StreetSmartSolutionProvider

Regular Communication With Your Customers and Prospects is Key

Ramon Vela — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 07:34:29 +0000

One of the biggest mistakes solution providers (SP) make is the belief that their customers only buy from them and not their competitors. The fact is, large companies buy from several SPs. That’s why it’s very important that you communicate regularly with your customers. If you’re not doing so, then you’re leaving the customer in the hands of a smart competitor.

By assuming your customers have been exposed to someone else’s products and services pitch, you know that you could lose these customers unless they are constantly reminded of the value you bring to the relationship. This means that you have to communicate with your customers on a regular basis. You have to let them know about discounts, promotions, technology solutions related to the solution you designed for them, etc.

HELP THEM MAKE BETTER DECISIONS
You should follow up by sending your reports, whitepapers, videos, podcast about the next steps. You could do lunch and learns and briefings. In other words, provide them valuable information so that they (the customer) can make better decisions. You can communicate in a variety of different ways — via email, faxes, even snail mail but you must be doing it on a regular basis.

A great way to view this is from the perspective of long term value. How can you interact regularly with your client to build a stronger relationship? What can you do to add value to your relationship so that the client thinks of you, not your competitors?

A sale is just the start of a long-term relationship. To establish this alliance and build trust, you need to talk to your customer often.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Your client relationship shouldn’t end with a sale or at the completion of a project.
Communicate regularly with your existing customers and prospects.
Maintaining an ongoing dialog will distinguish your services from other companies.
Let your clients know about pricing, technology, new services and anything else that they will find relevant, valuable and basically help them make better and smarter decisions.

Let me know what you think?

War Room Discussion: Prospecting in the Age of the Internet

Ramon Vela — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:03:26 +0000

The War Room is a monthly call and podcast where you get no B.S. technology sales strategies and techniques in 30 minutes or less. If you are serious about sales and have a no-holds bar desire to win then this live call is for you.

This month, join me, Ramon Vela, and Glenn Donovan, Founder of B2B SalesTalk, as we tackle this month’s “War Room” topic: Prospecting in the Age of the Internet.

When: March 11 9am PDT / 12pm EDT
Register

We’ll discuss:
1. Develop killer strategies for your high value opportunities.
2. How to get to the right people
3. How to create a ‘digital signpost’ on the internet for yourself.

NOTE:
This call is live. If you want to chime in with questions please log on using the GotoWebinar info and use the chat room function for questions.

If you are on the road, please use phone option and email questions to rvela@streetsmartsolutionprovider.com before the call.

All registrants (whether you attended or not) will receive a copy of the podcast.

About Glenn Donovan
Glenn is a 25 year veteran of technology sales. Today he provides tools and training to sales people, helping them use proven sales techniques in a 21st century context. He can be contacted by visiting www.b2bsalestalk.com.

Why the “War Room”?

Sales is civilized warfare. If you find that metaphor too brutal, or if you are not prepared to fight, you should not enlist. As long as aggressive competitors exist – and in this rich and dynamic world they always will – you will be under attack. Your competitor’s job is to capture business and then defend that new perimeter. So is yours.

Now, a lot of sales is creative. It’s strategic. Cerebral. But eventually you must make a move – and then the fighting begins. Even the most brilliant campaigns suffer occasional setbacks, and it is during those moments of crisis that the true mettle of the sales team is tested.

– Adapted from William H. Davidow’s Marketing High Technology – an Insider’s View

Beware Vendors: Why Solution Providers are the True GateKeepers

Ramon Vela — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:47:10 +0000

One of the goals of StreetSmartSolutionProvider is to empower solution providers (SP) as gatekeepers. As the expert bringing knowledge, advice and offers, YOU are the ‘owner’ of the relationship with your customers. Don’t underestimate the power in being the gatekeeper.

I think it’s because of the recession, solution providers have forgotten how important they are to customers. It’s true that large vendors like IBM or HP have huge sales forces that seem to dominate the enterprise market but for the many small and midsized businesses, solution providers are essential. Too often, however, we don’t fully accept or appreciate this role.

