PJ Clare commented on my last post and he makes a good point. He says, “… they (prospects) lie to sales people all the time because they feel sorry for lame sales people…” I know PJ and can vouch for him. He is a sales executive clearly in the 10% (see my last post) and he’s far from lame. I can’t imagine he’s ever commanded the brush off. His observation is valid. I believe that some prospects do lie to sales people in the interest of avoiding conflict.
We all know how it goes… “Email me some info and I’ll get back to you.” “Send over the proposal, we’ll review it & one of us will get back to you.” Or the classic: “We love your product. Things are sort of on hold right now. We’ll call you when things free up.” Depending on where you are in the sales/buying process the examples of the brush off are endless.
While avoiding conflict the “let ‘em down easy” approach leaves the sales person learning nothing – and even worse, feeling like if they just continue to play the numbers game then one of these calls – or proposals – will stick…. And while it buys the buyer some time, trust me they will keep calling and you’ll have to keep brushing them off.
Attention HR Technology Buyers: Allow me to set you free. It is A-Okay to just hang up on a sales person that is doing nothing but wasting your time. Heck, if you’re having a bad day, its even okay to take all your frustrations out. If a sales person or vendor doesn’t have a clear value proposition, a process that conveys value, or straight forward message that is worth your time in the first minute of a call you don’t have to let them down easy.. in fact you don’t even need to keep the phone in your hand.
Let me be clear where I’m coming from on this: As sales professionals and executives that serve in the Human Capital Market it is our responsibility to develop sales teams and sales processes that add value to the market and the HR and Staffing Executives we call our buyers and customers. If we don’t – we don’t deserve their time.
In the coming weeks/posts I’ll be highlighting “The Top 5 Times When You Should Hang Up on a Sales Person”. There are many sides to this – and I’ll try to cover all of the angles: When you should hang up. When you should “light ‘em up”. An alternative approach for the sales person. When and how the HR Exec should engage in order to get the most out of the vendors for them or their firm. What the vendor can do to avoid having “lame sales people” out there giving them a bad rep.
You can help… leave a comment with examples of when you think a sales person deserves to be hung up on. Or, how you’ve been brushed off when you would have appreciated a more straight forward approach.
I’m looking forward to this… Until next time…
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
How To Sell OR Buy In The Human Capital Market
The best sales people I have ever known have one key thing in common – They know their prospects/buyers VERY WELL. So well, that three things most technology sales people struggle with the most: Getting their foot in the door; Doing a good demonstration, and closing the deal… These are really non-events for the best sales people.
These sales people - that know their buyers and add value – they equate to about 10 to 20% of all sales people (It’s really about 10, but I feel a sense of responsibility to be nice to my compadres). Do the math. 80 to 90% of sales people in the Human Capital Market struggle. Who really takes the brunt of this? The prospects/buyers that struggle as a result.
I really do feel bad for the buyer in this equation. You have to. The sales people that are out wasting time – they are bringing that struggle on themselves. They are doing a poor job of doing their job. The prospects/buyers – they just happened to answer the phone – or check their email – or are TRYING to understand a product and make a buying decision, and struggling with a sales person that doesn’t really get it.
This is one of the things I’ll be exploring from both sides – and having some fun with – as I move forward. Contrasting the best and worst sales people – their habits and tactics… AND…. Giving the Human Capital Technology buyer some tips – How to buy more effectively – How to work with the 10-20% sales person – and How to deal with the pesky 80 to 90%.
I’d love to get input from anyone willing to share. Note to sales people: Please don’t comment just to tell me how really awesome you are. I’m looking for what you do to put and keep yourself in the 10 to 20% – or what you have seen from the 80 to 90%.
And Buyers: Share whatever stories you have – good, bad, funny, or ugly. How did you deal with the worst sales person you ever encountered? What do you do when you pick up your phone and realize you are being cold called? Tags: ATS, CRM, Human, Recruiting, Resources, Staffing, buying, capital, human, sales
These sales people - that know their buyers and add value – they equate to about 10 to 20% of all sales people (It’s really about 10, but I feel a sense of responsibility to be nice to my compadres). Do the math. 80 to 90% of sales people in the Human Capital Market struggle. Who really takes the brunt of this? The prospects/buyers that struggle as a result.
I really do feel bad for the buyer in this equation. You have to. The sales people that are out wasting time – they are bringing that struggle on themselves. They are doing a poor job of doing their job. The prospects/buyers – they just happened to answer the phone – or check their email – or are TRYING to understand a product and make a buying decision, and struggling with a sales person that doesn’t really get it.
