B2B buyers look for the least risky solution, not the best one. Gartner found that 74% of buying teams hit unhealthy conflict during the decision. This article names the four fears that turn up at the Buyers’ Table, explains what a Fear Buster actually is, and shows one step of a sales process with Fear Busters built in.
Many people don’t understand the distinctions between strategy, process and tactics.
A strategy is an overall plan to achieve specific, generally long-term, goals. It’s an approach, a broad, general roadmap, a way to go about doing business. A strategy defines how an organization intends to get from where it is now to where it wants to be in the future, perhaps three to five years out. Pursuing Whales to grow revenue is a strategy. Going global is a strategy. Penetrating a specific industry is a strategy. Increasing visibility to raise awareness about a product or service is a strategy. A strategy may include time frames but typically they are ‘end point’ dates.
[KelleyRobertson] Today’s blog post is brought to you by Kelley Robertson of Robertson Training Group in Canada. Thanks for contributing today Kelley!
Navigating and negotiating a standard sale can be challenging at the best of times. However, when you add a team dynamic to the equation, it can be downright frustrating not to mention difficult. Here are a few guidelines to consider when several people on your team are involved in a particular deal.
I think it’s important keep the growth conversation in check. The Whale Hunters process is all about smart growth. Each phase of our process is designed to find the best fit, or most mutually beneficial sales opportunities. Even though both of these examples are B2C, the lessons apply just the same to B2B businesses.
How many of you have worked for leaders that implement culture based on the last book they have read? If you are lucky, you may get to experience six different cultures during any fiscal year!
Fortunately, The Whale Hunters Process™, when implemented by a leader and his or her team can alleviate this experience for your workforce! How? In my experience, implementing The Whale Hunters Process™ has helped our team build, be clear and save time.
New York City: The Big Apple filled with big buildings, big businesses and big egos! The line “If you can make it here you can make it anywhere” is a mantra. If NY bravado does one thing it is to keep people from thinking small. Everyone has to be prepared to be on a razor sharp competitive edge all the time.
Implementing needed, comprehensive change is hard. It’s really hard when it changes they way your company brings in revenue. As I’m finding with many small businesses, however, sometimes the implementation isn’t as difficult as just getting started. Sometimes just having an idea really heard is just as hard and doing the work. Even worse is when no one admits there’s a problem! In order for The Whale Hunters Process™ to really work, both leadership and employees need to be bought into the program. In order for everyone to be on the same page, it can take some convincing.
To manage the handoff between sales and delivery, you may want to start with a checklist. The checklist is the next step up from a to-do list because it creates organizational process. That’s one of the reasons that The Whale Hunters Process™ works—we help companies build the bridge between what’s sold and delivered through process. Communication is great and can always be improved. Process on the other hand can be standardized, written down, charted out, and taught without the risk of mis-interpretation
In this series on how to get real work done in meetings (and make more money!), the third principle is to clarify the purpose and desired outcomes of your meeting. Why are you meeting? What do you want to accomplish? Too often very little thought goes into calling a meeting. Is there something you want […]
I am very pleased to have a guest blog post published at Venture Beat in the Entrepreneur Corner. It’s all about how to refocus your team. If you have been taking whatever business comes your way in order to survive, you have changed your company culture. To capitalize on the economic recovery, you’ll need to…...
I circulated a new newsletter article today focused on how small companies can greatly improve their proposals–whether in response to RFPs or simply in their normal sales process–if they invest some time into documenting processes. My all-too-real world example comes from a current RFP that I am working on with a client. $900 million of […]