Pipeline Management Series: Time to Show Them Something

Well, you are exhausted. That is to say that questioning has taken you as far as you need to go. You know who is involved, what they want, what they don’t want, and most of all what will get them running right onto the client list of one of your competitors. It is time to start putting together a presentation and showing your soon to be client what you can do for them. Unfortunately, the moment anyone in Sales Training says it’s time to present, sales people are all too ready to go in and give it their all.

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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-06-14

• The Sales Evangelist The Sales Evangelist The Sales Evangelist The Sales Evangelist The Sale.. http://twurl.nl/s0×1s5 #
• RT @damphoux: @b2b_sales_leads, @nedelsha, @Jeff_Ogden, @JoeGalvin discuss b2b Sales & Marketing Alignment http://bit.ly/DslEj #sales20 #
• asking the tough questions can case the client to think and commit #sales #STA http://bit.ly/OXBWu #
• RT @SalesBlogcast shares “17 Things You Have to Know!” http://bit.ly/13ceAA #sales #leadership #STA #
• RT @nialldevitt interviews @AnnecPerret Is Bidding Selling?http://bit.ly/hIXcy #

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Pipeline management – The discovery phase

We have already covered the basic tenets of what it takes to decide a prospect is worthy of entering our trusted pipeline.
For review:

1. Get buy in from whoever you are talking to that you can communicate with anyone involved in the buying process
2. Get confirmation that there is budget
3. Uncover all of the problems, desires, wishes, needs, and other tidbits that will be part of making a decision. Get this from everyone involved.
4. Confirm that if you manage to answer to everything in #3, you will get a sale.
5. Build a timeline and get confirmation that this timeline is logical.

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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-06-07

• The Sales Evangelist The Sales Evangelist The Sales Evangelist The Sales Evangelist The Sale.. http://twurl.nl/0c7vja #
• The Sales Evangelist One of my least favorite activities as both a young sales representativ.. http://twurl.nl/62iav0 #
• The Sales Evangelist This is a rant for the Sales Managers out there. OK, it is for the Dire.. http://twurl.nl/qwsgn1 #
• The Sales Evangelist One of my least favorite activities as both a young sales representativ.. http://twurl.nl/4qe4vs #
• The Sales Evangelist A tutorial that will focus on what it means to become a thought leader… http://twurl.nl/3e48kl #

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Pipeline management 2 – The lure of sales technology

This is a rant for the Sales Managers out there. OK, it is for the Directors, the VP’s, the CEO’s, and yeah you the sales rep too. So often we miss the point sales technology and the empowerment it provides. Sure sales tools help us manage our selling activities, but sales technology, even the latest sales 2.0 systems hardly help us manage the most important part of our pipeline.

Right now, the avid readers out there are wondering if this is the same blog they normally read. No, I have not allowed a ghost writer to take over, and this is not demonic possession. As much as I love sales 2.0 tools, using sales technology to become more effective, and embedding all of it in your sales process, I still refuse to believe that the B2B sales process is something you can completely automate. So calm yourselves and let me continue. (more…)