CIO's need to sell the cloud too...

I want to know as much about something new as I possibly can and this cloudy stuff is no different.  Trying to understand how and when it will impact businesses is like wishing for snow days.  Which raises the question...just what is holding back technology leaders from migrating to the cloud?

As a sales professional it is critical to learn how to paint an accurate picture to a prospects (for the CIO its your CEO's and CFO's), they need to SEE why they should choose my solution. Getting a prospect to choose your products or services is partly art and partly learned skills.  Debating which is a better quality (Art versus Skill) is like debating what's the best day for cold calling.

Knowing who you are as a salesperson is what will make you successful.  I am certainly not  trying to insult my CIO friends, hell you forgot more about technology while you were shaving this morning than I will ever know, and most of you have spent a lifetime developing your expertise.

I understand that being a CIO takes wisdom, experience, business savvy...but how often do you find yourself working on your ability to close the sale!  Many of you have several projects on your plate and determining which will provide the greatest benefit to your company will require analysis, calculations and "gut" feelings that only you can make.

There have been a few studies about "Risk outweighing the benefits" of cloud computing.  I am still struggling with why the "cloud" has yet to live up to the hype.

Ultimately, your assessment will drive the decision, but sometimes generating interest and enthusiasm for a project is no different than getting your foot in the door.  So spead the word, and by the way...welcome to sales.

Sales shouldn't be hard...just hard work!

Most of my friends consider a career in sales "easy" money...roll into the office around 9am, long lunches and afternoon golf sessions...r  i  g  h  t...unless you are selling Cisco in 1999, its hard work.

I had been in slump over the winter and happen to get invited to join a linkedin group, this nutty guy was talking about jedi mastery, kicking ass, and called himself Uncle Paul...I figured what the heck.  I will check it out, and either block him or learn something new...I was in a serious need for a momentum swing.

I read several post before it dawned on me...basics.  The basic rules of sales have NEVER changed, what makes a person successful in sales is A C T I V I TY.  There are 3 things that will get you out of a slump:

1.  You don't need to bore me with arguments about social networking versus cold calling.  The fact is, do what comes naturally and what you are good at....and seriously...do it!  Set aside time everyday to connect with outsiders by calling, connecting or networking, whatever your method, ACTIVITY DRIVES OPPORTUNITY.

2.  Be an expert in your field, the 10,000 hour rule! You don't need to understand the details of a specific technology, but you better understand how your products and services can solve complex business issues.  And don't be afraid to turn down the sales ratchet, instead, get involved in professional organizations.  Stop treating them as opportunities to sell your product, but as opportunities to work side by side and get to know your prospects!  What better way to gain respect and trust, than by working on committees with business leaders who are passionate about the same things you are.

3.  Get motivated! Kick up the volume and let "Rock N Roll Ain't Noise Pollution" be heard around the office, head phones are a good option too.  I tend to watch some of my favorite movie clips to get me in the mood to cold call, like Al Pachino's Speach.

So sales is hard work, but it can be fun and rewarding too.  Always be enthusiastic about your approach, have a solid plan of attack, stay active and find sources of motivation to work through the tough times.  Of course getting a jump start from a crazy sales professional like Uncle Paul helps too.

Some People have connections...

I am not sure how it works...well I know how it works, you have to know someone who knows someone to get information before the rest of us.  This is definitely the case with Nigel Edelshain, no sooner did I get his latest post, then I get an update from linkedIn about the enhance capability of using the Company Watch feature!  Damn, I'm not sure who Nigel knows, but seriously to get his post out before LinkedIn.  My hats off.  In case you missed it here are a few of the highlights:


"LinkedIn is, in my opinion, the number one tool for B2B sales people to have in their tool box when trying to get into target accounts. Primarily this is because it allows you to build and leverage relationships. But as LinkedIn continues its relentless pursuit of Facebook it keeps adding features that give real-timeupdates.These real-time updates are a perfect source of trigger events.
"Trigger events" are changes in your prospect's environment. These changes cause opportunities for you as a salesperson as they create new pains or needs that your product or service may be able to address."

You should read on..Great stuff Nigel.

Thank you.

Why blended families make you a better parent.

"Mom, I hate you!"
"Mom, where are my shoes"
"Mom, she took my blanket"
Mom, Mom MOM......MOM!

I swear this weekend I heard 2,315 times "Mom!"
and 325
"Mom, tornado is ...!"

As I listened and watch Tornado vie for eveyones attention, I show restraint...and choose not to engage.  I have come to accept the way I might have dealt with Tornado is way different than my wife.  This is standard practice in our relationship, when the primary parent is engaged the "other" parent simply watches and takes notes.  Trust me...it is way better to be on the notetaking side.

Taking notes comes from a variety of sources.  Setting proper expectations based on age and gender, knowing each others parenting style, and there is the insanely stupid 10 steps for steps...like being a parent is  comparable to baking a cake.  I find reading Family Education provides the best and most common sense approach and compliments the family culture we are working hard to create...

..but I do love cake, chocolate of course...hot fudge cake, hot lava cake, triple layer cake, and yes I always struggle walking into speedway past the zingers.  I once walked into my buddies house, no one was home, lucky me found a freshly baked cake...I had two pieces.
 
Some quick background, we have a family of eight!  Joyful (10 mos, girl), Nails (10, boy)  Pleaser (12, boy), Princess (12, girl) Pleaser and Princess are twins, Tornado (5, boy) and Scorekeeper (10, girl).  I know, "Here's a story, of a lovely lady..."  Drop dead...like that has anything to do with blending a family.  My wife and I have been at this blending the family thing for 3 years...somedays there is actually a light at the end of the tunnel, there has yet to be a day that looked like the Brady Bunch.

