Magnus Marketing Blog

So, we find many holes in using social media for sales prospecting. Namely ninnies who are clueless about LinkedIN and it's use. LinkedIN is a social network centered around business networking - a public resume database highlighting professionals centered around business topics, issues and the like. Here is a sampling of some issues that have cropped up:

1. People who confuse social with business. LinkedIN was designed as a business networking site, sort of a business card exchange on steroids. The idea is to facilitate connections between people that can help each other in a professional way, whether an exchange of goods and services, information, or career help. It is the electronic automation of a business networking exchange. Yet, there are people who insist on challenging this by confusing it with "non business issues". If you want to advertise - buy advertising or talk about chocolate - go on Facebook or MySpace where yammering about personal stuff is the norm. Know thy network.

2. People who connect for the sake of connecting. The story goes as follows. Glen Gutmacher, VP of Arbita asked me to reach out to a segment of companies because he felt that there may be opportunity for JobMachine. One company that Glen suggested looked interesting, I reached out to the VP of HR. The VP of HR, as with most VP's of HR, was completely clueless as to who Shally & Glen were and what JobMachine did. Which is more the norm, unfortunately which is why recruiting tends to be run so poorly - the executives don't even provide proper training or help their teams improve performance! As someone said in the Talent Acquisition area, if you don't know Shally & Glen, you aren't current with the industry. Anyway, I went to LinkedIN to see if there was a Talent Acquisition manager, someone familiar with Shally & Glen who could champion their services internally. It would be easier to sell them and then they would sell their management, because they would know what is really going on in the company. I found that there was a VP of Global Talent Acquisition, I called back and asked for her and was told that she left the company some time ago. Not only was her profile completely out of date and still up on LinkedIN, but also the receptionist transferred me to another person in HR who just joined and was totally clueless about who even worked in HR. I went back to LinkedIN to find another contact, someone familiar with Shally and/or Glen to talk with. I found a Staffing Operations person, someone who handles vendors and was LinkedIN to both Shally and Glen (we shared the connection). I called her, she answered. In short, after the introduction and why I was calling - she abruptly told me the standard corporate blow off, "we aren't working with any new vendors", I explained - we aren't a staffing agency or sourcing outsourcing firm, we work with recruiters/sourcers to help them improve their sourcing capability, save costs, etc. Somehow I asked her, you know Shally, right? She replied - "NO, I don't know of any Shally Stickers (which she mispronounced) or Glen", I told her that she was LinkedIN to them. She gave a "I don't know them" equivalent of a verbal shrug and hung up. I was shocked, this person was LinkedIN to people she didn't even know nor did she understand what they did. Why LinkIN to them then? I dropped the company because any company this idiotic is not worth JobMachine's advanced intelligence, they can't handle it. Great opportunity for staffing agencies, this company will net tons of revenue in staffing services.

3. Don't Call Any LinkedIN Connections. Some people advised me not to jump the network and call people. Right. In any networking situation, there is follow up and follow up means personal interaction. If my boss asked me to contact you, then I call if there is a connection, email is so impersonal and is easily overlooked. Additionally, going through referrals is fine, if you want to wait months on end or you assume your connection actually KNOWS the people you want to be introduced to. One thing Shally Steckerl advises is not to depend on email referrals, use INMAIL and direct contact instead precisely for that reason. If the information is public and we are connected, I will call you - you are on LinkedIN because you want to network and that means you want to be contacted. Plus, I can find you anywhere - pick a Web 2.0 tool - if not LinkedIN, you are on JigSaw, Spoke, or ZoomInfo. More often than not, people are quite responsive when you tell them that you are connected to them on LinkedIN and thought it would be better to call. After all, I'd like a relationship with the person and build my network beyond a database and email. We are not living in a purely transactional society now are we?

The downfall of social media and Web 2.0 will come with the dilution of purpose and lack of understanding. If you do not want to be contacted, you don't put your information on a social network. If you are on a social network, maintain your profile and keep it updated - people can help you get a new job or help you do your job better. Know what social network is appropriate for what type of messaging and most of all: don't LinkIN to people with whom you are not familiar and have no clue as to what they do!!!