In order to fully appreciate it, you have to invest in your own marketing to find and keep customers as well as grow your business. It seems much easier to sit back and let the vendors provide back-end marketing money. Unfortunately, then, you are beholden to that one vendor and its guidelines. This isn’t the way to build your business. You own the relationship. The customers are yours, not the vendors and you should be choosing which vendors are best for your customers.

Here What You Need To Do
You need to look at marketing differently. Stop focusing on just short term sales and learn the art and science of finding what customers want and need, in other words: marketing. Remember too, that the best time to market as a Solution Provider is when you don’t have to market. But in these times, its simply a matter of survival.

Here are four key steps toward becoming an empowered gatekeeper/solution provider:

1) Establish your own identity as an expert. If you sell one vendor’s products and the vendor has its logo on everything, you lose your identity in the eyes of your customer. Essentially, you’re turning your customer over to the vendor. Your value—expertise, marketing and a personality—is what a vendor cannot provide to your customers.

2) Have your own marketing plan and budget. You can work with selected vendors but their money should supplement your current marketing budget & strategy. Without the right strategy, you’re likely to grab onto the latest buzz word without any planning. Without a plan in place, offering the ‘latest’ or ‘greatest’ won’t be successful.

3) Understand your customer. What are your customers talking about? What do they want? Analyze your customer base to help determine where you should be going.

4) Accept that marketing isn’t a panacea. Good marketing can’t fix bad economics. If you aren’t selling the right product mix, if your margins are to low, if your services are not priced correctly, if your customer service is lousy, if you aren’t managing your business efficiently, then the best marketing in the word won’t help you. Know the long term value of your clients. Make sure you are tracking your marketing sales dollars and ROI. And please, if you need help managing your business, find help don’t live in denial.

The Bottom Line
All Solution Providers need to be the gatekeepers to their customers. To insure your customers are loyal to you, not a vendor, you need to invest in your business, specifically marketing. If you can’t afford to pay for your own marketing then there is something wrong. You need to build in marketing expenses in your overall budget; use your vendors help but make sure you have allocated some investment.

Let me know what you think?

Best Practices in Solution Provider Marketing

Ramon Vela — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 19:58:23 +0000

When speaking with solution providers, the questions I constantly get are what’s working? What’s getting results?

My answer is usually that there is no magic bullet or quick fix. Sure, there are tactics that work for a time but soon even those tactics run their course. I know that’s not what most people want to hear because that’s the truth. This isn’t a sitcom where a challenge or problem is addressed and fixed in 30 minutes.

The fact of the matter, its not complicated to be success at marketing technology but it does take work.

With that said, I do want to leave people with something to work with. These “best practices” are things that you need to keep in mind, when building a set of marketing activities for marketing technology. Here they are:

- Marketing activities need to be consistent and frequent
Deliver the same value message in all marketing materials and vehicles, and frequently deliver that message on a regular consistent basis.

- Marketing should ideally use multi-touch approach
Using multiple ways of delivering your marketing message, such as email, direct mail, tele-prospecting, social media activities, etc.

- Marketing should utilize marketing to build trust with clients
This can be done in two ways: First, use content and second, positioning oneself or company as the expert and authority in the marketplace. As an example you can do this by using content and social media, videos, and blogs to illustrate expertise in a given area.

You don’t have to have the most creative, dazzling, awe-inspiring marketing (although that nice to have sometimes too) in order to be successful. And you don’t have to be an expert. Just be consistent, frequent, communicate your value to them in various ways, and look for ways to build trust so they feel assured that you can help them solve their problems.

Let me know what you think.

Webinar: How to Effectively Sell & Market Deduplication – February 23rd

Ramon Vela — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 01:06:39 +0000

Slick sales techniques are nice, but if you really want to gain your prospect’s trust and make more sales, there is nothing like understanding your customer’s pain points, what drives them to choose a particular solution, and whether a particular solution is good for them.

