The Executive Sales Coach: Keith Rosen’s Sales Blog and Business Blog On Selling, Leadership, Managing Your Team, Business and Life » Panel Discussion on Sales Coaching for IT and Service Providers: Coaching The Intangible

The radio show, Insight on Coaching contacted me to be one of four panelists for a discussion on coaching and the impact it can make within sales teams. More specifically, how do you coach a salesperson who is selling a service or an intangible rather than a product which you can see, feel and experience first hand. Below is the overview of this radio interview which you can now download on apple itunes for free.

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Coaching the IT and Service Salesforce
Air Date: Monday October 15th, 2007
Air Time: 11am PT (2 pm ET)

Almost anyone can sell a product; in fact, if you’ve got a good product to sell, in some cases you don’t even need a salesperson to sell it.

But how do you sell an intangible?

What are the best methods and measures of success?

On this show, we speak to experts and coaches who can help your sales team position and sell intangibles and professional services.

According to the book, The Intellect Industry: Profiting and Learning from Professional Service Firms, the Professional Services industry is among the fastest growing industries, employing as much as 17% of the workforce in Western markets.

In a recent study by ITSMA, Support Services (maintenance services, technical and customer support services, managed services, etc.) are an important source of growth and profitability for many technology companies.

However for some companies, account teams struggle in positioning technology solutions, articulating the ROI of professional services, and moving toward a more consultative sales model.

Why is selling intangibles more difficult?

How are some organizations using sales coaches to help product and service account teams overcome hurdles in the sales process?

And how are some companies like Metropolitan Life Financial Services experiencing $3.2 million in measurable gains from implementing coaching programs?

Highlights of the show include:
The importance of selling to the right decision makers.
Why consultative sales methodologies are important.
How coaches can guide sales teams in understanding pain points and asking the right questions.
How coaches can help salespeople articulate attention-getting, compelling stories about their services.
The importance of facilitating dialogue between Sales Managers and Account Teams.
Why it’s important to position coaching as a perk versus a “fix it” solution.

SHOW HOST

Tom Floyd, founder and CEO of Insight Educational Consulting (IEC), is a dynamic business man and speaker, who has grown a multi-million dollar business guiding Fortune 500 companies in the implementation of change management, workforce performance, and learning solutions. The ultimate combination of a strategic visionary and project leader, Tom is cross trained in business strategy, focusing specifically on organizational change, human performance, and employee development.

GUEST BIOS

Dave Munn is President and CEO of the Information Technology Services Marketing Association. ITSMA serves over 100 companies, representing close to half of the total Technology and Telecom services revenues generated worldwide. Dave has played a central role in expanding the organization’s offerings to help companies improve marketing, sales, and business results.

Tony Parinello created his own brand of sales training called Selling to VITO, the Very Important Top Officer. Through his keynotes, seminars, books, and audio programs, he’s personally trained more than 1,000,000 salespeople, his six books have sold in excess of 500,000 copies and he has an Internet Talk-show, Selling Across America.

Keith Rosen is an executive sales coach and best selling author. Keith has written several books including, Time Management for Sales Professionals and his upcoming book, Coaching Salespeople Into Sales Champions. For his work as a pioneer in the coaching profession, Inc. magazine and Fast Company named Keith one of the five most respected and influential coaches in the country.

Gregg Steinberg is the President and Chief Operating Officer of International Profit Associates. He is widely quoted and published on issues relative to business in North America and is seen as an expert resource relative to small business and entrepreneurial issues. He is also a contributing author to Consulting Leadership Strategies, Industry Leaders on the New Benchmarks for Success.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS:“…Revenues from support services can offer profit margins of 60 to 70% for software companies. Many companies dealing with commoditized products are looking at growing their support services as both a revenue source and a significant profit source.”
Dave Munn

“…Salespeople need to know it’s safe to ask coaches for help, and tell them where and how they’re screwing up. Providing a confidential safe outlet to have those conversations is critical, they have to know that big brother isn’t watching.”
Tony Parinello

“…If you’re buying a car, you’re going to be able to feel, touch, and drive that car firsthand. When you’re selling a service, there is no “try before you buy.” When I coach salespeople on selling services, it’s more about focusing on the types of questions they’re using to better qualify the prospect.”
Keith Rosen

“…While it is an intangible product they are buying, there’s still a tangible impact at the end of the day. Whether it’s an impact on efficiency, an impact on productivity or some other measure, there’s a way of putting a numerical value to the service that factors into a customer’s buying decision.”
Gregg Steinberg

To listen to the show

Download Apple iTunes
Access the iTunes Store
Enter Insight on Coaching in the Search Field
Download this week’s show