This is one of the things I’ll be exploring from both sides – and having some fun with – as I move forward. Contrasting the best and worst sales people – their habits and tactics… AND…. Giving the Human Capital Technology buyer some tips – How to buy more effectively – How to work with the 10-20% sales person – and How to deal with the pesky 80 to 90%.
I’d love to get input from anyone willing to share. Note to sales people: Please don’t comment just to tell me how really awesome you are. I’m looking for what you do to put and keep yourself in the 10 to 20% – or what you have seen from the 80 to 90%.
And Buyers: Share whatever stories you have – good, bad, funny, or ugly. How did you deal with the worst sales person you ever encountered? What do you do when you pick up your phone and realize you are being cold called? Tags: ATS, CRM, Human, Recruiting, Resources, Staffing, buying, capital, human, sales
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Flat Ain't So Bad and What's Next for the Human Capital Market in 2010
My friend William Tincup (Starr Tincup) asked an open question to the market: What's next for the Human Capital Space in 2010? I gave my 2 cents, which he posted on his blog. If you don't follow William, you should. The guy talks to more vendors in our space and gains more perspective on what's going on daily than almost anyone I know.
So what did I tell William?.... Read on.... (as posted on http://www.jpie.com/ 1/19/10)
First let’s consider what the market will look like – the external forces that will create the climate we deal with. I’m reading and hearing a lot of people that sound optimistic about it. I’m sure we all are hearing it, “The worst is over.” “I think we’re entering a recovery.” “We now have job growth for the first time in a long time.” Funny – even the most optimistic report puts the average job growth across the 50 U.S. States at -.2%. The most optimistic estimates on overall U.S. economy growth are coming in at 1 to 2%. I think one word will describe the marketplace in 2010: FLAT.
Flat ain’t so bad. Flat is predictable. Flat is an opportunity for smart companies to innovate, grab market share, and grow. So – the practitioners in our space working for the right companies, and the smart vendors in our little niche here – they all have an opportunity.
With this in mind, here are 2 predictions for both the Vendors and the Practitioners in 2010.
First for the Vendors:
Crazy is as Crazy Does. In light of increased pressure to drive revenue results in a flat market many vendors will not only do the same things they have done all along while expecting a different result (the definition of insanity). They will do the same things with greater frequency and with more volume. Spam volume will be at an all time high – Cold call frequency will increase as the vendors whip the telemarketing and inside sales teams. Over the next 6 months you will see an incredible churn in Sales and Marketing Leadership in the market as CEOs and Board Members expect to see improved results, but don’t get it. Good news for the buyers, though – prices will be at an all time low – price pressure will be HIGH as vendors scrap it out for your business. Many of the vendors are challenged to put a value to their offerings or even to differentiate – and these vendors will drop their prices like hot potatoes – they don’t know how to do it any differently.
Some Dark Horses Emerge. The leadership position in various segments will be harder and harder to maintain. Buyers are looking for vendors that are listening to them – speaking their language - providing products that are simple, elegant, and easy to use – incorporating the usability and experience that they are having with tools in the consumer electronics, Web 2.0 and Social Media world into the Enterprise level tools they use to get the job done. Vendors, of any size, that get this will have an incredible opportunity to gobble up market share. This understanding merged with a go to market strategy that is NOT the same old same old – leverages new strategies, techniques, and tactics, and clearly puts the customer first will have some current market leaders wondering where their lunch went. The game is changing folks. It’s going to be fun if you’re on the right side of the chess board.
And for the Practitioners:
Turns out it wasn’t about “Brand”, it was about “Brand Execution”. Recruitment Marketing and Advertising continues to be 10 to 15 years behind broad Commercial and Consumer Marketing and Advertising. 10 to 15 years ago in general Commercial and Consumer Marketing (i.e. your Marketing Department, not your HR Department) the trend moved away from investing in pure brand elements – investing millions in brand definition, creative, and expensive initiatives that were not tied to revenue – and toward branding that could be executed and exploited in the market in the form of interaction with the consumer/prospect. Execution that created a relationship between the brand and the consumer/prospect – a relationship that resulted in revenue. Well HR, this is the year – the year when it’s flat – when the C-suite looks at what you spent on pure brand and asks what it did to drive results. Showing them that really cool video you did won’t be the answer they are looking for. It’s not just about having a great looking employment site, or just being on FaceBook, or LinkedIn – it’s about having an integrated strategy, messaging, tactics, and process. This is the year where they ask you to catch up with 2001 – start executing on the expensive recruitment brand you built, and start delivering and measuring results. Probably with less money. Be ready.
