Recent Articles From EvanCarmichael.com http://www.evancarmichael.com/ http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/364/New-Business-Development--Pipelines-Wide-and-Deep.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/364/New-Business-Development--Pipelines-Wide-and-Deep.html When conducting qualifying phone conversations with executives, there are objectives beyond getting a purchasing decision. These developmental objectives do not have a sales focus. The objective is not necessarily to identify a potential project, which would be a sales focus. The longer-term objective is to become a preferred provider enterprise-wide. Therefore, the information gathered during these phone conversations is different from a pure sales focus. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/364/Winning-New-Business-A-Beach-Head-Project.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/364/Winning-New-Business-A-Beach-Head-Project.html After all your efforts at due diligence, documenting your wide access and deep knowledge of an organization, a beachhead or pilot project will be identified. It may be that a particular line of business has an urgent need. It may be that one area of the business is willing to fund a test. There may be consensus that your solution can be adapted to other lines of business once success is demonstrated http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/364/Winning-New-Clients-Move-from-One-Industry-to-Another.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/364/Winning-New-Clients-Move-from-One-Industry-to-Another.html At the moment, your most compelling story may be relevant to only one sector or application. You risk diluting the impact of your story by watering it down to a generic benefit like cost containment. Often an industry perceives its challenges as unique to their particular circumstances. You may see your relevance more broadly, but remember, relevance is in the eye of the beholder http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/364/Major-Accounts--Winning-Business-with-the-Big-Guys.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/364/Major-Accounts--Winning-Business-with-the-Big-Guys.html How often have you done good work and then do not get other business from that client? As smaller or specialized service providers, it may be that our services have limited applications. Nevertheless, if we are to grow our businesses, repeat engagements are vital to securing predictable revenue. How then, do you make your specific expertise or offering have a broader relevance? http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/364/Win-New-Clients--CLevel-Entry.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/364/Win-New-Clients--CLevel-Entry.html The job of the Alpha animal is to keep out intruders. Nevertheless, it is crucial that you win the attention of the C-level executive if you are to become a preferred vendor because: Even though C-level executives seldom make a decision on their own, they have authority for resource allocation http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/364/Winning-New-Clients-Brag-to-the-Rest-of-the-Enterprise.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/364/Winning-New-Clients-Brag-to-the-Rest-of-the-Enterprise.html Since you have access to the many people you have had discussions with and know where each sits on the company “chess board”, you have permission to go back and update them on the progress that is being made on the pilot. Notice that all the development time you’ve invested with people across all lines of business now has the potential to produce results. Unlike a sales optic, which often assumes that a “no” now means a definite “no”, a development focus assumes that circumstances are always in flux. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/364/New-Business-Becoming-a-Preferred-Vendor.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/364/New-Business-Becoming-a-Preferred-Vendor.html Successful Big Game Hunting depends upon knowing everything about the entity we are tracking. 1. Telling the Story Are you hunting water or tree-dwellers? Where do they prefer to eat? Do they travel in herds or are they loners? Knowing the habitat and habits of the entity you are tracking means you have a greater chance of not scare them away before they spend a little time to check you out.