Join me, Ramon Vela, CEO of StreetSmartSolutionProvider, and George Crump, President and Lead Analyst for Storage Switzerland, as we discuss “Deduplication” from a sales person’s point of view.

We will discuss client pain points and considerations that drive a potential Deduplication opportunity. Here’s what we will cover:

• What customer pain points are potential drivers for a Deduplication opportunity
• Which projects could be good entry points to selling a Deduplication implementation
• What good qualifying questions determine if Deduplication is good fit for a client
• What potential projects could compliment or follow a Deduplication implementation

We’ll provide tangible answers to each one of these areas.

>> Sign Up Now!

About George Crump
George Crump is President and Founder of Storage Switzerland. With 25 years of experience designing storage solutions for data centers across the US, he has seen the birth of such technologies as RAID, NAS, and SAN. Prior to founding Storage Switzerland he was CTO at one the nations largest storage integrators where he was in charge of technology testing, integration, and product selection.

See you there!

What did you learn in 2009?

Ramon Vela — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 08:15:59 +0000

I don’t know about you but I will not miss 2009. And I am so glad it is over.

With that said, I have learned more about my business, my customers, my partners and myself in the last 365 days than I have in the last 40 years. So before we get rolling in 2010, let’s take summary of what we learned in 2009. What would you do differently? What did you do right?

THAT DAMN RECESSION
Like many in this country, I wasn’t prepared for the recession. So when business literally stopped in late 2008/early 2009 for a few months, lets just say I was hit with a painful slap from reality. I boy when she hits, she hits hard.

Around this time, a family member also became more ill and we had some insurance problems which only added to our financial problems.

WHAT I LEARNED
However, one way or another I made it. Someday, I’ll elaborate on the details but for now just know that things got really hard for a while but somehow we made it. From a business perspective, here’s what I learned and some things I’ll do different:

1) When Disaster is eminent, get the hell out of the way (and fast). I saw what was coming but I didn’t act fast enough. I could have started cutting back sooner. I should have analyzed my financials and done what was necessarily but I procrastinated. I chose to do nothing, hoping things would just get better. Boy was I wrong.

2) When you have to let someone go, do it fast and quick. Once you know what you have to do, I have found it is better to just do it quick and get it over with. I hate letting people go but when you have no other choice it is better to just do it. Do it with respect but you have to do it.

3) Count your beans no matter how boring it is. I love my business. I love selling. I love speaking with customers and helping other business owners grow their business. What I didn’t love was keeping the books straight and keepng an eye on expenses. I had so much money coming in at one point that I didn’t pay attention to what was going out. Bad move.

4) Reinvent your business, often. I always prided myself on observing and learning what customers needed and wanted and designing programs that met those needs. However it wasn’t until I was forced to really look at my business that realized how many things I should have changed. Now, I examine everything about my business and often find things I can improve and I often find ways to save money while still running things more efficiently. Its amazing what you see and what you can do when you are forced.

5) Save and prepare for a rainy day. Somehow you think you are prepared but then you find out you really aren’t. I made the unconcious decision, that money was going to keep pouring in to my business that I din’t prepare sufficently.

Here’s a few thing I did do right:

6) Keep your customers close. I count myself as fortunate that I have great customers. And have always made it a point to speak with them often to hear what they are up to, what they are challenged with, and what they want to get done. knowing this was essential in reinventing my business.

7) Keep your customer close, but keep your family closer. I love my business and anyone who knows me that I work all the time. 12am, 2pm, and on and on; you’ll find me working. I can’t help it but I love it. But I learned that it is only business. If it wasn’t here, I’d survive. The same thing with money. It’s just money. I can earn more. I can rebuild my business. But my family that is something you can’t get back easily once you lose. Thank God I didn’t lose it. Thank God I have a family who believes in me and supports me (and who sticks with me through thick and thin).

