I have been using Linked In for prospecting lately and I have to admit - it is a great supplementary tool for sales. As sales people - our ultimate goal is to gain audience with the key decision maker and in many cases this individual will have the letters CXO, SVP, EVP, VP attached to their name. We also know that it can be difficult to contact these individuals directly going through the usual gatekeepers.
Linked In is an interesting tool as you can discover more details about your senior prospect than you can at Hoovers or by reading their executive bios on their company website. The other plus for Linked In is that you can view your prospect's respective business network which always includes company colleagues that are at par or report to the prospect.
Building a 360 view of the prospect is part of the challenge in solution selling and this tool (there are others - Spoke, etc.)allows you to build a more complete picture of your target.
I use Linked In to confirm that my prospect - is indeed the right individual within the organization - by qualifying with other contacts within the organization. It gives me more ammunition to meet with the ultimate decision maker.
I haven't used the upgraded version of Linked In - but I've read other posts and for the most part they seem quite positive about the extended version.http://www.devproconnections.com/article/training-and-certification2/linkedin-it-pro-friend-or-foe-.aspx
As sales people, we need to be up on all the latest social media tools as this phenomena continues to generate momentum in the business world. I recommend you try it and utilize to your advantage.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Business Travel - Not Fun Anymore
In the 90's when I was a National Sales Manager for a Technology company I traveled quite often. I would fly all over the country and quite often would be upgraded to business class as every month I would receive upgrade certificates. Sometimes if there was room in business class I would pay a $75 upgrade and enjoy a nice long cross country trip. Flying business class was great as I took advantage of the "luxury" and was very productive work wise.
The best thing about flying back then was I would literally show up 10 minutes before the flight and run through security. Back then they only checked your ticket.
I recently completed a one day business trip from Toronto to Kansas City. Here is a snapshot of my day:
4:15 A.M. - alarm goes off and I stumble to the shower
4:40 A.M. - the taxi arrives 10 minutes early so I give him the high 5 as my towel almost slips off and I avoid flashing the cabbie
4:45 A.M. - I rush around and get my suit on and do up my tie - good thing I packed the night before
4:50 A.M. - depart for the airport and run into traffic as we enter the terminal ramp - traffic at this hour?
5:00 A.M. - I had checked in via the web the night before - luckily - as 2 of the check in kiosks weren't working and there were people lined up
5:10 A.M. - Filled out the U.S. Customs and Immigration forms
5:12 A.M. - Got in the "Document Check Line"
5:20 A.M. - Cleared document check now in the U.S. Immigration/Customs line up. I felt like a "steer" heading for the slaughter. There are approximately 7 queue lanes that snake their way to the customs desks.
5:40 A.M. - still snaking and am feeling really nervous - I can't miss this meeting
5:45 A.M. - another customs officer opens her "wicket" and the line moves a bit.
5:50 A.M. - I finally get to the wicket - and I get the new agent. She has just started but already appears to be bored out of her mind. I recently read that the U.S. agents make 50% more than the Canadian customs officers do - no wonder the Canadians are pissed off. What's interesting is some of the U.S. agents wear bullet proof vests - not sure why - we Canadians are a fairly peaceful group. I guess they don't want to take any chances.
5:52 A.M. - I clear the wicket then hand my form to another "bored" agent and go to the baggage drop. I only have my laptop case so I proceed to security.
5:55 A.M. - Shoes and belt off, laptop out and luckily I breeze through security.
5:57 A.M. - A secondary security check for explosives - but luckily there was only one agent there and she was busy with another traveler and she waved me through - good thing as my flight was leaving in 23 minutes.
6:00 A.M. - get down to the concourse and line up for coffee at Starbucks - luckily just a 3 minute wait - I need the caffeine hit
6:05 A.M. - I arrive at the gate and the flight is boarding.
