lead generation

When Sales Opportunities Don't Go As Expected with Mary Lombardo, Absolute Impact

In this episode, I talked with Mary Lombardo at Absolute Impact Corporation about what to do when sales opportunities don’t go as expected. No matter how long you’ve been in sales, it will happen. Sometimes things go south because of circumstances completely unforeseen and out of our hands. At other times it is likely that there were signals, things we missed along the way that we can learn from.
We started by talking about a time when Mary felt she had the sale in the bag and then she lost to a competitor. This has certainly happened to me. Even with years of sales experience, I occasionally make a misstep on the basics. After all, we are all human and sometimes misread the cues that could have helped us course correct the situation.
Many of us have found ourselves in situations where we had progressed to the end of the sales cycle only to have our prospect say that our product or solution “is just too expensive”. That is probably one of the most frustrating things to hear, especially when you thought things were going so well. Mary shares her thoughts on what she has done when that has happened to her.
Have you ever found yourself in a sales situation when you got through the sales cycle, presented your proposal, and your prospect says “I need to take this to my boss.”? For me the answer has always been to involve the “boss” from the beginning of the process but sometimes it doesn’t work out that way. So, now what do you do? Typically, someone inside the company isn’t going to sell your solution as well as you can. And, if you go over their head does that cause you a bigger headache? Mary and I talk about what you can do when you find yourself dealing with this type of selling scenario.
Finally, we talked about what to do when you get to the end of the sales cycle and your proposal seems to hang out there and age like fine wine. In other words, the sale gets stuck. Learn how that happens and what you can do about it.
Enjoy the interview!
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About Mary:
Mary Lombardo, Founder of Absolute Impact Corporation, a positioning and professional sales development firm that helps start-up and midsize companies increase profits through custom-designed sales solutions. Connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Mary has served in Executive Level Leadership and Management roles her entire career, generating revenues from $14 -$60 million dollars that led her to win the coveted title “Salesperson of the Year” both in 2008 and 2009 and joining the Million Dollar Club in 2007. Mary spearheaded and landed a colossal level win while in her role as the Senior Strategic Partnership Leader for Evans Newton, Inc. included a $5M sale for districtwide whole school reform programs that produced double-digit corporate profits.
Her clients have included:

CEOs of major organizations
CEO of national higher education institution
VPs of HR at national retail chain stores
VPs of HR at national aerospace engineering company
VPs of HR at a national real estate agency
VP of HR at a national retirement facility
District Superintendents nationwide
University Deans

With 20 years of sales experience, Mary has a broad and deep scope of all aspects of the pipeline—from lead to close.
In addition, Mary studied ballet for 10 years, is a wish-granter for the Make-A-Wish Illinois Chapter, a volunteer at Lutheran General Hospital, a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) working with the Cook County Juvenile Court, a lover of theater, and a very proud mother of two children.
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B2B Sales Success with Ken Lundin

By Barbara Giamanco Leave a Comment

In this episode, I talked with Ken Lundin. Ken is hosting the B2B Sales Summit, which we discussed in the interview. He was gracious enough to collect 28 of the top speakers to supercharge your sales activities by bringing you the whole experience free of charge. No pitches just pure content – it’s an irresistible opportunity. Remember, learners are earners so take advantage of this incredible chance to jumpstart your B2B Sales Success. REGISTER NOW.

Here is what you will learn about in my interview with Ken.

For most listeners, their sales year has just kicked off, and for those listeners who are half-way through their sales year, Ken’s nuggets of advice apply to you too.

Ken started off by sharing his actionable advice about the steps that salespeople both individual contributors and their managers do to set themselves up for success.

For anyone looking to fill their pipeline with more qualified sales opportunities, Ken shares his thoughts on the top priorities to focus on to get you there.

The sales cycle is often misunderstood, and Ken and I talked about the most misunderstood aspect of the selling process.

Learn what a salesperson or their sales manager do today to improve their sales in the coming year.

Hear from Ken about why he decided to create The B2B Sales Summit kicking off on February 6, 2018.

Ken told me what surprised him most when interviewing some of the top sales influencers around the world.

Enjoy the interview AND REGISTER NOW for the B2B Sales Summit for FREE!!

Event Dates: February 6, 2018, to February 14, 2018

There will be 3-4 interviews made available each day.
Daily sessions will be live for 24 hours and then the next set of videos will be released.

