Selling to Zebras Blog » Value Based Sales http://www.sellingtozebrasblog.com Selling to Zebras Blog Wed, 08 Sep 2010 21:38:29 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Complex Sales and Selling Strategies, Fifth Edition – January 21, 2010 http://www.sellingtozebrasblog.com/selling-to-zebras/complex-sales-and-selling-strategies-fifth-edition-january-21-2010/ http://www.sellingtozebrasblog.com/selling-to-zebras/complex-sales-and-selling-strategies-fifth-edition-january-21-2010/#comments Thu, 21 Jan 2010 15:41:24 +0000 Chad Koser http://www.sellingtozebrasblog.com/?p=482


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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]]> http://www.sellingtozebrasblog.com/selling-to-zebras/complex-sales-and-selling-strategies-fifth-edition-january-21-2010/feed/ 0 Last night Zebra Jeff and I spoke to Marketing Association students at UW-Oshkosh. http://www.sellingtozebrasblog.com/selling-to-zebras/last-night-zebra-jeff-and-i-spoke-to-marketing-association-students-at-uw-oshkosh/ http://www.sellingtozebrasblog.com/selling-to-zebras/last-night-zebra-jeff-and-i-spoke-to-marketing-association-students-at-uw-oshkosh/#comments Thu, 12 Mar 2009 21:33:34 +0000 Chad Koser http://sellingtozebrasblog.com/?p=255 Fast Food

Zebra Jeff is an alum at UW-Oshkosh… I won’t post his graduation date, or how many years it’s been since he last held status as an “enrolled student” there, but I do want to share a few points that we emphasized to the younger aspiring sales people in the audience.

1. Interviewing for a sales job, or any job for that matter, should be treated as a sales opportunity in which you are selling yourself. This was the example that we used to tie in our sales methodology to something we thought most students would be able to relate to either currently, or in the very near future.

2. Given that this should be treated as a sales situation, we say that you should focus on your “Zebra” (OBVIOUSLY!)… Not only should you be a fit for your prospective employer, but that employer should also be a fit for you in terms of:
i. company culture (do you fit them and vice-versa in terms of lifestyle, philosophy, etc.)
ii. identify with and have sincere respect for the manager you will be directly reporting to
iii. have not only the skills to do your chosen job well, but also make sure you have the love for it, which is the only factor that can truly lead to real success

3. Before you talk too much about yourself and who you are, have a good idea of the unique and quantifiable value you can provide to your prospective employer:
i. research the company’s strategic direction and current business issues found in the CEO’s letter in the annual report
ii. find a way to penetrate that company beyond going through the usual channels (i.e. gatekeepers in HR)
iii. identify what makes you unique in pursuing these critical issues above and beyond your peer competitors

So, to all the young lions out there, make sure you have identified your Zebra (i.e. easy prey) and formulated and effective strategy of pursuit before making the decision to commit your valuable resources to the task. The reward will be a prosperous career step for you, and a fruitful new hire for your employer.

Zebras in any sales game are Fast Food that take dedication and discipline to catch, but are worthy of pursuit!

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