Corner Office Conversationshttp://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/index.phpSpeaking the Language of Business at the C-Levelenkurt@shurikensystems.comCopyright 2012 Shuriken Systems2012-11-20T15:55:19-07:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 Tue, 18 Dec 2012 17:23:14 -0700valueKurt HaugKurt Haugkurt@cornerofficeconversations.comSales CEO Executive C-LevelSpeaking the Language of Business at the C-LevelAn Insider's Guide to Executive Selling at the C-LevelCredible CONTENTkurt@shurikensystems.comNone2012-11-20T15:55:19-07:00http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/aa0dcbae082bc2c7e596080bb06b6053-30.php#unique-entry-id-30http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/aa0dcbae082bc2c7e596080bb06b6053-30.php#unique-entry-id-30Credible COMMUNICATIONSkurt@shurikensystems.comNone2012-11-05T12:27:55-07:00http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/2ee48b056c0b5874359558a00201360b-29.php#unique-entry-id-29http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/2ee48b056c0b5874359558a00201360b-29.php#unique-entry-id-29
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]]>You're Only Credible If...kurt@shurikensystems.comNone2012-10-04T22:16:03-06:00http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/79b3da360b40fb6a42c60fae433599fd-28.php#unique-entry-id-28http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/79b3da360b40fb6a42c60fae433599fd-28.php#unique-entry-id-28
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]]>WHY does the CEO BUY?kurt@shurikensystems.comNone2012-09-03T16:12:36-06:00http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/44ec68bcd1688257dcbccd99e9fe9f80-26.php#unique-entry-id-26http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/44ec68bcd1688257dcbccd99e9fe9f80-26.php#unique-entry-id-26”If you want to know why John Smith buys WHAT John Smith buys, you have to see the world through John Smiths eyes.” Most sales trainers are great trainers. Some were even sales professionals themselves at one time-- though that's no guarantee they were successful. But very, very few were ever C-LEVEL BUYERS. There names may be Zig Ziglar or Brian Tracy, but almost NEVER are they the fore-mentioned "John Smith." In my "sales" career, I have successfully carried over 1/2 billion dollars of quota and hit or surpassed my quarterly target 48 out of 50 consecutive quarters. But of more value to you as a sales professional targeting the upper tier of executive sales, I have PURCHASED over 1/2 billion dollars of goods and services over the course of my "executive" career. I AM John Smith. Corner Office Conversations has been a place for me to share my thoughts primarily about how to "talk" to a C-level executive, understanding his or her KPIs and communicating in the appropriate "language" to enhance your value and credibility. I'd like to expand our conversation a bit to address the overall challenge of achieving true credibility with the C-Suite-- based on an insider’s perspective. NOT what some trainer or even another successful sales professional has researched, experienced or observed, but what my colleagues and I are actually thinking on the buyer's side of the table-- and what we say about you amongst ourselves after the meeting is over (it’s not always pretty). In my next post we’ll begin to really see "why the CEO buys what the CEO buys-- through the CEOs eyes."
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]]>Swinging for the Fenceskurt@shurikensystems.comNone2012-08-01T07:48:34-06:00http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/46f918b5f03b0d8ca86941057dbba2e5-25.php#unique-entry-id-25http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/46f918b5f03b0d8ca86941057dbba2e5-25.php#unique-entry-id-25
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]]>Risky Businesskurt@shurikensystems.comNone2012-07-23T07:27:38-06:00http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/720ca19d1ba10a31fac3ce34f909fee6-24.php#unique-entry-id-24http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/720ca19d1ba10a31fac3ce34f909fee6-24.php#unique-entry-id-24
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]]>An Elephant Storykurt@shurikensystems.comNone2012-07-21T20:54:23-06:00http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/24e042aca1508bbe9787795ac6f6e247-23.php#unique-entry-id-23http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/24e042aca1508bbe9787795ac6f6e247-23.php#unique-entry-id-23
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]]>Turtles and the Moonkurt@shurikensystems.comNone2012-07-01T18:05:00-06:00http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/b09462b0012e081b99fcf5f806a4232c-22.php#unique-entry-id-22http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/b09462b0012e081b99fcf5f806a4232c-22.php#unique-entry-id-22
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]]>Are You Afraid of Heights?kurt@shurikensystems.comNone2012-06-10T08:26:00-06:00http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/73b0960640cf23dd2ead3ec8eafa116a-19.php#unique-entry-id-19http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/73b0960640cf23dd2ead3ec8eafa116a-19.php#unique-entry-id-19