One of the reasons why I am successful in business development is because I take a very strategic approach to identifying the right candidates to do business with. I don't mindlessly approach a list of companies and just dial down hoping to hit the right person or whatever. I research, target, and intelligently craft messaging designed to map to the prospective need of the company. It is strategic, consultative, thoughtful, and solution oriented and, most of all, this approach presents a consistently level of performance across clients, across products and services, and across time.

It amazes me how many professionals do not seem to understand this fundamental concept of prospecting. Recently, I was on a conference call with a prospective new client - one I sourced through LinkedIN, by the way. One of the partners was on the call. Both owners were relieved that I wasn't a "telemarketer" and didn't do that type of approach. Yet, amazingly, toward the end of the call - the partner asked, "so, how many companies do you call in a day". To which I replied, I don't track that metric, nor how many dials, connects - the only thing I focus on is connecting with the right people and how many qualified leads are produced. So, even though they don't believe in telemarketing - they STILL were concerned about VOLUME.

I was shocked also to see someone from Cap Gemini. CAP GEMINI. A very well respected and known IT consulting firm, asking how many calls their reps should make to sell SAP related support services. Then, equally as shocked, to see how many enlightened reps and telemarketing owners were citing numbers - YAH man, call 100 people, 10 appointments, 1 will result in a sale. Really? If I call 100 CIOS, I will get 10 meetings, and 1 multimillion dollar sale? Sure - over 2 years maybe. The guy from CAP Gemini was taking a volume, telemarketing approach to something that:
1. Should be a carefully planned strategic initiative using smart, well trained, consultative people who will qualify and open accounts. People like me need to be used to open business.
2. Should really be part of prospecting for internal sales reps. MY guess is that the sales team is evidently more account management, than business development oriented. Maybe they should consider retraining or incentivizing.
3. Develop strategy to approach different segments: 1) existing customers (sales reps), 2) partner opps (sales reps), 3) SAP "owners" (biz dev), 4) work with SAP?

Yah. I interacted with a business development company recently also who subscribed to a consultative approach. I was talking about how I always get emails for people and send out a "cold call email" first, follow up with call, wait some time, do another round, craft targeted messaging, etc. The owner of the lead gen company was: 1) shocked that I get all these qualified emails, "because NO ONE gives out emails" and 2) that the people involved in their company "wouldn't waste time researching or looking for emails because they have to make more calls". Again, volume, not strategy. I bet this company will drive a lot of appointments, because they will create appointments - not opportunities. By the way, you should see the lists I create - 99% email quality rates. It can be done.

The only thing that should be measured today is "how many leads were generated by marketing and business development that were qualified and converted to business" and which tactic or combination of tactics thereof were successful in creating the most ROI. An appointment or demo without qualification is an outright waste of time. Consider CAP Gemini and how utterly stupid that company can look if a bozo calls up and pitches SAP services with 5 qualifying questions and a script. I wonder how successful they will be. Call me, I will teach you the ways of Sales Intelligence and smart prospecting and you'll get lots of business! :)

Taking a more strategic approach is more time consuming, but it overall will yield much higher and more qualified opportunities. In the economy we are in today, only true hunters will succeed - the hunters with strategy as well as tactics.

Channel development is not an easy task because you need to find the right partners that fit your solution who themselves have the right market to sell to. And, from past and present, I see that many VAR's, MSP's, and technology consulting firms really do not have a good handle on how to sell to end clients. Aside from that, here are some notes on what I see going on in the reseller world:

1. Improve Front Desk Skills: I cannot tell you how many times I have encountered the truly unprofessional receptionist. In one case, while marketing my client 3X's data storage solution, the receptionist refused to take a message and literally hung up on me. I found the President's name and email, sent him an overview of 3X, and - you guessed it - he emailed back asking for a demo. I never mentioned the rude behavior, but it turned out he was looking for a solution. Lesson: Tell your front desk folks what is going on - advise them as to what calls to screen out and develop a process for admitting calls. Overscreeening can lead to a loss of competitive advantage.

2. Adopting the Same Solution Everywhere: It is revenge of the clones! Throw a stone and hit a reseller offering the same darn solution at a similiar price with the same incentives! No wonder it is tough to get new clients, you have absolutely nothing of any difference or interest to offer! Your buddy down the street has the same solution and is selling it for a couple bucks less. Sure, it is branded as their own company, but my- the presentation on the website talks about the EXACT same thing! Have you actually even LOOKED around to find any unique solutions or bundles of technology solutions to proffer? Lesson: Some of those smaller non-branded companies with unique technologies may be a great hook to get prospective clients interested.

