marketingtimes Official magazine of Sales & Marketing Executives International, Inc.
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Why the Social Conversation Layer of the Web is Important to Sales, Marketing & Your Bottom Line So You Say You’re Different. Really?
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September 2012
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CONTENTS 6
WHY THE SOCIAL CONVERSATION LAYER OF THE WEB IS IMPORTANT TO SALES, MARKETING & YOUR BOTTOM LINE
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DON’T BE BLINDSIDED BY THE COMPETITION
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COMBINE SOCIAL MEDIA WITH MOBILE:
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SO YOU SAY YOU’RE DIFFERENT. REALLY?
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COMPETITIVE STRATEGY
KNOW WHAT THE CUSTOMER REALLY VALUES
IMPROVE CUSTOMER SUPPORT FOR BRANDS
INFLUENCING THE DECISION TO WIN THE SALE
DEPARTMENTS 4
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
president’smessage
marketingtimes Official magazine of Sales & Marketing Executives International, Inc.
WILLIS TURNER, CAE, CSE
willis.turner@smei.org
® SMEI OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS 2012-2013
OFFICERS Jeff Fawcett – Chairman Nathalie Roemer, CME – Secretary Treasurer Clinton Schroeder, CME CSE - Chairman Elect Jeffery Jackson, CME CSE – Immediate Past Chairman Willis Turner CAE CSE – President & CEO SENIOR VICE CHAIRS Lynn Argenbright Kim Ferguson Ben Mastboom Karl Post Antonio Rios-Ramirez, Ph.D. DIRECTORS Jose Corujo, CME Jack Criswell, CSE – Chairman Emeritus Don Covington, Jr., CSE – Director Emeritus
Marketing Times is published quarterly by Sales & Marketing Executives International, Inc. (SMEI). Cover Photo Credit: Reistroffer Design CERTIFIED MARKETING & SALES PROFESSIONALS ASSOCIATION Nathalie Roemer, CME – Chairman Melissa Medley, CME - Immediate Past Chairman
If you live in the northern hemisphere you’ll know the saying “Fall is in the air”! There is one thing about living in a non-temperate climate, the season changes are quite defining and they serve to break up the year and remind us that time is a-changing. The fall season has significant associations for many of us including: back to school; end of vacation; and in the retail world it serves as a harbinger that the busiest season of the year is just around the corner. For SMEI, September is really a “back to business” mode as many of our chapters begin their programs for the new fiscal year and new faces appear on the board of directors and volunteer committees. So it is a very exciting time of renewal. I’d like to welcome all of our newcomers who will serve in leadership roles this year. Great to have you on board! We are gathering our international board and representatives from each chapter for a leadership summit in Las Vegas on October 18-19th with a special feature presentation by Richard Flint called “Wanted: Leaders that Lead!” As you may already know, SMEI launched a whole new membership structure during the past few months and as we write, all of our chapters are on board with the new membership program. We are very excited about the tremendous membership growth as a result. August, which is typically a non-starter for new membership signup saw 112 new members join! That is fantastic, and welcome to SMEI if you are one of those newcomers! We are so happy to have you as a member. We’d like to welcome our two newest Enterprise Partners: R2integrated; and Kison Inc. Look for their contributing articles in this issue of Marketing Times. We are delighted to have such a fine group of Enterprise Partners supporting SMEI and our members with great content.
SMEI PO Box 1390 Sumas, WA 98295-1390 USA T 312-893-0751 F 604-855-0165 admin@smei.org www.smei.org Willis Turner CAE, CSE – Executive Editor Tiffany Turner - Design & Layout
Copyright Sales & Marketing Executives International, Inc. Subscription Rates: 4 issues/year USA: $35.00 Canada: $45.00 All other countries/territories: $95.00 The statements and opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of SMEI.