So there it is. A very honest and forthright post to start the new year. I figure that as bad as 2009 was, it was good because I learned a lot about myself and how to be a better entreprenuer, salesguy, and most importantly, a better husband and dad.

So how about you? What did you learn in 2009 and what are you going to do differently? Let me know, I really like hear from you.

What Does 10% Unemployment Mean To Your Technology Sales?

Ramon Vela — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:12:30 +0000

Today, the unemployment numbers came out and it is now 10%. Let’s face reality. That’s 17+ million people out of work. It will take several years to get them back in the system. So, you need to be prepared to face a few years of a sluggish economy.

Here’s what you need to understand.

1) People (clients) have and will continue to change their buying behavior so you need to keep adapting to their behaviors if you want to sell effectively. I believe that people have changed their priorities and the most important thing they are looking for is expertise and leadership. More on this later. Also see my “selling in a recession” video.

2) Create conversations to find out your client’s challenges, problems, and objectives for the coming year(s). Take this opportunity to speak to the business side, expand your reach within your accounts. By doing so, you can figure out what services and technologies you need to add or emphasize that will help them solve their problems. Now is the time to truly be a problem solver, a Trusted Advisor. Take the focus off products and let your expertise drive the sales and drag the product.

GOOD NEWS!
There is good news. Now more than ever, your customers need your help. They are crying for help. And it is up to you as a sales, marketing or business owner to step up and lead them through this financial malaise.

There is business out there if you can communicate your expertise and connect how “what you do and what you know” helps clients solve their problems.

YOUR MINDSET IS YOUR KEY DIFFERENTIATOR!
With all this in mind, please take a moment to view this videos. Any time I feel down, these videos help remind me of my inner strength and the need to improve and to not let the challenges we face rob us of the prosperity that we’ve work so hard to earn.

Don’t lose sight of the fact that the biggest success factor in anything we do is our mind set? Don’t the let media and others poison you with doom and gloom, refuse it!

MUST WATCH VIDEOS:

Sales Not Going the Way You’d Like?

Feeling Knocked Down By All The Negative Financial News? – Watch This Video!


You Want Something? Go Out and Get It. Period.



Weekly Strategy Video – Who Decides What You Can Do In A Downturn?
Here's to Great a Week and please share this blog post.
P.S. Look out for Monday, I am releasing a completely free, no sign up, 10 video course on adapting your sales skills for the new post-recession economy.
Feel free to post your comments on my blog, or send me an email at rvela@StreetSmartSolutionProvider.com.
Here's to Reinventing, Reigniting, and Revving Up Your Sales!
Ramon Vela

CEO, StreetSmartSolutionPovider



Weekly Strategy Video – Sales Killers: Avoid Contamination of Negative Thoughts
Ramon Vela — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:58:39 +0000

Todays message is about Avoiding Contamination (of Bad Sales Habits)”.
I have five areas that you really need to watch out for whether you are a manager or a sales rep. You could also use these five areas to see if other salespeople you know suffer from negative thoughts and negative actions and therefore poor results.
Unfortunately, many sales people are not fully aware that they are self-sabotaging themselves and thats what makes them so dangerous to a sales team. Because they can contaminate the rest of the team, especially newbies.
Please watch and share this video. You can also view this at our YouTube channel. I’d love to get your feedback so make sure to post your comments below or email me directly at rvela@StreetSmartSolutionProvider.com.



Weekly Strategy Video – Focus on Positioning Vs. Prospecting
Ramon Vela — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:22:50 +0000

Today’s video is about “Focusing on Positioning vs. Prospecting?”
How do your prospects and clients see you? Do they see you as vendor who supplies them with products or basic services? Or do they see you as an expert, trusted advisor who can help them solve their problems?
There are lots of solution providers who have spent thousands of dollars and countless hours acquiring technology expertise. That’s a great investment but in order to fully utilize this differentiator, you need to exploit it in your marketing and sales.  Today I discuss a strategy that if done correctly, can help position you as a Trusted Advisor, ease the pain of closing a customer, and attract customers so they come to you.  
Please watch and share this video. You can also view this at our YouTube channel. I’d love to get your feedback so make sure to post your comments below or email me directly at rvela@StreetSmartSolutionProvider.com.



