Ten Steps To Cold Calling Greatness

Ten Steps to Cold-Calling Greatness The Must-React System

Ten Steps to Cold-Calling Greatness The Must-React System

Base Document Number: TEN STEPS TO COLD-CALLING GREATNESS, FINAL Revision Number 2.0

Delivery Date: September 1, 2007 Prepared by: Kraig Kleeman, Chief Executive Officer Reviewed by: Gina Burge, Senior Analyst

Disclaimer This document is intended only for the use of Blaire Group, and its appointed readers. Any reproduction or re-use is expressly prohibited. Copyright ©2007 Blaire Group. All rights reserved.

Blaire Group • 2506 N. Clark Street • Suite 368 • Chicago, Illinois • 60614 p 800.654.7887 • www.blairegroup.com

CONTENTS EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW……………………………………………….……..3 AC DC, JESSIE JACKSON, & COLD-CALLING………………..…..….4 ON THE ROAD AGAIN……………………………………..………..……..….5 PROSPECTING IS BROKEN……………………………..………..……..….6 QUALITY TALK-TIME............………………..…….…..………..………….7 THE MUST-REACT SYSTEM………………………………..………………10 REMOVE YOURSELF FROM THE COMPETITION…………..…….…12 MUST-REACT SYSTEM PRINCIPLES……………….………….………..13 HOW THE SYSTEM IS DEPLOYED………………………………………..15 CASE STUDY RESULTS………………………..……..……………………..18

REPORT SUMMARY & BACKGROUND

Executive Overview Report Summary In my career, I have overseen more than 1,000,000 cold call presentations. I have instructed thousands of professionals in the area of cold-calling techniques. When I share stories of how The Must-React System has helped me gain access to rock stars, heads of state, elite corporate executives, and global social activists, people are amazed. In addition to being the foundation for two wildly successful companies that I have had the pleasure of being the founder, The Must-React System has helped me gain access to: 9 9 9 9 9 9

Rock legend Bono of U2 Bear Sterns CEO Jimmy Cayne Former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin Steven Page of rock band Barenaked Ladies Former United States President Jimmy Carter Scores of “C-Suite” senior level executives regularly and consistently

This report contains personal stories and business illustrations where The Must-React System acquired meetings with rock stars, heads of state, and senior corporate executives. This report: 9 Examines the usages of The Must-React System 9 Is written in “first person” so the reader can enjoy the stories and illustrations herein 9 Is meant to be lively and provocative versus research intensive 9 Introduces the principles of The Must-React System 9 Introduces concepts associated with Pipeline Predictability 9 Discusses deployment, process, and case studies Please see our sister White Paper entitled “Sales Pipeline Predictability”. It treats this same topic in a strict academic sense.

Report Background Blaire Group, an independent sales research and advisory firm based in Chicago, specializes in sales process research, re-engineering, and results. Dozens of global sales organizations have successfully implemented our internationally recognizes processes and tools. Our analysts measured, rates, and scored 20,000 sales professionals for selling behavior utilizing out unique weighted-scoring system. All measurements critically assess the effectiveness of prospecting behavior and the effectiveness of surrounding assistive systems.

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AC DC, Jessie Jackson & Cold Calling

It’s a long way to the top, If you want to rock and roll! -AC DC, 1982

During my teen years I spent much of my time listening to the rock legends of the day: Steve Miller Band, Fleetwood Mac, AC DC, Ted Nugent, Alice Cooper and others. If you were living in St. Louis at that time you would have probably tuned in to KSLQ “Super Q” to listen to their Top 40 format during the week and celebrity DJ, Lee Ford, on Sunday nights. Mr. Ford’s talk-show entitled Point, Counter-Point was uncanny.

He had a unique ability to consistently craft

Sunday evening talking points that appealed to the teen crowd. Ford was half talk show host, half DJ, and an all around funny-guy. In short he was a legend among my friends and I. Anyone who was able to get through the phone lines to participate with Ford gained immediate popularity in our group. A lot of area teen-agers boasted about occasionally getting onto Ford’s show. But I found more challenge in trying to make myself an “unofficial” member of the radio cast. With brute force tenacity, a handful of teen-agers found their fifteen seconds of fame on Point Counter-Point. I certainly had a lot of brute force and tenacity on the telephone. But fifteen seconds of fame wasn’t enough for me. I wanted to be a regular guest. They weren’t exactly holding auditions but my persistence and my techniques more than compensated. Week after week I would call into the show, work my way through the screening staff and emerge on the airwaves with a smart quip, a joke, or a generally amusing conversation topic for Mr. Ford. I began to develop a small cult following. People would call in just to ask about the mystery caller. And week after week I appeared like clockwork to the amusement of all my fans. For a young kid from the mid-west, I was hitting the big time, and I liked it.

