Newsletter topics: Social Media, Writing/Blogging, Negotiating Software Agreements, Team Leadership, Sales Training, Technology (a cartoon), Sales

• Managing Your Social Media Goals
• Your Neighbor Next Door Is Writing A Book
• A Quick Guide To Negotiating Software Licensing Agreements
• Revealing the Power of Storytelling: 5 Tips to Lead & Inspire  
• Best Practices For Sales Effectiveness 
• This Gadget (a cartoon) 
• Selling Lemonade For 10 Cents

 

I am amazed at how much raw talent there is out there and struck by the diversity and number of people who take up writing books.

Maybe it’s because of the hundreds of thousands of blogs or maybe, it’s the reason for all the blogs.  I don’t really know.  What is apparent is the number of people who want to write.

One such person, a Wall Street risk manager who has never written before creates a Lehman Brothers-type melt down and draws incredible characters who manage and ruin his fictional bank. He knew he wanted to write, but wasn’t sure how to begin. Less than six months later, he has completed a first draft of a driving yarn, full of regulators, hedge fund managers and bank personnel who stay with you and keep you at the edge of your seat.

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(part 2 of 3)

PART TWO – Future Proofing Contracts by Maximizing Flexibility

Flexibility is a really important issue within software deals, and one that is under-appreciated by software buyers, in my opinion.  Among even my more sophisticated clients (those having been through relatively more deals over time), on flexibility issues I often hear, "That's a great idea, and quite honestly, that has never occurred to me."  Flexibility issues simply are not on the minds of most software buyers.
 
So, what are we talking about in terms of flexibility within a software deal?  Well, for me, flexibility centers mainly around expense items, license and service fees (maintenance and support).  The goal is to create as much flexibility as possible for things like the base license structure, user license structure, and maintenance and support options. 

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Regardless of your message, every great leader knows the power of a good story.  While facts and figures are essential, it’s in crafting that information into a compelling, inspiring narrative that will inspire in your audience everything from deep understanding to action.  As a leadership tool, storytelling can be a powerful, persuasive technique to capture your audiences’ attention and bring home your meaning.  It’s important to match the type of story to the occasion, and once mastered, these techniques are powerful tools.

In today’s challenging marketplace, successful selling requires much more than just presenting a product or service to a prospect. A salesperson is increasingly expected to be a complex hybrid of marketing specialist, consultant, customer service representative, and confidant to make a sale and maintain a customer.

It’s time for a reality check. Salespeople are simply a dime a dozen.  However, trusted resources and business partners are hard to find and definitely worth their weight in gold to businesses and decision-makers. The more value that you can provide; the less chance that you will be replaced.

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In another life, hot summer days provided an opportunity for a few enterprising young children to increase their allowance [aka, income]. As a child growing up in the New City Edenwald housing projects, I innately developed a knack for meeting people at their needs. When other kids sold their lemonade for 5 cents a glass, I sold more lemonade at 10 cents a glass. Mind you, Country Time Lemonade wasn't around. My mother funded my lemonade operation, which consisted of 2 choices; some inexpensive lemonade like packet and fresh lemons. I chose fresh lemons. The pulp in the pitcher was the sales clincher. What is your sales clincher?

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Bruce Newman is the editor-in-chief of the PI Newsletter.  Contact him at: newsletter@prodinst.com

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