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Why the Social Conversation Layer of the Web is Important to Sales, Marketing & Your Bottom Line By Cheryl Dickison I recently read an interesting book called The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the Customer Conversation. In 2009, authors Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson, researchers at the Corporate Executive Board, were tasked by the members of their Sales Executive Council to research why a handful of sales reps continued to sell well in a down economy while others did not. What the researchers concluded was not what they expected. The sales reps that succeeded in the down economy didn’t succeed because they mastered how to navigate selling in a poor economy. Instead, they succeeded because they mastered how to sell “irrespective” of the economy. Dixon and Adamson set out to understand what this group of top performers did differently than their peers. They grouped all the sales reps in the study into 5 sales rep profiles: The Lone Wolf, The Relationship Builder, The Reactive Problem Solver, The “Hard Worker” and “The Challenger.” Out of the 6,000 sales reps studied, 39% of all top performers were “Challengers.” The remaining top performers represented the various other profiles. What makes the Challenger so successful is the ability to share and discuss relevant, industry information. Challengers provide valuable information to their prospects informing them of trends, ways to save money, lessons learned; in essence challenging their prospects’ knowledge. At the end of the day, it was the value of the challenger reps’ insights NOT necessarily
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G R OW TH through L E A R N I N G
the quality of their product that closed the sale.
Clearly there is a paradigm shift occurring in the art of the sale. As more sales reps are trained to be Challenger reps, marketers will need to provide Challenger sales teams with valuable sales tools. Tools that contain industry information that is of value to the target audience(s). In a large organization where sales teams target various sized organizations, verticals, geographies, etc. how will marketing support the Challenger sales reps whom rely heavily on specific industry information for ALL of these various target audiences? This is where the conversation layer of the web comes into play. Marketers need to turn to the conversation layer, also known as the social layer, to inform, create and aggregate the content required for the Challenger rep. Every day I see relevant, timely content being shared on social platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter, industry blogs and others social platforms. There is plenty of relevant, industry content being shared every day. Marketers need to look outside of their organization to the conversation layer of the web in order to find it. If your organization relies on sales reps to reach revenue goals here is a threesome that together can impact your bottom line: 1. Challenger Sales Reps: Train your sales reps on the Challenger approach. 2. Marketing’s Support: Marketers being tasked with developing content for the Challenger rep, turn to the conversation layer of the web. 3. Conversation Layer: Listen and it will guide you to the industry content most important to your organization’s target audience(s).
About the author: Cheryl Dickison is the VP of Sales for R2integrated.
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Don’t be Blindsided by the Competition Know What the Customer Really Values by Michael Leimbach, Ph.D. and Nancy Frevert
A sales rep had a long-term relationship with the head of an in-house printing group, and he expected to get the business when the company decided to outsource its printing services. The rep was shocked to find out the deal went to a competitor. His contact told him the other company offered a “better value.” The sales rep thought he knew the customer, but now he wondered, “What did the other guy know that I didn’t?” 10
The sales rep in this example was sure he knew what the printing manager was looking for—she frequently told him how much she prized his company’s quality, reliability, and service. What he didn’t know was that the buying committee included several finance people and a key user who were very concerned about price, rather than all the extra service the rep emphasized in his proposal. In short, he failed to win the deal because he didn’t understand the customer’s values. Salespeople often believe they know what the customer wants and needs, based on their own company’s value proposition and one or two discovery conversations with trusted contacts. Or they may be responding to an RFP that spells out the official requirements— information that is shared with all bidders.
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In fact, this information only tells part of the story, and will not protect against competition. In the case above, the salesperson knew that her contact valued quality and service. However, a competitor discovered that the CFO was concerned with avoiding large capital expenditures. The competitor learned this from either a broader mix of stakeholders or from one contact who was well-informed about the decision makers’ real view of value. In this case the competitor outmaneuvered the salesperson. How can salespeople avoid the pitfalls of gathering too little or misleading information? The Value Map is one simple tool salespeople can use to determine the customer’s true view of value. Using the Value Map, it is possible to carry out a detailed analysis of the customer’s value position and where the salesperson stands relative to the customer and the competition.