Several years later, I began attending college at a small Liberal Arts College northwest of Chicago. I was extremely active in student life by serving as Student Senate President, President of College Republicans, Chairman of Young Republicans for Kane County, a Resident Assistant in the dorm, and the leader of a variety of other committees and social events. I also dated a stunningly attractive young woman who would be crowned homecoming queen the following year: Jodie Andersen. Life was good in 1979!

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On the Road Again

Here I am, on the road again, Here I go, playing star again, There I go, turn the page. -Bob Seger, 1973

I occasionally organized teams that would trek into urban Chicago with the goal of discovering new cultures and differing ways of life. Through the recommendation of a wise and caring professor, I was able to justify many of my road trips to urban Chicago as “academic” according to certain department policy, none of which I would understand without the coaching of Dr. Richard Clossman. Reimbursement for gasoline, tolls, meals, and even the use of a college vehicle! On one such odyssey I led a team of utterly suburban kids to spend the day in the heart of Chicago’s south side at an Operation Push meeting. Everyone from our group looked forward to listening to Reverend Jessie Jackson articulate his branded speech, which was popular for mixing visceral cries for biblical faith along with his trademark roars concerning a plethora of social injustices. But merely sitting in the pews and participating in Mr. Jackson’s “amen corner” was not enough for me. So, prior to our trip I had engaged some of Mr. Jackson’s staff on the telephone. At this point in my life I had not received any sales training. I wasn’t at all connected with Jackson’s staff; I was just a nineteen year old college kid from St Louis who was fearless on the telephone. With a ‘gut level’ ability to communicate and persuade I organized an in-person lunch meeting with the Reverend, himself! My college professors were stunned when my group reported that we had enjoyed a private meal with one of Chicago’s most prominent political activists. I remember the Dean of Students asking me, “Kraig, how did you achieve access to a lunch meeting with Rev. Jesse Jackson?” I would be queried many times in the years ahead about my ability to secure meetings with high level executives, almost ondemand. As a college student, I had not yet organized illustrative language and a principle-based description of The Must-React System, but it was emerging, for sure. The reason I was able to secure minor celebrity status as a teen and a meeting with Reverend Jessie Jackson was that I was a natural born coldcaller. Due to space limitations, I cannot share the entire stories of meetings that I secured with U2’s Bono, former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, or Barenaked Ladies lead singer Steven Page. You will have to attend a seminar or read my book for those stories. What I can tell you is that The MustReact System works in all formations cold-calling.

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Prospecting is Broken

Ain’t no use jivin’ Aint’ no use jokin’ Everything is Broken -Bob Dylan, 1989

I have read what seems like hundreds of those sales manuals and strategy books. I’ve gone to the seminars and I’ve been briefed. So many times I wonder if these ‘experts’ have ever picked up a phone or given a sales presentation, much less closed a deal. I realized early in my life that I had a skill that was crucial to sales success. I was able to get a hold of anybody on the phone. I didn’t realize the power of that ability as a teen on the ‘Super Q’ or a young college student leader meeting with Jesse Jackson. But, I have spent much of my professional career trying to draw principles and teachings out of my own experience to share with others. This natural God given ability has been boiled down into a group of principles that I have labeled The Must-React System.

Prospecting is broken. Regardless of industry, sales people throughout the country are just plain bad at meeting new customers and developing new relationships that lead to new, closed business. I don’t want to get into all the reasons why some feel more comfortable milking their existing account versus finding new business as that might be a whole book, itself. Regardless of the reason, there is a rising trend in sales organizations to get new business. If companies can’t prove to Wall Street that they are acquiring new accounts and building their customer base they will suffer losses. It’s as simple as that. And for that reason alone CEO’s will yell at Sales Executives, who in turn will yell at Regional Directors, who will yell at managers, all the way down the line to you. Every company that wants to continue growth needs their sales team to be proficient in finding and closing net-new opportunities. But, unfortunately, most sales persons are not good at closing new business, much less cold-calling. There are a multitude of reasons for this phenomenon.

