Sometimes there is an easy solution to a problem. But that doesn’t mean we get to it easily, until we ask the right question.

Sellers are focused at the end of the buying process most of the time.  Marketers create most of their content for the beginning.  What about the prospective customers?  For them, it is a continuous experience.  In this interview, Ardath Albee helps us think about them more clearly. She specializes in what to many of us is a fuzzy idea – content strategy.  She simplifies it to “creating this storyline or narrative for how you get a buyer from problem to solution. What do they need to know? What expertise can you bring to bear? What are the different decisions they have to make along the customer journey?”  That sounds a lot like sales. Ardath helps us see: What a buyer persona is meant to be The risk in leading the witness Times when we may be disconnected from what our customer needs The feedback a prospect is giving us And more.

Drew Locher brings several different perspectives to helping organizations improve.  He began his career in engineering.  He was introduced to quality management in a management development program which later lead to specializing in organizational behavior.  Today, he talks with us about several aspects of making and sustaining change in an organization.  The importance of energy and staying focused until new habits are formed.  The role of measurements, standards and understanding of the broader process to have the context for making adjustments.  And, how to shorten learning curves. Throughout the conversation, we highlight the role of leaders: To communicate a purpose that is meaningful to people To insure plans carry forward to help workers sustain their improvements To follow progress – adding energy to the system and spending time with people And more.

Most people think they are pretty good at listening.  Hey, we’re in sales (or management), we listen to customers and co-workers all the time.  Oscar Trimboli is sure we can do better.  He thought the way he listened was natural until a simple question shifted the focus of a meeting and his career. After studying listening and helping many hundreds of people, he shares: The real job of a listener and a couple of questions to help us be better at it The 125/900 rule impact on someone saying what they are meaning A more productive approach for a “Why did you …?” question And more. Listen now. Mentioned in This Episode:   http://www.Oscartrimboli.com/whitepages                                                 oscartrimboli.com

Respect For People is one of the important themes in working toward Sales Process Excellence.  Often, we think of it in terms of employees, but it also applies to how we approach customers and prospects.  In both cases, it is looking from another person’s perspective. As a senior leader, you can’t be involved in every sales conversation or help develop every marketing campaign.  In this discussion, Brian Carroll shares a way to listen to how our organization is talking about our customers to see how well we are connecting to what the customer cares about.  He calls it empathetic marketing. Brian encourages us to think about: What the customer is really buying What the decision means to the person making it How to recognize when we are saying what we want the customer to do rather than what they want He also shares his experience as a leader introducing his business development team to a different way of thinking about their prospects.  It resulted in a 300% increase in sales accepted leads.  And more. Listen now.

Today’s guest is Cliff Ransom. Cliff holds a unique position between the investment community, corporate management and the lean community. He has spent years following very successful companies and watching executives and front-line folks work. And, is very open with us about several lessons he has learned. In our conversation we talk about: • Examples of the power of lean in very different industries • The importance of asking questions. And asking questions that don’t lead to a preconceived conclusion. • Understanding how managers and leaders add value • Mistakes senior leaders can make, and how to avoid them Plus, Cliff shares the companies he has designated as super achievers and next generation Danahers and why. And more. Listen now

The past few episodes have talked a lot about the importance of mindsets in engaging employees and aligning with customers. Today we are going deeper into how data works in the feedback loop that make the job of sales easier. Before you click to the next email in your inbox, here are a couple of important takeaways: • There is frequently a tipping point in the qualification of a prospect – above it, near certainty it is a good opportunity, below it there is little chance you will land it • Opinions can be quantified Sharing this episode with your process improvement or sales operations people will help them look at how they can use data more effectively for your team. Bill Bentley is a data guy. He is an engineer who became a general manager, then helped salespeople learn to sell to senior managers. He’s led an engineering firm and a software company then started a Six Sigma training company. He brings a well-rounded perspective to the challenges of sales. Listen now Mentioned in This Episode: www.value-train.com

The core of Dr. Deming’s teaching is to continually update and innovate the way we think about work, products and management.  For it to happen effectively, people need to understand the system they are in and to contribute improving it. Today Tripp Babbitt takes us into the philosophy of Dr. Deming and some contrasts with earlier approaches.  He also talks about: The value of a customer in view of the organization Giving people flexibility in finding the best way to achieve an objective The proper role of tools and data in making the sales job easier And more. Listen now Mentioned in This Episode:  www. mindyournoodles.com/overview www.podcast.deming.org www.the95method.com

The purpose of marketing goes beyond creating awareness and stimulating interest. It is also to serve the needs of sales channels and individual salespeople in connecting with their customers. Bud Hyler shares examples of how marketing can get closer to customers and sales. And, the kind of feedback they should be looking for to improve their work. He also talks about: • The parallel to engineering and manufacturing • How knowing less can help with a sales call • An extreme example of feedback that got Bud’s attention And more. Listen now Mentioned in This Episode: www.logmkt.com

What does it takes for a salesperson to be excellent in the eyes of a buyer? And how does it tie back to what research and experience shows about how buyers make a decision? Bob Lambert’s career spans sales and marketing. He has been a salesperson, sales manager, run a marketing agency, sold customer data services and now provides sales training. We also talk about: · Bob’s Law of 20 for networking and finding prospects · Building relationships · How understanding the customer applies to everyone who touches your customers And more. Listen now Mentioned in This Episode: www.samuraibizgrp.com