Reinventing How You Sell Technology In The New Economy
Ramon Vela — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:20:26 +0000

In today’s economic environment, where negative news bombards us every day; where clients hesitate in making buying decisions and where intense competition ensues for each and every client, it is crucial that sales professionals:
 – develop the right mindset,

 – clearly communicate the value of their company’s expertise,

 – separate themselves from the rest of their competition, and

 – become problem solvers.
Our new workshop will show you how.
In this workshop, sales professionals will learn specific actionable business, sales, and motivational strategies, tactics, and techniques that will assist them in breaking through existing sales obstacles and mental blocks and help prepare them for success.
Through our workshop and through our BecomeTheTrustedAdvisor™ process, sales professionals become more than just another “salesperson” to their clients. They will become true trusted advisors and leaders.
Here’ what you will learn:

    * How to shatter the negative image of the salesperson

    * How to develop a mindset unmoved by negative forces and rejection

    * How to manage the mental game of sales

    * How to deal with the common frustrations of sales

    * How to shorten the sales cycles

    * How to make appointments when others can’t

    * How to help clients justify new projects

    * How to discuss ROI with the business as well as the IT side

    * How to get a foot in the door in new accounts

    * How to nurture and sell deeper into existing accounts

    * How to ask the right questions to further the sale

    * How to align business priorities with technology solutions

    * How to conduct business discovery
I invite you to take a look visit www.ReinventingSalesPerformance.com for more information.



Weekly Strategy Video – Are You 100% In The Sales Game?
Ramon Vela — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:19:50 +0000

Today’s video is about “Are You 100% In The Sales Game?”
Let’s face it, the business environment we are in is competitive. You need to do whatever we can to gain a competitive edge over the competition. Whether its exercise or updating and improving your skill sets. You need to do whatever we can to be 100% in the game.
Please watch and share this video. I’d love to get your feedback so make sure to post your comments below or email me directly at rvela@StreetSmartSolutionProvider.com.



This Thanksgiving while others enjoy a banquet, Will You Settle For Sales Crumbs?
Ramon Vela — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 08:35:45 +0000
That’s the question you need to ask yourself.
Let’s face it. Much of the growth of the last decade or so was too reliant on credit.  Business owners grew their companies through leverage and credit thinking that sales would continue thereby being able to service their debt. 
And individuals relied to heavily on credit to grow their households and now that credit is tight, what are we to do?
Well there is one answer and one answer only. If you want to grow your business revenue or grow your personal income, you only have one choice: 

“You must increase your cash flow the old fashion way.  You must do it through SALES.”
That’s right. Good old fashion hard work and sales skill. It’s all up to you.
There has never been a time, in most of our lifetimes at least, when our skill and ability to sell in a down and recovering economy has been so crucial to success (and survival).
I understand this challenge all too well. I know what it is like to go through a down turn. For instance, in the last tech recession, I’ve used my sales skill to make more money than I had ever made before. How did I do it? I simply adapted to the market conditions and I learned to sell how people where buying.
Now, I would like to help you do the same. I’ve created a new workshop called “Reinventing Sales Performance”. 
I invite you to take a look at it. It may be the “something” that stands between you enjoying a banquet or settling for sales crumbs.



Click here to learn about our new selling skills workshop: Reinventing Sales Performance.



Weekly Strategy Video – Who Decides What You Can Do In A Downturn?
Ramon Vela — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 17:17:40 +0000

Today’s video is on “Who Decides What You Can Do In This Down Turn?”
Im hearing more and more conversations going on everywhere I turn and the tone is alarming. I find that people are feeling helpless. Almost like they are giving up their power to make changes in their lives and waiting for some outside source like the government to help them.
If you or someone you know is feeling this way, please watch and share this video. I’d love to get your feedback so make sure to post your comments below or email me directly at rvela@StreetSmartSolutionProvider.com.



