Biz Dev Means Create Rev!

Posted on May 30, 2023 by Hunter & Beyond, LLC

By Glenn W Hunter

Managing Director, Hunter And Beyond LLC

Money no longer talks! IT SHOUTS! An old business saying states, “The sweetest sound to anyone’s ears is the sound of his own name.” What a heart-warming sentiment for marketers! In marketing, quaint ideas like communicating value, establishing emotional connections, identifying win-win scenarios almost seem like cliches. Yet, they still represent ideas that effective business development brings together people and ideas to create additional value. “Let’s Get This Deal Done!” also works! Actually, it probably works better! The idea of contributing valid marketing fundamentals so that both sides have opportunities to create even more value later still works. Clearly these time-tested business concepts still build future bridges to subsequent transactions and more revenue. The challenge is that today’s entrepreneurial climate demands immediate results! In essence, business development in the current marketplace entices sales professionals to encourage that both sides of the deal achieve value, realize profits, and keep a path for future opportunities. Still, most of all, every party wants to exchange goods and services for cash and cash equivalents!

Once upon a time, “time is money” provided a witty saying that suggests that business moves fast, such that all stakeholders should move fast, as well. This idea has now grown up and has the keys to the sports car! Time is money because businesses often enter competitive marketplaces with fewer resources than in previous opportunities, yet the intensity for growth remains as aggressive as ever! Create Rev, or creating revenue, either way clearly points out to sales professionals that preparation must manifest during personal down time, because the current environment demands that business development professionals either are preparing for a prospect, or pitching a prospect! If that perspective seems too pushy then go work in a mall; then wait for customers to wander in a general direction so that potential buyers can avoid eye contact. Engagement no longer relies exclusively on mutual satisfaction. The current environment emphasizes creating urgency in prospects and transforming them into customers before the prospect ends up on a waiting list. Face it, urgency wins!

For the more nostalgic sales professionals in this new environment, the saying that “good things come to those who wait, but only what is left by the ones that hustle.”, still applies! To secure the best deal for both buyers and sellers, urgency must be established. That means sellers need to be ready to pull the trigger for new business. Furthermore, that means preparing prospects to pull the trigger quickly as new buyers! It is easy to be nostalgic for more deliberate appointments that allow both sides to find a traditional win-win. Unfortunately, with inventories decreasing in many niches, as well as mediocre sales professionals opting to drive ubers, timing has a new sense of urgency for revenue results. You snooze, you lose was a clever quip to help induce quicker decisions. Now, with many businesses suffering through lesser inventory, the saying now means that snoozing prospects will need to get by with inferior solutions. If offering inferior solutions is actually a strategy in this environment, then by all means keep resumes warm and accessible.

Ultimately, creating value requires an intricate dance between buyers and sellers. Inventory is expensive. Consequently, buy your goods now, then outsource delivery in order to dazzle the client! With regards to the new business environment, “Biz Dev Creates New Rev” is the latest battle cry that emphasizes increasing sales, then delivering at competitive prices. The business world continues to get more dynamic. Innovation carries the day! If the advantage is large enough, then innovation carries the quarter. Congratulations, the hyper-aggressive sales professionals out-sold competitors. But, by the first of the month all successful sales professionals need to have their prospects more eager to buy now. If they continue to hesitate then reach out to the next prospect. The hesitant buyer will not last long in the current environment. But the longer prospect list still unquestionably improves the likelihood of greater success.

Nevertheless, whether buying or selling, knowing the intricacies of the value chain provides a huge head start toward success. Profit margin hides there! As for classic sales professionals, keep your presentations warm and your classy lines quick. When the time comes to create revenue, the winner secures the funds. The professional that sustained its closest proximity to the next successful sales has just Cash App’d funds against the latest budget. It’s a new day! Cash talks; it talks fast! And, in the event a more mature professional struggles to keep up with the modern pace, survival depends on collecting via Cash App. Look into it!! Or, fill you brief case full of pigeon feed because the methodical sales professional will not even get a virtual invitation to their own retirement party! Simply accept the fact that the key fob will not work anymore!

By Glenn W Hunter

Managing Director, Hunter And Beyond, LLC

Author, “Storytelling Wins The Best Engagements”

Posted in Branding, Business Coaching, Business Development, Client Relationships, Growth | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

New Revenue Rules for New Growth Opportunities 

Posted on December 29, 2022 by Hunter & Beyond, LLC

Whether it is year-end or mid-month, business grows when revenue hits the books. Too often businesses, particularly entrepreneurial enterprises, rely too much on strong monthly finishes. Insecure managers are quick to accuse their teams of procrastination. The reality is that buyers will often stall if they believe that they will get a better deal. The belief that the first team to commit in the buy – sell engagement loses, is an inaccurate yet common mindset! What if the early offer is truly the best offer? Or how about the prospect or proven customer that is convinced that scarcity of goods or early teaser prices signal that late offers could lead to dramatically worse outcomes for buyers, like rising prices? Scarcity is not always a sign of strength, nor does it necessarily reflect weakness. Profitable markets are now much more complex. More importantly, buyers often feel pricing pain pivoting quicker, if they hold out too long.

Where’s the Advantage?

