dealing with the Director of IT, he suddenly had an opportunity to meet the new CFO. This was unexpected and he had to think fast!

 Here’s what happened:

As he was leaving, and right after meeting with the IT Director, he asked him how he could get in front of the new CFO (knowing that the CFO was the ultimate decision maker). Just as he asked this question, an executive was walking down the hall toward them. The Director said, “That’s the new CFO right there. Let me introduce you to him.”

As he was introduced, my client asked the CFO, “I’d love to spend a few minutes with you and wondered when we could get some time on your calendar to do that?” To his surprise, the CFO said, “I have about 10 minutes right now, come on into my office.”

Our quarterly kudos contest is back again! The Corner is the perfect place to come and share your thoughts about Connect or find answers to your questions, and kudos are the community’s way of giving a "thumbs up" to the information that’s shared. Last year, we held contests rewarding your activity and were so excited by the level of participation that we decided to continue the contest on a quarterly basis with even better prizes for the winners!

Here's how it works: Starting tomorrow, June 1st, 2017, for every kudo you receive for A) a question answered on Ask the Experts or a new thread started on B) All Things Sales, C) All Things Marketing, or D) The Water Cooler, you’ll receive one entry to win one of five $250 Amazon gift cards!*

So get posting your best stuff today and be rewarded!

It’s another chance to win big in Connect’s next quarterly contest!  The goal? From June 1st until August 31st, 2017, add or update as many C-level contacts at Fortune 1000 companies as you can to win!*

It’s anyone’s game!

Remember, the format for our quarterly contests are Rainmaker vs. Rainmaker, DDs vs. DDs, and the Community vs. the Community. The top adders/updaters in each category will win. For the community, you can win Data.com swag, plus 1,000 points added to your account. Rainmakers, you can win a $150 AmEx gift card!  And let’s not forget the Data Defenders, who can win a $250 AmEx Gift card!

All submissions will be verified for accuracy and quality before bonus points and prizes are awarded. Additionally, contest winners must have at least a 90% rating at the time the contest ends.

Daily, I hear sales leaders commenting how hard it is to find great candidates in this market. A search I ran on LinkedIn this morning bears this out.

In just the last 15 days, 468 companies posted “Account Executive” openings in Boston alone. That’s a rate of five new postings per business hour. Beyond the sheer volume, we’re also missing the mark in messaging (see below). It’s no wonder the majority of posts on LinkedIn get fewer than 10 applicants.

The world as we live in it today is not the same as it was even ten years ago. We’ve experienced a technological revolution unlike any we’ve ever seen before, and with the inception of artificial intelligence, predictive analytics, big data and cloud storage, and advanced automation, it has become far too easy to fall into a set-and-forget mentality.

As we pursue the latest trends, the latest best practices, the latest response methods, we become entangled in a network of tools and processes, and as we travel further down that road, we begin to lose sight of where we came from. We begin to forget that marketing – lead, demand, pipeline, sales, and the rest – is all about the people.

This isn’t a blog post advocating we use technology less – quite the opposite, actually. Technology isn’t going away, so we need not fear the new tools at our disposal, but rather, we should better learn how to integrate these tools with a human-centered approach. Because at the heart of everything you do – behind the computer screen and on the other side of that phone call – are people. And people respond to people.

In case you missed it, we recently hosted our first Connect Classroom with a Product Pro featuring veteran Connect user and long-time community member @AlanSmithee. We had received many requests for resources for users who were familiar with the general ins and outs of Connect, but wanted more in-depth product trainings and resources for taking their knowledge to the next level. As a very active member on Ask the Experts over the past few years, AlanSmithee reviewed the most frequently asked questions he’s seen from other product users, and also guided attendees through demos of some of the more advanced features on Connect. Continue reading to check out some of the Q&As covered during the webinar - and watch the recording for the full classroom experience!

“Calm your breath. Control your chaos."

It was perhaps the best advice I’ve ever received from a coach. 

He was encouraging me, and a few others, to push through our pain on a particularly steep, nasty and brutish climb on our bikes up a mountain that had stubbornly refused to get out of our way.

I was being challenged to the max. And, despite the coach's assurances that the pain was going to last for only 11 more (agonizing) minutes, my vision was blurring around the edges, my lungs were burning with every intake, my muscles were beginning to tremble under the stress and my concentration and desire were beginning to wobble like a bike with a flat tire.

Since founding Performance Methods, Inc. (PMI) 17 years ago, Craig Jones and I have had the opportunity to work with some of the most successful companies in the world. Each of these engagements is initiated in a similar fashion: a select group of top-performers, thought leaders and stakeholders were scheduled to be interviewed by us, and interview them we did. Our questions tend to focus on what’s working well, and what’s not. When the customer is delighted – why? When they aren’t, why not? When you win against the competition, what are the reasons? When you don’t, why not? And so on.

Conduct enough of these interviews and you begin to see trends…and one of those has been the level of difficulty of the sales job: regardless of the title Account Executive, Account Manager, etc.), selling is a competitive battlefield, and it always has been. But it’s worth taking notice that the intensity of the battle is not subsiding over time: in fact – quite the opposite.

