Hello Don,
> I assure you I took absolutly no joy whatsoever from that post.
> I was truly upset by what I saw.
As I stated in my post ... I can understand your perspective and feelings ... I'm more concerned about the people under attack.
> 1. A sales presentation must always be done on good equipment in
> perfect working order. It has to be carefully maintained and used
> for no other purpose than demonstrations.
Please be assured that we work with what we are given. If you think that the employees need better demonstration equipment, and time to prepare, please make that clear to management. I actually use my own personal lab at home for all learning and testing (20-30 machines on an open T1) ... all equipment that I have bought. Not the way that I believe it should be ...
> 2. Never explain a feature of a product without explaining the
> benefit to the customer of that feature.
Some of us feel very free to speak about our beliefs in the products and technologies ... others feel obligated to follow the party line. Again, the messages to be conveyed need to be coming down from above. I can argue my position all day, but if it's not supported by upper management then it will not be reinforced by PR and marketing.
> 3. Always create a sense of urgency that this is a product that the
> customer needs now. If it means promising free upgrades of near
> future releases, then do so. MAKE THE SALE NOW!!!!!
Again, neither I nor my co-workers are in a position to offer free upgrades ... that's a management call. I do not disagree with you on the urgency ...
> 4. Keep focused on your own products and avoid discussion of
> competing products.
Agreed. Except that sometimes to allow the perception of competition to exist, instead of trying to correct the perception to one of complimentary technologies, is a bad thing. (I know I'll get flamed on this, but I will argue this to the end ... ;-)
> 5. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER say anything about the company or it's
> present or past products that could even remotely be percieved as
> derogatory.
Agreed.
> 6. Never appear bored or impatient while your fellow reps are
> speaking no matter how many times you've heard the pitch.
Yes, this is very important. As is the "team" approach to presenting. I think that a more relaxed interactive presentation is sometimes better received.
> BE ENTHUSIASTIC, POSITIVE, EXCITED. Don't act like you can hardly
> wait to get it over with.
I know that I am!
> These things are raw basics to any type of sales. They were sadly
> lacking in the presentation I saw. I don't know if what I saw was a
> rare exception to a normally great seminar or not.
I appreciate the perspective and would say that I am in agreement. I'm not sure what happened in your seminar, however I would say that some of the points you bring up above are in the control of the presenter ... and some are not.
Again, my main disappointment was the personal nature of the post.
> If the content of my post caused harm to anyone at the bottom of
> the pecking order, that is dead wrong. It's a management problem.
> It's their job to pass down solutions not blame.
No ... management did not go after the people that you named ... some of the people that you named read the post themselves. This, I feel, was far more damaging than anything that management could have done.
> As close as I can tell Eric Schmidt has done a pretty good job
> cleaning up the messes he inherited.
I agree ...
> Also, as close as I can tell Novell has good people working on
> products to insure the companies' future success.
I agree ...
> In my opinion Novell has a lot of weakness in marketing and selling
> their products.
I somewhat agree ...
> While there are huge areas of knowledge to which I can claim near
> total ignorance, sales in not one of them. The views I expressed
> are those of an experienced professional and I stand behind my
> opinion.
I believe that you do have the experience ... and I respect your opinion.
> Hopefully you will find the contents of this post more constructive
I do!
> but if you expect me to pat someone on the head for doing a bad job
> I won't do it.
I don't. But I hope that you understand that many people at Novell are working with what they are given. Remember all the layoffs that were necessary ... many of the supporting people that could make a difference were cut. It's too bad, because I feel that it has effected some of the areas that you address.
> My job is to make money on the stock market not to motivate Novell
> employees.
But obviously motivated employees can effect the stock price ... and I know that it was not your intention to de-motivate ... that could also effect stock price!
> Regards,
>
> Don
Scott C. Lemon |