Well, how does a seller maximize that fear? In environments where buyers have as much information as sellers, or even worse the buyer knows that the seller desperately needs the buyer, the salesperson is out of luck. Take the seller’s offer and wipe your tears on the way home. But, what happens when irrational competitors enter the fray, or delivery time weighs in as much as price with regards to selecting and/ or engaging a vendor? At some point the effective seller gets an opportunity to seize advantage, even momentarily, by suggesting that the product or service that is truly needed may have a shelf life, or even be subject to less supply than expected. Who is now weak in the knees?

Effective sellers must maintain a polite, yet seductive sense of secrecy. Ethical sellers would never keep a commodity from a cherished buyer. But, who knows what problems may lie in entertaining that other alternatives may be more attractive. Yes, a better price may be available. But, slow service or inferior inputs may be a hidden tax for a price-effective option. In short, the clever sales professional needs to create enough uneasiness that will motivate a purchase closer to the seller’s terms. Even in the case where competitors are operating from a point of strength, problems exist in larger organizations that customers assume would never impact their operation. Except for the hint or suggestion that if that larger organization were immaculate in their performance, why is this conversation taking place?

Where’s the Deal?

Essentially, sales success comes down to meeting a specific need for a specific purpose. Agreeing to an established method of operation definitely comforts buyers who are highly confident. But, the wheels of commerce are unpredictable. In a competitive environment, who is to say that your trusted environment which exudes excellence is now the object of desire for one of his competitors. Even the best clients are willing to find and act upon better opportunities. How can a buyer, or customer be sure that they are actually getting the best attention at this time?

Fundamentally, the response largely relies on people and relationships. Businesses work hard to market their excellence so that the market trusts their performance. Yet, at the end of the day, people demonstrate that excellence! For a seller who is looking to grow, an often overlooked, but yet effective tool is to convey confidence that the individual in conjunction with the organization consistently delivers excellence. The individual relationship between buyers and sellers must be established and maintained, as if they were buying apples in the local Farmers’ Market. Fundamentally, buying and selling remains captive to like and trust. Successful sales means incessantly reinforcing that relationship. Because of that fundamental connection, great sellers execute at the pleasure of the buyer across the metaphoric table. Remember that people are making the decision regardless of the transaction’s size. Be mindful to execute the sales process, all the way through to the actual transaction, concluding with delivery with the goal of making the individual contact, or leader happy. In the long-run, people still do business with people they like and trust!

By Glenn W Hunter

Managing Director, Hunter And Beyond, LLC

Author, Storytelling Wins The Best Engagements

Posted in Business Development, Client Relationships, Content Creation, Creating Culture, Ethics | Tagged Business, Business Development, Entrepreneurship, Growth, Marketing, New Clients, Relationships, Results, Sales, Storytelling, Success | Leave a comment | Edit

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Delegate or Doom

Posted on September 30, 2022 by Hunter & Beyond, LLC

My mother used to love watching the Lone Ranger. In 22 minutes of black and white programming, the Lone Ranger would identify the problem, figure out the vulnerability in the opposition’s plan, then solve the problem before riding into the sunset. This practice literally executed like clockwork. The problem is that modern problems are not solved on a pre-determined schedule. The conflict is never black and white. The good guy does not always win. And, the sidekick is just as likely to receive the blame (undeservedly), as often as he saves the day (without proper credit). Truthfully, Tonto really helped a lot! The Lone Ranger model no longer works in the current business universe. Only actionable, measurable results genuinely matter! Victory belongs to the individual who claims it truthfully and explicitly. Winners write history even if they had significant help. The present-day business development scenario needs a more accurate reflection of the truth!

Delegate

In the modern business environment, the sidekick may not even be in the same physical location with the hero, nor close to the problem that they seek to solve together. Any business hero in the process of solving a significant problem in the name of revenue growth, first needs support and sufficient resources. A great suit and a corporate brand name may gain a sales team entrance to compete for a given deal. However, to secure victory a functioning, coordinated effort must execute in synchronized lockstep! Victory happens when the proper strategy coordinates with a team implementing exceptional execution! Any break in that process means that a competitor probably kicked your butt again. From the executive with absolute budget accountability to the clerk that is responsible that the correct file is emailed to every participant in the process, the details that are delegated must evolve into the execution that was promised. Anything less, may lead to key individuals and lesser luminaries updating their resumes. Delegation only works when every meaningful step embraces consistent planning, followed by accurate execution. In short, give the right tools to the right contributor to achieve a clearly defined goal. Delegate what can be offloaded so that the sales hero comes in as the deal’s closer. Be sure that all participants feast!

Doom

Nevertheless, the best crafted plans can still go wrong. The key to success despite the doom option in this trade-off is that any individual stumble does not disrupt the entire sales process. The ability to avert doom before claiming defeat at the moment of a massive misunderstanding is the difference between exceeding your revenue target and another sub-par quarter that results in executive recruiters’ phones ringing! Doom is not fatal. Multiple dooms are not fatal either, but in the aggregate enough disruptive events may redirect an individual’s sales career elsewhere. But leveraging the potential of sales doom into the inspiration to continue improvising solutions, ultimately grows solid revenue results in career saving magic that minimizes turnover.  Practically, this path to success depends on persistently encouraging prospects to share their innermost fears that are personal to them first, and the organization second. No matter how well-polished and accomplished the decision-maker appears, his primary objective remains career-preservation!

