In This Issue

Free Webinar on SellXL Workshop

Announcing a Free Webinar on the Selling at the Executive Level (SellXL) Workshop
Thursday, August 26 - 11:30 am -12:30 pm EDT

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The SellXL workshop was created approximately five years ago and seems to be getting increased focus by clients around the world. Clients are finding that the skill of selling at the executive level is essential in these economic times.

Many of the workshop concepts are now contained in the new book, Selling to the C-Suite – which I authored with Nic Read.

Selling at the Executive Level (SellXL) is a one-day, fast-paced interactive workshop that focuses on helping professional salespeople create, maintain and leverage relationships at executive levels in client organizations.

Steps in Establishing a Relationship with a Relevant Executive

The SellXL methodology is basically a five-step process:

1. Identify the Relevant Executive™ for the sales opportunity
2. Determine how best to approach that executive
3. Perform the appropriate research prior to an initial meeting with the executive
4. Demonstrate integrity and capability over the long-term, so as to be perceived as a trusted advisor by the executive
5. Consistently communicate value to the executive

Learning is supported by a compelling business case about a global manufacturer (JKEA International), how its market positioning is driving new corporate initiatives and the competing agendas behind the scenes. Participants study and review the case study as part of the pre-course assignment and then apply activities against the case study during the workshop.

Study and review of the case study are both instrumental to the success of the workshop. One of the reasons that the workshop is able to be delivered in one day is that all the participants are "on the same page" with respect to their knowledge and understanding of the case. Robust discussions about the case take place throughout the workshop.

An integral part of the workshop's success is the credibility of the facilitator. Each SellXL workshop is delivered by an experienced facilitator with significant business-to-business sales experience. The workshop requires facilitators to apply their expertise throughout the day. Inevitably, sales issues not covered by the workshop content arise and each facilitator must rely on his or her sales or sales management experience to address those key issues. As a result, the workshop is very facilitator dependent and, for that reason, SellXL facilitators are carefully selected, trained and certified to ensure their ability to address questions and problems that arise throughout the day.

The concepts and models used in SellXL are, in part, based on the results of interviews and surveys with CXO-level executives to learn what it takes for salespeople to stand out from a sea of look-alike competitors. The developer of the SellXL workshop has participated in original research over a ten-year period with the assistance of Hewlett-Packard Company, the Kenan Flagler Business School of the University of North Carolina and the Center for Business and Industrial Marketing at Georgia State University.

The research described in the paragraph above is an essential part of the book I co-authored - called Selling to the C-Suite. Salespeople who experience the SellXL workshop will find out what CXO-level executives told us about what professional salespeople had to do to establish long-term relationships with them.

For more information on the SellXL workshop, click on this link: http://sellxl.com/SellXL.php

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The Terry College of Business at The University of Georgia is launching a new program this fall called the Sales Leadership Academy: Transitioning From Sales Manager to Sales Leader. This is a high-intensity training program that gives sales managers the knowledge and tools they need to significantly increase revenue growth though improved sales strategies and motivated sales teams. The participants will receive a UGA Certificate in Sales Leadership upon program completion, and as a course project will develop a 2011 Sales Plan. UGA has recruited top sales leadership experts, all who have carried a bag in their career, from across the country to teach in this program. Steve Bistritz will be delivering his SellXL workshop as part of the curriculum during this program.

The link below provides full details about the program.

http://www.terry.uga.edu/exec_ed/sales_leadership.html

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Free Webinar on SOS Workshop

Announcing a Free Webinar on the Sales Opportunity Snapshot (SOS) Workshop
Friday, August 27 - 11:30 am -12:30 pm EDT

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Sales Opportunity Snapshot (SOS) is a one-day interactive workshop that is focused on helping professional salespeople manage and win their sales opportunities. SOS has been called - opportunity management on steroids - because of its fast-paced one-day approach to visually portraying the status of complex sales campaigns in a simple, easy-to-use format. The SOS Opportunity Plan is comprised of just three pages of jam-packed information that helps salespeople close their key sales campaigns!

SOS provides a structured, scalable process for qualifying and winning strategic sales opportunities where competitors are strong and customer buying protocols are influenced by formal and informal decision criteria.

The workshop content is supported by a robust tool, created and developed using Visual Basic within Excel. The tool is extremely visual, easy to use and dramatically depicts various aspects of a sales opportunity, including the following:

• Snapshot Assessment® of the sales opportunity, based on nine key criteria
• Influence Map, consisting of an overview of key players - inside and outside the client organization - who influence the sales opportunity
• Methodology to select a sales strategy for the opportunity, including an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of major competitors
• Summary of the ACTION PLANNING process
• Unique and specific value proposition created for the sales opportunity

The tool can be forwarded to all direct and extended members of the sales team and can also be used by sales management to validate forecast probabilities and allocate resources. It can also be used to prepare and update sales executives who might be asked to call on various executives in the client organization.