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Clowns to the left of me,

Quality Talk Time

Jokers to the right, Here I am stuck in the middle with you.

The first is that the average sales person is untrained in cold calling. Even -Stealers Wheel, 1973

those who have been trained, have been poorly trained. Cold calling isn’t intuitive for most people even if they are great sales people. I once knew a sales rep that sold several multi-million dollar products and was the number one rep in the company. And get this: He never once called a single new prospect. All of the work was done in old customer accounts where he was well known and well liked. Great sales person, lousy cold caller. I spent a few hours on the phone with him and the reason was quickly apparent: he had no clue how to get into a company that didn’t welcome him with open arms. I don’t mean to say that this person wasn’t a polished politician in his accounts. He was a wizard in the classical sales sense. But, if he and others like him want to remain competitive in the years to come he needs to learn how to cold call. Another rep I knew claimed to devote two days of his week to cold calling. On these two days he claimed to make 100 cold calls. A lot of people feel like they need to make high volumes of calls to get results. According to conventional wisdom, good results for direct marketing efforts like cold calling are typically less than 1%. That means, according to the so-called experts, if you made 100 calls in a week you’d be lucky to get one person to meet with you. There is no way to put that amount of effort into cold calling and still complete all of the other tasks you have in active sales cycles. My argument is simple: the reason for the poor results isn’t that cold calling does not or cannot work, rather, it’s that people are doing it badly. Let me be specific, most sales professionals do not understand how to cultivate quality “talk-time” into their cold-calling activities. Many have failed so often at cold calling they feel that their time is just better spent in other efforts. They will tell me that they are really a closer and not a prospector. But in reality these sales people are not good at generating new interest in accounts where they are well established. They typically only sell to one or two departments, places where they have developed friendships due to the generosity of the American Express corporate card. These people are rarely good at plumbing the depths of their customer base. They are afraid of hurting their contacts they already have and so they become stuck in the few departments to which they have been introduced. The problem of prospecting is not just getting new customers. It’s also about developing new relationships in old accounts.

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“There must be some way out of here,” said the Joker to the Thief

It’s no wonder people are so poorly trained at cold calling. The so called ‘experts’ are total phonies! I never cease to be amazed at the plethora of books, articles, lectures, and topical tidbits written about the topic. Many of

“There’s too much confusion. I can’t get no relief.”

these experts have little to offer other than personality and charisma. None of them have the history of getting on-demand meetings like I do. I devote a

-Bob Dylan, 1968

sequence of my book The Must-React-System to exposing a few of these phonies.

But one example was glaring. I found an article from an online

property that I prefer not to name in this article, but I do specifically cite many of these so-called “experts” in my book. This organization was so proud of its article on cold-calling that the editors did not bother to cite an author. Wow! The article compiled the basic, general BS that most so-called experts highlight regarding this topic. You know the shtick: •

Overcome your reluctance

•

Research your prospects

•

Prepare an opening statement

•

Make gatekeepers your allies

•

Stay focused

•

Avoid common mistakes

•

Stick with it

This sounds more like a high-school basketball coach preparing teen-agers for an upcoming tournament than instruction for a professional curriculum designed to equip sales professionals for an important activity. These conartists purport the same underdeveloped cold-calling script which goes something like this:

Sales Professional: “Hi Sally. This is Bob Johnson from XYZ Company. Is Mr. Williams in?”

Sally (Admin): “No he isn’t. May I take a message?”

Sales Professional: “Do you keep his calendar?”

Sally (Admin): “Yes I do. What is this regarding?”

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Baby you could never look me in the

(This sequence is where their systems break down entirely)

eye, You buckle with the weight of the words,

Sales Professional: “I am looking to schedule a meeting with him to introduce

Stop draggin’ my…

him to our suite of X products, and share with him how we saved

Stop draggin my… Stop draggin’ my heart around! -Tom Petty & Stevie Nicks, 1981

COMPETITOR more than $1MM in operating costs over a 12-month period.”

