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Posted by Matt Bertuzzi on Thu, Aug 13, 2009 @ 07:00 AM
(I have been sitting on this post for a few weeks trying to figure out if it is just a rant. Well I just read the umpteenth "XYZ notion is dead" post and it set me off. So here you go...)
A couple weeks ago I was in the car and caught part of an NPR interview with Irish writer Nick Laird.
The following is a snippet that caught my attention because it was so illustrative of our society:
| "... in the age of Twitter and Facebook, and all the rest of it, language is just witty and snappy, and quick, and meant to amuse rather than be profound in any way, and certainly the brevity of it sort of precludes that..." |
 He went on to give examples (I've added a few) that illustrate the modern clash between fast & slow:
| FAST |
SLOW |
| Fast Food |
The Slow Food Movement |
| Tweets/Status Updates |
Sharing stories and anecdotes |
| Email |
Voicemail |
| Movie Adaptations |
Novels |
He really got me thinking. While not a perfect analogy, I feel we are witnessing a battle between the fast & slow camps in the world of B2B selling.
On the fast side, we are focused on those portions of the sales process than can be quantified by hard metrics. Today we are increasingly concerned with:
- more intelligence about Buyers
- more scoring of prospect interest
- more metrics on campaigns, conversion, Rep activity, ROI, etc.
There are countless points of measurement in every step in the marketing/sales process.
 On the slow side, many soft benefits have fallen by the wayside. We are devoting far less time to:
- formalized (as opposed to tribal) knowledge
- sales interactions based on information & engagement as opposed to data & activity
- having conversations as opposed to emailing/texting
- face to face meetings that still make sense in many situations
- customer service that is actually a service and delivers value
Can we calculate a hard ROI in:
- demonstrating why our solutions are the low risk option
- voicemail that probes into the issues surrounding a white paper download v. just noting the download itself
- ferociously pursuing customer service to support our reputations
- conversations that move the sales process forward v. emails that "touch base/check in/see what's new"
If we cannot, does that mean they are unimportant?
On a related note, I ran into Scott Santucci's article A Story of Empathy - The Lost Art of Selling? . In it Scott discusses a Forrester study that presented 150+ Executives with the following question:
| "When you meet with a vendor sales person, in general how often are they prepared for the meeting in the following ways:" (% are for respondents who answered 'usually')
Knowledgeable about their company and products - 88%
Knowledgeable about my industry - 55%
Can relate to my role and responsibility in the organization - 34%
Knowledgeable about my specific business - 29% |
Scott highlights what separates the knowledgeable 29% from the other 71%:
"This ability - to connect the dots - between an organizational issue, the points of view of all the impacted stakeholders, and the capabilities you bring to the table is what your top sales people are doing."
Call it what you will, but my point is this: connecting the dots is slow selling.
Slow selling cannot be automated, scored, ROI modeled or put neatly into a vertical stack chart.
Please note, I am not arguing against metrics and ROI. They are crucial. But I am arguing against any religiosity that argues "everything you know about sales is wrong" or that "Sales and Marketing is 100% science (or alternatively 100% art)".
Much energy and effort is being spent today proclaiming
- The elevator pitch is dead! Long live the mini-pitch/buyer-pitch/twitter-pitch.
- Cold calling is dead! Long live inbound marketing/warm-calling.
- Social Networking is where business happens. Sales and marketing guys are obsolete.
Here's my take: just because you're a bad driver, doesn't mean your car is broken.
Elevator pitches don't need a character limit, sales people need to improve their game, communicate more effectively and think in terms of their buyers and not themselves. Times are tough, but chasing shiny objects is a distraction.
People, tools & process: improve and overcome! Probably as true in 2009 as it was in 1909.
Thanks for listening. I am really eager to hear what you think. Please share!
(Photo credit: selva & miss bliss 55)
Posted by Matt Bertuzzi on Tue, Apr 07, 2009 @ 06:39 AM
The votes are in and I am extremely proud to present the 1st through 4th place finishers. Thanks to everyone who participated for making this contest such a success.