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]]>Ditch the "Platitude Attitude"kurt@shurikensystems.comNone2012-05-18T18:47:00-06:00http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/a25d5861def94215913a7cd45cb2e205-18.php#unique-entry-id-18http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/a25d5861def94215913a7cd45cb2e205-18.php#unique-entry-id-18 I’m looking for something tangible. You tell me which elevator pitch is more compelling... Improved Procurement “…our total life cycle management approach provides greater efficiency during the procurement process…” OR “…a managed lifecycle purchase plan for an entire system of 6,000 PCs will result in savings of $123 per PC per year - saving $738,000/year in SG&A expense and $2.952M over the life of the PCs…” Sales Productivity “…your salespeople will be more productive by using the latest tools…” OR “…reduced PC downtime in the field sales force and contact center will yield 1% more sales productivity and $40M more revenue per year…” Employee Satisfaction “…employee satisfaction will be improved by providing the latest easy-to-use technology…” OR “…increased sales productivity will enable call center representatives to earn 5% more in sales incentives, resulting in a reduction in staff turnover of 7%, saving an estimated $1.2M in new employee training-related costs…” Customer Service If you try hard enough, and really care about being relevant from my point of view, you can even make a concrete, quantifiable pitch related to customer service. Instead of... “…your improved productivity will lead to higher levels of customer satisfaction…” TRY “…reducing customer callbacks due to CRM system downtime (one of your key contact center metrics) by 10% will increase call center productivity resulting in the opportunity to reduce SG&A by 5% ($18.7M per year)-- another of your key strategic objectives-- while maintaining current revenue levels. In fact single-call resolution has been demonstrated to generate an average of 24% increase in cross-sell/up-sell revenues (based on higher close ratios and higher ASP), which could represent another $235M per year in revenue based on your current upsell mix…” If you only have 30 seconds to hit me with an elevator pitch, don’t waste my time and yours trying to chat me up about the weather, my swell tie or even about how “great” you think my company is. Give me something meaningful to think about, a reason to believe you’re smart enough to know what matters most to me and that you’ve got the ability to talk to me about it. Show me you know how to “Executalk.”
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]]>"...You say Tomato..."kurt@shurikensystems.comNone2012-04-09T12:24:00-06:00http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/fb1028335d848c2ad979341e0cbc7e81-16.php#unique-entry-id-16http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/fb1028335d848c2ad979341e0cbc7e81-16.php#unique-entry-id-16
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]]>When in Rome...kurt@shurikensystems.comNone2012-03-31T12:00:00-06:00http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/d6fa53670bbe2edc366e0f9ddc11dfec-15.php#unique-entry-id-15http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/d6fa53670bbe2edc366e0f9ddc11dfec-15.php#unique-entry-id-15
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]]>WORDS Matter...kurt@shurikensystems.comNone2012-02-10T07:24:00-07:00http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/d9a4d7755f4523135e4dd80c9b0a200b-13.php#unique-entry-id-13http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/d9a4d7755f4523135e4dd80c9b0a200b-13.php#unique-entry-id-13
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]]>Three CEO "Pickup lines" that turn me off EVERY time...kurt@shurikensystems.comNone2011-06-03T11:32:00-06:00http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/ef8eb1534cad07d38532fb6620fd51c3-12.php#unique-entry-id-12http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/ef8eb1534cad07d38532fb6620fd51c3-12.php#unique-entry-id-12Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In and SPIN Selling and the rest and I'm not here to provide you with an opportunity to practice your "sales" skills. Don't try to be a smart-aleck by proving you already know more about my company and industry than I do (you don't), but do give me a sense that you're already moderately up to speed on the issues I'm dealing with and that it's worth the 15 minutes I'm willing to give you to listen to your pitch. ...Want to hear a pickup line that at least has a CHANCE of getting a date? ...PICKUP LINE: "I was talking to Bill Grower, the controller of your parts division, and he mentioned that after looking at the details that came out this week in House Bill 1052.6, the proposed government bailout of your biggest competitor, TooBig, Inc., there may be unique opportunities to actually take advantage of the new restrictions in the bill to provide shorter delivery times to TooBig's nervous customers-- along the lines you already identified as a major objective in your last quarterly earnings conference call. Bill and I have discussed a way to cut three days from you standard delivery times resulting in an increase of 3% in your ASP and 12% increase in inventory turns resulting in an additional $18M in top line sales over a 12 month period while decreasing operating overhead (another of your priorities according to the latest annual report) by 680K." ...How do you figure that?" So, he's a little chatty-- at lease he sounds like he knows what he's talking about. Not sure there's really any "meat" there, but for $18M revenue, better margins and a chance to kick TooBig while they're down, I''ll give him 15 minutes of my time. "Call my admin and say that I'd like to schedule 15 minutes with you, Bill Grower, and "Speedy" Shippman, the Operations Manager for next Tuesday sometime after 2:00pm." So how do you use that 15 minutes? Email me at kurt@shurikensystems.com for a free copy of a 15 Minute Executive Sales Presentation Template. ...
