Better Sales Calls: Engaging The Prospect’s Passions

Smoothly transitioning from social to business can be such an awkward moment! You are having a great social conversation and then you realize you need to discuss some business before the meeting is over. How do you move the conversation to business? 1. What Usually Happens In Transitioning From Socializing To Business We want to treat prospects, and be treated by prospects, as friends or at least as friendly. PROMOTED So, we socialize at the beginning of a sales meeting, seeking common ground. For instance, “What do you think of them Yankees, or Giants, etc.?” This could lead to an animated 10 to 15-minute discussion regarding common ground. Now it’s time to discuss business. How do we transition? I often hear “That said, let’s get down to business.” Isn’t that awkward? MORE FOR YOU Don’t show me this again|Close You found the Forbes Snowman! Enter Sweepstakes Why The Rock’s Social Media Muscle Made Him Hollywood’s Highest-Paid Actor Erik Ten Hag Admits He Is Under Pressure To Finish In The Top Four With Manchester United Holiday Train Brings Hope And Support To Children Caught In Ukraine War Will the prospect easily transition from social bonding on common interest to discussing a potential business need? Would you? This point is more important when the sale is more conflict-laden. Any time we ask a prospect to change their behavior, this engenders conflict, for change usually entails grieving. How does the awkward transition affect the outcome in the face of conflict? 2. The Passion: The Personal ‘Why’ Recently, a customer — thanking a salesperson — said, “I’m getting out on my boat more often because of the solution you brought me.” The customer bought a professional service to enjoy more boat outings. He was really buying more access to his boat. The next time they met, the salesperson asked, “Have you been out on the boat much since we last met?” Instant bonding with a customer’s passion! The customer described the excitement and pleasure of another boat outing. When the salesperson wanted to shift the conversation to business, he said, “I’m glad to hear you still enjoy boating, because I have another great idea for you that will get you out on your boat even more often.” Instant transition from social to business! The salesperson had the customer’s full attention. The salesperson achieved this by tapping into a passion, an important part of the prospect’s personal “why.” 3. How Do You Find Out The Passion? Some buyers make it easy — they just tell you. In the old, pre-Covid-19, days — when we visited prospects in their offices — their furnishings, including photos and souvenirs, gave strong clues to their passions. (Think about the pictures of the prospect on their boat, plastered on the walls.) Even in this time of Covid-19, Facebook postings can give strong clues to passions. Let’s say you have drawn a blank with all of these. You could build discovering the passion into your sales process, your standard sales call. You do this with a “what would this mean to you” question. The first part of the standard sales call is geared to warming up the prospect, to encourage the prospect to share openly, when doing fact-finding. We warm up the prospect with: • Research, including testing for core value alignment • The agenda, setting up a purposeful meeting, respecting the prospect’s time • Bonding — both social and business (e.g., core values) • Our free gift, usually advice, to help build our position of a trusted advisor • Our credentials, including powerful testimonials • Our vision of what is possible — this is key to becoming part of the prospect’s future story Any one of these, or all of them together, could bring the prospect to respond openly and fully in fact-finding. After our deep dive into fact-finding, we need to narrow down the information learned to the solution set. We need to discover the “must-haves”—the closing conditions which, when met, would result in the sale. This two-step procedure helps us make sure we know the must-haves: Step 1: You name an obvious must-have; for example: “I have the sense from our conversation that quick turn-around is a priority must-have.” Step 2: After the prospect acknowledges this, we say, “What else is a must-have?” If we have properly warmed up the conversation, this should produce the set of must-haves. It’s at this point of our standard sales call — when we know the must-haves — that we can more easily learn the passions by asking, “What would it mean to you to achieve these must-haves?” First-round responses could be “saving time, making more money.” This sets up: “What would you do with more time? How would you use the additional funds, perhaps to fulfill your bucket list?” Once we learn the prospect’s passions, it becomes easier to develop our relationship. 4. Conclusion Transitioning from social selling to business selling can be awkward for many salespeople, producing a discontinuity that could seem as big as the Grand Canyon. This discontinuity doesn’t help facilitate changing prospect behavior, which is — at the core — conflict-laden. By doing research and/or a proper standard sales call, we can learn and connect with the prospect’s passions. By tying our presentation explicitly and implicitly to the prospect’s passion and future vision, we facilitate moving forward, more smoothly, to mutual benefit. Forbes Coaches Council is an invitation-only community for leading business and career coaches. Do I qualify? Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website or some of my other work here. Andy Gole Andy Gole President of Urgency Based Selling. Look for Andy’s book, Innovate Now – Scale Up With 16 Sales… Read More Editorial Standards Print Reprints & Permissions [APPLAUSE] Play Unmute Current Time 0:03 / Duration 1:06 Share Captions Fullscreen LEADERSHIP Addressing Ukraine’s Humanitarian Crisis And Building A Better Future Together Deloitte Miguel Eiras AntunesBrand Contributor DeloitteBRANDVOICE| Paid Program Dec 19, 2022,02:59pm EST The world had just begun recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic when the news of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine broke on 24 February 2022. A shocking transgression of international norms, the world immediately came together to condemn the invasion. But as the conflict continues, with no ceasefire in sight, what happens now? And how can Europe – and the world- plan for a safe and sustainable future? Make this world a brighter place GETTY In the first of Deloitte Global’s series of webinars, Reshaping Europe, which bring together stakeholders from around the globe, these are the questions contemplated. Though the future remains uncertain, participants in the webinar agreed on one thing: many levels of government—and beyond—should play a role in addressing this current humanitarian crisis. From governments to international organizations and businesses, only through cooperation can this challenge be overcome and an adherence to the fundamental values of freedom, human dignity and rule of law be reinstated, as highlighted by Lídia Pereira, Member of the European Parliament and co-host of the event. We heard from each contingent, which provided insights on where and how we can move forward to build a better Europe and world. European Union The response of the European Union (EU) to the Russian aggression has been emphatic. “We spoke with one voice when it mattered the most,” commented EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola. But while sanctions and bans on Russia have been undertaken and aid provided to Ukraine, the EU needs to do more. According to Metsola, there are a few key steps that the EU should embark on in order to reshape Europe post-strife: Build a real defense union. Countries within the EU should boost investment in defense and technology to create real security and a union capable of countering new threats. This means making better use of both member state resources and the common EU budget. Reduce energy dependencies: To do this, countries within the EU and around the world should diversify their energy sources, suppliers, and supply routes. It also means a vigorous commitment to renewable energy—it’s not a matter of “climate anymore but of security,” noted Metsola. Ensure food security. A more sustainable future requires an understanding of humanity’s most essential commodity: food. The conflict is taking a heavy toll on the Ukrainian population but also on the most vulnerable people around the world dependent on Ukrainian exports. Identifying and addressing logistical bottlenecks is a good step to ensuring food security. National and local governments Both national and local governments in Ukraine are the ones that are doing the heavy lifting in this crisis. Right now, local governments are under immense pressure to respond to the evolving needs on the ground with the limited resources they have. Dinara Habibullaieva, Member of the Kyiv City Council, shared how local officials are scrambling to provide basic equipment and medical supplies to soldiers—and are fearful that aid may wane due to conflict fatigue: “Kyiv is not fighting for just Ukraine,” she noted, “But for Europeans and for freedom.” National and local governments also need to start thinking about what comes next—and how to best use EU and international aid to rebuild. According to Natalie Forsuyk, Ukraine’s General Director of the Government Office for Coordination of European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, a new reconstruction platform may help government officials manage funds in a “sustainable and transparent manner.” The platform also aims to identify joint business opportunities that can help rebuild key infrastructure destroyed in the conflict. International organizations and networks The role of international organizations may be paramount in providing humanitarian assistance especially as it pertains to refugees. “This is one of the largest displacement crises in Europe, but also in the world, since World War II,” stressed Shabia Mantoo, Global Spokesperson for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. With more than 7.6 million from Ukraine across Europe and other countries, the UNHCR is coordinating the regional Refugee Response Plan for the Ukraine refugee situation and has activated financial and protection support for frontline responses and dispatched material relief such as shelters and cash assistance. Just as important as material needs, however, is an understanding of the impact this crisis has on children and women, who account for 90 percent of all those fleeing from Ukraine. National authorities are actively leading the response to counter human trafficking but humanitarians, including UNHCR, have been scaling up their capacity to support national efforts. UNHCR is working closely with host governments in charge of refugee registration, supporting for example the identification of refugees at risk, and assessing human trafficking risks through protection monitoring.And while preventive action is key, there should also be mechanisms in place to hold those accountable for crimes committed. In addition to aid agencies, communities and networks need to come together to help in humanitarian crises. When the conflict began, Ievgeniia Bodnya, a member of the Global Shapers Community, developed the Support Ukraine Now initiative, curating and gathering a range of