Conclusion

For a sales professional, significant revenue wins result from repeating successful habits for customers’ benefit. Every prospect has different expectations, individual incentives, and eclectic preferences. Nevertheless, every single customer has one essential common trait. They chose you! Unearth common traits that secured positive possibilities. Identify common feedback that pointed to unsuccessful interactions. That step means swallowing hard when accepting criticism for the sales professional’s unsuccessful efforts. Learn what you can. Then, improve. Reject those pieces of feedback that are not specifically pertinent! Ultimately, success comes from appealing to the most prospects that share the future vision of success that profitable sales efforts deliver. Specifically, the prospect’s interaction will contribute to them identifying, then meeting their individual needs. It is not the goods, or service. It is the bond that has been established, and then warmly secured. Trust is key in that bond. Success clearly relies on securing multiple binds to secure multiple prospects. Each bind does not have to be identical, but the sales professional’s ability to connect must consistently result in the overall belief, if not full expectation of mutual success.

By Glenn W Hunter

Managing Director, Hunter And Beyond, LLC

Author, Storytelling Wins The Best Engagements

Posted in Business Development, Client Relationships, Content Creation, Creating Culture, Ethics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Sell. Go Forward. Repeat.

Posted on August 10, 2022 by Hunter & Beyond, LLC

Business development communication is not a chorus where one side sings, then the other side responds. Sales professionals do more than sing. As listeners, their role stretches to include responding. Furthermore, the listeners’ role is to discern, then eventually accept. Listeners must understand! At that moment, the listener elevates to a true customer. If the listener gets truth from the speaker, then acceptance is more likely. In business the more the listener behaves like a prospect and accomplishes understanding, the more steps that the sales professional can quickly move down the selling process toward acceptance. Customers may suggest opportunities to introduce incremental value, like a new innovation providing increased capacity, or an added feature that produces the outcome faster. When the buyer can add another feature to products and/ or services, then the buyer benefits by getting more value. Often, this progress is accomplished with the seller responding, “Yes, I can.”, even if they don’t know how. Yet, they do figure it out.

Let’s Talk

Start selling by writing the story as the interaction begins. The most valuable solutions are not the ones that are delivered on the showroom floor. Commodities are innovations that stopped evolving. The most valuable solutions occur when the buyer can contribute their own individual specification, their size, their color, their delivery cycle, their shipping destination. Next, the customer accepts the vision. The seller provides the deliverable. Both sides use money to facilitate great feelings, to reward contributions, to satisfy egos, and to communicate superiority.

The more that the buyer can contribute to sales success through the previous terms, the more valuable that the transaction becomes to the buyer. The more latitude that the seller has for the buyer to receive a better deal on specialized terms, the more value that the seller can now uniquely provide. To ensure that the sale does not wander to become a copycat, the seller may contribute distinctive, special features that singularly belongs to the seller, or the seller’s organization. For example, invitations to special events, or singular product specifications, both gratify a decision maker’s ego and satisfies desires for being a singular customer. Additionally, by broadcasting VIP status repeatedly during the buying process, the resulting ego gratification for the buyer secures the insightful seller’s close win over competitors. Ultimately, validated emotions make any transaction’s experience individually valuable, as well as more resistant to competitive pricing pressures. This new space contains repeat customers and premium pricing.

Let’s Do This

Ultimately, price is a straightforward metric. It measures how badly a customer wants the product or service. Ego defines value! A buyer does not only measure success through transactional profits. Successful sales professionals understand the value chain of good vibes. Treating an influential administrative assistant to lunch has been known to smooth the path for insightful sales professionals. Emblazoned swag for an overworked, underappreciated group, or team, has likewise been successful in influencing support for a specific vendor’s proposal. These influencers do not necessarily shift the decision to one vendor or another. On the other hand, well-placed recognition, combined with tasteful and appropriate rewards for a department’s unsung heroes have been known to capture favor.

As for the superior, proficient sales representative, that individual wins the right to extend further their expertise so that their individual genius becomes an irreplaceable part of the value. Navigating mutually acceptable pricing is undeniably a highly valued skill. This ability supports upward price pressure for sellers, while still satisfying less quantifiable, yet more emotional needs for buyers. Fundamentally, this tactic secures repeat business for the seller’s side. A buyer who comfortably overpays is the pinnacle of superior salesmanship. At that point the seller’s individual value-add is tangible. Furthermore, that buyer is now primed to brag to colleagues about their experience and why it was elite! This sales interaction now cultivates the most desirable referrals.

Conclusion

At the most productive levels, sales professionals thoroughly internalize the benefits of long-lasting relationships. Trust is delivered and reinforced at every interaction. Pricing is necessary. Someone must keep score. But, the successful sales professional completely comprehends that success is measured in long-term value. The short-term wins are necessary. Singular sales success keeps the engine running. Nevertheless, the path to enduring business victory remains where execution resulting in complete satisfaction for both buyers and sellers happen concurrently.

By Glenn W Hunter

Managing Director, Hunter And Beyond, LLC

Author of “Storytelling Wins The Best Engagements“

Posted in Business Development, Client Relationships, Creating Culture | Tagged Business, Business Development, Entrepreneurship, Growth, Marketing, New Clients, Results, Revenue, Sales, Storytelling, Success | Leave a comment | Edit

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Storytelling or Story Selling?