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There are two components to value: price and performance. Some buyers want the highest performance and are willing to pay for it. Others will accept lower levels of performance in order to get a lower price. Between these two extremes is the fair value line, and every customer is somewhere on this line. The important thing is how the buyer defines price and performance. For some, performance means the latest technology, while for others it is a high level of service. Similarly, customers define price differently. Some will be more sensitive to initial price and cash flow issues. Others will focus on the long-term costs of ownership and the total price over time. With these different views of value, salespeople can be at a competitive disadvantage for two reasons: they don’t understand how the customer defines price and
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performance, and they don’t know where the customer is on the fair value line. To create a competitive value strategy, ask yourself these questions: 1. How does the customer define performance? As information is gathered about the customer, it is essential to know the definition of performance from the customer’s perspective, not your own. Don’t think because your company is known for the latest technology that the customer values that highly. What does the customer think is most important to solving their problem? Is it after-purchase service? Ease of use? Reliability? 2. How does the customer define price? Like performance, customers will define price differently. Some customers need to keep the outlay of capital to a minimum, so initial lower cost and long-term payments represent a better price. For others, the total cost of ownership is more important, and they can accept a large initial payment if that will lower the total cost of the product over its lifetime. 3. Where are you, the customer, and the competitor on the Value Map? Once you understand the customer’s idea of value (price and performance) you can place the customer on the Map, and then you and your competitors. Where are you relative to the customer and the competitor? Clearly, if you are closer to the customer on the Value Map than any of the competitors, then you have an advantage. If you are aligned with the customer on price but to the right on performance, then you are offering superior performance at the price the customer wants. If, however, you are not aligned with the customer or are not the closest to the customer on the Value Map, you will need to consider a strategy to compete on the customer’s view of value. You will need to have a better aligned offering than the competition. 4. What is your strategy to compete? If your position is not where the customer is, your overall strategy should be designed to bring your offering closer to the customer’s position than any of your competitors. For example, suppose you are at the higher end of the fair value line and your customer is on the lower end. You might consider
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unbundling your solution, offering an attractive financing deal, or providing an option for less expensive parts or equipment. The adapted offering would put you in a position of providing value that is in line with the customer’s position on the Value Map, making it possible to outsell the competition. The key is to focus on aligning with both the customer’s definition of value and their position on the Value Map. If the Value Map is used to identify the customer’s value position and competitors’ positions relative to the customer and the salesperson, an effective competitive strategy can be crafted that will offer customers exactly what they want—and put the competition out of the running. The Value Map, along with the Influence Strategy Matrix discussed in Part 1 of this series, can help you strengthen your competitive position and go a long way toward preventing those surprise losses that salespeople and their leaders dread. Click to read Competitive Strategy Part 1: Influencing the Decision to Win the Sale. About the Author: Michael Leimbach, Ph.D., is Vice President of Global Research and Design for Wilson Learning Worldwide. With over 25 years in the field, Dr. Leimbach provides leadership for researching and designing Wilson Learning’s diagnostic, learning, and performance improvement capabilities. He has managed major research studies in sales, leadership, and organizational effectiveness, and has developed Wilson Learning’s Impact Evaluation capability and return on investment models. Dr. Leimbach has served as a research consultant for a wide variety of global client organizations, is on the editorial board for the ADHR professional journal, and serves in a leadership role for the ISO technical committee TC232: Standards for Learning Service Providers. He has co-authored four books and published numerous professional articles, and is a frequent speaker at national and global conferences. Nancy Frevert, MBA, is Director of Solution Development for Wilson Learning Worldwide. For over 15 years, Ms. Frevert has provided leadership for solution creation of both client programs and Wilson Learning brand offerings. She has managed and contributed to a wide variety of global client development initiatives. She leads the development efforts in sales, leadership, and individual effectiveness offerings at Wilson Learning. Ms. Frevert has been critical to the development of Wilson Learning’s approach to learning transfer. To learn more about the concepts shared within this article and how Wilson Learning can assist you in addressing these issues, contact Wilson Learning at 1.800.328.7937 or visit www. wilsonlearning-americas.com.