Without further ado, I am proud to present the 2009 March Madness 'Elevator Pitch' Champions:
- 1st Place: Phil Bernstein of Clear Channel Radio & Online
 The Pitch
I'm in the attention-rental business. If you want to deliver your sales message to thousands of prospects at once, I can help you rent their attention -- 30 or 60 seconds at a time.
A word from Judge Rick Roberge
Phil Bernstein's elevator pitch is a good example of ‘walking the talk'. So many salespeople try to do too much too quickly. Phil gives us one line that hooks us and makes us want more. He rents our attention and in a few seconds, and we have to believe that he can teach us to do the same.
- 2nd Place: Dan Harding of ConnectAndSell
The Pitch
If you are a B2B sales rep and have experienced the frustration of trying to get to a decision maker on the phone. Now there is a solution for you. It's a technology that can help get the right people on the phone time and time again. In fact you can speak with as many prospects in one hour on the ConnectAndSell service as you would in an entire day of manual dialing. The system is simple to deploy, integrates with most CRM tools, and provides a strong ROI that your organization will benefit from on day one of using the service.
A word from Judge Trish Bertuzzi
I like this pitch because it paints a picture of a day in the life of a B2B sales rep. It uses words to create a kind of video in your head about what it is like to sit down at your desk and experience the frustration of not being able to talk to your prospects in a timely fashion. It also does a great job of giving an ROI example: “you can speak with as many prospects in one hour as you would in an entire day of manual dialing” – who wouldn’t want that?
- 3rd Place: Dominic Serafini of Brafton Custom News
The Pitch
Brafton Custom News helps companies increase their visibility online by publishing unique content to their websites, purpose-built to be relevant, engaging for their target audiences, and then helping to drive those visitors to online revenue streams. Brafton helps websites stay fresh & updated, with interesting news content that is found nowhere else online, so it is incredibly attractive to search engines & online visitors alike.
A word from Judge Mike Volpe
I think this pitch is excellent because it focuses on the benefits (increase online visibility and drive visitors to revenue) while still explaining how they do it (publishing unique, engaging content). I cannot tell you how many pitches I get that just tell the "what" and completely ignore the "how". This pitch is clear and concise. After reading it I totally understand both the benefit to me and how it is delivered, so I can easily decide what the next steps should be.
- 4th Place: Roger Llamas of Central Desktop
The Pitch
Central Desktop delivers a Web Based Collaboration software (Saas) for progressive business teams to interact, share and manage their daily work activities from anywhere at any time. It's also been designed to serve as a Company Intranet and Project Management tool as well..
A word from Judge Trish Bertuzzi
I love the first sentence in this pitch. It uses lots of visual verbs like "interact, share, manage" so it draws the listener in. The use of the phrase "progressive business teams" is great because who doesn't want to be viewed as progressive? I also like the pitch because it is succinct. As a matter of fact, in my opinion, I don't think they need the second sentence. I think they tell a great story in just the first sentence and should leave it at that.
Thanks again to all who entered, all who voted & to the judges. Please join me in congratulating Phil Bernstein and the other contest winners.
Who would you have voted for? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
Posted by Matt Bertuzzi on Wed, Apr 01, 2009 @ 06:39 AM
UPDATE: Your March Madness 'Elevator Pitch' final 4 are:
Congratulations to the 4 finalists. Now it's all up to the judges. Stay tuned as we will announce the 1st through 4th place standings next week. Thanks to all who participated and made this contest such a success.
Welcome to the 3rd Round of the Elevator Pitch Contest Final 16! In this round, the victors from Rounds 1 & 2 go head-to-head.
This will be the last round of reader voting. You will decide the final 4.
You can see the brackets here. So let's get to it. Please vote for the pitches that you think are most effective.
Round 3: Match 1
Roger Llamas of Central Desktop
Central Desktop delivers a Web Based Collaboration software (Saas) for progressive business teams to interact, share and manage their daily work activities from anywhere at any time. It's also been designed to serve as a Company Intranet and Project Management tool as well.
