The Disconnect With Sales

As I participated in the HTG vendor peer group this week - a lightbulb went on as to a major reason there is such a disconnect between VAR's and Solution Providers and their vendors. It has to do with a four letter word - SALES. The agenda for this quarter's meeting focused heavily on sales and marketing efforts that key HTG vendors are making significant investments into - and trying to figure out ways to get a better ROI on those efforts.

At first glance it seems so easy. Vendors build programs and resources. Partners should take those and use them to drive sales. Everyone wins. That is the end game for both groups - partners and vendors - we all want the same thing - to sell more stuff to end clients. But somehow there is a disconnect. For some reason the millions of dollars - and in reality it is billions of dollars - that are spent continues to provide lackluster results. Hundreds of millions of dollars go unused and unclaimed. It is actually pathetic.

Why does this happen? I am convinced there is a short circuit in the brains of many VAR's when it comes to sales. Most owners grew up on the technical side of the business. That word does not compute. Those who have a sales background did most of their selling through personal relationship and the reality of a sales organization still doesn't compute. In other words - we are very sales illiterate.

That doesn't mean it can't change. It has to. If it doesn't many of us will be looking for a new job. The market is changing as the wave moves us to cloud computing. That is a sales dominated transaction oriented marketplace. It doesn't matter that you can fix any technical issue under the sun - often before it is even invented. It doesn't matter how many letters there are after your name and what certifications you can post on your website. If you can't sell you will be toast. So it is time we figure this out my friends. And I am preaching to myself on this one too.

The major hurdle it seems to me is owner attitude. Many just don't want to deal with sales and particularly sales people. I hear words like 'they're wierd' or 'they think differently'. Duh! That is the whole point. The reason we as technical owners can't sell our way out of a paper bag is that we think like technicians and engineers. Sales oriented folks succeed BECAUSE they think different. That is not a curse - it is a blessing. It has to be and we need to get over the differences and embrace them. I struggled with this for many years but it can happen. Find a 12 step program to recover from hating sales and sales people - you have to do a 180 on that attitude.

Once the owner gets his attitude right there is at least a fighting chance to begin doing some of the right things that will lead to sales success. It is not just hiring a sales person. That will not do it. You don't have to look far to see the past performance of most VAR's littered with sales people they hired and fired because they didn't meet expectations. That is the place to start - realistic expectations. Since you have no clue what to expect - you obviously should not be setting them. Find someone who has a clue to help you create a sales plan and methodology so the sales person has some hope of success. Most VAR's hire and set them up to fail - no support - no direction - no tools - no nothing - just a wish of good luck and a threat that "I'll be watching the KPI's". Here is a news flash. Most sales people can't spell KPI and could care less. They have only one that matters - that is the number of dollars in their paycheck.

Yes that is very different than the way you think. But it is reality. Get over it. And get over the fact that a really good sales person will make more money than you. In fact, don't just get over it, root for it. When they do that you are making more money than ever before if you have your compensation plan right. If you don't - they could take you to the poor farm - so another reason to find someone who has been there and done it before to help you. There is help available. HTG has worked with TruMethods, Kendra Lee, Service Leadership, and a number of our own HTG members to bring you great content on how to really build a sales organization. If you were sleeping - time to wake up and reach out for help. It is available.

So back to my opening discussion. Our vendor partners are trying hard to help us learn to become sales organizations. They are investing tons of money and people resources to help us. But if we don't get our attitudes right - and embrace that transition - it is all for naught. If we don't join their efforts and leverage their work - we are screwed. I can't put it any more clearly. Get over the temptation to treat your vendor like the enemy. They absolutely are the best ally you have in your camp. And right now - we all need them more than ever. You see - they are not built as technical organizations that don't know how to sell. Those companies went out of business long ago. Our vendors are sales organizations who really know how to sell - and know that without sales they are simply not going to last long at all. We can learn an aweful lot from them if we just pay attention and work closely. They really do know what they are doing. That is how they become multi billion or multi million dollar orgs. It isn't because they can turn a screwdriver. It is because they understand how to sell and market and succeed. We have to get there if we want to remain relevant in the years ahead.

There are some great programs in the channel today that most of us fail to use. Free money and resources to help us grow our companies - but we are too busy doing things that don't matter to do those that do. Make time to sit down with your top five vendors and find out how you can leverage every program, resource, MDF dollar and plan they have to offer. If you do that - and pay attention - and make it a priority to leverage those things - you will be far ahead from where you are today. If you don't - might want to get your resume up to date - you'll probably need it sooner than later. Make it your goal to transition towards becoming a sales and marketing organization in 2011. Your future depends on it.