information for foreigners who want to help, and matching it with Ukrainians, NGOs and government requests. The platform was amplified via the Global Shapers network and had one million visitors in just its first month, and was presented at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2022 in Davos. The platform’s priorities focus on engaging more stakeholders and international advocacy, assisting volunteers on the ground, and helping the local economies in Ukraine. Private sector Businesses are also critical contributors in the global response to this humanitarian crisis but also to address wider concerns facing Europe and the world, such as the climate crisis. “The business of business is not just business,” stressed Punit Renjen, Deloitte Global CEO. “We certainly need to turn a profit, but we must do it with purpose.” Governments alone cannot address these major crises. Support should also come from businesses. This includes not only charitable contributions and pro bono work but taking an active role in alleviating the threats and challenges to stability and sustainability. No going it alone As European Parliament President Roberta Metsola stated, “There is a pre-24 of February reality and a post-24 of February reality.” There is no doubt that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has brought about a new era of uncertainty—but is also spawning a new era of solidarity and cooperation. To meet the current crisis as well as the challenges of the future, many parts of government and society should play their part. Miguel Eiras Antunes Miguel Eiras Antunes Miguel Eiras Antunes leads the public sector, transportation, and infrastructure industries both in Portugal and… Read More Editorial Standards Print Reprints & Permissions LEADERSHIP Holiday Train Brings Hope And Support To Children Caught In Ukraine War UNICEF USA Sarah FergusonBrand Contributor UNICEF USABRANDVOICE| Paid Program Dec 23, 2022,01:29pm EST UNICEF is working with Ukraine’s Ministry of Social Policy and the Ukrainian Railway to reach children affected by a year filled with war. On Dec. 20, 2022, a Ukrainian child receives a UNICEF backpack filled with art supplies and educational materials during holiday season celebrations at the Sloviansk railway station in the Kramatorsk district of Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast. On Dec. 20, 2022, a Ukrainian child receives a UNICEF backpack filled with art supplies and educational materials during holiday season celebrations at the Sloviansk railway station in the Kramatorsk district of Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast.© UNICEF/UN0755219/FILIPPOV As subzero winter temperatures grip Ukraine this holiday season, some 7 million children continue to suffer the devastating impacts of war, including explosive weapons, heat and energy shortages, and the inability to go to school, either online or in person. UNICEF is stepping up new initiatives and activities to ensure vulnerable children and families across the country get the financial, educational and moral support they need to survive this extremely difficult time. To provide some hope and support for families living near the front lines in eastern Ukraine, particularly in newly accessible areas like Kharkiv and Kherson, UNICEF and Ukrainian Railways teamed up to dispatch a special holiday train bringing festive performances and gifts intended to spark children’s creativity and boost their spirits. On Dec. 22, 2022, St Nicholas and his assistants distribute gifts, including UNICEF school bags, art supplies and education materials, to children during holiday season celebrations at the Zanki Railway Station in Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukraine. On Dec. 22, 2022, St Nicholas and his assistants distribute gifts, including UNICEF school bags, art supplies and education materials, to children during holiday season celebrations at the Zanki Railway Station in Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukraine. © UNICEF/UN0756288/FILIPOV UNICEF contributed some 30,000 backpacks filled with supplies like notebooks, pens, colored pencils, sharpeners, modeling clay, colored paper, scissors and glue. In Balakliia, Kharkiv Oblast, a crowd of people pulled their coats tightly to keep out the cold and stepped forward to meet the brightly colored train as it pulled into the station. St. Nicholas gives a UNICEF backpack to a little girl in eastern Ukraine. Some of the children couldn’t believe their eyes when St. Nicholas stepped out of the train holding UNICEF backpacks. © UNICEF/UN0756295/FILIPOV Children danced along with the music and posed for photos with the performers, happy for a few moments of respite from the hardships of war. A tiny girl in a fluffy hat looked up in awe at the man dressed as St. Nicholas. A little boy shouldered his new backpack and smiled. Spirits were high as children enjoyed musical performances and received gifts at Ukraine’s Zanki railway station on Dec. 22, 2022. Spirits were high as children enjoyed musical performances and received gifts at Ukraine’s Zanki railway station on Dec. 22, 2022. © UNICEF/UN0756287/FILIPOV UNICEF is also working with Ukraine’s Ministry of Social Policy to provide $102 million of additional cash assistance to 123,000 vulnerable families, particularly families with four or more children and families that have a child with a disability, benefitting nearly half a million people, including children. Children dance at a holiday celebration in Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukraine. Children danced to the music at the Zanki railway station, happy to be together after months of isolation in a year filled with war.