Churn. This year, when it’s flat, if you are working for a company in a competitive market (and who isn’t?) you better be the company that is taking this as an opportunity to innovate, to create opportunity, and grab market share. Why? Because this year, the flat year, is when people won’t be too scared to leave where they are and go work for the company where they get challenged, are given opportunity, paid competitively, have a work-life balance, learn something, and just plain old like going to work. That is the company that looks at this flat year and does things both internally and externally to build momentum. Go work in HR or Staffing for that company – otherwise you’ll be dealing with turnover and managing the churn.
And the bonus prediction for both sides:
The obligatory “pick on the job boards”. Okay, look… Job boards aren’t going to die this year, and they aren’t dead yet. HR and staffing arent really understanding Talent Sourcing, SEO/SEM, or Social Media well enough yet to understand that they could shift a high percentage of their Job Board Dollars away and not flinch. YET. The Job Boards of 2010 are the newspapers of 1999. They have an opportunity, and a few years left, but if they don’t figure out that jobs are content and the jury is already in on content folks– no one is going to be paying you to put their content on your site. Whether it’s jobs, articles, whatever. When, and if, they figure that out they have an opportunity to capitalize on their customer base and sheer volume by shifting away from a pay per post model and into a value based model - Then, they will see the market flock to them and a sea change will occur for everyone else. Until then, the door is open for someone, or a series of someones to move in and change the model.
So what did I tell William?.... Read on.... (as posted on http://www.jpie.com/ 1/19/10)
First let’s consider what the market will look like – the external forces that will create the climate we deal with. I’m reading and hearing a lot of people that sound optimistic about it. I’m sure we all are hearing it, “The worst is over.” “I think we’re entering a recovery.” “We now have job growth for the first time in a long time.” Funny – even the most optimistic report puts the average job growth across the 50 U.S. States at -.2%. The most optimistic estimates on overall U.S. economy growth are coming in at 1 to 2%. I think one word will describe the marketplace in 2010: FLAT.
Flat ain’t so bad. Flat is predictable. Flat is an opportunity for smart companies to innovate, grab market share, and grow. So – the practitioners in our space working for the right companies, and the smart vendors in our little niche here – they all have an opportunity.
With this in mind, here are 2 predictions for both the Vendors and the Practitioners in 2010.
First for the Vendors:
Crazy is as Crazy Does. In light of increased pressure to drive revenue results in a flat market many vendors will not only do the same things they have done all along while expecting a different result (the definition of insanity). They will do the same things with greater frequency and with more volume. Spam volume will be at an all time high – Cold call frequency will increase as the vendors whip the telemarketing and inside sales teams. Over the next 6 months you will see an incredible churn in Sales and Marketing Leadership in the market as CEOs and Board Members expect to see improved results, but don’t get it. Good news for the buyers, though – prices will be at an all time low – price pressure will be HIGH as vendors scrap it out for your business. Many of the vendors are challenged to put a value to their offerings or even to differentiate – and these vendors will drop their prices like hot potatoes – they don’t know how to do it any differently.
Some Dark Horses Emerge. The leadership position in various segments will be harder and harder to maintain. Buyers are looking for vendors that are listening to them – speaking their language - providing products that are simple, elegant, and easy to use – incorporating the usability and experience that they are having with tools in the consumer electronics, Web 2.0 and Social Media world into the Enterprise level tools they use to get the job done. Vendors, of any size, that get this will have an incredible opportunity to gobble up market share. This understanding merged with a go to market strategy that is NOT the same old same old – leverages new strategies, techniques, and tactics, and clearly puts the customer first will have some current market leaders wondering where their lunch went. The game is changing folks. It’s going to be fun if you’re on the right side of the chess board.
And for the Practitioners:
Turns out it wasn’t about “Brand”, it was about “Brand Execution”. Recruitment Marketing and Advertising continues to be 10 to 15 years behind broad Commercial and Consumer Marketing and Advertising. 10 to 15 years ago in general Commercial and Consumer Marketing (i.e. your Marketing Department, not your HR Department) the trend moved away from investing in pure brand elements – investing millions in brand definition, creative, and expensive initiatives that were not tied to revenue – and toward branding that could be executed and exploited in the market in the form of interaction with the consumer/prospect. Execution that created a relationship between the brand and the consumer/prospect – a relationship that resulted in revenue. Well HR, this is the year – the year when it’s flat – when the C-suite looks at what you spent on pure brand and asks what it did to drive results. Showing them that really cool video you did won’t be the answer they are looking for. It’s not just about having a great looking employment site, or just being on FaceBook, or LinkedIn – it’s about having an integrated strategy, messaging, tactics, and process. This is the year where they ask you to catch up with 2001 – start executing on the expensive recruitment brand you built, and start delivering and measuring results. Probably with less money. Be ready.
