Sales As A Core Business Competency, Part 3: Channels

SIBP-2I’m a process guy. I like to break down complex systems into their most basic structures, looking for places where things can be improved or made more efficient. In my work with entrepreneurs and small businesses, I often see the biggest process bottlenecks in the early stages of sales process. And there’s no place this is more obvious than in how a business approaches their channels.

A channel is simply another way of saying “Places to sell your stuff.” You can also look at channels as a series of branching paths, almost like branches on a tree, with each one reaching out to a specific kind of customer. Just like a tree, you can often get the best results by knowing which branches to prune.

Right off the bat, most businesses need to make a big decision in which branch to prune. Will they focus on direct or indirect sales? Direct sales means selling directly to the customer or end user, while indirect sales means that your customers aren’t the final customer, and instead they sell to the final customer as middlemen. Continue reading

Ep. 056 – Interview with Slidebean CEO ‘Caya’ Cayasso, Part 4

Jose 'Caya' Cayasso, CEO of Slidebean

Jose ‘Caya’ Cayasso, CEO of Slidebean

In this episode, the Success In Business Podcast wraps up our interview with Jose ‘Caya’ Cayasso, founder and CEO of presentation-sharing software startup Slidebean. In this segment of the interview, Tom and Caya discuss working with investors, the challenge of timing your fundraising, and the startup cultures of New York, Silicon Valley and Costa Rica.

In addition to his success as an entrepreneur, Caya has been named in the “40 Under 40” list of Costa Rican innovators by El Financiero newspaper, and received an Innovation Champion by the Costa Rican Ministry of Science and Technology. Continue reading

Sales As A Core Business Competency, Part 2: The Value Proposition

SIBP-2How well do you know your customers? Do you know what they really care about? And, most importantly, do you know why they buy from you?

You don’t need to be a genius to realize the best way to get candid feedback from customers is to simply ask them. You’ll be amazed and how much you’ll learn if you actually talk to your customers.

You might learn, for instance, that the biggest problems your customers are trying to solve isn’t the one you thought it was. Perhaps you’ve been pitching your product on its price point, but your customers are more compelled to sign on the dotted line by your service plan. There are countless factors that go into making a sale, and the only way to determine the decisive ones are to go straight to the source. Continue reading

Ep. 055 – Interview with Slidebean CEO ‘Caya’ Cayasso, Part 3

Jose 'Caya' Cayasso, CEO of Slidebean

Jose ‘Caya’ Cayasso, CEO of Slidebean

In this episode, the Success In Business Podcast continues our interview with Jose ‘Caya’ Cayasso, founder and CEO of presentation-sharing software startup Slidebean. In this segment of the interview, Tom and Caya discuss accelerator programs, and the lessons learned from pitching his startups to over 150 investors.

In addition to his success as an entrepreneur, Caya has been named in the “40 Under 40” list of Costa Rican innovators by El Financiero newspaper, and received an Innovation Champion by the Costa Rican Ministry of Science and Technology. Continue reading

Ep. 054 – Interview with Slidebean CEO ‘Caya’ Cayasso, Part 2

Jose 'Caya' Cayasso, CEO of Slidebean

Jose ‘Caya’ Cayasso, CEO of Slidebean

In this episode, the Success In Business Podcast continues our interview with Jose ‘Caya’ Cayasso, founder and CEO of presentation-sharing software startup Slidebean. In this segment of the interview, Tom and Caya discuss Slidebean’s business model, examine the lessons learned from Caya’s previous startup Saborstudio, and talk about the risks of starting a business with your friends.

In addition to his success as an entrepreneur, Caya has been named in the “40 Under 40” list of Costa Rican innovators by El Financiero newspaper, and received an Innovation Champion by the Costa Rican Ministry of Science and Technology. Continue reading

Sales As A Core Business Competency, Part 1: The Customer

SIBP-3Creating a professional sales competency in your business is the single biggest success hack there is. I’ve seen firsthand the impact that a professionalized sales process can make. Not only can it make you a lot of money, it can also completely change how your company is seen by investors, competitors and potential customers.

It’s easy to tell when a business hasn’t developed its sales core competency. They give off the impression that they are just “winging it,” reinventing the process for every prospect and opportunity as they go. At best, this is in inefficient and wildly inconsistent way to generate sales. At worst, it can prevent real traction and turn off both prospective customers and investors, contributing to premature failure. Continue reading

Ep. 053 – An Interview with Slidebean CEO Jose ‘Caya’ Cayasso

Jose 'Caya' Cayasso, CEO of Slidebean

Jose ‘Caya’ Cayasso, CEO of Slidebean

The Success In Business Podcast shakes things up this week, taking a break from business coaching to spend a little time with to entrepreneur and founder/CEO of Slidebean, Jose ‘Caya’ Cayasso. As a serial entrepreneur, Caya has developed a wealth of experience beyond his years, earning a place in the “40 Under 40” Costa Rican innovators by El Financiero newspaper, and being named an Innovation Champion by the Costa Rican Ministry of Science and Technology. It’s safe to say that Caya knows a thing or two about getting startups off the ground.

In the first segment of this multi-part interview, Tom and Caya discuss the development of Slidebean, rising from the ashes of his previous startup Saborstudio, and how the business model for the presentation software has changed since its launch. Continue reading

Ep. 052 – The Alignment-Based Sales Approach

SIB-Blog-2How exactly does the “Always Be Aligning” approach to sales work? In this episode, host Tom Ryan explains the three fundamental building blocks of alignment-based sales, from creating a strong alignment statement and confirming interests to qualifying leads and learning when to pull the plug.

Not only can this technique build more sustainable and long-term relationships with customers, it also prevents the unnatural and high-pressure conversations of traditional methods. As always, Tom is joined by co-host and fellow podcaster Jason Pyles. Continue reading

The 10 Core Elements of Sales Competency

SIBP-1No matter what kind of company you build, sales should be a core business function. If there’s one mistake I see entrepreneurs consistently make, it’s giving the sales side of their companies the short end of the stick. As a result, the sales processes tend to be treated as afterthoughts, rather than top-level priorities.

That’s always struck me as a strange attitude for an entrepreneur to have. After all, the most important thing for any growing business is traction, and there’s no faster way to grow traction than having truly professionalized sales process. When a company is “winging it” with their sales process, it shows. It’s only when a business develops a truly professionalized sales competency that the bulk of investors start to pay attention.

The tricky part for many entrepreneurs is lack of experience with a truly competent sales process. Even those with a background in sales might not know how a professional sales process works at the higher levels. And even when you do know how it works, implementing it can be a challenge. Continue reading

Ep. 051 – The “Always Be Aligning” Approach To Sales

IMG_2523Sales doesn’t have to be the high-pressure, trust-destroying experience from the “ABCs of Sales” scene in Glengarry Glen Ross. Not only is it a terrible approach for building a long-term, sustainable relationship with your customers, it’s also not very effective in day-to-day sales.

In today’s episode, host Tom Ryan explores a more cooperative sales philosophy he calls “Always Be Aligning.” It’s a disqualification-focused approach that favors strong, mutually beneficial connections with customers over simply getting them to sign on the dotted line. As always, Tom is joined by co-host and fellow podcaster Jason Pyles. Continue reading