3. Gimme Leads or Else: Recently, I called this reseller who listened to my pitch about 3X's data storage solution. He asked a few questions about the technology and the fit, said he would review the information. Then - the dealbreaker - he calmly asked if we had a lead generation program. I replied that this was in the works, but being a new company we were building the channel. He said, "call me when you have a lead generation program". I said "sure, no problem" and proceeded to take him off the list. First, 3X needs partners who can sell the solution, as a re"SELLER", we give you a nice profit margin in return for your help in facilitating a connection to your client base. We are not going to just feed you leads that you are inevitably going to use to upsell on your other services and consulting work. Second, partnering is not a one way street. In my personal opinion, all the folks to signed on and offered 3X should be graciously rewarded with leads and new business which they can upsell on their services - hopefully taking business away from the kind folk who decided to work with a competitor. :)

4. Think outside the box: I talked to the President of a software development firm, again, for 3X. He was a very nice person and even complemented me on my phone manner and pitch, but immediately decided to cut off the discussion because he didn't feel it was a fit. I had no problem with that, except for the fact that he just did not see the possibilities. Even with AlphaPoint's AssetCentral - it is a really damn fine asset management tracking solution, very unique, and it does the job it was intended to. I get people who immediately dismiss it because they use "IBM", one said - "sounds like bells and whistles" - the guy didn't even LOOK at the demo! They don't even consider what it can do and how it can help, even though it is spelled out in a famous Rachel email! Many people are reluctant to try the new things. Lesson: While everything is not suitable, consider some of the new stuff - will it help your clients or not? Some out-of-the-box thinking can help you to make money above what your competitors are doing. If you don't do it, someone else will and take your profits. Simple as that.

AlphaPoint and 3X embody the spirit of American entrepreneurialism, born and bred in the United States - these companies are helping to keep the economy afloat and provide jobs to people. They grow, we all grow. Yet another bonus to the quality and contribution of these companies. If we as consumers do not support these type of companies and their solutions, we are not helping promote economic growth. Over the next few years, there will be many more of these and other types of entrepreneurial firms being born from all the cast off executives, personnel, and others who had great ideas at now collapsing firms - the next generation is upon us. As resellers and IT consulting firms, the industry needs to help promote these new solutions and help the next generation flourish. Please give them a chance.

Reference: 3X Systems www.3x.com
AlphaPoint Technology www.alphapointtechnology.com

On Tuesday afternoon, Kohl's lost a valued member of its staff. A co-worker and friend, Mary Jane Simone, passed away. It was very sudden and unexpected. In a strange, but "higher authority" questioning experience, she happened to meet up with a colleague accidentally at a local Shoprite and was sitting in the breakroom at Kohl's on Tuesday afternoon - just hanging out after doing some shopping. That night, apparently in her sleep, she passed away. I like to think that we all were given a chance to say goodbye to this selfless and caring woman who not only had kind words for everyone she interacted with at the store, but also for her family for whom she went to great lengths to take care of.

When co-workers unexpectedly pass, it brings an interesting set of circumstances to a company. Mary Jane's position was posted on the board, an unusual thing - given the management usually selects or asks people for that type of position. On the one hand, there are the emotional issues of losing a friend and family member, on the other hand, there is the need to retain productivity and get the organization back to efficient running. Yes, we are just resources - cogs in the wheel of the machine - but we are human beings and contributors. Some, like Mary Jane, make the machine run a bit better.

We will miss Mary Jane and are memorializing her on a plaque so she will always be part of our Kohl's store.

Recently, someone (I can't remember who) published a chapter in a book about business that related to the fact that CEO's who constantly listened to external consultants were sure to lose. The author, I think, was the former CEO of Coca-Cola and the book sure looked really great. I couldn't help but reflect on some things that happened to me past and present that reflect that.

Maybe it is my overconfident manner and surety in expressing my strong opinions, but for some reason as an employee and 1099, I feel that no one listens to me. For some reason, it seems that the "more experienced" typically male "advisor" gets the nod when it comes to advice.

