Keith Rosen's Executive Sales Coaching Blog on Selling, Leadership, Management

Archive for October, 2007

Panel Discussion on Sales Coaching for IT and Service Providers: Coaching The Intangible

Oct 23, 2007 Business Advice, Executive Coaching, Sales Coaching, Sales Management, coaching for managers, tele-workshop

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.

To download or listen to this show:

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

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

On-Demand Solutions for Salespeople, Managers, Business Owners: New Company Launch – CanDogo is Live!

Oct 15, 2007 All About Selling, Business Coaching, Business Tools, Cold Calling Tips, How To Sell and Sales Tips, How to Manage Your Team, Sales Management, Sales Training, Technology and Software

I’m so thrilled to announce the launch of this new company, CanDoGo. As one of its founding content providers, it’s a privilege to be a part of this organization in terms of the sheer value this will deliver to individuals and companies worldwide, as well as the impressive caliber of people who are involved in this company.

The company offers a web-based subscription service that enables organizations and their people to receive exclusive advice from a panel of experts, covering a wide variety of relevant work-related, business or professional topics such as sales coaching, power proposals, leadership skills, motivation and much more. This expert advice is delivered on-line and on-demand, making it easy for the modern workforce to get the answers they seek and apply this knowledge on the spot to solve today’s business problems; redefining the way people work and access relevant and time sensitive content solutions.

Below is their official press release that went out today.

CanDoGo™ Unveils On-Demand Coaching & Mentoring Solutions
New Company Provides a Fresh Approach to Employee Development and Training to Deliver Immediate Results

CHICAGO – October 15, 2007 – CanDoGo, a provider of professional development services for organizations and their employees, today announced broad availability of its on-demand coaching and training solutions. The company offers a web-based subscription service that enables organizations and their people to receive advice from a panel of experts, covering a wide variety of relevant work-related, business or professional topics such as sales coaching, power proposals, leadership skills, motivation and much more.

CanDoGo has secured exclusive rights to deliver this advice and coaching from more than 120 authors, speakers and professional trainers in a whole new way. The company converts traditional long-form material into short, meaningful advice, known as ‘CanDoGo InsightsTM’. This expert advice is delivered on-line and on-demand, making it easy for the modern workforce to get the answers they seek and apply this knowledge on the spot to solve today’s business problems.

“Offering my distributed sales force the immediate guidance, training and mentoring they need is a challenge I face on a daily basis,” said Bob Neeser, vice president sales with Sage Software in Scottsdale, Arizona. “CanDoGoTM offers relevant training content to help my sales teams shorten their sales cycles, create better proposals and improve their conversion rates. My colleagues and I have noticed a tangible, positive impact on Sage’s business from using CanDoGo’s resources.”

“It is second nature for us to obtain advice in our personal lives every day,” said Dave Batt, CEO of CanDoGo and former executive at Microsoft and Sage Software. “However, timely guidance in the business world is harder to come by. CanDoGo delivers expert advice in a way that appeals to all levels of the workforce.”

CanDoGo’s customers purchase subscriptions to access advice and coaching from the experts from anywhere they work. CanDoGo Insights are delivered in a ubiquitous manner as text, audio and video and presented within a multitude of delivery options, designed to appeal and be accessible to people wherever they work.

Subscribers can seek advice from Microsoft Office applications such as Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Additionally, subscribers can access CanDoGo Insights from their corporate Web portals, from third-party applications like Customer Relationship Management (CRM) or Enterprise Resource Management (ERP) systems, from their PDA/Mobile devices or from the CanDoGo Web subscription portal directly.

“Our research indicates a need for ‘in context’ information as a top requirement for businesses,” said Sheryl Kingstone, analyst with Yankee Group. “Solutions that can help address this need and provide information appropriate to an employee’s current task, make this more practical and appealing to the modern workforce.”

See a full demonstration of CanDoGo’s solution at the Selling Power Conference at the Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago on October 15, 2007, or visit www.candogo.com.

For a free 7 day trial, go to: candogo.com

About CanDoGo™:
Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Denver, Colorado, CanDoGo™ provides organizations and individuals on-demand coaching and mentoring. CanDoGo™ works with the best and brightest authors, motivational speakers and leaders to capture the educational guidance and information needed to inspire people, whenever and however an organization needs it. More information is available at http://www.candogo.com.