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Combine Social Me
Improve Customer Support for Brands By Richard Freedhoff In today’s new media world the average person spends more time on social media pages then they do on websites. Last year Facebook became the most visited website on the internet, reaching one trillion pageviews on June 30, 2011. Its no surprise that social media defines the way most people receive and consume information, many without even realizing it. Cellphones have become a primary way for people in the U.S to access the Web, according to a recent survey by Pew Research Centre . Eighty-eight percent of adults in the US owned a cellphone as of April 2012, and fifty-five percent of those cellphone users access the internet with their phones, the survey found. Twitter and LinkedIn are fantastic for breaking news; both sites are easily digestible and their format is ideal for current affairs and a logical fit for mobile browsing. Mobile is convenient and fits with peoples’ lifestyles,
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which is why it’s now the most popular way to browse the internet. It’s imperative that websites are optimized for mobile (including tablets), the web and connected TV’s. To draw traffic, mobile sites must be entertaining, informative and most importantly concise. The majority of customers are on-the-go and distracted when browsing the mobile web, so the easier a mobile site is to navigate – the more chance you will create “stickiness”, or keeping customers on the site for a longer period of time. Mobile advertising is still in its infancy and does not yet have the traction that web advertising generates. I believe Social Media really comes into play as the largest growth area for mobile advertising. The hot topic on everyone’s lips is who will be the next Instagram for Video. SocialCam and Viddy have seen widespread success, and interest in all facets of video personalization continues to grow. The next level of video personalization will take the form of personalizing the video itself by inserting your messages or photos
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edia with Mobile:
directly into the video. This is a fun and dynamic way to communicate with friends, promotes sharing, and ties consumers and brands together when brands provide great video content for their fans to personalize. Social Media naturally puts the consumer first; by ‘liking’, ‘connecting’, or ‘following’ a brand customers invest a level of trust and it’s vital that brands reciprocate with appropriate content and offers. One of the biggest mistakes in Marketing today is businesses simply replicating their website onto various social media pages. A brand that has presented itself without leveraging the many opportunities to create a meaningful conversation with their fans misses the point of social media altogether. In order to create consumer advocacy, campaigns must be innovative and entertaining to grab interest amongst the millions of offerings users see every day. Encouraging fans to share their own messages within your campaign and
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making them feel a part of your brand will create a mutually beneficial partnership that reaps rewards for both customers and brands. Interact where your fans are hanging out, which is increasingly on social sites viewed through their mobile device. About the Author: Richard Freedhoff is Director of Business Development, Percy3D, a creative web services company that collaborates with businesses to develop a superior and entertaining social digital experience for the consumer while simultaneously supporting lead-generation opportunities through brand-driven marketing. The brand-immersive technology relies on Percy3D’s own deep-seated knowledge of the digital entertainment industry to create original or repurposed content using the latest 3D visual effects and multimedia technologies. Once created, consumers have the ability to “put yourself in the picture” and share content via social media through clips, e-vites and e-cards.
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SO YOU SAY YOU’RE DIFFERENT. REALLY? By Ralph Kison
Educating a prospective or existing client about the things you do differently, better, or in a unique manner, can produce a tremendous selling and business advantage. Bottom line; clients want to know what advantages, benefits and value they will get from dealing with you and you need to have a good answer to their question.
WHAT IS YOUR USP? When compared to your competition, your products or services may be very similar; however in some areas they may be significantly better. The problem is that being different or better isn’t always enough to secure the business. The key to success depends on your ability to communicate your differences in a way that is noticed and rewarded. Defining your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is a critical step in setting yourself apart from the competition. Your USP must be something that clients perceive they can only get from you or your firm. As an example, Apple’s USP extends beyond their products and marketing campaigns. The organization’s USP is as much, or perhaps more, about the vision and culture that Steve Jobs created and modeled for the company. In similar fashion Google promotes the creative thinking of their staff by encouraging them to spend 20% of their work week focusing on their own projects, a practice that’s delivered 50% of Google offerings,
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including Gmail. In other words, this USP of “non-work time” is often the catalyst for the company’s innovation and growth. What unique advantage do you offer your clients? Is it your company’s reputation for service, your technical or research facilities, collaborative approach, innovation, the way you live your firm’s mission and core values? Whatever it is, no other company can duplicate it exactly. They may try to imitate you but they can’t be you. Some competitors may appear to be comparable on the surface but upon closer inspection don’t deliver. If they are perceived to be similar it is your job to educate your clients about the subtle or perhaps significant differences that set you apart from the competition. The difference should be great enough so that your client prefers, or even demands, your product and service over the competition. USP’s or exclusive selling points are not something you stumble upon or create in monthly management or planning meetings. It will take some digging and hard work to discover and define them; a cursory glance probably won’t reveal anything of significance. Powerful and meaningful USP’s are defined when you study your own products or services and compare them to your competitors offerings. You must next define your value in terms of quantitative and qualitative metrics that can be parlayed into exclusive or unique selling and positioning strategies. Input from clients can also provide valuable
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insight into how you are viewed and what they see as your unique and differentiating value. Many companies and sales people are afraid to ask clients for input because of their fear of hearing something unpleasant or disconcerting regarding their service or products. If your client has a concern it is in your best interest to find out what it is so you can address the issue quickly and effectively. My experience reveals that most clients are satisfied with their provider’s products and services and actually welcome the opportunity to offer feedback. Clients will often provide positive feedback and good reasons for doing business with you. This information should be leveraged and used to further refine and enhance your USP.