I recognize that the aforementioned pitch has a few good elements. But, every sales rep on the planet uses the same basic chatter. Come on people. Let’s get real. This kind of advice is neither instructional nor educational. In reality this type of advice is nothing more than hyperbole cleverly masked in simple language and remedial concepts. The more I research what is written and spoken by supposed authorities regarding the topic of cold-calling, I am reminded of certain lyrics sung by Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks in 1981,

There are a lot of so-called experts flying around the country and / or shouting loudly over the web’s reach regarding the topic of cold-calling. To most of them I want to say, “Stop dragging the hearts of sincere people around. Leave them alone and allow them find a real system that brings genuine guidance, structured accountability and real substance to assist with a difficult, yet powerful topic.”

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You may write me down in history with

The Must-React System

your twisted, bitter lies, You may trod me down in the very dirt, And still like the dust I’ll rise

I personally started a direct-response sales company specializing in selling a variety of technology products that grew from 3 employees to 50 employees in

-Maya Angelou, 1978

approximately 3 years. Annual revenue grew to $20,000,000 during that same

-Benjamin Chase Harper, 1995

time frame. Ultimately, my board of directors and I sold the company to our largest, most strategic marketing partner for a valuation of $30,000,000. It was a great run! I recall being interviewed by a local journalist who was writing an article highlighting the company’s staggering growth. When I shared with her why we experienced such growth, she continued to harangue me with the same question, “What was the unique product that you were able to sell into a hot market at exactly the right time? Where did you get all of your product knowledge and market insight?” At that time I simply could not articulate it to a total stranger, but our success had little to do with any, single product. Our entire success could be attributed to a profound introductory messaging system named The Must-React System. It was, unquestionably, the key to my company’s amazing growth and subsequent success. Through The System my sales team could secure meetings with senior executives, almost on demand! Through solid execution, we created an enormous pipeline of prospects that translated into revenue regularly and consistently. There was no magic bullet of market expertise or industry knowledge that I had and my competitors didn’t. It was entirely based on our ability to develop new relationships at executive levels that turned into big business.

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Cracking the Code

He bought me with a price, Freed me from the pit, Full of emptiness and wrath, And the fire that burns in it.

The truth is that there is a secret to successful cold calling. There is a reason that I have been able to schedule these types of meetings almost

And I’ve been saved. By the blood of the

effortlessly, and to train others to do so. In my book I share stories about how I

Lamb.

have held meetings with C-level executives at a majority of the Fortune 500, -Bob Dylan, 1980

how I secured private appointments with a Prime Minister, a rock star, and many more. All of these have been possible because I have ‘cracked the code’ on cold calling. The culture of phone sales can be understood and manipulated through several rules that I have developed: The old adage about working smarter not harder is true. Cold calling is a unique practice that needs to be developed and honed. Some of the methods and practices we prescribe may seem counter-intuitive. But that’s only because you have been used to thinking about prospecting in traditional, ineffective terms. The fact that so many people are all using the same techniques and the same scripts to get into the same accounts creates a white noise for executives. They can’t pay attention to all of the different details between your and your competition. You all sound the same. And they already have someone who can do that. Classic sales methodologies have taught students to distinguish themselves from their competition. Come up with a different perk or exciting story for your customer. If you can show them how you are different from the rest they will be interested in talking to you. Unfortunately this type of differentiation doesn’t work because no one is paying attention to the detail. They are listening for the first sign of a sales pitch. As soon as you’ve identified yourself as a sales person you can be eliminated.

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Remove Yourself from the Competition

The answer is not distinguishing yourself from the competition, It’s removing yourself from the competition -Kraig Kleeman, 2002

You need to stop thinking of yourself as a sales person representing a company and a product. This presentation model that has failed hundreds of sales people already. It is insanity to continue using it! Traditional prospecting methodologies challenge cultural norms and simply do not work. Let’s face it, our culture hates to be approached by a sales person.

The Must-React

System recognizes the truth and it trains you to REMOVE YOURSELF FROM THE SALES PROCESS! If sales people are a nuisance stop being a sales person.

