Tweet

Great Salespeople, your Eagles Understand!

Written by: Joe Dager

Article Overview: John says, "The top half indeed resembles the funnel concept, but the expanding bottom half, to my way of thinking, adds the necessary focus on the total customer experience that ultimately leads to referrals and marketing momentum."

Great Salespeople, your Eagles Understand!

I think John Jantsch's description in his post yesterday on the Duct Tape Marketing Hourglass was very thought provoking and is one of things that he had written about in his book that not only has proven the test of time but have proven very correct in practically any kind of media, online and offline. It is a post that I recommend printing out and pinning on your wall.

John says, "The top half indeed resembles the funnel concept, but the expanding bottom half, to my way of thinking, adds the necessary focus on the total customer experience that ultimately leads to referrals and marketing momentum."

As I was reading The Duct Tape Marketing Blog, I remembered another blog post John had recently written, Is selling Becoming More Like Marketing? Maybe, it should be turned around in that is Marketing becoming more like Selling? Marketing has always been judged on how many leads we dump into the top of the funnel. The salespeople take over and develop the relationships, build the credibility and make the presentations. After the sale, they maintained the relationships. The Eagles(good salespeople) understood the bottom of the hourglass better than any other person in the organization. I am saying practically the same thing John did in his blog, but that really is the secret sauce that can make your organization successful today.

The important part of sales and marketing is the work that takes place in both halves of the Hourglass. That is where the ball usually gets dropped and a prime example is the refusal of many industries to participate in the new wave of marketing. It is just too expensive to nurture, develop repeat and referral business all in person. Don't get me wrong, you still need that human touch, but you have limited resources and limited Eagles to go around. Developing effective and efficient communication in these parts of the hourglass is one of the most important things you can do to increase sales.

What does hold you back? Looking for that one thing or constraint that is holding you back is seldom found in the middle of your hourglass, the close. It occurs elsewhere and not having a structure in place to walk people through the 7 stages is imperative. That is why I encourage people to use the Lean tool of Value Stream Mapping and map these seven stages and put some measurements to them. Why? The obvious is that "people perform based on how they are measured" -Eliyahu Goldratt, Theory of Constraints. However, a word of caution as Marketing becomes more like selling, it still is people thing.

Related Articles
  Are You an Eagle or a Vulture?
  Eagles Joint Venture
  3 Things Michael Vick Can Teach You About Online Marketing
  Warning! Dead Parrots Ahead!
  Happy Ears or an Empty Pipeline?

Article Tags: eagles, salespeople



Related Forum Posts
Re: How to Promote Your Blog – The Definitive Guide to Promoting - Great information. Thanks so much for your help. I'm looking into google indexing right now and I'll be improving SEO moving forward. I checked out your blog and sites, too. Great content. Thank you...
Re: Welcome New Moderators in Addition to Our Fine Team! - Hey Terriz, Very nice to meet you . . . . Acapella ? . . . .Very cool. I used to listen to my uncle and his friends sing acapella on a Brooklyn NY street corner. Great memories . . .Great sound. Thanks Barry
Re: Weebly Free Websites... - Hi David, Great resource. I actually have a Weebly account but have never done anything with it. I'll agree the ease of setting up a website is very nice. It's clean and professional looking, and for someone that wants to just create a one page site or sales letter, it's a good alternative. Great find!
Re: Congratulations Topeyinka - Congrats Topeyinka! As Spiderman said "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility"... Just kidding.. Have Fun!
Re: Success - I study success intently, and would like to share: Here's two excellent and nearly identical success-formulas from a couple of the world's masters. FIRST FORMULA: 1. Passionate Desire 2. Clear, Definite Purpose 3. Committed Decision 4. Take Action In Faith (Bonus Secret Sauce: 5. Repeat Consistently) I made a video about this, but am not allowed to link it yet. Google "Ryze Success Steps" for it. Oh, and this is Napoleon Hill's (Master Of Success Laws)'s Formula. SECOND FORMULA: 1. Passionate Desire 2. Understand It Is Already Done (Faith) 3. Relax & Allow It To Unfold (Go about your life calmly) This one is courtesy of Abraham-Hicks (inspiration for the movie The Secret). Hope that helps!


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

The Digital Diet by Daniel Sieberg

Adjusting Your World

Designing Employee-Enhancing Training Programs

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.