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]]>It WON'T WORK Anymore...kurt@shurikensystems.comNone2011-09-19T08:09:00-06:00http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/18c5dc842ae09131d2149ccdca33f717-11.php#unique-entry-id-11http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/18c5dc842ae09131d2149ccdca33f717-11.php#unique-entry-id-11
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]]>"You want me to budget for WHAT?!kurt@shurikensystems.comNone2011-08-27T09:58:00-06:00http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/c9173176db1293e731da06a374b83c40-10.php#unique-entry-id-10http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/c9173176db1293e731da06a374b83c40-10.php#unique-entry-id-10 Sure, you'll make the (very legitimate) argument that your initiative can indeed produce measurable and significant improvements in revenue and profitability.   It's all about the metrics-- yeah, I get that.   But just like I'm telling the Engineering VP that he can't hire a new team of FLEX programmers, and the Sales Director can't open that satellite office in Atlanta (even though "it'll pay for itself within 6 months!"), YOU, Marketing Department, can't have a whole new budget for "the next big thing." What you CAN do-- and what I EXPECT you to do-- is figure out how to use what you've got more effectively.   And if you new proposal is REALLY that great, find a way to pay for it out of existing budget.   Stop going to low ROI tradeshows.   Cut some of the ad budget.   Get a second source print vendor to cut production costs.   You know-- MANAGE YOUR BUDGET. Absolutely feel free to reallocate your resources as you see fit within those parameters.   But don't ask the CFO/Controller to cut you a new "budget" at a time like this.   Believe me, if you don't already know, you soon will, that he/she is still looking for whole chunks to take OUT-- not put in.   That's just the reality of any responsibly run organization. That said, as a financial executive I would love for you to present me with an ROI analysis of various programs and approaches and as long as it's not a cashflow issue ("I don't care HOW good a deal you can get on that Ferrari, we DON'T HAVE THE MONEY!" ), I'm willing to consider shifting funding your way if I am convinced of the payoff.   Show me direct improvement in actual revenue and profits.   Specific declines in costs due to customer service, recurring revenue and customer retention, etc.   Marketers need to stop "drinking their own bathwater" and notice that they're sharing the bathroom with more and more people who are not impressed with the "ring around the tub."   Clean up after yourselves, and learn the "Executalk" of your finance executives to earn their trust rather than expecting them to learn the "Marketspeak" about your initiatives.
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]]>Don't worry about the rain...kurt@shurikensystems.comALLEconomic Crisis2011-07-15T13:32:00-06:00http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/f69c760acef11bfdf5f0415fd2d4339a-8.php#unique-entry-id-8http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/f69c760acef11bfdf5f0415fd2d4339a-8.php#unique-entry-id-8
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]]>A CEO's New Year's Resolutionskurt@shurikensystems.comALLBudgetsFiscal YearForecastsGoalsPlanningQuotas2012-01-05T09:46:00-07:00http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/3917442caa5a3cf523e2b0183a6708c0-7.php#unique-entry-id-7http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/3917442caa5a3cf523e2b0183a6708c0-7.php#unique-entry-id-7
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]]>'Tis the Season... but not for YOUR reason...kurt@shurikensystems.comALLTimingSeasonalityInternational2011-12-22T08:53:00-07:00http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/72a56836e0582d0a0e88656c9c684d80-6.php#unique-entry-id-6http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/72a56836e0582d0a0e88656c9c684d80-6.php#unique-entry-id-6
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]]>What's so HARD about selling to a CEO?kurt@shurikensystems.comALLCEO MindsetElevator PitchExecutive Selling2011-05-15T14:05:00-06:00http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/3e57da8990a52aa2f6817a72b81fcf43-5.php#unique-entry-id-5http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/3e57da8990a52aa2f6817a72b81fcf43-5.php#unique-entry-id-5
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]]>...and what this blog ISN'Tkurt@shurikensystems.comALLExecutive SellingSales Training2011-04-08T23:23:00-06:00http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/fe8b25a8ed0a78bb2f151e1f46afb78f-1.php#unique-entry-id-1http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/fe8b25a8ed0a78bb2f151e1f46afb78f-1.php#unique-entry-id-1
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]]>What this blog IS...kurt@shurikensystems.comALLCareer Development"John Smith"2011-03-30T20:46:00-06:00http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/What_it_IS.php#unique-entry-id-0http://www.cornerofficeconversations.com/files/What_it_IS.php#unique-entry-id-0
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