"In the modern world of business, it is useless to be a creative, original thinker unless you can also sell what you create." David Ogilvy
Mr. Ogilvy...original Mad Man, advertising guru, and a man I've written posts on before (two of which you can find by clicking here and here ), sums it up pretty well. Unless your product outright sells itself (which is remarkably rare), you need marketing and sales. The more complicated your product/service, the less you can rely on marketing and the more you need a salesperson.
I recently posted about the amazing entrepreneur/start-up community in Nashville (find here) that I had the honor of mingling with during the 2012 Nashville Technology Council (NTC) Awards Gala. I mentioned to several of the folks I chatted with that night that I needed to A) re-engage with the NTC and it's offshoots; and B) get to know the start-up community better.
So, I have a plan. I've been trained for over a decade on how to sell, and in all of those years the single most important part of any process I've learned is defining the criteria of a sale. I've been taught best-practices, tricks, twists, time-management, etc, etc....but the most useful thing that I've seen in ALL of the best sales processes is how to answer one question.
"What are your actual needs, how will you decide who/what meets those needs best, and how will your process work to procure the solution to your need?"
Yeah, I know, it looks like that's three questions crammed into one. Actually, each three questions have at least ten sub-questions....depending on your approach, it could be in the hundreds. But, I've seen even the most tenured salesfolk adopt a series of six or seven simple questions into their already existing process (based on the above) and see an immediate and positive impact.
So...I'll be coming up with a simplified, concise, and repeatable process for non-sales people, who find themselves having to sell. And, if they'll have me, I'll be finding a way to engage that amazing "New Wind" community of start-ups, entrepreneurs, and tech-based companies here in our lovely town.
Suggestions are welcome, introductions are desired.
Mr. Ogilvy...original Mad Man, advertising guru, and a man I've written posts on before (two of which you can find by clicking here and here ), sums it up pretty well. Unless your product outright sells itself (which is remarkably rare), you need marketing and sales. The more complicated your product/service, the less you can rely on marketing and the more you need a salesperson.
I recently posted about the amazing entrepreneur/start-up community in Nashville (find here) that I had the honor of mingling with during the 2012 Nashville Technology Council (NTC) Awards Gala. I mentioned to several of the folks I chatted with that night that I needed to A) re-engage with the NTC and it's offshoots; and B) get to know the start-up community better.
So, I have a plan. I've been trained for over a decade on how to sell, and in all of those years the single most important part of any process I've learned is defining the criteria of a sale. I've been taught best-practices, tricks, twists, time-management, etc, etc....but the most useful thing that I've seen in ALL of the best sales processes is how to answer one question.
"What are your actual needs, how will you decide who/what meets those needs best, and how will your process work to procure the solution to your need?"
Yeah, I know, it looks like that's three questions crammed into one. Actually, each three questions have at least ten sub-questions....depending on your approach, it could be in the hundreds. But, I've seen even the most tenured salesfolk adopt a series of six or seven simple questions into their already existing process (based on the above) and see an immediate and positive impact.
So...I'll be coming up with a simplified, concise, and repeatable process for non-sales people, who find themselves having to sell. And, if they'll have me, I'll be finding a way to engage that amazing "New Wind" community of start-ups, entrepreneurs, and tech-based companies here in our lovely town.
Suggestions are welcome, introductions are desired.
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