Today we look at sales and leadership from a different angle with Tiffani and Adrian Figueroa.  Watching an Improv show, we have all marveled at what the actors can make up and do it so quickly.  Turns out there are techniques that are the foundation for how they work that make it easier to react smoothly and be focused.  As salespeople and leaders, we can plan the greatest presentation or conversation but, at some point, it also becomes Improv. Adrian trained as an engineer and became a Lean facilitator.  Tiffani is an actress who started doing Improv training.  They have married their backgrounds to teach people from CEO’s to scientists to salespeople to students to Improv(e). We talk about: Using Yes and … to keep the conversation moving forward Listening to another person’s whole body Making your partner look good Also, what makes something funny. Listen now Mentioned in This Episode: improvitup.com Podcast interview with Adrian – A Foundation for Excellence

Managers often miss chances to coach their team during sales reviews. It is easy to focus on the status of opportunities in the pipeline, and miss what matters more.  Claude Bardy has seen it happen. Claude came to sales with an engineering background.  Today, he helps new businesses developing their sales process and sales organizations looking to improve.  We talk about: What should be normal questions but seem to be tough to ask Getting to the bottom of why sales may be stuck ‘waiting to close’ Letting the sales team figure out how to move opportunities along based on knowing the customer And more Listen Now... Mentioned in This Episode: www.bceuropartners.com

I feel a special kinship with Christian Maurer. We both have had experience in sales and sales training early in our careers. And we both saw how things were amiss in how many of our peers were approaching both. These days Christian is spreading the good word as a university instructor in Europe. He is working to inoculate the next generation of businesspeople and sales leaders against the bad practices promoted – usually unknowingly – by management and sales consultants. We talk about… Overlooked consequences of price discounting Are sales contests effective motivators Thinking outside in And more Mentioned in This Episode: · ultimatesalesexecresource.blogspot.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/caMaurerconsulting/ · Ted Talk on Motivation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrkrvAUbU9Y Daniel Pink, Drive https://www.amazon.com/Drive-Surprising-Truth-About-Motivates/dp/1594484805/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=drive%2C+daniel+pink&qid=1567882666&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Robert Tripp got involved in Six Sigma early in its adoption within American businesses. Since then he has integrated the Lean philosophies and worked with organizations large and small on focused projects as well as company-wide deployments. In our conversation, he steps back to look at the value of improvement efforts as something people do rather than just what the organization does. Clearly, adopting an improvement methodology is meant to improve customer satisfaction, internal process quality and financial results. Training and high visibility projects are the starting point, not the end result. When middle managers and work groups want to apply the tools and the thought processes to their problem solving, process improvement becomes part of the culture in Robert’s experience. You'll hear about … • What does it mean for Six Sigma or Lean "deployments" to be successful (Hint – project ROI it is NOT it). • Key factors driving outcomes and measurements (Hint – these apply to the "Usual Fixes" as well). • Reasons the growth of lean and Six Sigma has slowed (and what changes are making it better). • How senior leaders can keep themselves from inadvertently getting in their best people's way. Listen now to these and more of Robert’s observations on how process improvement evolves within organizations.

Many past guests have come from engineering or similar careers... they're attracted to Lean and Six Sigma because they know success requires data and systems thinking. Once they are touched by how scientific approaches work in sales, they are never the same again. Charles Chen is no exception.  A Master Black Belt in Six Sigma at Microsoft, Charles has improved sales and marketing there, as well as at GE and other major corporations. In one case study he shares, he was able to nearly double lead conversion rate without improving lead quality. He goes in depth on what led to that transformation, as well as:  * How to recognize if your sales efforts are too reactive (it can be hard to see)  * The importance of getting your sales reps outside of the quota mentality  * Why you can't measure improvement in your sales process without this  * Identifying “and eliminating“ 0% chance leads from your list  * And more  Listen now... Mentioned in This Episode: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-t-chen/

As a Lean Facilitator at Cadence Aerospace, Adrian Figueroa is no stranger to helping management bring efficiency and effectiveness “and profits as a result“ to an organization. Adrian says the human element is one thing too many people trying to implement lean principles don’t pay enough attention to. He shares the “soft skills” he uses to get buy-in from everybody – from the assembly line to the sales and marketing department. Listen in to discover: * The best ways to deal with the human “variable” * Techniques for connecting authentically with your team * How to use active listening during sales calls * The 2 biggest motivators for any employee * And more

Greg Helfrich, national operations manager at Elrus Aggregate Systems, had a simple question: His salespeople were good a that they did. So, why were some able to sell at list price, while others couldn't? That kick-started an ongoing journey to create improvement. They already had decent sales training. But sales training is general, not specific. The key to Greg's success was beginning with an analysis of his salespeople's challenges: For one thing, they had no standard for prioritizing high vs low quality prospects. Nor did they have enough insight to the value ELRUS created for customers. Without that, getting customers to understand the value is not easy. You can get all the details in this episode, including… * How salespeople learn to speak the customer's language * Ways to differentiate your commodity from other commodities * A scientific approach for analyzing and prioritizing prospects * How to make sure your sales force communicates your true value * And more

The founder of BrandingBusiness.com explains how companies find and use data to improve brand strategies.

Too often, says Burke McCarthy, companies focus on their product… the technology they’re offering, as well as the price. But prospects and customers don’t care about that. No, they’re looking for value. And that exists only between their ears, not in your product. This recognition fundamentally changes how you approach sales and marketing. Burke reveals the best source to determine this value – it’s closer than you think – as well as how to implement it.

In his second appearance on the podcast, Bob Apollo highlights the three things the sales team as a group must understand about their prospect to sell effectively, efficiently, and profitably. Bob points out that the "silos" bedeviling many organizations can't be avoided without disseminating this knowledge from the frontline to the back.