There are a lot of things that go into a prospecting call, be that by phone, web, or live, with one key objective being to be perceived differently enough from the outset by the prospect that you gain engagement and conversion to an opportunity.  While it is important to believe in your product, it is facile to believe that your product and “messaging” will drive that differentiation and achieve the desired results.  There are a number of other factors at play that impact the message - factors that will determine whether the message will get to the prospect in the way you want, or miss them entirely.    

 Are you a Connect user that knows the basic ins and outs of the product, but want to take your product knowledge to the next level? You may feel comfortable with using the tool for your business needs, but have you ever wondered if there may be tips and tricks you’re missing out on that could make your usage easier and more efficient? Join us for our first ever Connect Classroom with a Product Pro, led by @AlanSmithee, on April 13th at 10:00 am PST for your chance at direct access to an expert product user!

Every business should have a digital marketing and search engine optimization strategy – whether it’s a small, medium, or large business. If you implement these strategies correctly, they’ll help customers find your website in online searches, resulting in more website traffic, increased lead generation, and sales. As a small business owner myself, I’ve developed and followed a digital marketing and search engine optimization plan, and along the way, I’ve learned a lot about what works and what doesn’t. Read on for an overview of implementing digital marketing strategies for your business!

Our kudos contest is back - and we’re making it bigger than ever before! The Corner is the perfect place to come and share your thoughts about Connect or find answers to your questions, and kudos are the community’s way of giving a "thumbs up" to the information that’s shared. Last year, we held contests rewarding your activity and were so excited by the level of participation that we decided to bring the contest back in 2017 with even better prizes for the winners!

Here's how it works: Every quarter, starting tomorrow, March 1st, 2017, for every kudo you receive for A) a question answered on Ask the Experts or a new thread started on B) All Things Sales, C) All Things Marketing, or D) The Water Cooler, you’ll receive one entry to win one of five $250 Amazon gift cards!*

So get posting your best stuff today and be rewarded!

It’s another chance to win big in Connect’s next quarterly contest!  The goal? From March 1st until May 31st, 2017, add or update as many direct dial phone numbers of IT and/or IS contacts with an Executive, VP, or Director title as you can to win!*

It’s anyone’s game!

Remember, the format for our quarterly contests are Rainmaker vs. Rainmaker, DDs vs. DDs, and the Community vs. the Community. The top adders/updaters in each category will win. For the community, you can win Data.com swag, plus 1,000 points added to your account. Rainmakers, you can win a $150 AmEx gift card!  And let’s not forget the Data Defenders, who can win a $250 AmEx Gift card!

All submissions will be verified for accuracy and quality before bonus points and prizes are awarded.  Additionally, contest winners must have at least a 90% rating at the time the contest ends.

It really is 2017. All the celebration, hoopla and hype are way behind us…well, till next year that is. So, what are you going to do to make 2017 your most profitable year ever? Read on for my five tips to make 2017 your most profitable year ever!

Here on the Connect Community Corner, we’re finally winding down from the holidays and looking forward to a great year in 2017! Looking back at last year, I wanted to share some of the Connect team’s highlights from 2016 and some fun facts about the year on the Corner. 

“I know why people walk away and don’t buy from us, it always comes down to price and product features,” the VP of Sales said to me.

I was hired to do a buyer persona research project for his company, to really understand what goes on inside the heads of their buyers. One of the key insights I've uncovered in these studies is the perceived obstacles that get in the way of buyers moving forward.

And sometimes I can’t resist talking to the sales team ahead of time to get their opinions. Because they always think it comes down to a disadvantage in one of the 4 P’s, especially product and price.

But I know from doing dozens of these buyer persona projects that the real reasons buyers go from being all excited and taking up lots of your time one day, to disappearing from the face of the earth the next, fall into the bucket of the infamous breakup line:

“It’s not you, it’s me.”

Congratulations to the Data.com Connect community & Habitat for Humanity! Thanks to our awesome members, we’ll be donating $5,000 to help local underserved families get back on their feet thanks to Habitat’s amazing work.  

Boiler Room is one of those classic movies that personified the sales development role. It defined for many of us the role of cold calling and ruthlessly closing business, with quotes like:

     "Anybody who tells you money is the root of all evil doesn't have any."

Today, for most B2B companies, sophisticated measurement of customer acquisition costs and lifetime value economics run the show.

For enterprise organizations, big deals are worth 10-20 times more than the average deal size. These are company-making deals and they’re worth building a sales and marketing strategy around. If you haven't already, check out the Clear and Complete Guide to Account Based Sales Development.

What is Account Based Sales Development?

Account Based Sales Development is a coordinated strategy that combines personalized, multi-channel, multi-threaded, outbound activities to create high-value opportunities in new and existing customers. The new Account Based Sales Development model is light-years ahead of yesterday’s siloed sales development and demand generation models. New technology, better processes, and smarter people are changing the game.