About Ken Lundin:

Ken made his sales bones by delivering $26,000,000 in contracts in under 9 months and being a part of a management team recognized as 1 of INC 500 Magazine’s fastest growing companies for 3 years in a row driving sales from under #2 million to $77 million in just 4 years. Today, he is a consultant for Span the Chasm, helping deliver sustainable sales growth for companies under $100 million in revenue and the Host of The B2B Sales Summit.

Discover The Amazing Key to Rapid Pipeline Growth with Chris Bennett

By Barbara Giamanco Leave a Comment

This episode is all about building rapid pipeline growth, a challenge facing many salespeople today. My guest, Chris Bennett shared his strategies for building the sales pipeline that delivers sales results.

We talked about:

Why so many salespeople struggle to build the proper sized sales pipeline/ funnel.

The one type of question that is designed to fuel the funnel with the right kinds of sales opportunities.

The characteristics of a good challenge question that you need to be asking.

Chris shares examples of what a good challenge question sounds like.

Through his examples, Chris reveals that it is relatively easy to ask the right kind of question and yet, he talked about why more reps don’t do it.

You’ll learn what happens when salespeople are trained to use these questions properly. And Chris shared examples of actual sales results.

Finally, we discussed what sales managers can do to support their salespeople in this process.

Enjoy the interview!

About Chris:

Chris Bennett heads up Chris Bennett Sales Training. Chris has been helping businesses increase pipeline and crush quota for 24 years. He always measures for hard financial results. He has worked with companies like Dimension Data, CDW, SHI, Bell Canada, Royal Bank of Canada, TELUS, Cisco, AT&T, and others. The core of his teachings are built upon the foundation of; understanding, helpfulness and creating real measurable business impact. He believes in relentless follow up. He is happily married and loves recreation such as; fishing, skiing, golf, tennis, squash and mixed martial arts. He is an avid Chicago Bears fan and listens to classic rock turned up loud.

Connect with Chris on LinkedIn.

Prospecting = Pipeline

By Barbara Giamanco Leave a Comment

This week, I shared the panel stage with Kurt Shaver and Donald C. Kelly to talk about prospecting on a webinar hosted by John Golden from Pipeliner CRM. You can access the webinar here.

Prospecting for new business is an essential part of selling, but it is an aspect of sales that many salespeople try to avoid like the plague. That avoidance is a source of annoyance for many sales leaders. I do believe that sometimes there is too much emphasis on bringing in new business versus nurturing current customer relationships and mining for new opportunities within those accounts. Still, for many sales organizations, especially those who may be selling only one main product, sourcing for new sales opportunities is a must. To bring in new business you have to prospect, which means going outbound, as well as engaging in activities that bring opportunities inbound.

Here are my thoughts related to the questions that were posed during the webinar.

Why do you think many people don’t like Prospecting?

It is uncomfortable. Prospecting means you are reaching out to people who don’t know you. And that can lead to lots of rejection or lack of response because it is so easy for buyers to block our calls and emails. It can be frustrating not to be able to reach people, especially if your sales manager is breathing down your neck to demonstrate better results with your prospecting efforts. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be making phone calls and sending emails, but you’ll likely need to balance your strategy with other approaches like securing referrals, speaking at events or using social media to engage.

How has Prospecting changed in the past 5 or so years?

Prospecting itself hasn’t changed in the sense that the goal is to identify and qualify potential buyers for your product or service. What has changed is that buyers easily block emails and phone calls or ignore your LinkedIn InMail’s. Basically, it is tough to reach them. Buyers are also self-educating about options before engaging with salespeople, but that shouldn’t be cause for alarm. Instead, I view it as an opportunity, especially using social networks like LinkedIn, to be visible, demonstrate your credibility and capability, knowing that buyers are exploring options. Unless what you sell is simply a transactional purchase, buyers will need to talk to someone in sales at some point. At that point, you need to be ready to demonstrate clearly how you can solve a buyer’s business problem and means being able to communicate real value to them. Hint: value isn’t a regurgitation of your product’s features and it isn’t doing a demo.

What has stayed the same?

“Seventy-nine percent of business buyers say it is absolutely critical or very important to interact with a salesperson who is a trusted advisor — not just a sales rep — who adds value to their business.” – Salesforce State of Sales Report

The goal is still the same – to identify and qualify potential buyers for your product or service. This is followed up by demonstrating value to buyers. If you cannot clearly communicate WHY someone should give up their time to you, they won’t.

Though there are continued arguments about whether cold calling is dead or alive, I think it is pointless. What hasn’t changed is that many salespeople are measured on activities like calls made and emails sent, so instead of arguing about whether you make the calls or not, perhaps the better focus is in helping reps get their message fine tuned, which gives them a shot at converting their initial outreach into sales conversations.

