Battle of the tech titans: Ellison vs. Benioff -

Image taken from http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/11/28/ellison-benioff-battle/. Full article is from the December 12, 2011 issue of Fortune. 

#1 Requirement for Hiring a New Sales Rep

Author: Ryan Lallier - CEO, RepTivity @RLallier

Every sales interview I've been on the same canned questions were asked of me. "Why did you leave that company?" "Tell me about the most complex deal you sold and why you won/loss?" "What drives you?" Blah, blah, blah!


My #1 question I ask a potential candidate is, "are you passionate?" The candidate will always come back with, "passionate regarding what?" I say, "passionate about this industry and the product we sell". 


Why is this so important to know? People overachieve and give 110% when they are passionate about what they do - period. Passion drives results. Passion drives the need for more knowledge. Passion is the fuel that cranks the sales engine. When you are passionate about what you sell, your pitch just flows and the customer hears it. You believe so they believe. 


Passionate employees are infectious and their great attitudes spread like wild fire. 


If you're sitting at your desk and selling a product for a company you're not passionate about, find a new job. You'll be happier, you'll make more money and your quality of life will thank you for it.


If you're a sales manager, ask my passion question during your next interview. I think you'll be surprised at the reaction and answer you get.

Getting burned out from cold calling? - Try the following

Author: Ryan Lallier - CEO, RepTivity @RLallier

Look, I get it. Cold calling 5 days a week is draining, especially in the age of voice mail, e-mail and social media.   For the majority of inside sales environments, number of phone calls is the most highly tracked KPI there is. The dreaded "phone report" makes many sales reps cringe. So what can you do when "hitting the phones" starts to become literally hitting the phones?

Here is a quick list of action items that may help you:

1.) Sign up for a Twitter account - If you're a sales professional you better be using Twitter as a vehicle to echo your message. Don't get crazy with sharing product promotions at first. Simply start out by 'Following" the companies and people you want to sell to. You'd be amazed at how much information you can obtain on companies via Twitter. Be sure to "Retweet" pertinent industry information that can help increase your Twitter presence and boost your following. Also include # tags when you Tweet and "Retweet". For example: #Salesforce, #Chatter, #ZohoCRM or #Microsoft. Here is a link to a great article: The Power of Retweeting: The 7 Reasons RT on Twitter

2.)  Keep your emails short and sweet - Please stop sending your prospects long winded, three paragraph product pitches via email. You are wasting their time and most importantly your own. On average, it takes you fifteen minutes to draft an email and about two seconds for your prospects to delete it. Instead, compose an email with an attractive subject line and a body no longer than two sentences. When sending prospects emails, think mobile devices. What is your goal and purpose of the email? Example -

Subject: Regarding next Wednesday 10/26/11


Body: Mr. Thompson, are you available on 10/26/11 at 10AM EST to discuss implementing your trial of RepTivity? Should only take about 15 minutes and a great way to keep our momentum going.

That's it folks. Send an email with a goal and increase your chances of getting a response.

3.) Write a blog - A great use of your time is establishing yourself as a knowledge expert. Writing a blog not only promotes your personal brand it also promotes your company's product line. Provide quality content and you'll see an increase in readers and followers. The real reward is when your readers engage in conversations through "comments".  For some excellent tips on writing effective blogs visit: http://www.problogger.net/how-to-write-great-blog-content/

I'm not a self proclaimed sales expert, sales ninja, sales trainer, sales coach or sales guru. I'm a guy in the trenches just like you. The above tips work for me and I really hope they work you! Email me anytime to vent or to bounce around ideas. rlallier@reptivity.com.

Good luck!

Managers Who Manage Through Email -

Author: Ryan Lallier - CEO, RepTivity @RLallier

We have all been there. End of quarter stress. Deals falling off the forecast like a lead balloon. Just when you think it couldn’t be any more frustrating, here comes the three day series of emails intended to motivate you when instead all they do is piss you off. Here is my list of emails managers should NEVER send and what they should do instead:

1.   Emails containing motivational video clips – Please don’t send your sales reps video clips from Rocky, Rudy, Hoosiers or Remember the Titans. What purpose does this serve? Instead, what you should do is gather your team in a conference room and deliver the rally speech yourself. You are the leader. Why would you send Sylvester Stallone or Denzel Washington clips in place of what you were HIRED to do? In times of adversity leaders need to be vocal and present and not hiding behind email and sending empty messages.