Wednesday’s Hump Day Video
Ramon Vela — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:30:59 +0000


Are you enjoying our weekly videos? Which are your favorites? I’d love to get your feedback on what you’d like to see more or less of – post your comments below or email me directly at rvela@StreetSmartSolutionProvider.com.



Weekly Strategy Video – Selling Technology in a Recession
Ramon Vela — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:00:11 +0000

Today’s strategy video is on “Selling Technology in a Recession.
If you are finding it harder to close sales, justify new projects and purchases, get the decision maker to make a decision, then, discover the “recession of trust” concept and see why it is crucial to business and sales success in a down economy. I’d love to get your feedback so make sure to post your comments below or email me directly at rvela@StreetSmartSolutionProvider.com.



Complimentary Audio Series: How to Generate New Business from Current Server Virtualization Projects
Ramon Vela — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 14:01:51 +0000
Complimentary Audio Series – Sign Up Now!
What do you do when you find out that one of your customers or prospects has or is in the process implemented a server virtualization project?
While this is disappointing news, there are still plenty of opportunities for you to add value to this customer. In fact, after the initial phase, many customers get stuck on how to extend the project. That is where you come in.
Join me, Ramon Vela, CEO of StreetSmartSolutionProvider, and George Crump, President and Lead Analyst for Storage Switzerland, as we discuss the top three ways to generate new business from your client’s or prospect’s server virtualization projects.
Simply sign up and listen (or download) my On Demand Audio titled: How to Generate New Business From Current Server Virtualization Projects – for Salespeople and Pre-Sales Engineers. We cover topics such as:

Common problems that you should look for
Questions to ask to identify opportunities
The 3 phases of a server virtualization project that offer the most opportunity
Typical solutions (and upsell projects) that you can provide
And much, much, more…


We’ll provide tangible answers to each one of these areas.
>> Get your complimentary audio- Sign Up Now!
About George Crump

George Crump is President and Founder of Storage Switzerland. With 25 years of experience designing storage solutions for data centers across the US, he has seen the birth of such technologies as RAID, NAS, and SAN. Prior to founding Storage Switzerland he was CTO at one the nations largest storage integrators where he was in charge of technology testing, integration, and product selection.



Monday Morning Video: Some Young Talent
Ramon Vela — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 12:29:06 +0000


Are you enjoying our weekly videos? Which are your favorites? I’d love to get your feedback on what you’d like to see more or less of – post your comments below or email me directly at rvela@StreetSmartSolutionProvider.com.



Complimentary Audio Series: Seven Critical Secrets to Selling IT in a Down Economy w/ Ramon Vela
Ramon Vela — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 04:14:12 +0000
Complimentary Audio Series – Sign Up Now!
I’ve spoke to a lot of business owners and sales reps in the last 8 months and what concerns me are the sheer number of technology sales reps or businesses feeling the adverse impact and reality of this recession. Many are feeling frustrated that what worked 12 months ago is not longer producing good results. If you are feeling this way, you are not alone. 
There are lots of consistently successful salespeople suddenly feeling like they’ve woken up in the movie Glengary, Glengary Ross, questioning their own ability and future. What you must understand is that there have been profound changes occurring in the way your IT customers and prospects are buying products, services, and starting projects.
By understanding these changes, and adapting to them, you will be able to survive and start to grow your business and your profit, even in this economy. 
Sign up and listen (or download) my special audio series titled: The Seven Secrets to Selling IT in a Down Economy. I cover topics such as:

Why prospecting is so difficult today
Why customers aren’t buying products
Why you may be missing important opportunities in your current accounts
Why CIOs, IT Directors, and Managers aren’t taking your calls
Why your sales & marketing activities may be driving away your current clients and prospects
Why your success is determined by the first 10 seconds of a sales call
Why your clients see no value in your vendor partnerships or certifications

I provide tangible solutions and answers to the each one of these challenges.
>> Get your complimentary audio- Sign Up Now!
About Ramon Vela

Ramon Vela, an entrepreneur, author and speaker, is a foremost sales and direct-response marketing expert.  He “cut his teeth” working for, building, and starting VAR and channel organizations, and uses straight talk to pinpoint the critical elements that make the difference between sales success and failure. He can be contacted by visiting www.StreetSmartSolutionProvider.com.