In my last employment gig, as Sales Intelligence Manager, the owners took a shine to one of the consultants and put this guy on a pedestal. He was revered because he had been an executive at a major company and had P&L experience and supposedly knew business really well. As far as his contributions, he was a very intelligent, accomplished, and thorough performer who did great research. His weakness was that he was not a sales or marketing strategist and lacked the functional experience to take the SI division to where it needed to go. When the owners, who clearly lacked any business acumen, decided that I was unworthy of a higher position - they actually had the nerve to ask me my opinion about Keith becoming my boss. (I was unworthy because my communication skills were not to their acceptance level and I was just so unskilled - which is precisely why I have my own business which is growing!) Keith was fine as an advisor to the management team and should have had a position that reflected that, but he should not have been "my boss" or had ability to override my vision of the division. In a team environment, we should have worked together to uplevel the division - his experience added to mine could have contributed wholly to the company. Keith was not an employee, was never an employee, and has his own company. The lesson there is that advisors are strictly that unless you want to destroy the morale and team functioning of your employees.

One of my clients and I had a argument about a major job the company was going to get, it was a doozy of a deal. I told him under no uncertain terms that we need to get a contract in place that forced the client to commit to a baseline of services delivered. My client was so upset, he almost walked away from the deal because we would need a formal contract and legal review. I told my client that it was to protect him and ensure the cash flow was stable for the business. This client used to do things based on a verbal commitment and handshake. I thought I was going to lose him as a client because of the argument. I didn't and later, when the business changed a bit - he was advised under no uncertain terms that ALL BUSINESS needed to be done with a signed contract. That annoyed the heck out of me also, I told you MONTHS AGO....(sigh). Lesson here is consider the suggestion, it may have serious merit and value. If it takes a little more work - so be it. Don't wait until the situation arises where it HAS to happen or it is mandated.

Another client who I love dearly is also going through some business changes. Sometimes I suggest stuff or articulate some strategic things that I think would be beneficial. I think they do listen, but don't respond. Now, someone important is involved in the company. He said much of the same stuff I was saying or articulating. My client is now repeating this guys name - lets call him BOB. "Bob said this, bob says this, bob, bob, bob". Bob is saying much the same stuff I did, at least he said that we agree and see similiarly on how to position or drive the business forward. Well, aren't I lucky - because if he didn't, I would be out of a client. Bob is an outsider with little experience in the industry, he really doesn't have the knowledge of the industry which concerns me. To navigate the market, a holistic view of the market is needed to understand and position accordingly. Lesson: Just because someone professes to have big credentials, money, or connections does not mean they will create a sustainable business. If you can't grow a company beyond a limited network, there will be no future! Connections only go so far, money can be burned quickly, credentials do not always equate to performance...be careful who you listen to...

Then there was the case of a former employer. For months, I told the management that they needed to institute a strong telemarketing program, told them exactly how to do it, and told them what was needed. The "President of this Small Company" refused to listen to me and insisted that he do things his way. He told me to "Shut up" in meetings and not to talk nonsense in front of the CFO and CEO. At one point, I was so concerned about the situation that I did go to the CEO and tell him if you don't start doing this go-to-market, we will not build a pipeline and there will be issues in the future. Needless to say, they didn't listen. Not only did I lose my job, but so did a bunch of other people. The company declared bankruptcy. Not only did the technology prove to be a failure (which if the CTO el Presidente focused his time on fixing, maybe that would have been discovered sooner), but we lost because there was no pipeline. Another company, it turned out - did put a nice go-to-market in place and took 3/4 market share. El Presidente lost his job. The idiot is in a sales position with another dinky tech company that probably knows nothing of his past blunders. Lesson learned there is - listen to those who know what they are talking about - arrogance can literally bring the house down.

Sometimes, I am so glad that I don't work as an employee for my clients because I think about how close I would be to losing my job. My opinion, past work, and suggestions, still don't count for much - of course, all I do is bring business in and granted that is what they are paying me for. At least, I know where I stand - much different than being told "we pay you for your ideas". If that were the case, I would charge 3 figures per hour instead of a "nominal fee". It isn't just me. A biz dev friend called me up recently worried that she too would find herself with a new boss resulting from a strategic deal which would have a "more important person" joining her company. This woman busted her butt to try to save the company from total failure. Forget her for someone that has connections to Microsoft - why don't you.

So, if you want your company to hit the skids, listen to everyone who doesn't actually work for you. Maybe that employee will end up advising your competitor - I am sure eventually someone will actually listen!