Recent Articles From EvanCarmichael.com http://www.evancarmichael.com/ http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/4480/The-future-is-here-Its-just-not-evenly-distributed-yet.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/4480/The-future-is-here-Its-just-not-evenly-distributed-yet.html The title of this post is a quote from William Gibson. Whoda’ thunk a science fiction writer would have such a compelling insight into the power of the E-Rep? http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/4480/Too-Many-Sales-Reps-Are-Wimps.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/4480/Too-Many-Sales-Reps-Are-Wimps.html In general, sales reps represent themselves as a pretty tough, resilient, independent bunch. I’m not so sure about that. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/4480/The-Rodney-Dangerfield-of-Sales-aka-Mr-Low-Price.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/4480/The-Rodney-Dangerfield-of-Sales-aka-Mr-Low-Price.html Ever wonder how Rodney Dangerfield came up with his signature, “I don’t get no respect,” line? My guess is it first hit him when he still had his job selling aluminum siding. Yep, that’s how he supported himself and his family before his big break on the Ed Sullivan Show. Anyway, talk about a tough thing to sell! How could you possibly differentiate your aluminum siding from their aluminum siding? http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/4480/Sales-Rep-Lame-Excuse-83.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/4480/Sales-Rep-Lame-Excuse-83.html Did you ever watch a customer or prospect make a bad decision? OK, dumb question… We’ve all lost deals because the guy on the other side of the desk just flat didn’t do a good job of making the decision. And because we hold the customer’s best interests near and dear to our hearts, it hurts to watch them do the “wrong” thing and buy from a competitor. But the sales rep certainly can’t be blamed for that, right? Wrong! http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/4480/Sometimes-Unintended-Consequences-Are-A-Good-Thing.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/4480/Sometimes-Unintended-Consequences-Are-A-Good-Thing.html We’re all familiar with the “Law of Unintended Consequences.” My personal favorite is still the plastic whistles that were packaged with Cap’n Crunch cereal back in the ’70s. Blowing the whistle into your phone triggered a connection to AT&T’s long distance dialing AND by-passed their billing system. Free calls! Not exactly what Quaker Oats had in mind. (…and Ma Bell was not pleased.) http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/4480/Funnel-or-Incubator.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/4480/Funnel-or-Incubator.html Friendly violent debates are really a lot of fun. They’re also the best way to practice selling complex ideas. Fortunately for me, there are lots of folks ready, willing and able to have no-holds-barred, free-for-all arguments about my allegedly brilliant ideas. One of my favorites involves the traditional “sales funnel” metaphor. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/4480/Is-Your-ERep-Any-Good.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/4480/Is-Your-ERep-Any-Good.html As a sales rep, you know better than anybody what your customers and prospects need to know. You’ve done your research. You know their issues, challenges and objectives. You know the value they could accrue by using your stuff. They just won’t take the time to meet with you and listen! Well, maybe it’s you that needs to listen up. I think there’s a question that needs answering… http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/4480/Go-E$-yourself.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/4480/Go-E$-yourself.html As a sales rep, you know better than anybody what your customers and prospects need to know. You've done your research. You know their issues, challenges and objectives. You know the value they could accrue by using your stuff. They just won't take the time to meet with you and listen! Well, maybe it's you that needs to listen up. Are they telling you to... http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/4480/Did-Google-screw-up-big-time-or-did-they-just-transform-B2B-Social-Media-into-a-MUSTDONOW.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/4480/Did-Google-screw-up-big-time-or-did-they-just-transform-B2B-Social-Media-into-a-MUSTDONOW.html When your customers and prospects start their research in anticipation of buying something, they go right to Google, right? Do they find you? Unfortunately, probably not. They only find you or your company when they specifically include you in their search. Do you want to rely on them to do that? Are you crazy???!!! http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/4480/and-by-gosh-this-Web-20--Social-Media-stuff-is-fabulous-for-selling-knowledge.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/4480/and-by-gosh-this-Web-20--Social-Media-stuff-is-fabulous-for-selling-knowledge.html When you blow all the smoke away, knowledge is the only thing any of us has to sell any more. That's always been the case for a consulting-type business, but today, profitably selling even the most commoditized of commodities requires lots and lots of knowledge. It's all about finding and/or purchasing and/or packaging and/or shipping and/or installing and/or applying and/or maintaining and/or disposing of and/or... It's all about the intellectual content. It's the knowledge, stupid!