Posted on May 27, 2022 by Hunter & Beyond, LLC

What story did you tell to get the deal? Too often in the hyper competitive world of Business Development, the truth gets lost in the deal. Regardless, once a sale is consummated, someone must deliver. “Once upon a time… I win!” This is in fact a story. It has a classic introduction. It creates intrigue. It has a clear conclusion. From a selling perspective this story carries the day because it explicitly defines a successfully performing protagonist. The reason that this story has the capacity to work is that it first follows an established formula. The reason that this story delivers successfully is that it provides intrigue, then a solution. All that is left are characters and a plot.

Sellers’ Not-So-Secret Desires

In business and particularly sales, the characters come readily equipped. Sellers have explicit motivations. Buyers are cautious and are particularly subject to internal conflict. With all these elements going into a deal, how does business ever get transacted? Frankly, it comes down to emotion. The facts reveal that many transactions result from feelings. Furthermore, many deals are executed for self-gratification. “What’s in it for me” is constantly present on both sides of the transaction. Other deals are worked out of desperation, particularly toward month-end. Some deals are unashamedly done for greed. Yet, the most successful deals are a direct result of the desire to win. Closers are winners. It is in the job description. So, how are more winners created?

Success goes back to story. Sales training gives you tools. The desire to win is instilled in the hero’s DNA. Consequently, every sales professional is not a hero. Yet, sales heroes must still slay their dragons! Before anything else, winners must narrowly focus on the detailed process on slaying dragons. Furthermore, the hero must have a huge why! Perhaps the transaction results in the greater good. Or, it could be to build a better individual lifestyle. Self-validation is often a reason. But, in many successful cases of prevailing sales heroes, the underlying motivation is competing and executing! Heroes love winning!

Attitude, Then Altitude

With that foundation, keys to superior salesmanship feature a tenacious attitude. The story emerges once facts dictate the underlying why. Next, the desire feeds on the emotional charge toward victory. Specifically, quotas are not met by faithfully obeying the sales training. If obeying the rules were the secret to success, then everyone would be rich, thin and beautiful! The unyielding desire to win is what slays the quota dragon. Remember, the quota dragon will fight back. The best sales professionals hear the word, “No”, all the time. However, they also hear the word, “Hello”, more when communicating relentlessly and making the next contact. They also hear the word, “Yes”, when the sales professional’s ingenuity and inquisitiveness, unearths the honest-to-truth problem that the tenacious salesperson eagerly resolves. The power to chase away pain defeats discounts every time!

Finally, winning professionals do their research. They understand to whom they are selling. They understand explicitly why the prospect truly wants to buy. It is almost never primarily because of the cheapest price. It is almost always because of self-centered desire. Find that desire and feed it. If the buyer prioritizes innovation, then deliver a solution with sufficient bells and whistles. If the true decision maker craves recognition, then close the deal and blasts that individual’s success among thousands of followers. Know that money and ego always matter. Also, realize that underlying motivations matter equally, if not more. Unearth those motivations. Sales success depends on revealing the customer’s critical desire, then supersize that value to satisfy that desire in the final proposition.

Conclusion

Great sales professional clearly recognize that customers buy with emotion and justify with logic! Consequently, sales champions listen with their ears and their hearts. Make the story about the buyer. Feed the buyers inner priority! To be a true sales champion, the next step is to guarantee that the buyer’s boss has his primary needs met, too. The best probing questions involve the primary contact determining what the buyer’s superior values most. That step is quickly followed with the seller partnering with the buyer so that his internal needs are secure. The best part of this strategy is that the buyer is eager to work with the seller in the future. The reason is simply because the seller’s boss left the transaction with a win. At this point, more winning results in more selling!! Who has a happy ending now?

By Glenn W Hunter

Managing Director, Hunter And Beyond, LLC

Author of “Storytelling Wins The Best Engagements“

Posted in Business Coaching, Business Development, Client Relationships, Presentation Skills, Training | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Discipline, Success And The Grind

Posted on February 28, 2022 by Hunter & Beyond, LLC

Grinding screams lower-level function. Repetitive action in a static operation or marketplace works just fine for bottom feeders. Inputs are routine. Outputs are predictable. This approach as a successful technique suggests a mundane past featuring an era of mass production and industrialization. It seemingly suggests an engrained mindset such that the present economy, technology, and productivity would seemingly dismiss the paradigm as outdated. Modern business engagements rely on speed and accuracy of information! Currently, innovation is valued and equated with superiority! Established routines can eventually benefit from repetition, yet typically, creativity drives mindsets that lead to productivity, improvement, and profitable ideas. Current discipline demands that established practices are perfected… then improved! The challenge is maintaining the edge in leading fresh ideas from innovation through superior, profitable outcomes. So, where does grinding fit?

TARGET

Clearly, large international technology companies have enormous resources to innovate and deploy new processes resulting in superior efficiency and cost effective solutions. While innovation may benefit from foundationally proven routines, superior performance results from outstanding innovation. “Eureka, I found it.” is no longer the battle cry of business breakthroughs. “Can we make it go faster??!”, now carries the day for innovation to turn into explosive revenue growth. Beyond innovation, identifying customers with the ability to apply innovation is where explosive value materially happens. Knowing the target for cutting-edge goods, services, and applications create better opportunities in current environments. Consequently, massive sales efforts begin with hyped projections before the solutions are even finalized. Consequently, successfully grinding through sales cycles now feature identifying potential problems earlier. The big question is now “who identifies potential problems before operators and customers realize that it impacts their business?”. The grind now demands getting in front of the life cycle to craft solutions accurately in anticipation of problems that continue to work their way through the present value chain.