About the Author:
The process of defining your USP may take some effort, but it’s time well spent. When you offer products or services that create value that clients perceive they cannot obtain anywhere else, or at least not in the same manner that you can provide, you have effectively differentiated yourself from the competition.
Ralph is a graduate of the University of British Columbia Marketing and Sales Management Program. He has taught professional sales courses at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) and for SMEI Vancouver. Ralph is a member and past President of SMEI Vancouver.
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Ralph Kison is President of Growth Through Learning, Professional Development Specialists Ralph assists organizations focusing on employee development in the areas of: Training and Development, Management Coaching, Talent Management and Online Learning. He brings passion, commitment and experience to each project. He leads and directs organizations and their employees to achieve their full potential by acquiring skills and applying proven business development processes and techniques. An accomplished speaker, Ralph has addressed numerous organizations and groups across North America.
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Competitive Strategy
Influencing the Decision to Win the Sale by Michael Leimbach, Ph.D. and Nancy Frevert
How does a done deal come undone? Your rep had a good relationship with a great contact, the right solution to meet the customer’s needs, and strong buying signals right up to the last. Then came the dreaded call: “Thank you for the proposal, but we’ve decided to go with someone else.” So, what happened? Could this loss have been prevented?
In our experience of looking at thousands of win–loss reviews and talking to salespeople and sales managers, in many cases the salesperson did not have a full picture of how the decision was being made, who was influencing the final decision, and what these influencers thought of your rep. Equipping your salespeople with the right skills will ensure this kind of thing never happens to your team again. There are three important contributors to sales success: learning as much as possible about the customer’s decision process, ascertaining who is involved, and determining their level of influence. In the business-to-business world, buying decisions have grown more complex. Multiple departments and multiple people are often involved, and frequently one person can say “yes,” but many people can say “no.” Often, a complex decision and/or one requiring a large investment will require a lengthy decision process with multiple steps and hurdles to jump over. And often, at the end, procurement steps in with more obstacles. To understand and anticipate the decision process and recognize the players involved means establishing longterm relationships with a range of people who can provide information and answers to key questions. The payoff is to build a foundation of knowledge for an effective competitive strategy.
Know the Process To get the full picture needed to stay ahead in a competitive situation, it is critical to discover the “what,” “why,” and “who” of the decision. That means finding out what steps will be taken in making the decision, who the decision makers are, and—most importantly—what buying criteria will determine the final decision. The decision process will vary from company to company and will depend on the situation. Complex solutions and higher costs will drive a more complex decision process with more steps and more people involved. Examine the decision process based on who is involved. Learn who will be affected by the solution and who has the funding authority. If many people have a stake in the decision, there might be a buying committee and/or a screening committee to narrow the number of potential suppliers. And the funder may be a key executive with final say on the purchase. That person’s interests and position might drive a narrower process with fewer people involved. The ability to block competitors begins with understanding what process is being followed. Know the Criteria The question of buying criteria is complicated by the fact that there may be “official” criteria and requirements that are shared with all competing suppliers. The smart sales rep will dig beneath the surface to identify the particular issues and concerns of each decision maker. IT people may be concerned with criteria such as technological performance and installation, users may be focused on how easy it is to learn, and finance managers will be measuring value by financial criteria such as ROI. Different emphases on different buying criteria are not the only factors that vary with individual decision makers. To protect against a competitor requires in-depth knowledge of each individual’s role, level of influence, and disposition toward the seller.
