Welcome to the first Complex Sales and Selling Strategies blog carnival edition of 2010!  We had a number of great submissions for this Fifth edition of the blog carnival, but I have to say that my personal favorite is, “How a $23M Deal Died, Was Revived, and Closed,” authored by Chad Levitt and listed under the Complex Sales category below.  Chad’s post is a perfect example of a detailed what, why, and how strategy that all of us can apply to be more successful in our complex sales environments.

…And no, I’m not just playing favorites because he happens to share a great first name with yours truly! Enjoy the carnival, and I look forward to receiving submissions for the next (Sixth) edition in mid-February.

Zebra Chad

…And now the submissions for this Fifth edition:

Anya Portnik presents Failure for us is not an option posted at Gavin Ingham.

Wise_Bread presents 6 Ways to Use Technology to Upgrade Your Career posted at Wisebread.

Managed Services presents The First Step to Determining Profit: Calculating Full Burden for Billable Staff posted at Managed Services Blog.

Billeater presents Save Money on Your Home Internet Business posted at Billeater.

Business Development

Frank Goley presents Business Success Strategies by ABC Business Consulting » Blog Archive » Writing An Effective Business Plan- Part One posted at Business Success Strategies, saying, “The business success strategies blog is written by small business success expert, Frank Goley, the chief business consultant for ABC Business Consulting. Frank has more than twenty years experience helping companies start, grow, turn around and succeed.”

Susan Tatum presents Will Pay-Per Click work for you? posted at Clicks ‘n Conversions Blog.

Frank Goley presents Business Success Strategies by ABC Business Consulting » Blog Archive » Developing and Implementing A Winning Marketing Plan posted at Business Success Strategies, saying, “The business success strategies blog is written by small business success expert, Frank Goley, the chief business consultant for ABC Business Consulting. Frank has more than twenty years experience helping companies start, grow, turn around and succeed.”

Complex Sales

Chad Levitt presents How a $23M Deal Died, Was Revived, and Closed posted at New Sales Economy Blog, saying, “This post will detail how using an on-demand ROI/TCO sales 2.0 tool can help you sell more, at a higher ASP, with a shorter sales cycle and get your customers to “own the deal”.”

Sales Challenges

Kathleen Gaga presents Make Sales Stick; A Simple Strategy Guaranteed to Increase Your Success posted at Street Smarts Marketing & Promotions, saying, “Being pushy, aggressive and not caring how many refunds you get is what has given sales a bad name. You will not find that type of advice from me. I believe in selling with influence and integrity.
So how do you make sales stick?”

Mike Consol presents Mike Consol/My Blog | The key to making yourself persuasive posted at Mike Consol’s Blog, saying, “No less an authority than Harvard Business Review said, “Persuasion is the centerpiece of business activity. Customers must be convinced to buy your company’s products or services, employees and colleagues to go along with a new strategic plan or reorganization, investors to buy (or not to sell) your stock, and partners to sign the next deal. But despite the critical importance of persuasion, most executives struggle to communicate, let alone inspire.” There’s a fundamental key to persuasion. Here it is…”

Strategies/Methodologies/Philosophies

Kathleen Gaga presents Build a Money Making Opt In Subscriber List with One Simple Idea posted at Street Smarts Marketing & Promotions, saying, “Effectively using a Sig File is one of the most important things you can do to begin building a solid opt-in subscriber list. Lists filled with people who have expressed an interest in something you are offering at no cost are warm leads for those who may want to purchase your paid products.”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of complex sales and selling strategies using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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