Customer Acquisition Overview

Best Way to Get Your Message To An Executive Desk?

In a recent Forbes.com interview with Cory Klatt, CIO of SonoSite, Bothell, Washington provided some insight into effective ways to reach an Executive’s desk like his. Sonosite is a world leader and specialist in mountable and portable ultrasound devices. He was asked the following question:

If you were involved at all in sales, marketing or development of webtools and services in 1999, you would most likely have read or at least heard about the #1 Best Seller during that time titled “The Cluetrain Manifesto-The End of Business as Usual” written by an eclectic group of collaborators consisting of Rick Levine, Christopher Locke, Doc Searls, and David Weinberger. If not, you missed one of the most controversial and thought-provoking books of that era. Either way, you have a chance to challenge your business sense and activities once again with the newly published 10th Anniversary Edition of the same title. Here are my favorites from the original 95 Theses presented in the book.

Top 20 Best Sales Books

These are considered by many to be the 20 Best Sales Books. Compiled By SalesHQ, this list contains some classics by Tom Hopkins and Zig Zigler, and what are destined to be classics in the years ahead from Garr Reynolds and Jill Konrath amongst others.

Pounce, Pause, Nurture or Wait?

“Within a day or two of sending an initial email to someone, leaving a phonemail or posting an interesting blog article or tweet, I see they (or someone from their company) have clicked into and visited our site.
Now, how aggressively do I go after them? Do I pounce immediately? Do I pause and call shortly thereafter? Do I just nurture them? Do I wait a couple days then call?”

Gartner Report on Social Software

If you are interested at all in all the Web 2.0, Sales 2.0 and/or Social Media activity to Fill the Funnel, I recommend that you carve out some time to read this recent report from Gartner titled: Magic Quadrant for Social Software.

Return Of The Cold Calling Season

It is that time again. Buyers are slowing down or stopping their spend. Sales leaders are dragging out the tired old horse from the barn…cold calling. Things have changed! It is time to embrace an alternative called “FirstCalling”.