I prefer to first seek out referrals because your odds of getting a yes to a meeting are substantially higher, and at some point, I must make the calls too. For those of you drinking the social selling Kool-Aid, remember that if you are waiting around for sales opportunities to all come inbound through social media, you may find yourself staring at a pipeline that has flatlined.

What are some of the most under-utilized prospecting techniques?

Speaking at events – local business associations, conferences – these folks are always looking for speakers or panelists. Participating in webinars as a guest expert. I’ve put peer to peer lunches together with prospects and then facilitated the topic of conversation. I’ve made introductions for people.

On social media, it could be keeping tabs on who has viewed your profile. Sharing the content of others and using @mention on LinkedIn. One reason I love Twitter (and granted not everyone’s target buyer will be there) is because there is no barrier to entry. I can simply follow an executive, pay attention to what they tweet about, RT their stuff, comment, etc. I’ve started many a conversation there that led to getting connected on LinkedIn.

What are some common prospecting techniques that don’t work that well?

Boilerplate emails and calls that are focused on what the buyer wants to sell. And, don’t even get me started on the stupid subject lines or salespeople using tricks and sometimes outright lies to try to get someone’s attention. Even LinkedIn InMail’s aren’t going to work if you go in pitching. It is the quality of the message that you send that makes the difference between yes and ignore. And that message must be written from the buyer’s point of view. You need to focus on an issue or challenge they face and speak to how you feel you can help them. Again, not a feature pitch for your product.

How can a sales manager assess the prospecting efforts of his salespeople?

I’d love to see sales managers stop focusing on the quantity and look more carefully at the quality of the sales activities. In other words, if a rep is making 100 calls a day but generating very few sales conversations, then there is something wrong with the approach. That’s why throwing phone dialers into the mix – just making more calls – isn’t the answer. Even if reps can make more calls, it is what they say when they get someone on the line that makes the difference. Maybe they are calling and emailing the wrong people just to hit a number. Messaging is likely off. Certainly, managers should be seeing time blocks for prospecting on calendars. Activities to engage prospects can be tracked in CRM, which also includes activities in social media.

What is one thing you suggest a salesperson can start today to turbo-charge their prospecting?

Change their attitude about prospecting and adapt their approach. This includes managers too. We are selling in a completely different environment than 5, 10, 15 years ago, so what worked back in the day isn’t as effective today. Managers need to allow their folks to go with a multi-pronged prospecting strategy that incorporates the phone, email, social media, speaking, writing and more.

Next, in the immortal words of Nike… just do it! Unless you have a BDR team to do it for you, it is part of the job of selling.

To hear the webinar on prospecting, click here.

Your Lead Generation Strategy Isn’t One Size Fits All

By Barbara Giamanco 2 Comments

There is no one way to drive your pipeline and revenue.

In some ways, I think the pendulum has swung too far. Using content as one way to attract buyers into a conversation with you should be part of your marketing and sales strategy, but it doesn’t replace other activities that are part of the acquisition of new customers. Outbound phone calls, emails, in-person visits, online Skype meetings, presentations, referrals, and networking. These things all matter, regardless what you hear from the social selling fanatics. You need a balanced approach to generating leads, and if you are in sales, that means picking up the damn phone too, as my colleague Joanne Black would say. If you think sharing content is all it takes, come performance review time, you’ll be in trouble. Social selling isn’t some stand-alone methodology that done on its own generates leads. Far from it. If that were the case, 50% of salespeople wouldn’t keep missing quota, and lead generation wouldn’t top the list of challenges most companies are struggling to overcome. Frankly, it’s all just sales! The integration of social into the selling process is a part of the process; it is not THE only thing you can rely on to make your numbers.

Lead generation remains a top priority for most organizations.

68% of B2B companies are still struggling with lead generation. -CSO Insights

From the conversations I have with sales and marketing leaders, building a strong pipeline from effective lead generation is a top issue. This challenge has led to the outgrowth of a multitude of strategies and new technologies designed to help companies improve their lead generation effectiveness.

In addition to direct outreach to prospective customers, content has become the “hot” approach to driving leads through inbound inquiries. As with social selling, the inbound crowd has crowed for years that inbound is all you need. Except for one thing. It is a lie. Even companies like Hubspot, who coined the term and made it their mantra, put in place an inside sales team that does outbound – wait for it – cold calls.

Buyers do use content as part of their buying and decision-making process.

