What Were You Thinking? How great would it be if you could sit in front of a prospect and know their thoughts? Sure would change the sales landscape, huh? It's not rocket science to understand how valuable that info would be. Just think about how many millions of grocery rack rags are sold under the guise of helping one person better know the mental state of their "customer". Headlines like: What' He Thinking?, What's She Thinking?, His 10 Biggest Insecurities, Her 10 Biggest Gripes, etc. The truth is that while we are all a little different, we are also a lot alike. Since prospects are just people trying to run businesses, answer to Boards of Directors, grow revenue, reduce expenses, and take an occasional day off, their thoughts are maybe a little predictable too. And, since you are kind enough to read this (and refer candidates to me), I have done some of that research for you. Beyond this newsletter, you might want to get your marketing department to start asking some of these types of questions of prospects, and ask them in quantities sufficient to build real trends and uncover opportunities. The feedback will absolutely help you better position your solution, manage your time, and close more deals.

Below are some selected notes from the recent LOMA/ACORD show in Orlando. First are notes from a round table discussion about the state of the insurance IT industry, in which industry specialists offered insight into the input they are getting from many industry execs. The second notes are from conversations I had with some of the attending CIOs. To them I posed the question: If you could get the sales people who call on you into a room and tell them the one thing they really needed to know about selling to you, what would you tell them?

From the Round Table:

$ The days of old monolithic applications are gone. Prospects want components. The trouble they are seeing is that the small "component" vendors really only know their own piece and don't see beyond their solution and how it fits in and impacts the whole picture.

$ Building is out and buying is in. This isn't really new news, but the idea now extends deeper into the solutions. For example, more prospects are exploring ASP alternatives if it reduces implementation costs, customization hassles, installation time, and increases flexibility. They want to know they aren't getting ahead today at the expense of tomorrow.

$ True "Partners" are seen as bringing to the table a broad array of capabilities that enable them to respond to customers rapidly with forward thinking solutions. Critical here are skills that bring value to the equation - even more on the BA side than programmers. Your services groups need to offer help beyond the bubble of your solution. Partly because everyone is hurting for IT people, many staff aug suppliers can't keep their people (a la the 1990's), offshore is no panacea, young people are not entering the market, and old technology support is retiring.

From the CIOs:

$ "Listen to me. I am not here to jerk you around; I'm just busy. I will tell you what I need and what our situation is - just listen. If you have something that is a fit, we'll dig into the details and talk further. If there's not a fit, don't push..."

$ "I appreciate sales execs who leave messages. I like to know what's out there and don't screen calls out too much. I'll tell you what I want and we'll go from there. If you've moved around a bunch, you don't have much credibility with me."

$ "Don't sell to me until you know who I am, what I do, and what my problems are. A guy called and wouldn't shut up trying to pitch me a claims system when we are a huge broker. We don't even have a claims operation."

$ "Invest some time in our relationship. Demonstrate some stickability, then I will open up. Show me you know the industry and you can share some industry knowledge, offer expanded insight, help me see new things about my business."

$ "It's OK with me for you to dive deeper into my company to learn what's going on. You add real value when I don't have to educate you and when you can bring me something I didn't know before. Go find the problems then come back to me with the solutions. The key is for you to leave me feeling my time with you was well spent."

Know the Target: Here is a pretty brutally honest thought I wish I could take credit for, but it came from a senior sales exec I hope you are not up against. We've talked about knowing your prospect. Different execs have different concerns based on their role within the company. We all want to sell to the business side because they have the money and our solutions typically address their problems - revenue creation, expense reduction, speed to market, flexibility, operating efficiency, etc. But, we are selling "solutions" and the IT group is almost always involved, so we have to sell to them too and address their concerns. Now for the thought - you know that CIO you are now dealing with? The one that has to OK your deal and provide you with critical information? He's probably in the best job of his career. Most Presidents and CEOs come from either Ops, Finance, or Sales - rarely IT. So success with your solution maintains the CIO's status quo, and if the project tanks, they just lost the best gig they ever had. You represent RISK. Approach the conversation without that in mind and you are taking a big chance that you will miss their critical interest point.

Separating Yourself from the Pack: Ah, politics. No not a face off between Michael Moore and Michelle Malkin, but corporate politics. Most of us sales people hate corporate politics. We ask, "Why can't everybody just work hard and help me get my deals done?" But, the sad reality is that every person in the ops world has a personal agenda - frequently not paralleling our goal of revenue creation. It is frustrating, but doesn't really have to be. Quit thinking of office politics as "bad" (or "good" if you enjoy it); think of it as "it is what it is." The more important element is that you recognize it is there and that it is something to proactively manage, not passively react to. Building your internal network, knowing your allies and non-allies, placing trust in the right people, contributing to the success of others, and keeping yourself true to an absolute moral compass are keys to managing the corporate political landscape and being more successful in sales. You ARE dependent on others for help and they are part of the political machine - accept it and work with it. Here is a pretty nice web site that has some articles with detailed ideas on managing corporate politics.

http://www.bnet.com

"HELPING YOU LEAD THE PACK"
WWW.SALESWOLVES.COM
1-877-3wolves

Elite Sales Professionals is an executive search firm specializing in high-level sales and sales management searches, primarily for positions selling technology and services into the Financial Services and Insurance verticals. If you would like to correspond with us or submit your resume, please e-mail us at .

To discontinue receipt of this publication, please reply via e-mail with "DISCONTINUE" as the subject.