by scott.gillum | Apr 13, 2020 | 2020, Observations
by Scott Gillum
Estimated read time: 3 Minutes
No one had to say it because we all felt it. After months of research, repositioning the organization, and refining the messaging it all blew up in less than a week.
With the global pandemic in full swing, I’m sure this scenario is playing out across organizations around the globe. Whether it’s relating to sales goals, marketing budgets and/or anything in between they have all been blown to hell.
So what do we do now? It’s a great question that so many of us are struggling with currently. To help answer it I went back into the archives to see what projects clients were undertaking during the “Great Recession” of 2007. Here’s what I learned.
- Repositioning and structural change – I found companies using the downturn to reposition themselves in the market – shifting from product to services, from product focused to customer focused, etc. It was a structural change as well as a change in positioning. Be prepared to see new competitors coming into your industry once the economy recovers…or, it could be your organization entering new markets.
- Fixing the infrastructure – running hard for the last 10 years created very little time to fix basic problems, especially related to the revenue engine. A slowdown is a perfect time to fix the things that can create greater efficiency coming out of a recession. An investment in this area produces a ROI that only gets better over time. Look at the quality of the database, opportunities to leverage AI, better tracking and performance solutions. This requires an investment in time and focus that is rarely found in good times.
- Refining the value – It’s not the value proposition, it’s the entire value package. You can count on one thing for certain about the future. Customers will have to, or will expect, more for less. Don’t get caught flat footed, prepare now to deliver more value for the money. If not expect to 1) be undercut by competitors, and/or 2) take a hit on your profit. If you can’t figure out how to build in new value then figure out how to deliver the same value for less.
In challenging times like these the first reaction is basic survival. And for many that may be the case for the foreseeable future… as a small business owner I feel you! Many of the plans you’re making now are built around business viability, but soon there will be light at the end of the tunnel. Keep in mind, the items I’m suggesting will take at least 16 to 20 weeks to plan, develop and execute.
I understand it may take all your time and energy to ride the storm out, but keep your eyes on the horizon. Good luck, we can do this!
by scott.gillum | Mar 20, 2020 | 2020, Opinion
by Scott Gillum
Estimated read time: 3 Minutes
Making Working from Home, Work
Barking dogs, crying babies, toddlers toddling, welcome to the reality of working from home.
Since our founding 3 years ago, our teams have been living this life. Here are 3 tips to help you make the adjustment.
- Get used to and learn how to live with working odd hours. If you’re accustomed to a routine of “working hours” in the office, you can kiss that goodbye if your children are at home.
Channel your “inner Gandhi” for patience and flexibility. Work when you can find the calm. Early mornings, evenings, and quiet moments in between.
Managers be flexible on your expectations on deliverables and due dates. You may see your team disappear during a good portion of the day.
- Count on technical issues, unplanned and spontaneous interruptions, and scheduling issues with conference calls.
In fact, you may be better off adopting the attitude that something will go wrong as the default.
- Everyone on camera for video calls…except when someone feels like they don’t want to be.
I’ve seen some posts that organizations mandate it, but the reality of our situation is that you, and/or your home office, may be a complete sh*t show at some point during the day. It happens…and we can deal with you not being seen on a call.
Part II – Now that you’ve been at this for a couple of weeks here are a few other things to consider.
- Wall clock to body clock work hours – You may be aware that your energy level and passion vary based on the time of day, now that you’re out of the office you can do something about it. Instead of reaching for another cup of coffee, go for a walk (and take the dog with you) change your work location — it’s spring now and the weather is great for working outside. Working will become more feel driven than time driven.
- Listen to your body – also by this point you may have noticed that your makeshift office isn’t exactly ergonomically designed. Pay attention to how long you sit and/or have your head in one position. Don’t worry if you forget, your body will remind you the next day.
- Reboot your modem and wireless router – you may have also noticed that your bandwidth has slowed. Consumer Reports recommends rebooting once a month, especially if you have added devices to the network.
- Update your work office – now that everyone is out of it, how could you use this time to your advantage. It could be a great time to paint, reorganize the furniture, update the lighting, etc.
Good luck and stay safe!
Making Working from Home, Work…
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by scott.gillum | Mar 18, 2020 | 2020, Sales
by Scott Gillum
Estimated read time: 1 Minute
Given the popularity of our last video clip we are releasing another clip of Scott’s interview with Brent. In this slightly longer piece Brent addresses the question of what to do if the buyers felt like they had all the content they needed to make a purchase decision and all sales reps were trained on Challenger. How could you still compete?
To view the full interview with Brent Adamson please click here.
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by scott.gillum | Feb 24, 2020 | 2020, Sales
by Katie Weisz
Estimated read time: 1 Minute
Back in September of 2019, CEO, Scott Gillum, had the opportunity to sit down and interview VP, Brent Adamson. Brent is a distinguished Vice President at Gartner, and a published author with a lot to say about the case between sales and marketing.
During this interview, Brent dove deep into the idea of Challenger as a sales and marketing methodology. These newly released clips are a major highlight to what Challenger is, and isn’t, and how the idea of it has changed over the years.
In part 1 of the clip, Brent goes forth with debunking the idea of Challenger as a ‘sales methodology’, why it should be looked at as more of a ‘go to marketing’ model, and why sales and marketing need to be co-owning the idea of challenger marketing.
In part 2, Brent continues his dive into Challenger Marketing and how marketing and sales needs to focus on the customer in a different way.
Are the customers overlooking information, do customers know more than sales and marketers, or do we need to be telling them what they miss?
To view the full interview with Brent Adamson please click here.
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by scott.gillum | Feb 11, 2020 | 2020, Sales
by Katie Weisz
Estimated read time: 1 Minute
Just one month into 2020 and we already know that 50% of the sales force isn’t going to make their sales objectives for the year.
In fact, that number has been on the decline for the last 5 years, and one likely reason is that what customers are buying and what you are selling are not aligned.
Here are Scott’s top 3 tips that you can implement now so that you meet your sales objectives in 2020:
- Get feedback from your team
- Make sure you have 2 whys
- Give the customer a vision of the future
Find out more on why these three things are so important to the success of your sales objectives here:
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