PIVOT

Honestly, grind just sounds like a mundane concept, yet it is essential. In fact, it has continued to evolve into an extremely dynamic concept. Grind implies linear processes. However, grinding in current environments is exploding! The truth is that this evolution is occurring dramatically, multi- dimensionally, and dynamically. Consequently, a pivot describes this evolution even more accurately. Pivot empowers changing directions rapidly to attain alignment with customers’ priorities. Look at something as fundamental as communication. A generation ago, a telephone was the most effective way to communicate with another individual. Fast forward to our current time, and a “phone” is a colloquial word for a dynamic instrument that communicates verbally, audibly, and visually. As this evolution applies to business growth, the gadgets that entertain people also drive their creativity. Discipline becomes necessary because the distractions on our handheld devices are enormous. On the other hand, the diverse ways to connect digitally include communication via voice, text, photograph, and video. The immediacy and integrity of communication creates exceptional efficiency and clarity. Discipline is necessary! Yet, who cannot afford to communicate and create value at unprecedented speeds?

CONCLUSION

For innovators to be effective, successful grinders are troubleshooting problems ahead of potential solutions. Processes matter. Successfully identifying what will go wrong in the future enhances solutions that are effectively sold today! No one needs a crystal ball anymore, now data correctly anticipates where the latest trends and needs emerge. What new problem, or bigger, faster alternative will emerge next, as a direct result of the latest innovation? By the time the marketplace explicitly tells competitors what they need, average competitors are too late. Recognizing the next pivot correctly is the advantage for meeting customer needs. Sales teams need to have answers ready, before the next problems arise. Some wrong answers will result. Yet, upon correctly anticipating pivots, greater fortunes will be recognized! Of course, grinding and pivoting can be bypassed for more certainty. Unfortunately, the marketplace punishes risk aversion. Still, leaving a message after the beep, then waiting for a return call for the next blockbuster deal is an option. Feel free to wait!

By Glenn W Hunter

Managing Director, Hunter And Beyond, LLC

Author of “Storytelling Wins The Best Engagements“

Posted in Business Coaching, Business Development, Client Relationships, Creating Culture, Leadership Development | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Big Mo Gets The First Call

Posted on June 17, 2023 by Hunter & Beyond, LLC

Successful selling has lots of proud parents. Missing sales goals is sadly a hungry orphan! Curiously momentum, also known as “Big Mo”, consistently influences information flows that influence positive outcomes. Big Mo identifies winners! Anyone who wants to compete and be recognized for work-related successes, probably has a co-existing alter-ego that is aggressively ready to be fed. To face the truth, first acknowledge that selling, business development, rainmaking, and revenue generation, all are tough businesses that require a lot of individual initiative and even more activity. Big Mo manages to remain inserted in organizational progress with information leading to valuable results.

Nevertheless, success in these feisty environments causes other competitors to salivate in anticipation of enjoying their own success. Then, when success finally emerges, the true innovator is eager to proclaim success. Because successful rainmaking demands many resources, inputs, iterations, and trials, the hard road to success can make anyone weary. However, success and its many parents are racing to get into the winners’ circle. The true business generator knows who was really involved in the victory and who contributed tangentially at best. Still, the true driver needs to keep all these minor contributors engaged so that they will be incented to work hard to become major contributors. Consequently, in order to maximize the contributions of these helpers, the real rock stars have to yield the maximum output going forward. In an environment, where coming in first place regardless of the truth or the competition becomes competitive in itself. Even if several people contributed, not all contributions are created equal. A key question always emerges: who truly gets the first call when announcing the Big Win!!!???

Whether rewards for sales support is structural in terms of contribution, or financial in terms of yielding monetary output, identifying the real contributors carries significant weight that goes beyond bragging rights! In the case of driven, results-oriented sales leaders from assistant managers through rainmaking executives, their rewards truly arrive when commissions and incentives are distributed. Considering that this reward sometimes aligns with whom benefits from the most lucrative territories, or the most profitable clients, the initial victorious announcement may logically go to that leader. After all, their superior incentive outcomes are supposedly based on the sales professional’s success. Then, the sales professional’s success benefits based on the assignments that the leader distributes. In this scenario, favor matters! Staying in the leadership’s good grace is essential to active, if not proactive, communication leading to favored status regarding opportunities. When leaders control that input, then the smart contributor makes that boss’ desires first regarding output!

However, that model is not the only one that works. Culture drives success, and different sub-cultures thrive when other information channels share good news with specified channels. As a dispatcher, it is quite likely that certain individuals get a disproportionately large amount of complaints and lesser amount of accolades. To stand out and remain top of mind, the contributor that thanks verbally and demonstrably this individual for feeding the right leads presents encourages emotional gratification. Gratitude toward that specific contributor before other quantitative contributors goes a long way toward emotionally connecting with gracious and compassionate teammates. In environments where gratitude represents a significant amount of the compensation, then the smart salesperson can go overboard regarding that individual with appreciation that features including them in the information trail as soon as possible. Even in the absence of cash compensation, leveraging highly valued information and favor with someone that is arguably disproportionately underpaid, will yield both opportunities and influence. Information can replace currency. Loyalty can establish position for success.