6:10 A.M. - I board the flight and it is absolutely packed - not one empty seat - I thought the air travel industry was hurting - not today on United Airlines
6:25 A.M. - Aircraft leaves the gate and we taxi to the runway
7:05 A.M. - Arrive in Chicago and pick up an hour on the time change. I have an hour and a half between my connection to Kansas City.
7:20 A.M. - I line up to order a breakfast wrap from a popular restaurant - that takes 15 minutes but it was worth it. I take the sandwich and coffee to the bar area as all the table are taken. I am enjoying my breakfast and there are a number of travelers ordering Bloody Mary's - at 7:20 A.M. - obviously vacationers or raging alcoholics but quite funny nonetheless.
8:00 A.M. - Make my way to the gate and board. Again - the flight is packed and not one empty seat. I have an aisle seat and 5 minutes before departure a huge man waddles down the aisle and with my luck I'm thinking he's going to sit beside me but luckily he's three rows behind. A nice lady from Kansas City takes the seat next to me and I have a relatively pleasant flight. I nodded off a couple of times.
10:00 A.M. - Arrive early but wait for 10 minutes as there is no gate agent available.
10:20 A.M. - Hail a cab and head towards downtown. I didn't realize the KC airport was 30 miles out of town - takes about 30 minutes and the cabbie is booting it the whole way.
10:30 A.M. - Arrive 1.5 hours early for my appointment so I go for a walk and end up in a bar/restaurant and have a coffee and get ready for my appointment. By this time I've had 5 coffees to help me stay awake.
12:00 P.M. - Arrive at my appointment - clientgreets me and we head off for lunch at a local restaurant.
1:30 P.M. - Head back to the client's office - he escorts me to the boardroom where I prepare for my presentation.
1:45 P.M. - I check the room projector and hook up my laptop and review my notes.
2:00 P.M. - 7 people including the CEO of the company file in for my presentation - in addition there is a phone in so we hooked her up via webex.
2:07 P.M. - Powerpoint Presentation Starts
3:25 P.M. - Meeting ends - I think it went well. The key decision makers stay and we continue to dialog
4:00 P.M. - The after meeting ends and the receptionist calls the same cabbie that brought me here
4:20 P.M. - The cabbie was a bit late and only takes cash so I have him stop at an ATM for cash - we head for the airport.
4:50 P.M. - I check in at United Airlines (who I flew down with) but discover going back is with US Air - even though United Airlines was prominently displayed on my ticket. Fortunately they were right next door. United have a direct flight back to Toronto so I ask the US Air ticket agent to transfer the fare - they tell me there is not enough time to process (30 minutes) - I politely protest but to no avail - I believe the real reason was revenue and they didn't want to lose the amount to United.
5:00 P.M. - Have a bite to eat and a beer at the local restaurant. Deep fried chicken fingers and french fries - so much for my diet.
5:40 P.M. - Security in Kansas City takes all of 2 minute to go through - I wish all the airports were like that.
6:15 P.M. - board the flight and head to the US Air hub - Charlotte.
9:25 P.M. - time change and arrive in Charlotte (2 hour flight) and just have enough time to change terminals and board the aircraft for Toronto
10:17 P.M. - Flight is absolutely packed again - not one empty seat - flight is delayed as many passengers continued to try to "jam" their suitcases in the overhead bin.
11:00 P.M. - I start watching the last episode of LOST - Season 5 - on my Laptop - keeps me from falling asleep.
12:15 A.M. - arrive in Toronto and walk to Customs and Immigration - luckily no line up to speak of and I am out hailing a limo in less than 5 minutes
12:25 A.M. - Limo takes off (literally) from the airport - I don't live that far so he wanted to hurry back to get another fare.
12:40 A.M. - I arrive at home - finally
12:50 A.M. - By now I'm hungry so I grab a bite to eat and turn on the T.V. - Bonus - an NHL playoff game between San Jose Sharks and Colorado - of course being a good Canadian I watch the third period and it goes into overtime.