Once we figured out our parenting styles, we began having nightly conversations about what we see in each other when we parent.  What a great way to gain insight into what is working.  I always thought I was teaching my kids about respect, kindness, love, patience and self-control. In fact, it was not uncommon for me to talk/lecture my kids about respect, but I soon realized from our nightly re-caps, that I was not calling out the dis-respect when I saw it.  Even a rolling of Princesses eyes.

There was a day I saw something amazing, I'm not sure what the exact circumstances, but one day I saw patience in my wife. The kind of patience that I have never seen before...in the midst of complete tyraid from tornado, she never lost her composure and stood her ground. She never raised her voice or even sounded mad ...and eventually he got his water and returned to bed. In that instant she taught tornado self-control, patience and understanding...not that he was going to wake up and have those qualities, but over time....he will.

So there is was for me, front and center, staring me smack dap in the face...modeling behavior.  

Instead of arguing with my kids about their behavior, I began to model.  When I point out disrespecful behaviour, I am calm, respectful and coach-like.  We openly discuss empathy.  On the other side of the disrespectful behavior is another person.  Another person, just like them, that has feelings.  Laughing at a 5 year old can be hurtful, complaining about the food in front of you hurts the chef, calling your brother stupid is hurtful, making fun of someone is hurtful. 

We have started to see progress, not so much in that we don't see disrespect anymore, but the angst between my wife and I is certainly gone.  We see it, We aknowledge it, We coach it, We punish it.

Certainly not everything is perfect.  Our blended family is full of personalities, temperments and talents that challenge us everyday.  We are learning that blended means a lot of things, but nothing is as important as blending our parenting styles to teach values to our children.

Clouds produce more than precipitation

Those of us that live in midwest, not neccessarily the geographical midwest, but the "real" midwest, the one that has all four seasons....seasons filled with snow, rain, heat, cold, flowers, green grass and miles of corn fields.  I was raised in a small midwestern town and had a Grandfather that was a tremendous farmer, I had uncles that farmed...the weather and clouds were mainstays of our conversations.  In fact, we were dependent on clouds, clouds created the neccessary weather that feed our farms.  

Its funny...I am not close to being a farmer, but finding myself in the middle of cloud discussions, has a little bit of irony for me.

I am currently going through a series of personal beta technology movements...tweeting, blogging, linkedin, and the most painful, I've moved everything I do to the cloud.  Yes...I am flying solo on a mini notebook, an Acer AS1410.  Nifty little machine that is fast, lightweight and extremely portable.  I need to give a nod to Windows 7 too...I am a fan.

So the only application I am running locally is Internet Explorer 8.  All my docs are at google, my mail is Profitabilities Hosted Exchange. My primary business application is a custom built web based tool for quoting and billing.  I wonder how many users are like me?  I do use word and excel, but google docs is sophisticated enough to handle any word processing or spreadsheeting. (spell check says not a word, beg to differ!)  Easy transition.

In just a day I gained speed and effieciencies.  I am enjoying the benefit of connecting to wifi anywhere and having everything, even if I don't have my notebook.

Long before I made the conscious decision to move everything to the cloud, I realized I've been relying on it for years.  In 2003 I began using TurboTax Online...one of the most important things a person has to do is file taxes...I do it in the cloud.  Every year my prior return is there, I log in, update, submit, done. 

Bottomline:  The cloud has been around, I need to pay closer attention, and continue to carry the family torch...watching the clouds role in.

Sales Playbook...Uncle Paul Just Gets It.

I have been following my brother in sales Uncle Paul Castain for several months.  I don't REALLY no Uncle Paul, but he is clearly either studied the psychology of selling or he has a ton of experience and is kind enough to share is his thoughts and wisdom.  


Do you find yourself trying to justify reason why not to make the call,  Mondays are bad because everyone is grumpy getting back to work and Tuesday, no way!! Everyone is busy trying to fix all the issues from Monday...so on and so forth.  C'mon, don't act surprised, we've all had those debates.


In this post he answers the age old question...what day is the best day to cold call?


Once again he hits a homerun.

Dear Twitter...

  
So my co-worker has been after me to give twitter a serious trial.  I committed to giving it 30 days to see if it would stick for me.  My letter to Twitter;

     Dear Twitter:

I am sorry. I have spoken so poorly of you the last 6 months. My first impression was wrong, you are not a fad, you are not annoying, you are not texting, spam, noise, wasteful or redundant, you are not a toy, you are not passing through, you are not for everyone.

You're an outlet, time saver, answerer, questioner, friendship maker, informative, inspirational, thoughtful, creative an innovative.

Are you interested in life and how it is just damn hard. A place where it is OK to be mad, mad at yourself, your kids, your partner, your job, your parents, your spouse or just trying to figure out why you're mad.  Get with a crowd on twitter.

I read a post not long ago that helped me understand the essence of twitter. It is a creative tool that allows me the freedom to explore my worlds. As a husband, dad, lover, professional, Christ seeker, all can be discussed and shared with people...real people just like me that are interested in the same things that I am.

In my first week of tweeting I found help with so many things.  Like sifting through social media outlets, I found Amber  &  Julie.  Need some good advice on sales Eric always post some great links to articles.  Do you feel compelled to take on responsiblity and test your leadership abilities? Authentic leadership will help motivate you.  Do you want to be a better Dad? You can follow Dad's that are divorced, re-married, stuggling in marriage, wanting to be married or blending families.

I am excited about the weeks ahead.  Who knows what I might be following, debating or learning.  I might even catch on to the #, FF and other symbols that mean things to most but little to newbies like myself.

Thanks Twitter!