Michael Miller, account representative with Pearson Digital Learning, had a sales territory consisting of exactly 25 customers, no more. Michael had n0 opportunity to acquire a larger territory or to locate new prospects within his territory. His customers were school districts in Arizona, and his product/service was educational software. He did not have ALL […]
In my continuing series on brand differentiation, today’s post focuses on the value of case studies in building your brand. Prospective customers really like to read compelling case studies about how your customers have engaged with you and achieved certain desirable outcomes–more money, less hassle, greater efficiency, higher profit margins, higher quality, etc. But case […]
I had a very happy phone call today–the kind that pleases me more than all others. One of my clients called to report that on the previous night, the school board of his customer (a 50,000 student school district) had unanimously approved a five-year, $6.3 million contract for educational software that my client’s company sells. […]
How you behave when you lose a sale reflects on the character of your business.
For a long time, I’ve been exhorting clients to be certain that the sales team is selling what the operations or implementation team plans to deliver. In the past couple of weeks, The Whale Hunters team has been on the receiving end of that potential mismatch, which compels me to write about it again. Here’s some context that may resonate with you as a seller (and possibly even as a buyer)!
Back in 1995, smiling and dialing was expected. A sales person was supposed to get names from trade shows, Thomas Register, Harris, etc. Then they were supposed to start calling. I swear, salespeople taught buyers to not answer the phone. I honestly believe bad sales tactics had a lot to do with the internet boom. Buyers desperately wanted a way to get product information without a pushy salesperson.
Many managers (whether in small, mid-sized or large businesses) who survived the very difficult last few years are working hard to come back strong. You may currently be: restructuring, hiring new talent, revitalizing your marketing plan, becoming more creative with staff resources and how best to maximize them, all while making the best of technology from the Internet to mobile to social media and various data analytics tools.
My advice if you would like to transcend the competitive landscape is to think about Intentional Growth™ and create a plan to establish, highlight, and promote how you are unique as you grow into the future. The critical word here is “grow” and the focus of this post is how your USP (Unique Selling Proposition) will support and fuel that growth.
When I entered my junior year at Arizona State University, the last thing I thought I’d be doing was starting an entrepreneurial venture. But, when a friend of mine, Tyler Eltringham, came up with an idea, OneShot, and needed someone to help him execute it, I was eager to help apply my skills as a marketing and sustainability major and move forward with this endeavor.
Recently all of you out in the blogosphere have been finding us via the search term “business development tactics.” Curiosity hasn’t killed this cat yet, so I did my own search to see how we stack up against the competition.
I'm happy to report, you have a lot of good options out there. Surprisingly relevant information.
Today I’d like to draw your attention to our latest case study. We’re very proud of the work done by Anita Grantham (one of our Phoenix Certified Partners), Rudy Kolich and the team at Jokake. They were able to implement The Whale Hunters Process™ and win the largest contract in their firms history.
At the start each consulting engagement, the first piece of our process covered with clients is called the Brand Promise Audit. The goal of the exercise is to determine what parts of your brand promise are truly unique. We often find that the majority of brand promises fall into average or above average categories.
I’ve always loved this quote by Jim Collins, "If you have more than 3 priorities then you don't have any."
For today’s small business owners, it’s more important than ever. How many hats do you wear? Too often the day-to-day of small business gets in the way of big strategic moves. I bet you could use a little more simplicity. The Whale Hunters Process™ is all about defined goals, roles, and outcomes. We teach companies how to create a clear plan for business development. Why is clarity so important?