Category: storytelling

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#tech in #sales

Young couple. Jus’ married. That was their first movie together [b’cos it was an arranged marriage]. They went to the theater early, to beat the crowd. Stood in the queue & asked for corner seats when they reached the counter.

Not anymore. You can book seats of your liking online. Thanks to #technology.

You make your own pizza online & get it delivered in flat 30 minutes. You use their kitchen as if it is your own.

You assemble your own computer online. Dell revolutionized this concept long long ago. #directmarketing

In future, you will make your own coffee in your coffeemaker @ your home. You are already doing that. Aren’t you? What’s the difference, you ask. I hear that.

You will start brewing your coffee @ your home just before you leave from office. It will be ready when you get home. Just the way you like it.

And the AI in your car will look at the traffic & suggest you the best route to take to get home faster, easier, in style & with comfort.

#Sales has changed as well. We have bots answering our customers & taking care of them. Whether they like it or not, we don’t care. Jus’ kidding.

We now know when our #customers are opening our #proposals, how long they looked at it, whom did they forward it to, their email ids, what will be our revenue next Qtr, what our competitors are up to, who our customers are talking to, what’s the latest news about our customers, who in my target segment are ready to buy / looking for products that I sell, what our customers are talking about, what our customers are saying about us etc. We know much.

But as long as emotions & feelings are there with humans, sales cannot be on autopilot. Beyond a point, that is. You still need to sell. At every touch point.

I receive many automated emails. The senders don’t do any homework on me. Why should I then bother to reply?

Your customers have a need to feel special. And they are special, aren’t they?

We can / should use #tools & #tech [b’cos this is 2020] but it is our #humantouch that will make all the difference.

#standoutfromthecrowd

#HappySelling!!

#b2b #b2c #business #entrepreneurship #innovation

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What makes a good story?

My wife, son & I are big fans of Mr.Harold Finch, Mr.John Reese, Ms.Root, Ms.Shaw & Mr.Fusco.

These people save people who are in danger by risking their own lives. They are selfless, true patriots, good at heart, efficient & fast. We will not hesitate to recommend them to anyone.

We finished watching the last episode of the last season of #PersonOfInterest on Prime yesterday.

That’s, only the second time so far. With Covid-19 still restricting our social lives, that’s not a surprise.

We love the series. Yet, we are unhappy with certain parts of the story. We wanted the team of protagonists to win all the time. I hope #JonathanNolan takes note of this. 🙂

Here’s the snapshot of the #Story:

Harold builds “The Machine”, an AI that gets its feed from the Gov data, public cameras et al. It watches people, sees violent acts of terror, identifies the danger to people & then segregates those numbers [social security] into relevant & irrelevant [b’cos gov considers them so], sends relevant numbers to the Gov & irrelevant numbers to Harold’s team, who then get into the act of saving them.

The storytelling in this TV series keeps you on the edge of your seat & is definitely worth emulating in our marketing stories, to capture our customers’ attention.

Dissecting it further, I think, the framework for a story is:

  1. You need a purpose. [borrowed that term from Harold].
  2. You need problems to solve.
  3. You should become God. Ok, you become a saviour of sorts.
  4. But let them be the hero of your story. Or identify themselves with the hero.
  5. Show proof, maybe case studies.
  6. Be honest. Let truth be told. Flaws can remain. We are just humans after all.

Happy Storytelling!!

#HappySelling!!

#b2b #sales #marketing #business

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What makes a good speech?

My son came up to me & asked me what makes a good speech. He had just finished his elocution @ school.

My thoughts went back to my college days.

That was an Independence Day in India but we had some special classes. Our class was the only one that was present that day in college. Our Principal asked us to join the Flag Hoisting. We did. He gave a speech & asked one student & one staff member to also speak. None came forward.

Yes, you guessed it right. It was ‘yours truly’ who had the courage to go on stage, extempore. I spoke something relevant. Then I got stuck somewhere. Then somehow managed & concluded it. Later my friend told me that our I year English teacher liked it very much [since she had clapped vigorously after my talk].

In the later years, I learnt about “pauses” during speech to drive home the point. It was supposed to be effective, I learnt.

In our Sales presentations, it is extremely difficult to keep the audience interested till the end.

I learnt to:

  1. Be objective.
  2. Keep it short & to the point.
  3. Stay on course.
  4. Narrate stories.
  5. Use humour.
  6. Engage audience. Connect with them.
  7. Be human. Some errors are fine. In fact, they are actually needed.
  8. Deliver tons of value.
  9. Give a reward to the audience at the end, for listening.
  10. Ask for feedback.

I did a presentation to GM Finance of a manufacturing company on data warehousing solutions long ago. I spoke the Finance language. End of Period reporting. Shortfalls. Budgets. Year-to-date. Month-to-date. Drill down. Roll up. Collate reports from various divisions. What the top management wants to see. Dashboard. KPIs. Etc etc.

He was mighty impressed. He asked me if I had a finance background. I told him, I didn’t. He was surprised.

Speak their language. Win their hearts.

HappySelling!!

salespresentations #storytelling #publicspeaking

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How to Master The Art of Video Prospecting!!

Some of you had expressed interest earlier in learning more about using #Videos in #Sales.

I just attended a Live Masterclass titled “How To Master The Art Of Video #Prospecting” by Morgan J Ingram.

He is the man to go to for Videos. I believe he has so far made over 10k videos. Follow him, ask him, take his classes, do whatever. He is too good. I highly recommend him.

Interviews with Reva Pellerin (she/her) & Ellie Twigger added value.

Videos are going to take a big chunk of your interactions with customers, going forward.

