Quick Hits: HAPPY NEWYEAR! The New Year week brings us that well of wisdom - College Football Bowl Games. Watching just a few, the sales analogies were as abundant as the students' 70's-style haircuts. So, don't forget...

o Too many early mistakes make it impossible to catch up (Georgia loses to West Virginia 35 - 38 after being down 28 - zip early in the 2nd quarter)

o If you relentlessly keep the pressure on your opponent, they have a hard time playing to their strengths (Alabama beats Texas Tech - who boasted one of the most potent passing games in the nation - by holding them to 10 points)

o Surround a young player with enough talent and you can dominate (LSU over Miami with their backup QB)

o Play with a lack of interest and an 8.5 point underdog will beat you like a drum (Utah beats Ga. Tech)

o It takes mental toughness and endurance to win the epic battles/long sales cycles (Penn State over FSU - 3 OTs)

o Consistently demonstrate the highest quality and you will get invited to play for the most marbles (USC vs. Texas in the Rose Bowl - National Championship on the line)

On the Hunt: If you could read your prospect's mind, do you think it might help you be a more effective sales executive? To quote a typical American teenager, "Uh, yeah. Duh..." Of course, and in case you have not thought about it lately, here's is what every prospect is thinking the second they realize your telephone call is a pitch - "Don't let him waste my time, find an out, cut this short." That means you had better have the big guns blasting away on the front end. Remember, sales is not like a novel - long build-up to a tremendous ending. It is a big bang on the front-end supported by a long justification process. Typically there are two ways to approach this, either a high-impact statement or a startling question. In either case, you are striving to get enough interest for the prospect to allow you to make a full pitch. Here are examples of each.

Ms. Customer, this is Kent Dorfman from DTD, we provide XYZ to companies in your industry. Last year we drove the enterprise administrative costs of three of your direct competitors down by 20%, that dropped over $35M directly to their bottom lines. We did this by facilitating wholesale process automation with a patented tool that allows users to ___. I'd like to schedule a 30 minute call to discuss how we can help you achieve similar results. What does your schedule look like next week?

Ms. Customer, this is Kent Dorfman from DTD, we provide XYZ to companies in your industry. Recognizing your company has acquired two smaller firms, how valuable would it be to you if you could cut data integration and organization assimilation time in half?

We're reminding you of this because it is easy to fall into the mode of telling prospects what you want them to know (movie: Boiler Room - "Tellin' ain't sellin"). As long as they let you talk, it "feels" like you are making progress. It's easier than asking questions; questions open the door to rejection. If you are lucky, spilling your pitch might get you in the door, but can leave you wondering WHY you are in the door. Pikers (see last quarter's newsletter) stay away from challenging statements and questions. They prefer the comfortable land of fluffy questions like How are things and breathless 40-sentence capability overviews. Alpha level sales execs get people's attention by getting to the point. You want to give a prospect a reason to spend time on you, not a reason to blow you off. High level conversations don't do that. Come out guns blazing. One note, if you lead with a question, know that very vague questions have a very high cheese factor. The question should indicate you know something about the company, the industry, and a specific issue they are likely to be wrestling with.

Setting the Pace: Have you seen the American Airlines commercial where the senior exec is walking through the office looking for an employee - Smith (maybe)? He walks through the office asking everyone where Smith is. Finally someone stands up and clues-in the exec that Smith is a vendor, not an employee. The exec walks away befuddled, muttering he wanted to give Smith a promotion. Smith has created an awesome Micro-Brand. At a recent CEO luncheon in Atlanta, we heard Scott Gross discuss Micro-Branding. A brand is the identity and expectations that follow a product, company, or person. Micro-Branding is how we establish a brand for ourselves. A few things about establishing a Micro-Brand:

1. It should be consistent with your personal values and goals (don't promote an image inconsistent with who you are)

2. To have a strong brand, you do not have to be great at everything; but be very good at the things on which you hang your hat

3. Stand out - strong performance that is unnoticed is about as valuable as mediocre performance

4. Your brand should touch on the things customers value most - they want sales people who are knowledgeable, available, care about them, a product that does what it is supposed to at a fair price, someone easy to do business with, and rapid delivery once they have signed the contract.

Winning the Prospect: How many sales managers out there are happy when the sales team reports in that they have successfully updated the pipeline, entered their contact management info, utilized the solution selling process, and provided feedback to the marketing team? Oh, but they didn't sell anything. Is the boss happy? Not when the boss is looking for results. Guess what, the customer is looking for results too. That is why talk about past successes with your prospect. If you are selling value, you paint the picture of the results of using your solution. Stay focused on the results and you and your company do to help ensure a customer's anticipated results actually materialize? If you want to be seen as a true partner and garner future business, stick around after the implementation, and work with the customer on the ensuring the solution delivers the expected results. Sure success depends a lot on them, your company should be able to go beyond implementation and help the customer get the most out of their purchase. Do this and you earn the right to actually talk about results delivered to future customers - don't do it, and you are left with features, functions, and technical capability.

Who Is On Your Team? It seems like every week another company is getting bought, a new SVP of Worldwide Field Operations (sales) is putting their stamp on an organization, or group of VCs is stepping in to contribute capital and management expertise. These initiatives leave sales people wondering what to expect. No one feels safe. Territories consolidating, budgets shrinking, shifts in alignment, new teams aligned with new players, and eliminations of redundant roles all spell risk. Everyone seems to try to figure out how to jockey for position, ensure their next role. Here's a tip - IGNORE IT! Don't get caught up in the worry, prognostication, and politics. Stay focused on your deals. Put extra time into pipeline development and cull out marginal opportunities. It is rare for a new regime to start shooting people before they take some time to assess the team. You want to show deals at various stages of the cycle, get some things closed, and minimize the deals that go south (deals evaporating in a pipeline are a huge red-flag to a new sales manager). Doing this let's the incoming people know you are valuable, confident, and low-maintenance. Trust us, you do not want to be viewed otherwise.

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