Caroline Margozzi of Market2Lead
Market2Lead helps marketers at BtoB companies to increase revenue while decreasing the sales cycle by: * automating relevant marketing messages & campaigns to a targeted audience * scoring leads according to your business rules * routing 'sales ready' leads to sales in real-time * assess results and effectiveness improving future sales & marketing performance.
Cast your vote in Match 1
Round 3: Match 2
Jonathan Morse of Tripleseat Software
Tripleseat helps restaurants capture and book more private dining business. We connect Restaurants private dining space to the Internet with Tripleseat's Booking Maitre' D. This powerful connection enables restaurants to take real-time booking inquires from their own website 24/7 and close business faster. Now restaurants can book more business in less time with automated web private dining inquires.
Dan Harding of ConnectAndSell
If you are a B2B sales rep and have experienced the frustration of trying to get to a decision maker on the phone. Now there is a solution for you. It's a technology that can help get the right people on the phone time and time again. In fact you can speak with as many prospects in one hour on the ConnectAndSell service as you would in an entire day of manual dialing. The system is simple to deploy, integrates with most CRM tools, and provides a strong ROI that your organization will benefit from on day one of using the service.
Cast your vote in Match 2
Round 3: Match 3
Sean Gildea of PTC
PTC specializes in product development and can enable your business to develop products 50% faster, collaborate 90% more effectively, and increase time-to-market by 75%.
Dominic Serafini of Brafton Custom News
Brafton Custom News helps companies increase their visibility online by publishing unique content to their websites, purpose-built to be relevant, engaging for their target audiences, and then helping to drive those visitors to online revenue streams. Brafton helps websites stay fresh & updated, with interesting news content that is found nowhere else online, so it is incredibly attractive to search engines & online visitors alike.
Cast your vote in Match 3
Round 3: Match 4
Lon Orenstein of pinpointtools
GetLoaded will move ALL of your ACT! data into Microsoft Dynamics CRM with the least cost, the fewest clicks, and the least hassles of any process available.
Phil Bernstein of Clear Channel Radio & Online
I'm in the attention-rental business. If you want to deliver your sales message to thousands of prospects at once, I can help you rent their attention -- 30 or 60 seconds at a time.
Polling with remain open for 48 hours. Please feel free to share your thoughts on the entries in the comments.
Posted by Matt Bertuzzi on Thu, Mar 26, 2009 @ 06:21 AM
UPDATE: The winners moving on to the next round are:
Welcome to the 2nd Round of the Elevator Pitch Contest Final 16!
You can see the brackets here.
In this round, we will see:
- 4 matches
- each with 2 pitches going head-to-head
- and you the readers voting for the winners
- the 4 advancing pitches will take on the winner from Round 1
So let's get to it. Please vote for the pitches that you think are most effective.
Round 2: Match 1
Kevin Savage of Bowser-Morner
My firm is a construction materials quality control testing company. We work with general contractors who are upset because they are paying for multiple field technicians who are not cross-trained, are frustrated because their field or laboratory testing is not being completed properly, or they are losing money when projects go over-budget because of testing-related change orders.
Sean Gildea of PTC
PTC specializes in product development and can enable your business to develop products 50% faster, collaborate 90% more effectively, and increase time-to-market by 75%.
Cast your vote in Match 1
Round 2: Match 2
Najaf Husain of AppAssure
How would you feel when your BlackBerry or email service goes down? What impact does it have on your company? It happens all too often and its costs companies tons of dollars. Our solution, Replay AppImage, is like TEVO for your e-mail servers. If the companies e-mail servers fail, just rewind it to the last know good point and push play, The email service is restored instantly and your BlackBerry is live again.
Lon Orenstein of pinpointtools
GetLoaded will move ALL of your ACT! data into Microsoft Dynamics CRM with the least cost, the fewest clicks, and the least hassles of any process available.
Cast your vote in Match 2
Round 2: Match 3
Nate of Ping Identity
Ping Identity provides secure Internet single sign-on solutions for over 300 enterprise customers, government agencies, and service providers worldwide. Our software enables secure access to Internet applications through a single logon. No matter what your Internet SSO requirements are, we have the product portfolio and expertise to meet your needs. Our Internet SSO solutions offer a choice of on-premise software (PingFederate) or an on-demand option (PingConnect).