Account Based Sales Development is a huge step from the original telesales ‘boiler rooms’ in a few key ways:

The Data.com Connect community is comprised of many dedicated, knowledgeable, passionate members. Among all Connect members, a small percent are Rainmakers, people who have reached the highest tier of membership based on their quality data contributions. Among these top contributors, just a handful are selected as Data.com Connect Champions. Connect Champions are not only Rainmakers - they act as positive influencers, role models and leaders. They also shine in one or more of the four Champions areas:

• Corner Elite
• User Group Leaders
• Data Defenders
• Top Adders and Updaters

Twice a year, we select a new group of Connect Champions based on their activity over the last six months.  Today, I am proud to introduce the Winter 2017 Champions!

I listen to a lot of sales presentations during the week. Companies send me recorded calls of a variety of sales presentations, from many different industries, some lasting as short as seven minutes, to others of complete power point demonstrations lasting forty-eight minutes or longer.

My job is to analyze them, critique them, and find missed opportunities and ways to make them more effective. Having the full demo on a recording makes this process precise; I analyze every pause and intonation of the prospect, looking for cues to their receptivity, interest & buying motives, and possible objections.

As I listen to these recordings, what I’m concentrating on most is the sales rep’s performance. It is the sales rep’s competence in building relevant rapport, in hearing what their prospect is saying – or not saying – and their ability to guide the prospect through to a successful close that will determine not only the sales rep’s success, but the company’s as well.

It’s another chance to win big in Connect’s next quarterly contest!  The goal?  From now until February 28th, 2017, add or update as many IT and/or IS contacts as you can to win!

It’s anyone’s game!

Remember, the format for our quarterly contests are Rainmaker vs. Rainmaker, DDs vs. DDs, and the Community vs. the Community. The top adders/updaters in each category will win. For the community, you can win Data.com swag, plus 1,000 points added to your account. Rainmakers, you can win a $150 AmEx gift card!  And let’s not forget the Data Defenders, who can win a $250 AmEx Gift card!

All submissions will be verified for accuracy and quality before bonus points and prizes are awarded.  Additionally, contest winners must have at least a 90% rating at the time the contest ends.

We just finished up our last quarterly contest, so please join me in congratulating our previous winners!

With the New Year right around the corner, the Connect team has been reflecting on what we’re thankful for this year – and our awesome community of dedicated members is high on our list! So what better time to share our appreciation with those who are less fortunate, while rewarding the community we love so much?

I’ve worked with several organizations whose marketing teams create incredibly creative and insightful buyer personas. And then once these personas are finished…

They sit on a shelf. Salespeople are told to go read them, and perhaps they do, but they don’t incorporate the information into their day-to-day.

Why? I see two reasons. First, salespeople often aren’t educated on what’s in it for them. Second, buyer personas often lack details that would make it easier for reps to apply the information.

These content-based tools are usually created in Marketing, but if they’re not used by Sales, their value plummets. Here’s how I think companies can more effectively craft their buyer personas for a sales audience:

Our monthly kudo contest is back again! The Corner is the perfect place to come and share your thoughts about Connect or find answers to your questions, and kudos are the community’s way of giving a "thumbs up" to the information that’s shared. For the past few months, we’ve held a contest rewarding your activity and were excited by the level of participation - so much so, that we decided to make this a monthly reward!

Here's how it works: Every month, for every kudo you receive for  A) a question answered on Ask the Experts or a new thread started on B) The Water Cooler or C) All Things Sales, you’ll receive one entry to win one of 10 $50 Amazon gift cards!*

So get posting your best stuff today and be rewarded!

It’s pretty simple math. If you want more abundant sales, you need more buy-ready leads. If you want more buy-ready leads, you need effective messages that engage prospects AND make them respond.

Abundant Sales = Buy-Ready Leads = Effective Messages

It’s the "effective message" piece where things usually go awry. I should know, I see it ALL the time! It’s part of my job. When clients come to me they often have messages they created before I began working with them. They offer them up for evaluation in the hope that they can be salvaged and still used. Sometimes they can. Sometimes they can’t.

Here are some examples of the kind of statements I see in these poor performing messages:

Our monthly kudo contest is back again! The Corner is the perfect place to come and share your thoughts about Connect or find answers to your questions, and kudos are the community’s way of giving a "thumbs up" to the information that’s shared. For the past few months, we’ve held a contest rewarding your activity and were excited by the level of participation - so much so, that we decided to make this a monthly reward!

Here's how it works: Every month, for every kudo you receive for  A) a question answered on Ask the Experts or a new thread started on B) The Water Cooler or C) All Things Sales, you’ll receive one entry to win one of 10 $50 Amazon gift cards!*

So get posting your best stuff today and be rewarded!

It was an honor to present just a few weeks ago at Dreamforce 2016 on a sales enablement panel with Craig Rosenberg and Nancy Nardin, with Craig Nelson from Callidus Cloud moderating.

We covered several strategic and operational keys to making sales enablement succeed in modern B2B organizations.  If you missed our session, here’s a highlight of the five key areas of focus that we covered:

1. Strategy
   Simply put, know why you’re focusing on sales enablement, what problem you’re solving, and how you will measure success.  For me, sales enablement is about addressing two measurements – 1) improving active selling time (as a % of total work time) for your sales team, and 2) increasing conversion rates of sales opportunities into closed deals.  Or in other words, sales enablement is about making your sales team more efficient and more effective.