E    Emails containing quotes – Really? Another Vince Lombardi quote? That will definitely NOT motivate your sales team. Instead, come up with your own quote and deliver a message from the heart and gut. Don’t send this message via email. Walk out of your office and address your team publicly. While you’re at it, point out some recent achievements by your team or individual reps. For example: “Billy, I know this month has been tough but I appreciate you making 30 phone calls this morning and grinding it out for the team.” Again, no email.

<!   Avoid anything negative – Don’t email the call report from the day before. When was the last time you made 65 cold calls in a day? Exactly. Instead, come out of your office and announce to the team that the person who creates the most sales opportunities in Salesforce.com will receive a $100 AMEX gift card.

<!   Never embarrass your team – Never make fun of, be negative of, discredit or belittle any single rep or sales team on an email. It’s cheap and a sign of insecurity. It is also the single fastest way to have your team turn on you and never trust you again. Instead, send out an email publicly acknowledging your team achievements and highlight specific individuals. Follow up this activity with a visit to each sales rep mentioned in your email and give each of them a pat on the back.

This article is not intended to be negative.  I have seen way too many sales managers manage this way and it’s the perfect formula for team failure. Comments and ideas encouraged.

Check out the Old School Sales Leaderboard - Coffee Is For Closers!

100 points or $100 - Which Would You Rather Have?

Author: Ryan Lallier - CEO, RepTivity @RLallier

Gamification is exploding. Some critics claim it has reached its peak while others believe the surface has barely been scratched.  Gamification is now making its way into the workplace with executives and managers deploying game mechanics to motivate and publicly acknowledge their top performers.  One of the key ingredients of gamification is the use of points to recognize achievements.  I have a problem with this concept.

Points are great for airline miles, football games, fantasy sports leagues and credit card awards. Unless you’re willing to equate points to monetary items they carry little value in the workplace, especially in a sales environment.  As a sales person myself, I could care less about 100 points. What I do care about is money, spiffs and public acknowledgement for doing my job well.  I also care about my sales rank in relation to my peers. Sales managers don’t care about how many points I have. They care about how many deals I’ve closed, my current forecast, my pipeline and whether or not I am doing the required activities to be successful. Giving sales reps tangible awards instead of virtual points for achieving these goals delivers significant value and is proven to be motivating. My point is I’d rather receive $100 instead of 100 points.   

One Good Reason to Have Your Product Demo on Your Website - Preferably Your Homepage

Author: Ryan Lallier - CEO, RepTivity @RLallier

Last night I presented RepTivity to a group of 30 attendees during Boston New Tech Meetup August 2011.  First, I want to say thank you to Chris Requena and Dave Rafkind for organizing the event and a second thank you to Dave for letting me borrow his laptop! Yep, I had to borrow his laptop. Right as I was about to present, my mouse pad decided to lock up and my presentation froze.  Dave quickly plugged his laptop into the overhead projected and launched my website. As I looked up at the big screen I internally said to myself, “oh thank God”.  Thank God for Dave and his awesome act of kindness and because my recorded demo was featured on our homepage. All I had to do was click play and begin talking.

Imagine this scene, me the sales guy presenting in front of 30 plus technical folks and I can’t get my laptop or my presentation to work. Even worse, I went last and the five presenters before me had no problems whatsoever.  I was definitely rattled for the first two minutes of the presentation but having my product demo running in the background helped me get into a groove. As the presentation continued I looked out into the crowd and noticed several smiles, head nods and intellectual face squints.  What I was saying was making sense and more importantly this room of very smart people thought my product was pretty cool.  I ended the presentation and fielded about ten to fifteen questions.

In the end, disaster was averted and the “techies” took it easy on me for my laptop debacle. I learned one lesson and was reminded of one thing. First, in crisis use the pre-recorded demo on your website and if you don’t have one – record one now! Second, in time of need people help people. Even though my situation wasn’t catastrophic the community last night was supportive and willing to help. So if I could summarize my experience with Boston Tech Meetup – It’s a Community of Supportive People Willing to Help.