This Wednesday at 2 PM EST I will be joining Gary Pica, CEO of TruMethods, to discuss this topic and others that are critical to success in 2011 and beyond. If you aren't registered yet you can get the registration link on the HTG portal. It really matters that we tackle this head on. I hope you will join me for the discussion!

Another SWOT in the HTG Books

This week I was in Rice Lake Wisconsin with DCS Netlink, a great company led by Dane Deutsch. On the SWOT team with me were Lyf Wildenberg (HTG2) and Mike Haworth (HTG15). We had a fabulous time as we dug deep into the business and worked to identify some tweaks and changes that will help the team there continue their growth. As is the case for most small businesses, there are a number of plateau’s and blockers that come up along the path to growth. That is the case at DCS, and so we worked to help solidify what the team already knew – they need to grow into a sales organization. This is definitely the most common problem that HTG companies are wrestling with. It happens to many about the same time. You grow pretty well without an official sales plan until you hit 1M – 1.5M or so in revenue. And then you hit the wall. No matter what you try, it just seems like you are stuck right there. Since a lot of us are entrepreneurs that came up through the technical side, we have a dislike for the whole sales process anyway. We can’t figure out why we can’t turn some screwdriver or find some new technical solution that will fix this problem.

The reality is that any business that wants to grow has to become a sales organization. Nothing happens until a sale gets made. It took me a long time to admit that fact. We can engineer the greatest solutions in the world, but if we never sell them, or don't get paid appropriately for them, we will go out of business. It is a pretty simple truth that many never figure out. So sales is not optional – it is essential and needs to come off the list of things you have to hold your nose about. Get over the fact that you think sales people are all like the used car types and embrace the reality that you need to find some good ones if you want to grow your company. But then what? Once you know you need to change from being an invincible engineering company to a sales company – what next? Well you actually have to hire someone to sell. And that becomes a challenge because a good sales person thinks very differently than your typical MCSE. They don’t necessarily understand every detail, or even care for that matter. I personally think it is better to hire someone who can sell before worrying about whether they understand technology or not. Sales is all about relationships, not how much you know about the latest gidgets and gadgets. But that is my opinion and certainly no one looks to me as the expert on this topic. There are some good resources out there in our channel that can help. HTG currently has some classes going on with Kendra Lee around hiring a sales person. Erick Simpson and MSPU has some fantastic resources. If you are struggling - get some help. Don't flounder around here - you need to find a salesperson and get started.

Of course, hiring is probably the easy part even though it does seem overwhelming. Once you have a person on your team, then you have to manage them. There are few things more dangerous to a business than an unmanaged sales person. ConnectWise has great tools to assist in sales management. Again - there are lots of solid resources available to help teach you how to manage sales people. One of the best though is to talk to peers who are successful doing it. There are a number of HTG companies with sales organizations that are making it happen every day because of great sales management. Find them and figure out how to put their practices into your business.

Nothing happens til somebody sells it. Get off the fence and find a salesperson and begin the process of becoming a sales organization. Vision without execution is hallucination - and I see more companies that are hallucinating in the area of sales than anywhere. Sales is not rocket science. It may feel that way, but it really isn't. And without it, you can plan to plateau and be stuck for as long as you allow it to happen to you. You can't grow without becoming a sales organization. Get over it and get on with it!

Thanks to Dane and the team at DCS for a great experience in rural Wisconsin. I learned much and look forward to watching you go through this challenge and on to the next one!

Starting to Think About How to Kick Your Economic Recovery and 2010 Plans into High Gear?

In a piece posted earlier this week by MSPmentor you may have noticed a brief mention of a program focused on building sales organizations that we launched in early October with Kendra Lee and KLA Group. Here is the skinny on this offer. HTG announced a strategic offering with KLA Group focused on sales hiring and lead generation. Two separate series are available exclusively to HTG members starting November 11th. We have heard loud and clear that our members are struggling with sales and hiring. Whether you are hiring your 1st salesperson or your 21st, this is one of the most critical and difficult roles you’ll hire in your company. A successful hire means successful sales growth. I don’t think there is anyone out there that doesn’t want to strive for growth.

Leads are another highly discussed topic at the many HTG peer group meetings I attend. How to get them, how to manage them, how to get results……At HTS, our solution provider organization, we have first-hand knowledge of the guidance and insight Kendra Lee can bring to an IT organization. We engaged with Kendra last year and had outstanding results. That is not the only reason we decided to engage with Kendra and team at HTG. We took the time to talk to Kendra, understand what she had to offer and work with her to build something we felt would benefit our members the most at a reasonable price. Both of these offerings were designed with the needs of the HTG membership, and YOU, in mind.

Learn more and register by clicking on the links below:
How to Hire & Onboard Great IT Sales People
Developing an Executable 2010 Lead Generation Strategy

Are you ready for 2010?