Monday Morning Video: Trillion – The New Billion
Ramon Vela — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 12:06:10 +0000



This short video puts $1,000,000,000,000 into perspective!
Are you enjoying our weekly videos? Which are your favorites? I’d love to get your feedback on what you’d like to see more or less of – post your comments below or email me directly at rvela@StreetSmartSolutionProvider.com.



Monday Morning Video: Selling Advice… from a Girl Scout
Ramon Vela — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 12:17:57 +0000



Some candid selling advice bound to make you laugh!
Are you enjoying our weekly videos? Which are your favorites? I’d love to get your feedback on what you’d like to see more or less of – post your comments below or email me directly at rvela@StreetSmartSolutionProvider.com.



Monday Morning Video: Start Your Week with a Smile
Ramon Vela — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 12:42:52 +0000



A funny, creative commercial to start your week off with a smile!
Are you enjoying our weekly videos? Which are your favorites? I’d love to get your feedback on what you’d like to see more or less of – post your comments below or email me directly at rvela@StreetSmartSolutionProvider.com.



Complimentary Audio: How to Sell Server Virtualization Projects w/Dave Sobel and Ramon Vela
Ramon Vela — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:25:23 +0000
Complimentary Teleseminar Audio – Sign Up Now!
Don’t miss out on our latest free download. Dave Sobel, Author and CEO of Evolve Technologies and me, Ramon Vela, discuss how to successfully pitch server virtualization projects to your customers by focusing on the business value, rather than the underlying technology.
Here’s what you learn in this audio:

3 ways to sell virtualization
Common problems that can be solved with virtualization
How to approach clients with a business value approach
Questions to ask for better qualification, and
Why traditional approaches actually drive away clients

We’ll provide tangible solutions and answers to each one of these areas. Please enjoy the teleseminar.
Get your complimentary teleseminar audio – Sign Up Now!



Monday Morning Video: A historic IT project
Ramon Vela — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 14:03:19 +0000



Are you enjoying our weekly videos? Which are your favorites? I’d love to get your feedback on what you’d like to see more or less of – post your comments below or email me directly at rvela@StreetSmartSolutionProvider.com.



Why You Should Care About Your Prospect’s Emotional State?
Ramon Vela — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:00:43 +0000
“Employers have announced 1,652,082 job cuts since June 2008″. This is how an article by Eileen Feretic titled “Don’t Forget the Survivors” (from Baseline Magazine) started.  And as I read this it hit me all the more that understanding our clients and potential client’s emotional state is important.
A lot has been written about the “right” emotional state of the Seller, which I agree, you need to be confident and positive, etc., if you want to sell effectively. However, given that we are living in some of the most difficult financial times since the depression, we have to take into consideration not only our emotional state but that of our clients as well, if we want to sell effectively.
The big reason for that is, their emotional state and that of the company as a collective will, or should I say “has”, changed the way they buy or don’t buy or hold on to their budgets.
OUR PROSPECT’S CURRENT EMOTIONAL STATE