Learning is supported by several short case study scenarios and by immediately applying activities against the current sales opportunities of the participants. Each module contains several activities that are applied against sales opportunities, so participants leave the workshop with an improved plan for their own opportunity. Participants also discuss and de-brief these activities in table groups throughout the workshop, thus affording additional opportunities to improve the quality of their plan.

An integral part of the workshop's success is the credibility of the facilitator. Each SOS workshop is delivered by an experienced facilitator with significant business-to-business sales experience. The workshop requires facilitators to apply their expertise in each module. Inevitably, sales issues not covered by the workshop content arise and each facilitator must rely on his or her sales or sales management experience to address those key issues. As a result, the workshop is facilitator dependent and, for that reason, SOS facilitators are carefully selected, trained and certified to ensure their ability to address questions and problems that arise throughout the day.

Find out why clients across the globe are using SOS as their approach to opportunity management by clicking on the following link: http://sellxl.com/SOS.php

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This is an absolutely incredible announcement!

Selling to the C-Suite has been translated into Chinese and is available in soft-copy format. From my perspective, it is amazing to see the Chinese version and look at the graphics and see the English words translated into the various Chinese characters. Seeing this soft copy version in Chinese was almost like opening that first box of books - an absolute thrill!

The book, which is in its second printing in the US, has been receiving worldwide acclaim as a best selling sales book and now has 25 reviews on amazon.com. In the US, it is currently available in both hard copy and Kindle versions.

The Chinese version of Selling to the C-Suite can be ordered at the following link:

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	The book I co-authored - Selling to the C-Suite - is now available from major on-line booksellers and in book stores around the world. You can order the book from any of these on-line booksellers:

I am absolutely convinced that you will receive real value from the book Selling to the C-Suite. If you purchase the book, just tell me and I'll send you a free copy of the PDF for my Guide to Internet Resources - that helps salespeople research their clients at three levels of learning - the client's industry, the client's company and the client executive. That document is offered for sale from this website for $19.00 and I'll send it to you at no charge.

Content from my Guide to Internet Resources is actually referenced in the book, but you will receive the full version of the PDF of that document if you purchase the book. You don't have to send me any receipts or even a Proof of Purchase. I'll take your word that you've purchased it. In addition to the free gift, I'll add you to my SellXL Newsletter mailing - which will provide you with even more value! Click the link below to begin the process: I certify that I have either ordered or acquired Selling to the C-Suite.

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By Stephen J. Bistritz, Ed.D. and Dan McDade

In today's turbulent economic environment, as the value of marketing is being ever more frequently questioned by senior executives within their own company, many marketing professionals can benefit from taking a lesson from their peers in the sales area.

Professional business-to-business salespeople who sell effectively to senior executives in client organizations start their sales campaigns by helping those executives establish the objectives and set the strategy for key projects, so that their solution(s) can become adopted and subsequently implemented. They then begin to align with those same senior executives, so that the executive becomes a champion or mentor. In addition, those same salespeople learn how to ultimately become perceived as the trusted advisor to the senior executive, so that they get both alignment and continued access to the executive.

So how can mid-level marketing professionals sell their ideas for new marketing strategies or campaigns to the executive-level decision makers within their own organization, using some of those same techniques?

Before sales professionals work with a senior client executive, they first have to identify the relevant executive for the sales opportunity.

Identifying the Relevant Executive
When navigating any complex organization, a good salesperson will usually identify multiple executives who exert power and influence over certain buying decisions. However, for each sales opportunity there is typically one executive who is most relevant to their success. Similarly, for a marketing professional working to push a new idea through, there are likely to be multiple executives who have influence over how marketing dollars are spent, yet only one who is most “relevant” to your success.

Identifying that relevant executive may be the best use of your time in selling your new idea. Who is the relevant executive? Simply put, it’s the executive who stands to gain or lose the most from your recommendation.

Why is it so critical to identify the relevant executive? Because that executive can often exert his or her informal influence to either proactively make a marketing decision or usurp a decision made in the formal decision-making process. Salespeople are usually very tuned to the formal decision-making process — it's the one that is described in the RFP or articulated by those who actively participate in the formal decision-making process — just as marketers understand the value of the formal marketing plan and presentation. But in nearly every sales opportunity there is an informal decision-making process in play. Successful salespeople understand that the informal process always trumps the formal process. This informal process is just as relevant to internal marketing decisions and can be crucial to your success.

