Partners in EXCELLENCE - Making a Difference
Blog
Making A Difference – Thoughts, Observations and Opinions
This is Dave Brock’s Blog.
It offers my views on a variety of business, sales, marketing, and leadership topic. My goal is to make a difference for you, the reader, in both your professional and personal lives.
Latest Posts
Do We Even Need Sales People Anymore
Recently, I read a post from a marketing person I really respect. This person was asking the question and making the argument that perhaps we need to rethink selling, perhaps eliminate it. He’s a thoughtful person, so I paid attention to what he was saying. Fundamentally, he built an his argument off two items. The old Peter Drucker quote, “The aim or marketing is to make selling superfluous,” and Tesla’s recent announcement that it would move all sales online. In the end, he admittedly paints and idealized world of marketing, suggesting if your marketing is working well in creating demand, […]
Driven By Distraction
Friday mornings are usually “Coaching” days. I have a number of standing calls scheduled with coaching clients. This morning, there was a call with “Bob.” At the appointed time, I called Bob, he picks up saying, “Hi, Dave…” “Bob, what should we focus on ……..” I started. Bob, “Excuse me a moment, I’ve just got to take this call, I am double booked.” “Don’t worry, call me back when you are ready for this meeting,” I respond. A few minutes later, Bob calls, he is appropriately apologetic, I am appropriately empathetic, I ask, “What should we focus on today?” “Dave, […]
A Paradox, The Sales Process And The Buying Journey
As sales professionals we face an intriguing paradox. We know, for complex B2B buying, the buyer’s journey can best be described as chaotic. What we have always believed is a linear process–identify a challenge, commit to change, define the problem/needs, evaluate alternatives, select a solution, turns out to be chaotic, as illustrated by the picture below At the same time, we have a relatively linear sales process: prospect, qualify, discover, propose, close. A sales process is critical for our success. It enables us to focus on the right opportunities. It provides a framework for the things we must do, with […]
Are Traditional Sales Managers Even Necessary?
Sometimes, I think Tim Ohai and I are brothers from different mothers. So much of what he writes is aligned with what I think. At least we are aligned, hopefully, we aren’t tragically wrong 😉 Tim has been writing a series on sales management, Why Can’t We Build Better Sales Managers? In this particular article, Tim suggests we may not need traditional sales managers anymore. My immediate reaction was, “What is the role of a sales manager?” I suspect if I asked 10 people, I’d get at least 15 different responses. And I think this is the core of the […]
Strategic Procurement And Sales, On Parallel Paths
Probably, ever since the first sale was made to a customer that involved a buying agent, procurement and sales professionals have viewed each other as adversaries. Every time I talk to a sales person about procurement, eyes roll, a groan escapes their lips, and the nightmare begins, “All they are going to do is beat me up on price, they don’t understand, I’ve got to hit my numbers…. I don’t trust them…” When I spoke to procurement folks, the story wasn’t very different, “My job is to cut costs and produce savings….. Sales people don’t understand this… I don’t trust […]
Turbulence And Fear Of Buying
I spend too much of my life on planes. The other day was a rough flight, it was typical winter storms. I’ve become immune to the occasional shaking, even the captain suspending service for a few minutes. But this flight caused me to pause. We hit a pocket, it seemed like we dropped 100 plus feet. The bouncing was worse than I experienced. We hit a few more pockets, a few of the overhead bins popped open, I could hear carts crashing in the galley. I could see a few of the people around me praying. Despite the 100 + […]