1:15 A.M. - San Jose score in overtime - game over - and game over for me.
1:30 P.M. - Finally get to bed - I'm out like a light. A 22 hour day.
Is this what business travel is all about? Is this a typical experience for sales people. A few weeks ago I watched the George Clooney movie "Up in the Air". Every sales and business person should watch it as it really satirizes business travel but at the same time illustrates the fact how tough travel can be.
Well that's most recent travel experience. This trip was really not extraordinary at all as there were no massive delays, or people having heart attacks, weather problems, or psycho passenger altercations. Just every day business travel.
I want to bring back the 90's but with idiots with explosive shoes, underwear, and (next)body cavities - it doesn't seem that we will be relaxing any of these security measures anytime soon.
Grin and bear it is the motto going forward - and get used to "lining up" for almost everything.
The best thing about flying back then was I would literally show up 10 minutes before the flight and run through security. Back then they only checked your ticket.
I recently completed a one day business trip from Toronto to Kansas City. Here is a snapshot of my day:
4:15 A.M. - alarm goes off and I stumble to the shower
4:40 A.M. - the taxi arrives 10 minutes early so I give him the high 5 as my towel almost slips off and I avoid flashing the cabbie
4:45 A.M. - I rush around and get my suit on and do up my tie - good thing I packed the night before
4:50 A.M. - depart for the airport and run into traffic as we enter the terminal ramp - traffic at this hour?
5:00 A.M. - I had checked in via the web the night before - luckily - as 2 of the check in kiosks weren't working and there were people lined up
5:10 A.M. - Filled out the U.S. Customs and Immigration forms
5:12 A.M. - Got in the "Document Check Line"
5:20 A.M. - Cleared document check now in the U.S. Immigration/Customs line up. I felt like a "steer" heading for the slaughter. There are approximately 7 queue lanes that snake their way to the customs desks.
5:40 A.M. - still snaking and am feeling really nervous - I can't miss this meeting
5:45 A.M. - another customs officer opens her "wicket" and the line moves a bit.
5:50 A.M. - I finally get to the wicket - and I get the new agent. She has just started but already appears to be bored out of her mind. I recently read that the U.S. agents make 50% more than the Canadian customs officers do - no wonder the Canadians are pissed off. What's interesting is some of the U.S. agents wear bullet proof vests - not sure why - we Canadians are a fairly peaceful group. I guess they don't want to take any chances.
5:52 A.M. - I clear the wicket then hand my form to another "bored" agent and go to the baggage drop. I only have my laptop case so I proceed to security.
5:55 A.M. - Shoes and belt off, laptop out and luckily I breeze through security.
5:57 A.M. - A secondary security check for explosives - but luckily there was only one agent there and she was busy with another traveler and she waved me through - good thing as my flight was leaving in 23 minutes.
6:00 A.M. - get down to the concourse and line up for coffee at Starbucks - luckily just a 3 minute wait - I need the caffeine hit
6:05 A.M. - I arrive at the gate and the flight is boarding.
6:10 A.M. - I board the flight and it is absolutely packed - not one empty seat - I thought the air travel industry was hurting - not today on United Airlines
6:25 A.M. - Aircraft leaves the gate and we taxi to the runway
7:05 A.M. - Arrive in Chicago and pick up an hour on the time change. I have an hour and a half between my connection to Kansas City.
7:20 A.M. - I line up to order a breakfast wrap from a popular restaurant - that takes 15 minutes but it was worth it. I take the sandwich and coffee to the bar area as all the table are taken. I am enjoying my breakfast and there are a number of travelers ordering Bloody Mary's - at 7:20 A.M. - obviously vacationers or raging alcoholics but quite funny nonetheless.
8:00 A.M. - Make my way to the gate and board. Again - the flight is packed and not one empty seat. I have an aisle seat and 5 minutes before departure a huge man waddles down the aisle and with my luck I'm thinking he's going to sit beside me but luckily he's three rows behind. A nice lady from Kansas City takes the seat next to me and I have a relatively pleasant flight. I nodded off a couple of times.
