John Cousineau

As 2011 draws to a close, time to reflect back on the over 6000 words I shared thru 18 blog posts this past year. They were, in the end, a window into the work of our clients. With a big thanks to those of you who’ve been part of our continuing conversation, here are the five key lessons arising from those conversations + results we’ve been seeing:

Lesson One: sales leaders understand there’s a need for more craftsmanship on the front-lines of sales execution and know there’s a new coaching role emerging for themselves in making it happen. Lessons from Twyla Tharpe struck a chord.

Lesson Two: the science of predictably high sales performance is improving, interest it it continues to build, and technologies are emerging that make it increasingly possible. ...

Attended the Sales & Marketing 2.0 Conference earlier this week. It was time well spent. Four themes emerged:

ONE: BUYERS NEED HELP + SAAVY FIRMS ARE RESPONDING
Buyers are looking for sellers that can create more value, faster. At the same time, buyers are also looking for new ways to minimize risks in their businesses. In response, savvy companies appear to be doing three things:

1. rapid experimentation in new sales tactics;
2. ubiquitous sales training and certification with a focus on analyzing business situations (for example: the added attention HP is now giving to finance training for their salespeople); and
3. using metrics as a reality check of what’s really happening. Justin Shriber from Oracle perhaps put it best: “In economic downturns, metrics on the skills of your people and how well they’re executing are key. The ‘score in the game’ can be misleading.” (see Jim Keenan‘s summary of...

My friend Ardath Albee regularly offers sharp perspectives on the effective use of content in sales and marketing via her Marketing Interactions blog. She recently asked a brilliant question: ‘what does a click really mean?’ She and I recently had great fun debating the issue.

From a distance, it seems we’ve come to equate buyer’s clicks with everything from a higher lead score to valuable messaging to brilliant marketing to a host of other ‘task celebrations’. In my view, we’ve become excessively focused on establishing the value of small parts of a large puzzle and keep missing what matters most – how do these small victories add up (if at all) to victories of process? Victories of sales effort? Victories of perfected sales practices that are the core of the larger puzzle of B2B sales...

Recently had the pleasure of comparing notes with Lisa Nirell, founder of EnergizeGrowth,
and a blogger with FastCompany. Following are excerpts from our conversation.

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J : Lisa, in a nutshell, what are saavy firms doing to energize their sales growth?

L : Three areas must work in harmony to thrive in today’s volatile economy:

1. A written, easy to understand, customer-centric growth plan.
2. Passion for what you are doing that is fueled by a willingness to make the world better. This has to be part of your marketing and selling culture and processes.
3. A system for addressing your B.S. (also known as your Belief System). In my book, I call this “the Beast.” Many of us have been knocked around and dragged through the mud during this recession. Without a strong B.S. management system, we lose...