Steve Richard

January 5, 2015 by Marc Hausman

Woeful Tale of a Marketing Miss

I was so jazzed in the days leading up to the Webinar. The topic was timely and meaningful. I recruited a rock star speaker. And the promotion attracted more than 100 high quality attendees.

So…you can probably imagine how deflating it was to have a huge technology fail mere minutes into the presentation. I could literally see the sales prospects from the event vanish faster than Keyser Soze in the movie the Usual Suspects.

Rather than sulk about lost opportunities, I used this marketing miss as a chance to regroup and ponder the situation. From this reflection I have outlined four best practices that can help you rise above adversity during the execution of your marketing programs.

Keep cool. Rather than spiral into shut down mode or lash out at the event coordinator, the speaker and I remained calm. We assessed the situation and returned to the presentation once the technology platform rebooted.

Have fun with it. Everyone…and I mean everyone…has faced unexpected misfortune in business. Acknowledge it. If needed, apologize. Appropriately make light of the situation and move on.

Salvage what you can. It’s not great, yet the replay of the Webinar entitled “Filling the Sales Funnel: Focus on the Top to Raise Your Bottom Line” offers some sage advice.

Take steps to prevent future fails. How can we better prepare and utilize the technology platform that powers our Webinars? Should we consider switching to an alternate vendor? These are questions we are seeking to answer.

December 1, 2014 by Marc Hausman

Best Practices in Persuasive Prospecting

When I stepped from the stage at the Government IT Sales Summit he wanted to talk about something many organizations struggle to overcome.

I get that content and social media can nurture,” the sales rep at a Washington, DC-based software developer said. “My company trains us to present our product and its features and functionality. What if the problem though is getting to that initial call or meeting? How can we nurture a relationship when one doesn’t exist?

Hmmm…good question and, candidly, not one I often consider. Strategic Communications Group’s (Strategic) client work typically focuses on lead generation for an inside sales group and/or account based marketing.

Can marketers help relationship-based sales professionals more quickly initiate a first discussion with a qualified prospect?

That’s the question I put to my friend Steve Richard, co-founder and managing partner at VorsightBP. Steve’s consultancy trains, coaches and mentors executives on the art of securing the introduction. Unlike most sales trainers who attack inefficiencies in the middle of the funnel, Steve preaches paying attention to the top.

That attention is producing big-time dividends for companies that want to accelerate revenue growth. Steve’s advice about what he calls persuasive prospecting is insightful and easily implemented.

That is why I’d like to share it with you. Please join Steve and I on Tuesday, December 16 at 11:30 AM ET for an exclusive online chat entitled Filing the Sales Funnel: Focus on the Top to Raise Your Bottom Line.

During a 30 minute presentation, we will take on the issue of top of the funnel sales prospecting and then explore a proven set of best practices for companies that sell to business or government customers. We’ll even set aside a few minutes at the end for any questions or comments.

So…register here at this link and get ready to ramp up your company’s sales program in the coming year.

Woeful Tale of a Marketing Miss

Best Practices in Persuasive Prospecting

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