The third opportunity to “win friends” involves telling the person first that will get the word to the ultimate decision maker first. In many sales organizations, especially when geographically dispersed, strategic information is the currency. Value it accordingly! Especially when workers with influence may contribute to scheduling and access, keeping that individual at the top of the information chain empowers that individual to be more effective in their role, yet it does not necessarily disrupt the compensation model. In this situation, the administrative role may have significant leverage, beyond financial leverage. Also, savvy executives rely on individuals that understand the administrative priorities and guidelines, so that they big shot can focus on directing revenue growth. The details matter in organizations. Helping the administrative team matter more goes a long way when subjective decisions must be made in the trenches. The savvy professional is intentional in feeding information to specific individuals who can control outcomes. These administrative support teammates that have the proper ear or the proper responsibility to allocate resources can be the difference between winning sales awards, or greater compensation, or sitting around waiting for the phone to ring. Making the right call first can literally be the difference in recapturing momentum or making the next call to a headhunter.

By Glenn W Hunter

Managing Director, Hunter And Beyond, LLC

Author, Storytelling Wins The Best Engagements

Posted in Branding, Business Coaching, Business Development, Client Relationships, Content Creation, Growth, Leadership Development | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Pay Attention or Bring Attention

Posted on February 27, 2023 by Hunter & Beyond, LLC

Pay attention or bring attention! The choice belongs to the consumer! More images, selfies, content, and sellers continue fighting for attention. Whether businesses sell, persuade, manipulate, or monopolize, the fight for attention has adopted more forms, channels and avenues than at any time in history. Consequently, winning ongoing struggles for attention in the marketplace is an essential component of connecting more, and subsequently selling more. Who has the secret to securing, then benefitting from increasingly scarce attention?

Many consumers focus on prices when they are making any purchases in the marketplace. Regardless of the size, scope, or quantity of the goods and services that are purchased in the marketplace, how much something costs is part of the buying process! Of course, price matters because the buyer needs to have the capital, in any number of formats, to make the purchase. Nevertheless, the real trigger is the emotional decision that results in the purchase. Decisions to buy actually focus more on emotion, than budget. A good that is common as breakfast cereals still drive purchases based on perceived value. Watch any parent walk past the generic breakfast cereal in the grocery until she grabs the box with the ubiquitous tiger on the box. The parent pays a little more because she actually just purchased a peaceful breakfast. On the other hand, the generic alternative would have resulted in a stressful morning as the child throws multiple temper tantrums concerning the wrong cereal. The parent did not overpay for breakfast cereal. She gladly paid a premium because a peaceful breakfast was included in the extra price associated with the brand name.

Awareness

The first opportunity for brands to stand out beyond the crowd is the sensory excitement that results from communicating with the seller. That interaction does not necessarily require a face-to-face interaction. Advertising is fundamentally connecting with prospective and established customers with an attractive offering. Physical proximity to the interaction is simply one factor in manipulating the purchase decision. Storytelling represents another way that drives the decision because of the emotional connection that results from memorable, positive images around the product. Happy images are now part of the breakfast experience. Advertisers feast off that reality! Moving from breakfast to lunch, the decision of where to eat will now include decisions that feature speed, individual dietary choices, and external influence toward being satisfied with peers’ admiring your meal selection.

The key to sellers or producers winning the decision for the purchasing desires relies on marketing.  Realizing that marketing is primarily influencing a business decision in favor of the provider, the emotional connection between buyer and seller must be established, and then demonstrate staying power. Awareness comes into play because many contrasting images attack the marketplace. Emotional triggers that secure a priority on behalf of the successful provider eventually secures the sale. Then, upon meeting the expectations of the experience, the provider earns additional opportunities to win more business in repeat sales. This interaction is important because repeat customers are more valuable. By delivering on the marketing promise that features communicating satisfaction and utility, providers increase market share, and consequently opportunities for incremental revenue. Still, the marketplace must accept the value that the good or service delivers.

Value

Nevertheless, whether the purchased item has a shelf life that lasts for years, like an appliance, or until the credits roll, like a movie. The utility, which is the intrinsic benefit, the good feeling, or the usefulness of the product dictates whether the customer exercises loyalty, or simply enjoys the benefit for the moment. Regarding the consumers’ selection, expect that the choice is going to maximize utility, or cost-effectiveness. Counterintuitively, value has to be introduced at every interaction with the purchased good or service. Watch how quickly, a brand name is replaced with a cheaper alternative when a formerly loyal customer begins to test alternatives. The product did not necessarily change. The ability to hold the customers’ attention waned as alternatives entered the buyers’ conscious.

Basically, value is the satisfaction that the purchase met the emotional needs of the purchaser. Of course, the price matters. It is part of the mental calculus in solving the problem of which selection to make. Nevertheless, the incumbent choice has a significant advantage because a determination of the goods’ or services’ utility has already calculated. Consider that a trusted friend suggested that the buyer tries a new coffee brand. The patron tries it and likes it. The sample worked. The known value came up for evaluation. The next purchase goes to the newly sampled experience. A different choice was made. Effective marketing wins the day again. Not just the price, but the perceived value to the consumer effectively persuaded another prospect!