But how do you identify the person with the most informal power as it relates to your marketing idea? To begin, you should constantly be aware of what's happening within your organization. Observe how major decisions are made, who gains power when re-organizations take place, and which executives receive the special assignments that are meaningful and significant. In addition, look for who’s connected to each other within your organization, and which executives are tapped to lead new projects of high importance. Discuss these events with your supporters or mentors and then triangulate your information to develop your conclusions.

Then, if you can align with the relevant executive for your marketing strategy and spend some quality time with that person you will significantly reduce the time you spend trying to gain approval.

Your most important objective is to get this relevant executive selling your idea for you to the other executives. Just as the most successful salespeople find “mentors” in client organizations who openly advocate and sell for them, you should cultivate an internal “mentor” who will not only cheer you on, but be very open about their support for your idea both in your presence and in your absence.

After your presentation is over and you've left the room, this is the person who will stand up and openly support you and your program. If you can turn the relevant executive into a mentor, the results can be very powerful.

The Value of Perseverance
Once you’ve identified the relevant executive in your organization, you must establish your credibility as a trusted advisor who is up on the latest marketing strategies and techniques. Once you’ve become that trusted advisor in a consultative role instead of a purely marketing role, selling your ideas to him or her may still require a large number of touches as these are incredibly busy people to whom you must get through.

People respond differently to various methods of contact. In a sales situation, touching the relevant executive generally requires multiple media – calls, voicemails and immediate email follow-ups – in a process that continues through closure. When you’re selling your marketing idea, adapt this approach accordingly. Internal touches might, for example, include presenting your idea in a formal marketing plan, discussing it over lunch and during brief water-cooler encounters, pointing to blog you wrote on the subject, and emailing examples of how the approach worked for other companies with a note on how it can specifically benefit your marketing program. These touches may take place in waves over weeks or several months.

To illustrate how multiple touches work in the sales process, take the example of PointClear, a prospect development firm that was instrumental in helping to secure a deal worth over $1 billion for a global consultancy company. The prospect was a major utility company, and the direct marketing effort comprised a total of 42 touches that were ultimately directed at the prospect’s CFO.

Many of those early touches were relatively mundane, but in the final phase — when the effort had progressed to contacting the CFO directly through voice mails and emails. The final voice mail and email said explicitly that there would not be another message. After that final voice mail – the 42nd touch – the CFO called back and opened the door for a meeting that led to the sale, proving that perseverance pays off.

Following the process of successful B2B sales pros selling externally, B2B marketing professionals need to identify the relevant executive within their organization who can become their mentor and help them sell their marketing program internally in their absence. Establishing your credibility as a trusted advisor and selling the value of your idea this executive may require multiple approaches, multiple mediums and multiple cycles, so persevere and don’t give up too soon.

About the Authors

Stephen J. Bistritz, Ed.D. is a recognized author and lecturer on selling at the executive level, and is president and founder of SellXL, a global sales training and consulting company. He is the co-author of a new best-selling business book, Selling to the C-Suite, What Every Executive Wants You to Know about Successfully Selling to the Top (McGraw-Hill 2010). He can be reached at steveb@sellxl.com.

Dan McDade is founder and president of PointClear, the prospect development company. Before McDade founded PointClear, he served as vice president of marketing for the direct mail firm, Jackson & Perkins, and as president of UST: The Business Marketing Group. To learn more about PointClear, go to www.pointclear.com

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Steve Bistritz is founder and president of SellXL.com, an Atlanta-based sales training and consulting company that helps professional salespeople do a better job of creating, maintaining and leveraging relationships with senior-level client executives. Steve also has a powerful opportunity management workshop offering that has been described as "the next generation in opportunity management". Steve is available as a speaker for sales meetings and client conferences around the globe. He speaks on a variety of topics including the following:

• Selling to the C-Suite
• Establishing Credibility with Client Executives and Becoming a Trusted Advisor
• Cultivating Client Loyalty
• Effectively Assessing Sales Opportunities

Steve co-authored the best-selling book Selling to the C-Suite that was published by McGraw Hill in 2010. According to Neil Rackham: "This is one of the few books that demonstrates an understanding of selling in a global environment. This book is timely and essential reading."

Click here to see video clips of Steve delivering his presentation on Selling at the Executive Level.

You can contact Steve by calling him in Atlanta (eastern time zone in the US) at (404) 256-1801 or sending him an email using steveb@sellxl.com

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