51% of B2B buyers rely more on content to research and make B2B purchasing decisions than they did a year ago. – DemandGen Report – 2016 Content Preferences Survey

Yes, buyers are using content to aid them in decision-making, and I would argue that they are becoming increased overwhelmed with the sheer volume of content out there for them to sift through.

Companies are producing all types of content. Videos, interactive presentations, analyst reports, infographics, blog posts, eBooks, webinars, white papers and more. But which type of content is the most effective? In DemandGen Report’s 2016 Content Preferences Survey, they found that white papers were the most effective at 82%, webinars came in at 78% and in third place was case studies at 73%. That doesn’t mean that eBooks (67%) and blog posts (66%) aren’t effective. They are, but they rank 4^th and 5^th respectively. The only reason that I bring this up, which might seem obvious, is because it is the right kind of content, as part of an overall integrated lead generation strategy that makes a difference in getting buyers to pay attention to your message.

Forgot what’s hot today and gone tomorrow. Fancy names mean nothing.

Account based selling (or marketing), in my opinion, is simply another example of an old strategy dressed up with a new name and definition. It’s catchy, and proponents tout it as the best way to improve your lead generation strategy.

I pulled this definition from a KnowledgeTree blog post – “Account Based Selling is a B2B sales model that uses an account-based approach, rather than a lead-based or contact based approach, to predict which companies are ready and likely to buy. Under this model, sales teams focus on a set of highly-targeted, high-value accounts with the goal to convert them to customers. To do so successfully requires talking to the right people, at the right time, with the right content and messaging.” With all due respect to my friends at KnowledgeTree, how is this different than the way successful sales teams have always sold?

Maybe I’m just old-school. I have always started with a targeted list of companies I want to hire me. I then look for opportunities to build relationships or secure introductions to the key decision makers. And, when has it not been about talking to the right people, at the right time, with the right message? Did I miss something these past 25+ years selling?

There is no one way. Accept it.

Much as I wish I could tell you there was an easy fix to a tough problem, there is no one way to solve the lead generation challenges that plague your sales organization. Don’t believe anyone who tries to convince you that there is. Nothing related to sales and marketing these days is easy. It is time to ignore the hype, buckle down, create a strategy that you test and refine until you find the one that works best for you. Anything else and your pipeline results will continue to be more of the same.

Your Lead Generation Strategy Isn't One Size Fits All

By Barbara Giamanco 2 Comments

Over the past ten years, we have witnessed a shift in how sales and marketing teams approach how they engage buyers when buyers quite often block their traditional efforts via phone and email. The use of social channels have become popular mediums, especially during the past five years, to try and reach buyers in new ways.
There is no one way to drive your pipeline and revenue.
In some ways, I think the pendulum has swung too far. Using content as one way to attract buyers into a conversation with you should be part of your marketing and sales strategy, but it doesn’t replace other activities that are part of the acquisition of new customers. Outbound phone calls, emails, in-person visits, online Skype meetings, presentations, referrals, and networking. These things all matter, regardless what you hear from the social selling fanatics. You need a balanced approach to generating leads, and if you are in sales, that means picking up the damn phone too, as my colleague Joanne Black would say. If you think sharing content is all it takes, come performance review time, you’ll be in trouble. Social selling isn’t some stand-alone methodology that done on its own generates leads. Far from it. If that were the case, 50% of salespeople wouldn’t keep missing quota, and lead generation wouldn’t top the list of challenges most companies are struggling to overcome. Frankly, it’s all just sales! The integration of social into the selling process is a part of the process; it is not THE only thing you can rely on to make your numbers.
Lead generation remains a top priority for most organizations.
68% of B2B companies are still struggling with lead generation. -CSO Insights
From the conversations I have with sales and marketing leaders, building a strong pipeline from effective lead generation is a top issue. This challenge has led to the outgrowth of a multitude of strategies and new technologies designed to help companies improve their lead generation effectiveness.
In addition to direct outreach to prospective customers, content has become the “hot” approach to driving leads through inbound inquiries. As with social selling, the inbound crowd has crowed for years that inbound is all you need. Except for one thing. It is a lie. Even companies like Hubspot, who coined the term and made it their mantra, put in place an inside sales team that does outbound – wait for it – cold calls.
Buyers do use content as part of their buying and decision-making process.
51% of B2B buyers rely more on content to research and make B2B purchasing decisions than they did a year ago. – DemandGen Report – 2016 Content Preferences Survey
Yes, buyers are using content to aid them in decision-making, and I would argue that they are becoming increased overwhelmed with the sheer volume of content out there for them to sift through.
Companies are producing all types of content. Videos, interactive presentations, analyst reports, infographics, blog posts, eBooks, webinars, white papers and more. But which type of content is the most effective? In DemandGen Report’s 2016 Content Preferences Survey, they found that white papers were the most effective at 82%, webinars came in at 78% and in third place was case studies at 73%. That doesn’t mean that eBooks (67%) and blog posts (66%) aren’t effective. They are, but they rank 4^th and 5^th respectively. The only reason that I bring this up, which might seem obvious, is because it is the right kind of content, as part of an overall integrated lead generation strategy that makes a difference in getting buyers to pay attention to your message.
Forgot what’s hot today and gone tomorrow. Fancy names mean nothing.
Account based selling (or marketing), in my opinion, is simply another example of an old strategy dressed up with a new name and definition. It’s catchy, and proponents tout it as the best way to improve your lead generation strategy.
I pulled this definition from a KnowledgeTree blog post – “Account Based Selling is a B2B sales model that uses an account-based approach, rather than a lead-based or contact based approach, to predict which companies are ready and likely to buy. Under this model, sales teams focus on a set of highly-targeted, high-value accounts with the goal to convert them to customers. To do so successfully requires talking to the right people, at the right time, with the right content and messaging.” With all due respect to my friends at KnowledgeTree, how is this different than the way successful sales teams have always sold?
Maybe I’m just old-school. I have always started with a targeted list of companies I want to hire me. I then look for opportunities to build relationships or secure introductions to the key decision makers. And, when has it not been about talking to the right people, at the right time, with the right message? Did I miss something these past 25+ years selling?
There is no one way. Accept it.
Much as I wish I could tell you there was an easy fix to a tough problem, there is no one way to solve the lead generation challenges that plague your sales organization. Don’t believe anyone who tries to convince you that there is. Nothing related to sales and marketing these days is easy. It is time to ignore the hype, buckle down, create a strategy that you test and refine until you find the one that works best for you. Anything else and your pipeline results will continue to be more of the same.

