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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
The “Remora Fish” Of Sales 2.0 Tools
I was asked my opinion on the rapid proliferation of Sales 2.0 tools by a couple of colleagues. As I thought about it, I was reminded of the “Remora.” I hesitate using the Remora as an analogy for the rapid proliferation of Sales 2.0 apps. Technically, the Remora fish (sometimes called the suckerfish) attaches itself to larger fish and the suck parasites from the larger fish. It’s great for larger fish–it helps them keep healthy. It’s great for the Remora, they grow and thrive. The plase where the analogy breaks down tragically, is thinking of customers as “parasites.” So please […]
“Is There Anyone Else We Should We Be Talking To?”
Sometimes we become so task focused, we lose site of the bigger picture and what we could be doing. We’re working a deal with a prospect. They’re spending time with us, we are learning their requirements, moving through the buying cycle. We’re caught up in the deal, in trying to move forward. And we forget something critical, we forget to ask, “Is there anyone else we should be talking to?” We eventually win the deal, we thank the customer for their business, we’re happy to have won and move on. We forget to ask, “Is there anyone else we should […]
Going Through The Motions
I watch a lot of sales people and managers doing the job. Often, they seem to be going through the motions. Technically, they may be doing the “right” stuff, but they aren’t engaged. They may be so focused on their script, they miss cues or signals to learn more about the customer. Or they’re so focused on remembering the next question, they forget to listen. Or there’s the mental checklist, “I just did this, now I have to do that, then the next thing.” Sometimes, they aren’t “present.” It’s most obvious over the phone. I hear these distracted responses, “Uh […]
Rethinking Prospecting
Prospecting is critical to our success as sales people. We need to find new customers, we search for people who want to buy our products and services. We constantly conduct prospecting campaigns–email programs about what we do, endless phone calls: “May I speak to the person in charge of copier purchases?” “I’m in your area next week, can I spend a few minutes talking about your employee benefit programs?” “Who is responsible for your financial management systems?” Email program after email program. Hundreds of phone calls. If we’ve lucky, a few percent respond, “OK, send me some information,” “I have […]
The Danger Of Being Jaded, We’ve Tried That Before!
I spend most of my time with extremely experienced sales executives and professionals. Largely, they have been selling for years, most have been very successful They bear the scars one gets from experience. They’ve “been there, done that.” In many cases, though, these grizzled veterans struggle to improve performance, but they are stuck in a rut. They are both prisoners of their own experience, and somewhat jaded by their experience. They know they have to change, but fear change. As an advisor to these companies and individuals, it’s often a struggle to overcome the resistance. The resistance is understandable, but getting them […]
I Don’t Want Your Stinkin’ CRM System
I’m so stupid. I allow myself to get sucked into discussions about CRM systems. This one has conspiracy theories worth of a Dan Brown novel. Basically the arguments are sales people versus management. The sales people are using all the classic arguments—“it wastes my time and diverts me from selling activities,” “it doesn’t help me sell more,” “it’s management’s way of micromanaging me,” “all I do is spend endless hours doing reports, I’m supposed to sell!” Managers are saying, “people have to use the system and keep everything updated,” “we need to know what’s going on,” “the sales people have […]