Dominic Serafini of Brafton Custom News
Brafton Custom News helps companies increase their visibility online by publishing unique content to their websites, purpose-built to be relevant, engaging for their target audiences, and then helping to drive those visitors to online revenue streams. Brafton helps websites stay fresh & updated, with interesting news content that is found nowhere else online, so it is incredibly attractive to search engines & online visitors alike.
Cast your vote in Match 3
Round 2: Match 4
Joseph Kupstas of GoodFellas Construction
We at GoodFellas help homeowners who are frustrated with their homes current condition, space and design. We help our customers by updating, adding on and making their homes more fun!
Phil Bernstein of Clear Channel Radio & Online
I'm in the attention-rental business. If you want to deliver your sales message to thousands of prospects at once, I can help you rent their attention -- 30 or 60 seconds at a time.
Cast your vote in Match 4
Polling with remain open for 72 hours. Please feel free to share your thoughts on the entries in the comments.
Posted by Matt Bertuzzi on Thu, Mar 19, 2009 @ 06:23 AM
UPDATE: The winners moving on to the next round are:
Welcome to the 1st Round of the Elevator Pitch Contest Final 16! You can see the brackets here.
In this round, we will see:
- 4 matches
- each with 2 pitches going head-to-head
- and you the readers voting for the winners.
So let's get to it. Please vote for the pitches that you think are most effective.
Round 1: Match 1
Sean Power of Martek Marine
Martek work exclusively in the Marine industry, working with our clients to reduce operating costs on all types of vessels, reduce emissions and meet legislative controls. The average payback for our solutions is 6-9 months, and we work with major vessel operators such as BP, Wihelmsen, OSG, Shell, Metrosar and Maersk.
Roger Llamas of Central Desktop
Central Desktop delivers a Web Based Collaboration software (Saas) for progressive business teams to interact, share and manage their daily work activities from anywhere at any time. It's also been designed to serve as a Company Intranet and Project Management tool as well.
Cast your vote in Match 1
Round 1: Match 2
Jeff Kostermans of LeadGenesys
It's like caller ID for the website. For less than $10/day, reveal 100% of your website visitors - before they fill out a form. Trigger instant sales alerts based on your own criteria.
Jonathan Morse of Tripleseat Software
Tripleseat helps restaurants capture and book more private dining business. We connect Restaurants private dining space to the Internet with Tripleseat's Booking Maitre' D. This powerful connection enables restaurants to take real-time booking inquires from their own website 24/7 and close business faster. Now restaurants can book more business in less time with automated web private dining inquires.
Cast your vote in Match 2
Round 1: Match 3
Caroline Margozzi of Market2Lead
Market2Lead helps marketers at BtoB companies to increase revenue while decreasing the sales cycle by: * automating relevant marketing messages & campaigns to a targeted audience * scoring leads according to your business rules * routing 'sales ready' leads to sales in real-time * assess results and effectiveness improving future sales & marketing performance.
Darrol Harris of Worry Free Help
Let Worry-Free Help manage your IT, so you only have to worry about running your business.
Cast your vote in Match 3
Round 1: Match 4
Dan Harding of ConnectAndSell
If you are a B2B sales rep and have experienced the frustration of trying to get to a decision maker on the phone. Now there is a solution for you. It's a technology that can help get the right people on the phone time and time again. In fact you can speak with as many prospects in one hour on the ConnectAndSell service as you would in an entire day of manual dialing. The system is simple to deploy, integrates with most CRM tools, and provides a strong ROI that your organization will benefit from on day one of using the service.
Irwin Grossman of TimeTrade Systems
We develop web-based appointment scheduling tools that enable your customers to self schedule calls and appointments over the web. ______ and ______ have rolled out our product and are experiencing a 20-30% revenue increase. Is self service scheduling something that would benefit you?
Cast your vote in Match 4
Polling with remain open for 72 hours. Please feel free to share your thoughts on the entries in the comments.
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