Conclusion

While many sensory elements, and intellectual analysis go into purchasing experiences, realize that certain fundamentals still drive the ultimate decision. Familiarity provides a legitimate advantage for subsequent purchases. Bad experiences can disrobe an incumbent selection. New attention to an enticing alternative may shift market share as well. Nevertheless, an important part of marketing is the ability to highlight alternative benefits that intrigue less-than-loyal customers. Yes, the tiger on the box has consistently driven decisions for breakfast cereal for years. But the child becomes a pre-teen and new experiences are everywhere. The child shifts allegiances because she wants to be cool. The parent shifts the purchase decision because he wants quiet at the breakfast table. Ultimately, decisions have different inputs with different weights. Still, any seller that wants to change purchasing decisions in the marketplace, will entice a sense of change for the better. The decision maker, regardless of age, will explore alternatives when that decision potentially improves the quality of life and the utility of the buying authority. No matter how much the purchasing parent fondly reminisces about the tiger on the box being at the breakfast table, that tiger on the box will end up in the recycle bin quicker than a child can say ecology, if that gives the purchaser 30 seconds of additional peace at the breakfast table!

By Glenn W Hunter

Managing Director of Hunter And Beyond, LLC

Author of “Storytelling Wins The Best Engagements”

Posted in Branding, Business Coaching, Business Development, Client Relationships, Creating Culture, Growth | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Bigger Profits By Storytelling

Posted on April 28, 2022 by Hunter & Beyond, LLC

Let me tell you a story! Wait… first, why do stories even work in connecting people in business environments? Primarily, people communicate in stories! A good story has emotion, suspense, twists and turns. Job titles do not communicate any of those benefits. Who really gets excited to hear about some website data analyst who wants to become a vice-president? However, let that same character start moving up the corporate ladder, maybe score a popular podcast, or launch the start-up de jour, and now people get excited about the possibilities concerning this unique character. The plot thickens and listeners pay much more attention.

The Story

The stories that matter most are the stories that are rare. A character defies the odds in an unprecedented move. The protagonist captures a listener and holds their attention hostage. The listener’s time, focus and even, money represent the ransom to retrieve their precious time. Then, the listener finally realizes that their reward for grasping the possibilities for promotions, entrepreneurial breakthroughs, or a spot on the big stage, are immediately in front of them. Now, they are ready to launch toward their personal aspirations! First, the professional believes the story, then they pursue the projected outcome for themselves with unprecedented zeal. Providers want their buyers to win, so that they return for more. However, once the story reveals even more attainable possibilities, then incredible accomplishments can emerge. Plainly, the escalating emotion in the early interaction first creates attention, then participation ignites the greater possibilities.  Successful vendors, investors, advocates, and storytellers, all master attracting attention, then articulating value for communal benefit.

The Value

Yet, what is the true value for the storyteller who was weaved a web that has captured attention, and opportunity? The value is often revenue, growth, accolades, and profits. The simple outcome to drawing in attention with a superior story is that now an audience emerges that eagerly wants to benefit from that story’s magnetism. A best-selling author can sell multiple books over multiple years to the same people. Not just the same profile, but literally the same people. The power behind that magnetism includes the anecdotes that anchor each story’s specific themes. The success secrets are not necessarily new. In fact, several great business books literally take their fundamental premises from the ancient Hebrews. Many business success tips can find their foundation in Sunday School. So, how does such old stories yield new profits.

The Outcome

First, accept that there is nothing new under the sun. People, including business professionals, want to be admired and respected. Of course, titles, bonuses, toys, and awards all pay into the sensation of admiration and respect. Next, transitioning those accolades into revenue, profits, and value as a result of transactions, now builds momentum toward tangible, life-affirming improvements. Simply, the story that reveals individual success, acts like a playbook for future accolades. The numbers, facts, and figures simply keep score. Success is a byproduct of the trust, belief, and repetition resulting in subsequent accomplishments. The power and value in the story directly come from the ability to articulate, then replicate tangible results. Great storytellers in sales have enormous value because they predictably and consistently deliver results that emerge from their ability to recreate consistent stories that leads to purchases over and over again. But before the story works its magic, the sales professional must connect with prospects, target markets, referral partners, and buyers so that all characters emotionally experience the same happily ever after that the sales professional projects. When multiple sides win, then value grows exponentially for more profitable future engagements

The Conclusion

Good stories fundamentally communicate and inspire. Great storytelling encompasses characters where people genuinely want them to win. These stories encourage people to change the way that they perceive their current world. New customers change providers because they wish to change the way that they experience their world resulting in better outcomes. Change is rarely executed singularly because of price. Securing a new customer is the expected outcome for providing solutions or experiences that will make the customer’s experience more fulfilling and potentially more highly valued. Great stories supersize the anticipation of superior outcomes that the superior vendor will now deliver with excellence and profits!