key decision maker. Most salespeople are hesitant to “go behind the back” of a contact, and yet it is crucial to know who the real players are, as well as their roles and weight in the process. The best way to get this information is to ask the closest contact for help in identifying the other decision makers and influencers, and then ask questions to learn: • Whose budget is funding this purchase? Who will need to sign off on the financial aspects? • Are there people in the organization with specialized expertise or technical knowledge who will help make the decision? • Whose job will this affect? • Is there anyone else who cares about the outcome of this decision? Once these questions are answered, the salesperson can build relationships with others who may be directly involved in the decision or who can tell who is directly involved, and who has the most influence on the final decision. Who has influence on the decision, and what kind of influence? Once the criteria for the purchase are determined, and key players have been identified and their official roles in the process confirmed, it’s important to dive deeper. The sales rep needs to find out who is truly influential and what each key decision maker thinks of your organization and the competition. Questions should be asked to identify both “official influence” that attaches to position in the company and official role in the decision-making process. It’s also of high value to cultivate insiders who can share information about more subtle types of influence—the kind that comes from reputation, expertise, personal relationships, and so forth. A strongly influential individual’s opinion may carry even more weight than a higher ranking manager or executive. One of those surprises we are trying to avoid may occur if the salesperson misses this influencer in creating his or her strategy. What do the decision makers think of me?
In our experience, a large number of surprise losses are due to salespeople not having accurate answers to three critical questions: 1. Who has a stake in the decision and could influence the outcome? 2. Who has the most influence over the final decision maker (or decision makers)? 3. How does each person view me and my competitors? It can be tricky to determine who is really involved in the decision, especially if a familiar contact claims to be the
Once the stakeholders and their sources and levels of influence have been identified, the salesperson needs one more piece of information: does someone in the buying organization favor a competitor? It is not unusual for a salesperson to understand the decision process and who is involved, but not realize there is someone with a lot of influence who is affiliated with or advocating for a competitor. This can be a serious barrier to winning a sale. Everyone has a story about a customer who has a previous relationship with a particular vendor, or a key stakeholder who has some reason to be against a vendor, possibly because of a bad experience. And there are personal and political alliances that can derail a well-planned proposal. Again, salespeople must make good use of a variety of
Convert the person to a more favorable position. A person who has lower influence and is negatively disposed can possibly be isolated from other decision makers to try to limit potential damage. Whatever the influence strategy, the most important thing to ensure success is to know everything possible about the players in the decision process— their roles, their influence, and their perspective. If the salesperson chooses to stay in the familiar circle of contacts, there’s a much higher likelihood of missing key information and opening the door to a competitor. About the Authors: Michael Leimbach, Ph.D., is Vice President of Global Research and Design for Wilson Learning Worldwide. With over 25 years in the field, Dr. Leimbach provides leadership for researching and designing Wilson Learning’s diagnostic, learning, and performance improvement capabilities. He has managed major research studies in sales, leadership, and organizational effectiveness, and has developed Wilson Learning’s Impact Evaluation capability and return on investment models. Dr. Leimbach has served as a research consultant for a wide variety of global client organizations, is on the editorial board for the ADHR professional journal, and serves in a leadership role for the ISO technical committee TC232: Standards for Learning
contacts and ask the right questions to discover hidden agendas, circles of influence, and the favorable or unfavorable biases of decision makers.
Service Providers. He has co-authored four books and published numerous professional articles, and is a frequent speaker at national and global conferences.
The Influence Strategy Matrix is a helpful tool for organizing strategy for “influencing the influencers.” For each key decision maker, the degree of influence—high, medium, or low—is established. Then each individual’s disposition or bias for or against the salesperson is determined.
Nancy Frevert, Masters International Management, is the Director of Solution Development for Wilson Learning Worldwide. For over 15 years, Ms. Frevert has provided leadership for solution creation of both client programs and Wilson Learning brand offerings. She has managed and contributed to a wide variety of global client development initiatives. She leads the development efforts in sales, leadership, individual effectiveness offerings at Wilson Learning. Ms. Frevert has been critical to the development of Wilson Learning’s approach to learning transfer.
Depending on the level of influence and the disposition, a strategic influence plan can be formulated: For buyers who are highly influential and positively disposed, the salesperson can Capitalize on their influence in the organization. For a buyer who is positively disposed but not as influential, the salesperson can work to Promote the individual in conversations with others, inviting participation in meetings and so forth. If an individual is negatively disposed but has high influence, the salesperson can try to
To learn more about the concepts shared within this article and how Wilson Learning can assist you in addressing these issues, contact Wilson Learning at 1.800.328.7937 or visit www.wilsonlearningamericas.com.