3M SDSU Frontline Sales Conference Recap

 

Sixty one highly talented undergraduates from 14 universities were in attendance last week at the 3M SDSU Frontline Sales Conference (more on the background of Frontline as written in the previous blog seen here). It was my pleasure to join them, as well as  the other 80 attendees including 3M Executives, Faculty from the universities and Sales Leaders, for a day and a half of the 3.5 days they spent together to learn more about a career in Sales.

Some of the students are graduating, and have taken position with 3M in cities across the country. Others will be going back to St. Paul, Minnesota this summer to work in one of multiple divisions of 3M that sponsor interns. Either way, these young people were a very impressive bunch; articulate, educated, well rounded with a desire to learn and earn.

Candace Mailand leads the charge for 3M’s Frontline national program, and along with Dan McGinley from SDSU (also a 3M veteran sales leader), they put on a spectacular program to give the students perspective on what is to come for them in their respective roles. Dr. Joe Belch, Dean of the College of Business at SDSU participated, and delivered a keynote presentation on the changing face of Sales. Dr. Belch reemphasized how this next generation will have to adapt to a world where buyers are data driven, analytical and loaded up on information by the time a salesperson arrives. Heads up!

It was a distinct pleasure to be on a Leadership Panel with 3 other seasoned sales veterans to share insight on career paths, the excitement of Sales and lessons learned-mistakes made along the way.  Nashwa Helmi, VP of Sales from LabCorp; Marc Martin, VP of Beer from Karl Strauss Brewery (no, not kidding on the title) and George Diaz, Business Director from 3M’s Latin American division were my counterparts. Addressing the conference was exciting, but I also enjoyed listening and learning from my fellow panelists’ adventures in Sales.

The students delivered presentations on the last day as the capstone to the Frontline Conference. Based on the level of interest they showed throughout the conference, and by virtue of the fact that they were in position to take an internship or field Sales role with 3M, I am certain success will be part of their path forward. Frontline is a powerful platform to begin their careers.

 

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The 5 Fundamentals of Effective Sales Management

We spend the majority of our time building custom Sales Process programs for our customers that help them with two (categorically) fundamental conversations. The first is the conversation that the salesperson (or anyone in a customer facing role) has with the customer. The second conversation is the one that the Sales Manager has with the member of his team, to make sure that sellers (and related team members) are focused on the right opportunities at the right time with the right message (Marketing, that’s you I’m talking about in the message).

Sales Managers are pulled in so many directions, often helping their team with external conversations (to drive revenue), and also managing a host of internal conversations to make sure their team has the right resources and information to win. It can be exhausting as many have told me over the years.

It has been a long while since I read a whitepaper that documents the “must haves” for truly effective Sales Management with such impact and brevity. In the attached document, Matt McDarby and John Golden nail down the Five Fundamental of Effective Sales Management. This should reside on every Sales Managers’ desk as the Operator’s Manual on how to run their team, meet their revenue targets and maintain a level of sanity along the way.

It’s a great read I am sure you will enjoy.

Click here to read it.

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Prospecting Spotlight: Expansion

Prospecting Spotlight: How Expansion Opens New Doors

When prospecting, strategically timing your messaging is critical for success. Last month’s feature highlighted the benefits of reaching out to decision makers when they take on a new role. Today, we focus on how to leverage news of a prospect’s expansion into closing your next deal.

Expansion takes on many shapes. Enabling a news alert feed for companies on your target account list puts updates on acquisitions, employee growth, product launches, new location openings, or any other noteworthy occurrences on your radar.

The moment an opportunity to reach out presents itself, drop your target contacts a quick note and follow it with a phone call – the gist of the message should be positive and brief. Just like with the first post in our Prospecting Spotlight series, your goal at this moment is simply making contact.

Once you have your decision maker’s attention, gently probe to see if they are experiencing any growing pains. Present your prospect with some common business objectives found within their industry through a success story you helped to create. If any of these are of interest, ask for the opportunity to meet to learn more. You are in the driver’s seat if this works.

Sometimes you will find yourself positioned as the answer to their problem before it becomes a problem. If this is the case, patience is necessary. Now that you made your introduction, if you did your job well, the prospect will get in touch when the timing is appropriate on their end.

When the conversation picks up again, be sure to create a connection to them again with your customer success stories. Show how your solution helped others with similar problems. Leave your prospect wondering what you can offer to help them.

Here is the secret behind the effectiveness of using news of expansion as an excuse to introduce yourself: you are catching prospects when they are planning ahead and forecasting new budgets. The earlier you set up a meeting, the sooner you can be a part of that budget.

News of expansion is a great reason to reach out to decision makers on your target account list. They will feel honored you associate them with the success of the company, and be far more open to a conversation.

Our next post will discuss how we can use the news of a prospect’s recent awards and accomplishments to start the conversation in a similar way, making the most of a fortuitous time.

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