By Glenn W Hunter

Managing Director, Hunter and Beyond, LLC

Author of “Storytelling Wins The Best Engagements“

Posted in Business Coaching, Business Development, Client Relationships, Creating Culture | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Storytelling: Cash for Characters

Posted on January 20, 2022 by Hunter & Beyond, LLC

The meeting’s location is SkyDeck Chicago!! Yes, four states are literally visible from this room! Whether the meeting’s purpose is social, financial, or strategic, the environment exudes power. The mood and mindset of all participants declare achievement. Realize that the location and the individual characters contribute to expecting enormously successful outcomes. Who would not want to experience conducting business in this room? Specifically, the reason that the location, ambience, and characters are so important is because those details are essential in creating an unforgettable story! Furthermore, any money involved with agreements during this gathering will undoubtedly be large, grandiose, and memorable. The deal’s value elevates with each character’s profile and presence. Anyone can recognize $10 million when it is written in an article. Nevertheless, it takes a special individual to spend $10,000,000 knowing that they will be fully responsible for the transaction’s outcome. Consequently, because of ego, gravitas, and reputation, the cash figures continue to rise in alignment with the characters and their reputations. Furthermore, the characters that boldly take responsibility for such enormous sums of capital better have exceptional stories that justify responsibility for such amounts.

Realization

According to the Cambridge Online Dictionary, “Realization is the action of converting an asset into cash.” Business assets come in assorted sizes, shapes, and ideas. Even intangible, great ideas can be packaged and exchanged for cash. When incremental value is created through strategic execution, or tangible transactions, then enterprises flourish. A long-haul truck full of marketable goods is obviously much more valuable than an identical, empty long-haul truck sitting at a loading dock.  Realization initially establishes itself at the forefront of business needs because value can be deployed for different amounts, at different times, as well as under different circumstances. Finance theory states that a dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow. Realization manifests that belief by demonstrating that earning a dollar immediately results in recognizing that currency more quickly. When human personalities and egos enter transactions, then recognizing tangible wealth sooner equates to greater emotional and financial value. Basically, more money, more quickly, is better!

Creating business deals and interactions that factor the value of time leads to higher priority transactions that aligns with generating greater returns. Consequently, human involvement in transactions facilitating the ability to recognize value more quickly, in turn results in incremental wealth for involved individuals and entities. Whether looking reputationally, financially, or egotistically, realizing value quicker yields more money! Furthermore, business leaders that are adept at achieving quicker closure in transactions, ultimately create incremental value that slower transactions forfeit. Speed and judgment matters. The opportunities that generate cash more quickly, in the long run create better returns for their efforts. Realization must be factored into the negotiated and ego-based calculus because the business professional that uses time efficiently, while generating greater values more effectively, ultimately secures more cash to enjoy personally and organizationally. To maximize such opportunities, create stories and scenarios that progress toward “yes”, fastest. Clearly, time is money!

Resolution

The aforementioned process points directly to the financial impact of quick resolutions. Again, time is a factor in concluding business transactions. Equally important, rewards are recognized sooner when closure is expedited. Sustaining a consistent narrative via storytelling helps facilitate quicker understanding and consequently, quicker resolutions. “We have a deal.”, while shaking hands speaks to closure of a transaction. However, closure really does not occur until funds are exchanged and agreed expectations regarding goods and services are satisfactory. Consequently, terms must be negotiated, and agreement attained. That outcome returns attention to storytelling. What facts can the service-providing side establish and accomplish? How believable are expectations? Until satisfactory execution, uneasiness remains to a certain degree. What narrative prevents trust from eroding?  Agreement and transaction take a different course until evidence and understanding reaches a certain point. Progress requires trust, so what vehicles enforce that need?

Clearly, cash and character never truly stray too far from any commercial interaction. Moreso, technology, artificial intelligence, algorithms, automated triggers are increasingly prevalent in transacting business. Nevertheless, at some point a human being introduced the algorithm, formula, or commands so that the transaction can execute quickly and logically. Speed and predictability still launch from a human introduction of logical protocols. Resolution, or agreement between two entities, still find their beginning in a human interaction that features trust. Simply put, someone programmed the computer or installed the intelligence for the technological solution. Furthermore, a human being is going to reap the reward from the technology that was intimately involved with executing the terms of the agreement. Machines may perform the necessary steps. Humans ultimately reap the financial benefits.  The story benefits the individuals by communicating trust, belief and execution!

Conclusion

Cash for characters ultimately focuses on competing parties willingly ready to transact money for goods, services, and/ or results. The characters are the involved professionals. Their ingenuity, intelligence and acumen drive value. Whether the purchase involves goods, services, individual talent, or an invention, the sales process eventually triggers execution. And, execution dictates commercial transactions! But, the process, or individual can only perform according to instructions. Consequently, an agreement returns to storytelling in order to establish expectations, warn against potential risks, and manifest fulfilling happy endings that result from successful transactions. Effective storytelling establishes the positive expectation and communicates the transaction’s jubilant completion. Success depends on clearly articulating the value and delivering to that expectation, if not beyond it. Winning businesses deploy characters that can deliver. Yet, people who effectively convey the story that features expectations, fulfillment, and satisfaction are equally important. Effectively deploy both realization and resolution, so that both financial outcomes and operating execution results in consistent business success. Be certain in selecting the right character for every job, interaction and transaction. Pay close attention to what characters are involved and what they are doing, because the money matters.

By Glenn W Hunter

Managing Director, Hunter And Beyond, LLC

Author of “Storytelling Wins The Best Engagements“

Posted in Business Development, Client Relationships, Creating Culture | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment