Category Archives: Uncategorized

Time to Freshen the Funnel

When is the last time that you took an honest look at your full sales funnel?  Did you get to it during the holidays?  If you are like me and many of my peers you took a swing at it but still missed a thorough review.  You may have some stale pursuits, suspended deals , or worst of all – some fresh opportunities that are not yet represented in your funnel.  Before we burn through January, it’s time to do a little cleanup.  While you’re at it, it may be an interesting exercise  to turn your funnel inside out and look at it from an important perspective – The Customer’s.  I’m midway through Mark Sellers’ (yes that’s his real name) book “The Funnel Principal,”  and I like what I’m learning.  This book espouses the creation of a “BuyCycle Funnel.”  Just when you thought all that could be said about selling has been said, Mark has come up with an original way to prioritize your deals.  Think traditional funnel stages – but each from the customer’s perspective.  Each stage is defined by customer committment.  What do you know about your customers’ buying process?  Perhaps not enough.

Your Personal Brand – Thoughts from HBR

Excellent thoughts on personal brand from Ron Ashkenas writing for HBR.  This is something I’ve thought a lot about lately, especially when launching this blog.  Still a work in process.  When’s the last time you put some thought to this?  http://bit.ly/8Ia5xP

Customer Site Visits: Always Take the Nickel Tour

I was at a client site today and was offered a the $.05 tour of the facility.  Besides being extremely cool (the client is a forge who makes parts for mining equipment and other heavy industries so it looks like 10-ton Legos being pounded out of pure metal!) I learned an invaluable amount of information from my tour-guide ranging from:  their business, competition, pricing, staffing, assets, market positioning, strengths and weaknesses, future plans, go-to-market strategy, corporate pains, and a 30-year history of the company.  You can’t buy information like that.  ALWAYS take the nickel tour!

Social Media Policy – Is it Possible? Ask Coca-Cola

Many companies with whom I have worked struggle to get into the game on social media.  Due to engrained habits, they can not see a clear way to add this new dimension to their marketing mix.  Today, it is really not an option.  Conversations about your company are happening out there – period.  The only decision you really have is, “Do I want to participate?”  I would suggest that your answer should be YES!   But that begs the question - what do you do on Monday morning?  How do you really operationalize these media that can be (and should be) much more colloquial than our traditional corporate communications?  Establishing a policy in this area seems a non-starter for many firms.  However, it is happening.  See Coca-Cola’s new social media policy:  http://www.digitalbuzzblog.com/coca-cola-launches-new-social-media-policy/ .  If a global company with 92,000 employees can do this (in 3 pages no less!)  don’t you think your company can swing it?

Hello world – Sales and Marketing Mashup is Here!

I have wanted to do this for some time now – so here goes!  My name is Tim Kocher.  I have been in sales and marketing for my entire 19-year career, most of it for professional services companies.  I hope this blog will become a place where people who are connected to sales and marketing can come to see valuable information on the tricks of the trade (and the trade itself) in one stop.  We’ll touch on all aspects of business development so be sure to come visit often!  Feel free to Look me up on LinkedIn as well: http://www.linkedin.com/in/timkocher