Selling.2.YES

December 2019

Are you fired-up for 2020?

It was a really good 2019 for Core 6 Management Advisors and all of its employees - the champagne glasses are already clinking around the halls of HQ. (Full disclosure, I’m the only Core 6 employee so hey, more bubbly for me.)

Everyone knows success is never found on a paved road, nor one that is straight. It’s why we fight…why we trudge and toil through the muck. And while I will always look upon 2019 with fondness for the fulfilling work and financial support from my clients (see below for names of real persons whom I thank), I will think mostly about the lessons learned that motivate me to continue my pursuit of personal peak performance.

This past year there were many lessons, but two stand out; I hope you can identify with them because that means you too are thinking critically about the year:

First, curriculum I’ve developed over the years known as Mastery of the Sales Call has unbelievable relevance and need today given how hard it is to get in front of key B2B buyers. In years past, I took my foot off the pedal marketing and selling this skill development cornerstone, but now I’m more possessed than ever to push it on prospects as I see an exponential increase of instances where sellers have not been effective while in front of clients. (Unto itself, “taking my foot off the pedal” was a lesson - and hard to admit; what’s that line about the cobbler’s kids not having any shoes?! Geez, Hess!)

There is only one best time to change buyer perceptions and influence decisions and it’s during face-to-face meetings. I will fight to the end on my assertion that email is a utility device only, not a sales tool. And, influencing behaviors can only occur if relationships are strong...they only get strong through human interaction. Lemme be more specific: face to face engagement! (Get in front of your buyers!!!) SaaS tools and sales enablement products will continue to swarm the market, and that means they’ll continue to confuse people on this main truism about selling: the only way to strengthen a relationship is to identify with someone as a human being, and that means more personal sales calls and less technology. Face to face meetings are the only answer…but what you do on those face-to-face meetings is everything in sales. So call me….we’ll set up a meeting and I’ll sell the "sheet" outa ya!

Lastly, I was reminded this year that empathy is one of the biggest forces in the universe. Thanks to my clientele and many wonderful assignments in 2019, I personally touched over 2,000 sellers and sales managers and noticed one thing that can’t be argued: B2B sales is super-duper HARD! I mean, reeeeeaaaaally hard. While I’ve taken pride in my ability to reach and connect with all my students in the room - be it a workshop for 50 or a 1:1 - my eyes are wider open to the fact that revenue generation in the modern day is wrought with intricate nuances, complications, barriers, politics, and strong head-winds. This revelation has changed how I teach and how I try to reach the person in the last row.

To be fair, I am fighting headwinds too as most of my students say they want to grow their skill-set, but they don’t feel it’s more important than understanding their product, or their industry. Also, most if not all aren’t able to dedicate time and effort to an improvement plan. (Admittedly, I struggle with "why" on that one.) But I now put that on me to be more effective selling them on my ideas, habits and approaches. My revised appreciation for our impossibly difficult selling environment makes me more aware of needing to inspire in new ways. I need to push those who hire me to stop thinking about development through the narrow lens of "product, product, product", but more through the perspective of personal skill improvement performance.

I’ll promise to keep learning and being a better teacher, coach, advisor, and you'll promise to open-up your mind to thinking you can always learn more about how your performance improvement can favorably dictate outcomes...starting with how you manage a meeting with a client!

Many of those people with that kind of open mind are listed below….heck, they invested in my services this year! I offer to them my most heartfelt thanks, and of course to everyone: happy holidays!

Adam Kapel/Emodo: would follow him into quick-sand, what a bright (and fun) man ...brudders from another….
Alistair Goodman/Emodo: smart, human and self-aware….and good taste in dogs (yes, he has Vizslas too)
Andrew Furman/Outbrain: nobody tries to do the right thing more than this stud…and driven for the long haul too
Andrew Sykes/Habits at Work: MVP of training, inspiration and performance….I'm in awe, just wish I could get more of him
Brendan McGeever/Google: a steel trap mind and perspicacious savvy is fun to watch, his devotion and charm is warming
Chris McDonough/PCH: steady, smart, and human….never get enough of her time
Craig Wortmann/Sales Engine: hardest working man in showbusiness…I'll sit in the front row for him anytime
Duncan Arthur/Co-Lab Media Consulting: my Sydney mayor and now my London agent…rock solid mate
Graham Spencer/IAB: service with a smile and tons of talent to go with it
Heather Macaulay/PCH: hard-charging and cheery - she cares about how deals get over the line (and a great juggler to boot)
Ioana Vasilescu/Google: with it, on it, and all over it…watch her star rise (now in Chicago...HA!)
Joe Hoffer/DraftKings: "Ascending Joe"- always on the rise, always caring, always thinking about the right things
John Toth/Reuters: dedicated and caring with his best days in front of him
Julie Rollauer/Google: my Numero Uno Googlero….bright, fun, caring, savvy and steady covers just a fraction of it
Keith Butler/Google: my #1 man/ager…flattered that he still calls and asks me stuff
Keith Pepper/Outbrain: thoughtful problem solver who turned into a good friend along the way - can't wait to partner again
Laura Klein/Sharecare: delightful and thoughtful….but don't mess with her, she's savvy and cunning too
Lori Akers-Hess/sister: she dragged me into this mess and I still thank her for it - my (non-wife) bestie forever for whom I'd take a bullet
Marty Skotnicki/Emodo: won't find a more genuine hard worker in the land
Mary Elizabeth Ulliman/Google: passionate and driven to create a more skilled Google - nice and happy don't hurt either
Matt Rosenberg/First Chair Marketing: "Matt, I need some help…". "SIR…" a true bedrock of inspiration and knowledge
Max LaBoy/Google: my remote, spiritual and caring global sherpa - attention to details is second nature to this pro
Michael Texidor/IAB: he's my first draft pick and I want him on the line right next to me - solid soldier!
Michael Yu/Google: a great caring leader, amazing listener and a warm smile always works with me - wish we lived closer
Paul McGhee/Smartsheet: brothers for life and a constant inspiration - knows more about this stuff than I ever will
Randy Kilgore/Reveal Mobile: makes me laugh, makes me think, but never makes me feel anything but good
Rashmi Parvathy/Google: smart, fun, trusting, and highly effective - couldn't ask for a better APAC work-bestie
Risa Goldberg/Media Recruiting Group: everyone needs a Risa in their lives - smiles, heart and soul and good quality work
Rishibha Gulati/Google: organized and on it with a constant smile everywhere (constant smiles work, ya know!)
Rob Dalven/PCH: your classic street-fighting warrior with a worldly perspective….and a Bruin fan too
Scott Schappell/Sharecare: dedicated, persistent and truly genuine about doing good in business and with people - now a buddy too
Shun Wakabayashi/Google: my main man in Tokyo….big heart, bigger brain, new friend
Tom Bowman/Co-Lab Media Consulting: strategic and tall and Duncan's buddy.....more coming but so far so good

Honorable mentions, those I love and will love more in '20:
Lou Tosto, Darren Leach, Trevor Hamilton, Joe Didato, Bob Fritze, Bill Amstutz, Dave Algire, Scott Crystal, Dave Morris, Charlie Whittingham... oh gosh the light is blinking and I'm forgetting some people.....

Selling.2.YES newsletter

Selling.2.YES is the monthly newsletter published by Core 6 Management Advisors to enlighten, motivate and stimulate all of us sellers and sales managers on topics that need our attention.

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Selling.2.YES

December 2019

Are you fired-up for 2020?

Selling.2.YES newsletter

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