If you can’t be there in person, then videos are the next best thing.

What’s more? Videos can be saved & played over & over again.

If you are like me, looking at starting off with videos, now’s the time to do that.

1. Duration of 90 seconds or thereabouts should be fine.
2. Smile.
3. Be Happy. We can see that in your video & no one wants to see a sad face ever.
4. Ensure good lighting.
5. Look at the camera. [Not at yourself. Don’t care about your shirt etc. I didn’t mean you can wear a crumpled shirt. You get it!]
6. Just be human.
7. Just one idea per #video.

When the replay of the webinar becomes available, I will share it with you all here.

Stay tuned. [for the tips & tricks as I go along].

#HappyCreating!!
#HappySelling!!

#videoprospecting

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New Sales Playbook post Covid-19!!

Covid-19 has altered the business landscape. Forever.

Sales playbook that we used so far does not work anymore.

Post Covid-19, I don’t think we are going to return to the previous style of functioning.

Right now, customers expect us to #bemorehuman.

Some food for thought:

  1. Do we care for our customers? Genuinely?
  2. Do we understand their feelings?
  3. Are we treating them like humans?
  4. Are we helping them solve some real problems?
  5. Are we making them feel special?
  6. How are our products going to help them during this pandemic specifically?
  7. Or, are we selling our product like we used to, by talking about our “product” & the “benefits”?
  8. Are we making the right connection between the buyer & our brand during this pandemic?
  9. If yes, what are we doing to achieve that?
  10. Are we helping them smile during these difficult times.

If the answer is a resounding “YES” to at least 7 / 10 questions above, we will sail through this period safely.

If not, it is time for us to take a re-look at our Strategies. Did I say “strategies”? I am sorry. That’s not the word right now.

….re-look at the way we connect with the buyers – would be more appropriate.

#HappyConnecting!!

#HappySelling!!

#covid19 #sales #business #newsalesplaybook #care4customers

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War for Talent!!

That was an Oil & Gas Engg Co., They called their employees & their families for a get together.

What’s special about it, you ask. Hang on. I’ll answer that.

Companies are now doing such events to build a strong sense of belonging & culture.

You will find fun events for everyone in the family. Drinks & Great Food will be on the house. Goodies bag at the end of the event.

Here’s where this company differed.

All those mentioned above were part of the event. Plus a talk by the CEO.

He said many families did not know what work they were doing & hence felt a need to talk about it. He spoke in a language that they understood.

There was a short film featuring the CEO, taken at his home, played during his talk, peppered in between. It showed him as a down to earth person [which he is] & as much human as everyone else in the room.

Hats off to the CEO. I am sure he’ll take the Co., to great heights.

Takeaways:

1. It is not just sufficient if your employees share your vision. Even their families have to.

2. Sense of belonging & culture is important.

3. Build a community around your brand.

4. Your Sales people are NOT the only ones who sell. All your employees & their families also do.

5. In the ecosystem of Customers, Partners & Employees, it is your employees who come first. They’re the ones who are going to serve your customers & partners.

6. War for talent is real. Companies that genuinely take care of its people are the ones that will win now.

7. Take care of your employees else someone else will.

Happy Caring!!

Happy Selling!!

#employees #communitybuilding #caring #branding #sales #marketing #warfortalent #community

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Add Value, not Tax!

Once, I was pretty late into an Account. The deal was almost signed when I entered.

Can’t change it.

But I did the unusual.

I didn’t walk away.

Instead, kept in touch. Shared some interesting anecdotes from other customers.

Over time, I became the most trusted advisor.

The customer wouldn’t buy anything without consulting me.

He called me one day & reminded me about what I had told him months before about how a particular solution can save them money & time. I had almost forgotten about it.

The rest is history.

I closed that deal.

I even sat in discussion with their ISP, negotiated a good deal for them.

Implemented the solution. Customer realized ROI in no time.

It was a feather in the cap for him internally.

My learning:

1. Never underestimate the potential of any customer.

2. Just because you lost a deal, it doesn’t mean you will not win any future deals.

3. You can’t win without playing the game.

4. If you add value, you will win.

5. Show up everyday, deal or no deal.

6. Keep rocking, be energetic, smile always. They will like you if you do.

#HappySelling

#b2b #changethegame #scienceofsales #prospecting #sales #underdog #marketing #ABM #rapport

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People laughed at him!

A young boy, who was just 12 years old, wanted to start his own magazine. When he said that, people laughed at him. 15 years later, in the year 1984, he was publishing a hundred of them. And he had built one of the first Technology Publishing empires.

He was interested in Technology, Science and Computing and he found that these three areas were converging.

7 years after he founded his publishing company, he sold it to Pearsons. Then he moved to United States and started his new company Business 2.0 and reached a market cap of $ 2 Billion at one point.

He founded a non-profit in the year 1996 to “foster the spread of great ideas”.

There was another company which was started in 1984 which was holding conferences dedicated to 3 things. And our young boy attended one of the conferences in 1998 and fell in love with it.

Eventually he bought that company in 2001. But the remarkable turn around came in 2006 when he distributed the talks [in the conferences] online for free. That was a revolution.

I am sure you have guessed it by now.

The company he acquired is TED [that stands for Technology, Entertainment & Design] and the young boy is none other than Chris Anderson. https://www.ted.com/

So, what dreams are you chasing? Did people laugh at you? Are you passionate about it? For all you know you may be creating a revolution in the years to come.

Don’t underestimate yourself. If you are passionate about it and if few people have found use for what you have created, you are on your way to success.

Happy creating!

Happy Starting-up!

Happy Selling!

#startupstories #startup #story