The Perfect Sales Presentation with Victor Antonio

By Barbara Giamanco Leave a Comment

I talked with Victor Antonio about sales presentations and how you can perfect a pitch that leads deals forward. Victor shared his perspective on why your sales presentation matters so much, the elements of a great presentation, and the best way to engage buyers in a way that leads them to say yes to meeting with you. We also talked about many of the common mistakes sellers are making today that get in the way of them achieving their sales objectives.

Enjoy the interview!

About Victor Antonio
A poor upbringing from one of the roughest areas of Chicago didn’t stop Victor from earning a B.S. Electrical Engineering, an MBA and building a 20-year career as a top sales executive and becoming President of Global Sales and Marketing for a $420M company. He has shared the stage with top business speakers: Rudy Giuliani, ZigZiglar, Paul Otellini (CEO of Intel), and John May (CEO of FedExKinkos).

He’s the author of 12 books on sales and motivation and recently released his Seminars On Selling course with 200+ sales training videos.

Connect with Victor on LinkedIn

Your Sales Messaging Needs an Overhaul

By Barbara Giamanco 2 Comments

For the last several years, I have spoken and often written about my belief that an overhaul in organizational processes and mindset is long overdue in today’s businesses. Experienced industry leaders and researchers agree. The mountain of evidence is clear – buyers want and expect more from the buying process, whether that is B2B or B2C. They want a seamless, positive experience no matter whom they interact with at your company. That experience, as I’ve written about before, starts with the very first touchpoint, often with a salesperson’s phone call or email, and that’s when things go right, or they go wrong.

Issues affecting sales and marketing effectiveness and financial performance challenges are not solved with the latest social selling (or any sales) training. It will not be solved with the purchase of another piece of technology to force fit into an already burgeoning sales stack. Pipeline and revenue problems are caused by internal systemic issues on a broader scale related to people, process, systems, and accountability.

In the area of sales messaging, whether you deliver that message through phone calls or emails, a transformation is needed in a big way. Time and again, I see sales and marketing teams focusing on something low level that may temporarily relieve some of their sales performance pain points, but makes no real positive gains over time. That includes one-off training to improve prospecting and lead generation efforts. Maybe it is a class on how to improve how your salespeople “pitch.” Alternatively, perhaps it is hiring a trainer to teach you the latest email hacks designed to improve those email open rates. Guess what. Those things are not working! You might write the best email subject line ever that gets the email opened, and, if in the body of the email, you fall back to the vendor centric pitch, does it even matter that your email was opened? You will still be ignored.

Message matters. What does yours say about you?

Prefer to listen? Click on the recording below.

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