Churn. This year, when it’s flat, if you are working for a company in a competitive market (and who isn’t?) you better be the company that is taking this as an opportunity to innovate, to create opportunity, and grab market share. Why? Because this year, the flat year, is when people won’t be too scared to leave where they are and go work for the company where they get challenged, are given opportunity, paid competitively, have a work-life balance, learn something, and just plain old like going to work. That is the company that looks at this flat year and does things both internally and externally to build momentum. Go work in HR or Staffing for that company – otherwise you’ll be dealing with turnover and managing the churn.
And the bonus prediction for both sides:
The obligatory “pick on the job boards”. Okay, look… Job boards aren’t going to die this year, and they aren’t dead yet. HR and staffing arent really understanding Talent Sourcing, SEO/SEM, or Social Media well enough yet to understand that they could shift a high percentage of their Job Board Dollars away and not flinch. YET. The Job Boards of 2010 are the newspapers of 1999. They have an opportunity, and a few years left, but if they don’t figure out that jobs are content and the jury is already in on content folks– no one is going to be paying you to put their content on your site. Whether it’s jobs, articles, whatever. When, and if, they figure that out they have an opportunity to capitalize on their customer base and sheer volume by shifting away from a pay per post model and into a value based model - Then, they will see the market flock to them and a sea change will occur for everyone else. Until then, the door is open for someone, or a series of someones to move in and change the model.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Doing What I Love To Do...
Okay - you haven't seen me post here in a while. I was busy with my day job - but that's all changing - because this blog is now a part of my day job.
Earlier in the fall I started hatching my plan to start consulting and helping companies in the Human Capital Market with their Sales, Strategy, and Marketing. Everything was moving along nicely - my first customer was set up to kick off in January - December was upon us and then before I knew it, I was leaving my full time gig weeks earlier than expected, engaging in a project days later, and here I am in January spending a week on-site with a client helping them plan to go after their market.
Somewhere in the middle of all of that, my friends at Starr Tincup actually decided that I ought to start their Sales Consulting Practice... Let's see, the best Human Capital Marketing firm in the world - the one that has delivered for me for 8 or 9 years running - the one that (let's face it) owns the space, wants me to bring what I know and love to do to their clients... NO BRAINER.
My head stopped spinning for a moment, so I thought I would let you know that you can expect to see a bunch more content here on an ongoing basis - and see this blog and ning integrated into a network of content and communities all focused on Sales, Marketing, and Strategy in this Human Capital Market that we call home.
I'm planning to be posting on both selling and buying in this market. I'm going to have some fun with it. If you know Starr Tincup, you know that they have a straight forward - no holds barred - communication style.... I'm drinking that Kool Aid. Expect a little of that from me here as we go forward.
If you'd like to see more about what I'm doing with Starr Tincup - hit this page and check out Sales Consulting, of course you'll find my profile on their site, too - under "About Us".
In the mean time I'm going to get back with my client and help them with their plan to dominate the world and crush their competition. It's what I love to do......
Earlier in the fall I started hatching my plan to start consulting and helping companies in the Human Capital Market with their Sales, Strategy, and Marketing. Everything was moving along nicely - my first customer was set up to kick off in January - December was upon us and then before I knew it, I was leaving my full time gig weeks earlier than expected, engaging in a project days later, and here I am in January spending a week on-site with a client helping them plan to go after their market.
Somewhere in the middle of all of that, my friends at Starr Tincup actually decided that I ought to start their Sales Consulting Practice... Let's see, the best Human Capital Marketing firm in the world - the one that has delivered for me for 8 or 9 years running - the one that (let's face it) owns the space, wants me to bring what I know and love to do to their clients... NO BRAINER.
My head stopped spinning for a moment, so I thought I would let you know that you can expect to see a bunch more content here on an ongoing basis - and see this blog and ning integrated into a network of content and communities all focused on Sales, Marketing, and Strategy in this Human Capital Market that we call home.
I'm planning to be posting on both selling and buying in this market. I'm going to have some fun with it. If you know Starr Tincup, you know that they have a straight forward - no holds barred - communication style.... I'm drinking that Kool Aid. Expect a little of that from me here as we go forward.
If you'd like to see more about what I'm doing with Starr Tincup - hit this page and check out Sales Consulting, of course you'll find my profile on their site, too - under "About Us".
In the mean time I'm going to get back with my client and help them with their plan to dominate the world and crush their competition. It's what I love to do......
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