10:00 A.M. - Arrive early but wait for 10 minutes as there is no gate agent available.
10:20 A.M. - Hail a cab and head towards downtown. I didn't realize the KC airport was 30 miles out of town - takes about 30 minutes and the cabbie is booting it the whole way.
10:30 A.M. - Arrive 1.5 hours early for my appointment so I go for a walk and end up in a bar/restaurant and have a coffee and get ready for my appointment. By this time I've had 5 coffees to help me stay awake.
12:00 P.M. - Arrive at my appointment - clientgreets me and we head off for lunch at a local restaurant.
1:30 P.M. - Head back to the client's office - he escorts me to the boardroom where I prepare for my presentation.
1:45 P.M. - I check the room projector and hook up my laptop and review my notes.
2:00 P.M. - 7 people including the CEO of the company file in for my presentation - in addition there is a phone in so we hooked her up via webex.
2:07 P.M. - Powerpoint Presentation Starts
3:25 P.M. - Meeting ends - I think it went well. The key decision makers stay and we continue to dialog
4:00 P.M. - The after meeting ends and the receptionist calls the same cabbie that brought me here
4:20 P.M. - The cabbie was a bit late and only takes cash so I have him stop at an ATM for cash - we head for the airport.
4:50 P.M. - I check in at United Airlines (who I flew down with) but discover going back is with US Air - even though United Airlines was prominently displayed on my ticket. Fortunately they were right next door. United have a direct flight back to Toronto so I ask the US Air ticket agent to transfer the fare - they tell me there is not enough time to process (30 minutes) - I politely protest but to no avail - I believe the real reason was revenue and they didn't want to lose the amount to United.
5:00 P.M. - Have a bite to eat and a beer at the local restaurant. Deep fried chicken fingers and french fries - so much for my diet.
5:40 P.M. - Security in Kansas City takes all of 2 minute to go through - I wish all the airports were like that.
6:15 P.M. - board the flight and head to the US Air hub - Charlotte.
9:25 P.M. - time change and arrive in Charlotte (2 hour flight) and just have enough time to change terminals and board the aircraft for Toronto
10:17 P.M. - Flight is absolutely packed again - not one empty seat - flight is delayed as many passengers continued to try to "jam" their suitcases in the overhead bin.
11:00 P.M. - I start watching the last episode of LOST - Season 5 - on my Laptop - keeps me from falling asleep.
12:15 A.M. - arrive in Toronto and walk to Customs and Immigration - luckily no line up to speak of and I am out hailing a limo in less than 5 minutes
12:25 A.M. - Limo takes off (literally) from the airport - I don't live that far so he wanted to hurry back to get another fare.
12:40 A.M. - I arrive at home - finally
12:50 A.M. - By now I'm hungry so I grab a bite to eat and turn on the T.V. - Bonus - an NHL playoff game between San Jose Sharks and Colorado - of course being a good Canadian I watch the third period and it goes into overtime.
1:15 A.M. - San Jose score in overtime - game over - and game over for me.
1:30 P.M. - Finally get to bed - I'm out like a light. A 22 hour day.
Is this what business travel is all about? Is this a typical experience for sales people. A few weeks ago I watched the George Clooney movie "Up in the Air". Every sales and business person should watch it as it really satirizes business travel but at the same time illustrates the fact how tough travel can be.
Well that's most recent travel experience. This trip was really not extraordinary at all as there were no massive delays, or people having heart attacks, weather problems, or psycho passenger altercations. Just every day business travel.
I want to bring back the 90's but with idiots with explosive shoes, underwear, and (next)body cavities - it doesn't seem that we will be relaxing any of these security measures anytime soon.
Grin and bear it is the motto going forward - and get used to "lining up" for almost everything.
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