You need to learn how to re-invent yourself so that instead of

“smelling” like a sales rat or like a product-hack, you smell like information. You smell like Assistance. You smell like Research. You smell like Big-Brain Data Compilation. This approach will radically change your style and your success rate. When I train sales professionals in formal seminars, I ask them to literally remove the word “sales” from their vocabulary. Even from their title. I ask them to never schedule a first call as a sales call because our culture despises sales people and sales calls. So, if you can’t beat ‘em, then join ‘em. Rather than “trying to persuade” your target to let you impose yourself on him to sell him something, I train my students to invite their targets to attend research-based briefings that have relevant information that is tied to their prospects’ core values. And believe me, the actual words that you use must follow a tightly prescribed set of principles. The results are amazing. We have teams of sales people all over the country who are now acquiring new meetings at a rate that was unheard of prior to being trained and certified in The System.

The Must-React System is designed to completely remove you from traditional introductory selling. It insists that you enter the “no product zone” and it trains you to “brief” your prospects on research results that are highly relevant to them. Further, the briefings are cleverly designed to allow you to deeply qualify your prospects for possible sales opportunities. I have a particular client ($100M software vendor) who had its entire sales team trained and certified in techniques of The System. The results have been extraordinary. Each sales person at this organization now conducts 5 executive briefings each week with net-new targeted buyers. After one fiscal year of usage, The System was responsible for 40% of the company’s entire pipeline as well as 15% of new license revenue, and it produced staggering volumes of initial meetings with targeted buyers.

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THE MUST-REACT SYSTEM PRINCIPLES

It’s so hard to find, One rich man in ten, With a satisfied mind. -Bob Dylan, 1989

It is impossible for me to thoroughly develop all of the principles of The System in a short business article. You can purchase my book or attend a seminar for a full examination. Below is a list of the primary principles associated with The System that are used for all script-building and talktime components to cold-calling. 1. Remove Yourself from the Sales Cycle Our culture inherently resists, almost despises sales. Your targets have built a fortress of procedures and technologies to boost sales resistance internally. By selling through traditional means you are, in effect, picking a fight with your target. The Must-React System teaches you to completely remove yourself from the sales cycle and appeal to your prospects by “briefing” them on new and relevant information.

2. Power Responds to Power Sales professionals from nearly all industries display virtually no understanding of a cold calling principle entitled “Power Responds to Power”. An over-whelming majority of sales professionals do not incorporate this principle at any level of cold calling practices. This concept is critical to achieve acceptable levels of new prospect meeting acquisitions.

3.

Enter the No-Product Zone Most sales professionals incorporate product-centric dialog within its introductory messaging. This type of messaging fails for a variety of reasons: (i) the target typically gets dozens of product-centric calls daily and is immune to such calls that are centered around introducing him/her to a company and its products and services, (ii) the target has trained his/her staff to reject such meeting offers, (iii) product-centric messages do not address the target’s core values in any way.

4. Research-Based Briefing Blaire Group research shows that the most powerful methodology to acquire new prospect meetings is to incorporate the principle of “Research-based Briefings” into all introductory messaging. Multitudes of sales professionals are untrained and ill-equipped at delivering this persuasive pipeline building technique. Researchbased briefings are designed to, in effect, replace traditional sales calls. Research-based Briefings incorporate the following techniques: (i) 30-minute PowerPoint presentation highlighting research that culminates in a case for the vendor’s solution; (ii) the presentation follows a specific chronology: (a) three core issues, (b) eight fast facts, (c) major analyst opinions, (d) definitive next step timetable. Research-based Briefings inherently incorporate permission-based qualifying techniques so as to tightly qualify every aspect of the prospective buyer’s scenario. Further, and when structured properly, the Briefings lead to an on-site meeting as a natural next step, which accelerates sales cycles significantly.

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Oh you have a flame; feel it in your heart.

5. Less Really is More Presenting entirely too much information when attempting to schedule introductory meetings is one of the most widely used, yet damaging actions. One analyst described most cold calling “talk-time” session observations he has analyzed as “incoherent, irrelevant, and nongermane to the target’s core values.” The principle of ‘Less Really is More’ instructs the student how to dramatically reduce the content associated with introductory messaging, focus on what is core, and move straight to the close for a meeting.

And down at the core, is the hottest part. It is burning. It is burning -Eric Clapton, 1977

6. Core Values Declaration Systemically, professional sales representatives do not appropriately appeal to its targets on the basis of the target’s true, core values. This group tends to articulate either features or benefits…both of which are in error. A Must-React Messaging Workshop will deconstruct and reconstruct current language and translate it into core values through benefit-superset techniques. Extensive workshop time is devoted to language development and actual scripting based upon incontrovertible target core values.