In my mind, this is really a case for humanizing the sales process. For instance, Ms. Feretic goes on to say in the article, ” Employees who survive layoffs tend to be overworked, stressed out and worried that their jobs will be the next ones cut.”
This is understandable. This may be the reason why many of you have a harder time getting through to your prospects. This may be the reason why decision makers seem to be unwilling or hard pressed to make a decision. 
The bottom-line, is that these overworked-stressed-out-and-worried-about-their-job IT buyers and decision makers rather not make a buying decision if that decision ends up being the wrong one.
The important fact to remember and herin lies the opportunity, is that they still need to do their jobs which entails solving their challenges, which means employing solutions, which means buying products, services or your expertise.
YOUR CHALLENGE AND OPPORTUNITY
Your challenge and opportunity is how do you get them to have the confidence and the trust to make that buying decision? 
Here are two things you can do:
1) Stop trying to sell them all the time and start by helping them solve their problems

Your sales manager is going to love this advice (LOL) and I know it sounds counter intuitive, but try being a human instead of the “sales-churn-and-burn-them-Gordan-Gekko-warrior” mentality that all the sales books encourage you to be. Take in to account what they are going through (heck what many of us are going through) and give them a break on the sales pressure. I mean it.
Try simply asking “I know things are tough right now (especially if you know there has been layoffs) and I am going to try something new with you. Instead of me trying to sell you or persuade you to try the latest-greatest product or service, how about we talk about the challenges you are going through (have examples ready, give them problems that your current clients have had, ones that you were able to help them solve). Then we can decide if there is a fit”. In other words, just take the pressure off.
Now you don’t have to try that verbatim but if done in calm, natural voice, something like that will work 70% of the time when you get a hold of someone. I’ve tried it and I know it works.
2) Increase their trust and confidence

The next thing you can do to increase their confidence in your solution and build trust is buying providing them with information and knowledge that A) shows them that you know what you are doing and educates them on the results of the solution, B) shows them the estimated/intended ROI or return, C) shows them the good and bad (no hype) information of the solution, so they feel like they are making an informed decision, D) show them what you can do by utilizing a valuable filled assessment, in other words, give them a taste of what they will get by working with you.
There are, of course other things you can do, but if you try these two you will be farther along than 99.9% of sales people who sell technology. Plus, you will feel better.  
Note: Here is a little known or acknowledged fact, the reason why there is so much churn within sales jobs is not because the job is more difficult than lets say a plumber or firefighter where there is less churn, its because our society dislikes what is known as the traditional sales process and the result is that we are taught to dislike sales people which in turn means that many sales people tend to dislike the sales process they employ. Heck, I think that some sales people even dislike themselves for apply the traditional approach. 

 If you are still following me on this one, here is the bottom-line, “change how you sell and humanize the process”. You will feel better about selling which in turn means more sales”. Not that complicated.
Let me know what you think. Send me an email at RVela@StreetSmartsolutionprovider.com.
You can also get more specific info by subscribing to our online marketing course go to www.StreetSmartSolutionProvider.com or if you are reading this on our Blog site see the right hand side of the page for a web form.



Complimentary On Demand Video: How IT Solution Providers Adapt Their Technology Marketing Strategies for a Down Economy
Ramon Vela — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 21:44:30 +0000
In this complimentary 2-part series, you’ll join Valerie Nixon, Director of Marketing for Adexis and ISOdx (divisions of Cranel, Inc.) and myself, as we share our “in the trenches”, real world experience on how IT solution providers can adapt their technology marketing strategies for a down economy.
Here’s what you will learn in this 2-part Video Series …

How tech buyer’s behavior has changed and what that means to you
What’s NOT working (and what to avoid in lead and demand generation)
What’s working and why (and how ignoring this advice can be fatal)
How Social Media fits in and how to integrate it

Putting all the pieces together (and what should a comprehensive plan look like)

We’ll provide tangible examples and answers to each one of these areas so sign up for this valuable video series, now!
NOTE: please keep in mind that this content will only be available free for a limited time. So please view while you can. I hope you enjoy!
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Let me know what you think. Send me an email at RVela@StreetSmartsolutionprovider.com.
You can also get more specific info by subscribing to our online marketing course go to www.StreetSmartSolutionProvider.com or if you are reading this on our Blog site see the right hand side of the page for a web form.