Whale Hunting Wisdom

Welcome to the Whale Hunters Wisdom blog with Founder, Dr. Barbara Weaver Smith. Join us for frequent ideas on business development, success stories, comprehensive sales articles, and regular links to all of our new resources. You will find a lively discussion of small business growth, RFP strategies, sales development, sales resources, and business deals. It is all about growing your business.

Five Steps to Great Sales Materials

February 20, 2012 by Barbara Weaver Smith

A version of this post was published at agencyside in January 2011.

Let’s face it—most of your sales materials are all about you.

The sales rainmakers say, “I need a brochure about Product X.”  Or “When can you get me a case study on Project Y?”  Or, “I need a think piece on Topic A.”

Or the marketing team gets together, and decides that you need a new intro video, or a redesign of your website, or a clever new marketing piece on this clever new program you’re offering.

In each case, something about YOU is your company’s motivation for the new piece.

How can you turn that around and develop sales materials that are all about them–your clients and prospects? Continue reading →

Posted in business development tactics, content strategy, Sales Tips, Women in Business | Tagged , ,

The Hunt is Never Over

January 18, 2012 by Guest Blogger
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Brooke Green
Brooke Green

Today’s Guest Blogger is my great friend Brooke Green, principal at Caskey Achievement Strategies.  Brooke is passionate about her work coaching sales teams and beloved by her clients. Thanks for joining us, Brooke!

I always find this time of year interesting. If you have any responsibility for revenue growth within your company, I’m sure you’ve been asked to create a sales plan for how you will make that happen. My experience is that most are searching for new revenue, inside new businesses. Why would you not concentrate on what’s already there? Your key accounts. Continue reading →

Posted in Business Development Strategy, Sales Process, Small Business Advice, Women in Business | Tagged , , , , ,

Key Accounts: A Great Source for New Revenues

January 4, 2012 by Guest Blogger
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For 2012, we’re planning a “theme of the month” approach on the blog.  January’s theme is new business with your best current accounts.  I’ve lined up a great list of guest bloggers to help explore this topic, starting today.

Please welcome Dave Cooke (@SalesCooke), CEO of Strategic Resource Group and an expert on how to grow key accounts.  Thanks for kicking off 2012 for us Dave!

The definition of business success is growth.  Increasing revenue drives most sales organizations.  However, there are two aspects of the growth formula that are often underlooked; or, at least, underemphasized– client retention and business development in existing accounts.

The most efficient channel for increases or improvements to profitable revenues is maintaining the business relationships you have and leveraging those relationships to offer and deliver more.

Your best customers are your most efficient channel for new business opportunities.  Yet, many organizations struggle to create and discover these opportunities.  For the most part it is because they have become so proficient at being satisfied with the existing relationship that they fail to understand or recognize how to
expand and build on it.  Continue reading →

Posted in Business Development Strategy, business development tactics, Sales Development | Tagged , , ,

Reprise: Most Popular Post of 2011

December 31, 2011 by Barbara Weaver Smith
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This was our all-time biggest blog traffic post, originally from June 2011.

Here are five key points to consider in preparation to make your initial call on a prospective customer.   No, they’re not about putting brochures in a folder or loading up the power point!

  1. 1.Know the customer.  Some sales people call on prospective customers with little more than a “lead”—maybe only an address and a name scribbled on a post-it note.  But whale hunters do not call on a large prospect until they have a complete dossier prepared by a Scout, someone in sales support, marketing or administrative assistance who has been trained to conduct the essential research. Your dossier should include a complete description of the company and its history.  You need to know its major customers and competitors, key products and services, and its market position.  Record three years of data on revenue, gross margin, and operating margin.  Total assets and total debt help you create a snapshot of the company’s current position.What is the company’s current market strategy?  Are they gaining or losing market share?  Are they poised to introduce new products or services?  Are they B-to-B or B-to-C?  What kind of  budget have they had historically?  Who is or has been their incumbent provider? Continue reading →
Posted in Sales Process, Sales Tips, Small Business Advice, Women in Business | Tagged , ,

Best of Whale Hunters Wisdom 2011

December 29, 2011 by Barbara Weaver Smith
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Best of Whale Hunters WisdomAs 2011 closes out, I’ll feature a few of our most popular posts of 2011.

This one, posted in June, has to do with building trust or fixing blunders.

We came home from the grocery  with a little mesh package of new red potatoes.  Also a package of baby portabella mushrooms.  Planned to use them on the same day; did not demand that they stay fresh for even three days (although that wouldn’t be too much to expect, would it?)

As I started assembling the roast pork tenderloin dinner, I discovered that the potatoes were rotten.  Not just mildly old—completely unusable.  All of them.  So good husband returned to the supermarket to get replacements.  A few minutes after he left, I opened the portabellas.  Whew!  Old. Unacceptable.  So from a very expensive, high-end so-called “luxury” grocery store, I had two high-priced items on the same day that were unfit to eat.  From a provider whose minimum requirement should be “food that is fit to eat on the day you buy it.”

Read more

 

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B2B Account Strategies from The Geehan Group

December 27, 2011 by Barbara Weaver Smith
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Our frieB2B Executive Playbooknds at The Geehan Group are launching Sean Geehan’s new book The B2B Executive Playbook in January.  They’ve got two great events coming up on January 9 and 10th.  On the 9th, a live luncheon event at Aileron in Dayton, Ohio, and on the 10th, a webinar 11 am – 12 noon EST.

The webinar is presented by Gary Vastola, Vice President Service Offering Marketing & Field Support at Xerox and Karen Posey, Senior Consultant, Geehan Group.  The title is Drive Exponential Growth through Account Based Innovation, and the registration fee of $25 includes a copy of Sean Geehan’s book.

Geehan Groups works primarily with large companies to implement executive sponsor programs.  But even smaller B2B companies can learn a lot from them about taking care of key accounts.  I think you’ll find it worth while.

More info and registration here.

Posted in Business Development Strategy, News & Events, Sales Management, Small Business Growth | Tagged , , , , ,