7. Peer Reacts to Peer Sales professionals from nearly all industries display virtually no understanding of a cold calling principle entitled “Peer Reacts to Peer”, and regularly do not incorporate this principle at any level of cold calling practices. 8.

Commanding Statement Expressions Research indicates that tone represents 80% of what is communicated, towering over the power of persuasive words. Sales professionals from nearly all industry sectors who “ask” for meetings with targets and lose the verbal battle, in part, due to non-authoritative tone. Must-React Messaging Workshop graduates are trained to “command” meetings authoritatively and without hesitation.

9. Deadlines Really Work ”Deadlines Work” is a simple concept that is entirely overlooked. Extensive role playing in a workshop format can inject this valuable principle into an entire sales team and product significant results in all areas of selling. 10. Enough About Me, Let’s Talk About You Another horribly damaging trend in most cold-calling is the practice of talking about yourself, your company, your products, your corporate background, etc. When surveyed, senior executives (your target buyers) are “most turned off” by flashy presentations outlining vendors’ so-called backgrounds and corporate accomplishments. The fact is that human nature tends to be self-centered. Sadly, most cold-callers fall into the trap of talking so much about themselves (their product, their company, and their recent “wins” that they completely lose their audience immediately. The System trains its students to reconstruct all of this irrelevant chatter and summarize it in a few bullet points, all the while succeeding at stimulating the prospect to talk about his / her environment versus our own offerings or accomplishments.

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HOW THE SYSTEM IS DEPLOYED

We typically engage with new clients in one of two ways: Either by presenting a Must-React Corporate Seminar on-site or by engaging in a multi-week Pipeline Predictability Consulting Engagement. Corporate Must-React Seminar Must-React Corporate Seminars are 3-day engagements. It begins with two days of on-site, observation. A Blaire Group professional will examine and identify current prospecting complexities that exist within your current organization. Our analyst's observation & research will identify "talk-time" and "cold-calling" deficiencies. He / she will present customized concepts of The Must-React System to your organization. It features a "hands-on" clinic time. Your team will experience expert, customized instruction with developing cold calling tactics, and other new business development strategies. Corporate Must-React Seminar Activities •

2-days of on-site assessment

•

1-Day Customized Seminar

•

The Must-React System customized for your Corporate environment

•

Live Demonstration of the System's Effectiveness

•

Individual Demonstration of skills

•

Question and Answer Forum

Who should attend the Corporate Must-React Seminar? •

Sales Professionals of all industries

•

Business Development Professionals

•

Managers Responsible for new-meeting, new-client-acquisitionactivities

•

Telemarketing / Tele-Prospecting Professionals

•

Corporate sales trainers

•

Anyone who wants to expert "cold calling" direction and instruction

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Consulting Engagement Activities For many organizations the key to fast, sustainable revenue creation lies in reengineering existing sales processes and systems. Systematic inefficiencies, including outmoded prospecting methodologies need to be examined, upgraded, and optimized to achieve revenue goals. A Blaire Group Consulting Engagement analyzes all aspects your organizations' approach to pipeline development. The purpose of Pipeline-Predictability engagements is to help you achieve Pipeline Predictability so you can achieve Revenue Predictability. Our team will identify current forms of prospecting that are largely ineffective, and recommend corrective action for greater prospecting productivity. This may include reconstructing team charters, revising all introductory messaging, establishing research-based briefings, revising outmoded compensation plans, etc. Most Consulting Engagements are ten days in duration. While no two Engagements are identical, the purpose of most PipelinePredictability Consulting Engagements is to assist with sales pipeline expansion that is predictable. Achieving a state of Pipeline-Predictability is the most effective activity to achieve predictable revenue streams. Our team will identify current forms of prospecting & pipeline development that are largely ineffective. We will recommend corrective action. This may include reconstructing team charters, revising existing introductory messaging models, establishing models for research-based briefings, revising outmoded compensation plans, creating activity-based requirements, etc. Fact 1: Pipeline predictability leads to revenue predictability. Our distinct view is that healthy organizations will place as much value and visibility on Demand Creation processes and results as they do for both pipeline- and revenuedevelopment processes and results. Fact 2: Few organizations have the expertise to extract such value and visibility. Consider the following: •

