Jill Konrath | Selling to Big Companies

Hiring the Right People

Are you someone who hires people?  If so, please take this short, 5-minute survey on Young People & the Emerging Workplace.

My daughter is researching what employers are looking for in new hire candidates - especially as it relates to young people right out of college. She needs your valuable insights so she can complete her Master's paper,

What are the Top 5 reasons to take this survey?

• As a gesture of appreciation for the many valuable sales tips I've shared with you.
• Because you have kids too and understand the pressure I'm under.
• People who see you on your computer may actually think you're working.
• You can avoid calling prospective customers for another 5 minutes.
• It's a better use of your time that reading another silly frog joke.

Just click here to take the survey. And many thanks, from me!

Note: Check out the article below about my daughter's sales efforts. You'll find it inspirational!

Creatively Cracking into Corporate Accounts

Are you tired of not getting any work from those big companies you drive past each day? Sure it's hard to get in, but with a little imagination and a bit of chutzpah, anyone can do it - even my college-age daughter.

Several years ago Katie needed to raise $7000 in less than two months so her Destination Imagination (DI) team could attend the Global Finals competitions. (DI is a creative problem-solving program for students of all ages.)

But she was done with nickel-and-dime fundraisers! After years of candy sales and car washes, she decided to tackle big companies because they had lots of money.

After serious consideration, she decided to target Pepsi. Why? Because the 16,000 kids & parents attending this event liked their products. And to her, that meant synergy.

So how does a college sophomore pursue getting money from Pepsi? Especially someone who has never taken a business class, has no knowledge of sales, isn't particularly outgoing, and has never met anyone in her life who works at Pepsi.

(Some of you may feel that this story is starting to sound a bit like your own situation.)

What's "The One Piece of Advice You Can't Sell Without?"

I've been struggling with this question since last December.  There are so many areas you could focus on, that it's sometimes difficult to even know where to start. To keep things simple, I wanted to narrow it down to just one piece of advice you can't sell without.

Initially my thoughts went to value propositions, something you've heard me stress over-and-over. Strong ones are absolutely critical in today's market. But after debating that for awhile, I started focusing on questions. I wouldn't be where I am today if without my excellent questioning skills.

But perhaps I asked good questions because I loved learning new things. So maybe I'd have to tell people to "be more curious."  That still wasn't quite right - lots of curious people were lousy at sales. Finally, I was sure I had it. Preparation was the answer. Everyone I knew who did well in sales has always done their homework. But immediately doubts started creeping in again. I'd seen people invest a ton of time preparing without getting results.

Clearly this was a provocative question with no easy answer. So last month I contacted the people at Rain Today with an idea to pose this question to a bunch of experts. They did - and the results are in!

In The One Piece of Advice You Can't Sell Without, you'll learn what I finally decided is most important. You'll also find advice from:

• Seth Godin, author of Small is the New Big & Purple Cow
• Sam Reese, CEO of Miller Hieman sales training company
• Alan Weiss, author of Million Dollar Consulting
• Mike McLaughlin, Deloitte Consulting, author of Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants
• Paige Arnof-Fenn, CEO of Mavens & Mogels, columnist for Entrepreneur
• Mike Schultz, Publisher, RainToday.com
• Keith Ferrazi, author of Never Eat Alone
• Paul Dunay, Director of Global Field Marketing, BearingPoint
• and more ..

Download The One Piece of Advice You Can't Sell Without now. It's definitely a worthwhile read!