72% of sales organizations from Global 2000 corporations are dissatisfied with the quality and quantity of its sales pipelines

•

Product-centric presentations are uninviting and do not attract targeted buyers

•

87% of all sales professionals at Global 2000 corporations are untrained at conducting executive level, research briefings

•

69% of all sales organizations form Global 2000 corporations fail to properly disseminate leads to field sales or partner organizations

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•

42% do not have adequate call preparation or call management systems in place

•

81% of all sales management executives do not track activity metrics that are consistent with best practices

•

93% of all sales professionals have never cold-called a senior level executive

Process

The professional services engagement includes: •

The Must-React System: During this sequence your sales force is trained in The Must React System. This is vital cold-calling training that transforms your sales team into a Prospecting Machine. The Must-React System equips each sales professional for cold-calling mastery.

•

Research Briefings: All initial sales calls will be transformed into Research-Based Briefings. The briefings distribute critical and relevant information to your prospects. Most importantly, the presentation is designed for your sales professional to be able to deeply qualify your prospective buyers for sales opportunities. It is the entry point for discovering and deploying new sales cycles.

•

Qualified Leads: The aforementioned activities will create qualified leads at much higher capture rates. These leads become incremental to the overall sales pipeline.

•

Increased Revenue: Revenue is increased as deals that are generated from The System consummate. Tight tracking mechanisms measuring pipeline contribution and revenue contribution is deployed.

•

Deliverables: Deliverables include extensive training, customized presentation templates, and customized email scripts and cold-calling scripts. We have an extreme commitment to preparing sales professionals to anticipate and respond to objections and to train them in the advanced art of permission-based qualifying. Activity tracking metrics are presented and additions to your company’s sales force automation system is recommended.

When our engagement ends, your sales professionals will be equipped to schedule meetings with executive decision-makers and to present researchbased briefings. Your sales managers will be equipped with the training and tools to make Must-React Messagingsm and Must Brief Presentationssm an ongoing and sustainable aspect your company’s sales culture.

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Case Study Results Following are the reported results of a publicly-held, global enterprise-class software company using The Must-React Systemrsm. This company markets enterprise content management software to the Global 2000. Its customer base includes more than 50 of the Fortune 100. Its entry sales price exceeds $200,000; it has closed single transactions in excess of $5,000,000. Its typical sales cycle is nine months.

Case Study Results: 7 Inside Sales Professionals  Target Prospects: CIO, CCO, CLO, SVP Business Units  7 Executive Briefings per week, per Rep  140 Briefings per Month  200 Executive Attendees per Month  15 Funded Initiatives discovered per Month

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Saving five to ten hours per week of sales professional’s time is only valuable when those hours are filled with meaningful activity that will ultimately produce more sales. Consider these results from one sales professional from the aforementioned case study who is certified in The Must-React System. Case Study Results:

Date

Actual Meeting Schedule Week of September 5, 2005

Briefing

Venue

9/6

Fidelity Investments C-Suite Executives

Webshare

9/6

Merrill Lynch CIO, CFO

Webshare

9/7

Lehman Brothers CCO, CFO, Controller

Webshare

9/7

AIG Controller, CIO, CFO

Webshare

9/8

Goldman Sachs CLO, CCO, CFO

Webshare

9/8

Citicorp CIO, CLO

Webshare

9/9

Aetna C-Suite Executives

Webshare

The Must-Reactsm offers a nearly immediate payback by increasing the new meeting capture rate while reducing associated costs.

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The Must-React Systemsm creates a pipeline of qualified prospects who have the authority and budget to make high dollar purchases enabling sales professionals to achieve a significantly higher close rates. Projected Results, Year 1

Total Annual Briefings

1,680

Qualified Lead Capture Rate

24%

Qualified Leads

403

Close Rate of Qualified Leads

10%

Number of Transactions

40

Average Sale Annualized Revenue

$200,000 $8,000,000

Actual Results, Year 1

Total Annual Briefings

1,700

Qualified Lead Capture Rate

22%

Qualified Leads

374

Close Rate of Qualified Leads

11%

Number of Transactions

41

Average Sale Annualized Revenue

$225,000 $9,225,000

Confidential Ten Steps to Cold-Calling Greatness

20