© UNICEF/UN0756284/FILIPOV “The holiday season has brought little cheer to families in Ukraine, but we hope that, by providing some of the most vulnerable families with critical cash assistance and education supplies, we can bring a little hope to parents and children in the midst of an especially difficult winter,” said UNICEF Ukraine Representative Murat Sahin. A UNICEF Spilno Spot in Balakliia, Ukraine, provides children with a safe place to play and be with other children their own age. A UNICEF Spilno Spot in Balakliia, Ukraine, provides children with a safe place to play and be with other children their own age. © UNICEF/UN0755927/PASHKINA Staying warm is top of mind for Ukraine’s families; attacks on infrastructure have left heat and electricity in short supply. To provide families with access to heated spaces, UNICEF operates more than 140 Spilno — Ukrainian for “together” — Spots across Ukraine. The warm, child-friendly centers offer a sense of normalcy to traumatized children, along with psychosocial support, medical checks and referrals for other social services. UNICEF Spilno Spots, like this one in Balakliia, Ukraine, give children a safe place to play and connect with social services. UNICEF Spilno Spots, like this one in Balakliia, Ukraine, give children a safe place to play and connect with social services.© UNICEF/UN0755915/PASHKINA As soon as Balakliia returned to the control of Ukrainian authorities in September, UNICEF opened a Spilno Spot. The white tent filled with toys and colorful furniture is now a favorite destination for local children who have spent long months without school or a safe place to play. “At a time when families look back at the experiences of the past year ahead to the new year, providing this small sense of normalcy and hope for the future, amid the most uncertain times, is critical,” said Sahin. “As we have done throughout 2022, UNICEF will do everything we can to support Ukraine’s children and families as we move into a new year.” Your support helps UNICEF reach children in crisis with life-changing support and services. Please donate. Sarah Ferguson Sarah Ferguson Sarah Ferguson is the Senior Editorial Director at UNICEF USA. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times… Read More Editorial Standards Print Reprints & Permissions FORBESLEADERSHIP Digital Marketing In 2023: What To Expect And How To Excel Forbes Agency Council Drew UrquhartForbes Councils Member Forbes Agency CouncilCOUNCIL POST| Membership (Fee-Based) Dec 23, 2022,07:45am EST CEO/Founder – Banch Marketing. Cool businesswoman looking at phone and laughing KLAUS VEDFELT Personalized marketing, extended use of multimedia and exploring new digital channels remain top content marketing strategies. However, marketers may face unique challenges in 2023 that will change how we approach digital marketing. Here’s how you can prepare for digital marketing shifts. The Biggest Challenges Marketers May Face In 2023 At its Worldwide Developers Conference in 2020, Apple announced iOS 14 and new privacy features. As a result, marketers have less data to use to understand customers and personalize marketing efforts. However, that announcement was just the start. Now, we’re looking toward a cookieless future. Google is planning to make cookies a thing of the past by the end of 2024. We need to start preparing in 2023 for the change. MORE FOR YOU Meet The Unknown Immigrant Billionaire Betting Her Fortune To Take On Musk In Space Erik Ten Hag Admits He Is Under Pressure To Finish In The Top Four With Manchester United Holiday Train Brings Hope And Support To Children Caught In Ukraine War How To Get The Upper Hand If you know about stocks and investing, you know that the strongest portfolios are usually the most diverse. No expert investor will throw all of their resources into one stock, because if that stock fails, they’ll lose everything. Marketers can learn from investors. Throwing all of your marketing budget into one or two strategies puts your business at risk. Instead, diversify your approach. For example, keep running your ads because they’ll still be relevant without cookies, but also invest in email marketing. The most effective content marketing strategies work together to fill in the gaps where some strategies are weak or where you aren’t reaching customers. By using diverse strategies in tandem, you reach the most customers and aren’t impacted as significantly by changes. Four Strategies To Excel At Marketing In 2023 Here are four strategies to add to your arsenal of digital marketing tools to ensure that you continue reaching customers in a more restrictive digital world: 1. Gather First-Party Data First-party data will likely be the most valuable source of information in 2023 as third-party data continues to go the way of the dinosaurs. Instead of purchasing information from outside companies, rely on your own assets to gather customer data. According to a Gartner survey, 79% of consumers want more control over their personal information and its use. You will benefit from respecting customers’ privacy and turning to first-party data instead of using outside data. Some valuable sources of first-party data include: • Website visitor tracking. • Digital forms and surveys. • Social media interactions. • Customer service interactions. • Marketing email and text message responses. 2. Run Pay-Per-Click Ads With First-Party Data Many e-commerce retailers rely on Google and social media ads to retarget and create an ad funnel. For example, imagine a customer stopped by your website and looked at new dresses but left. Retailers retarget by showing ads on other sites to entice the customer back. However, Apple’s privacy updates are making that more difficult, and cookieless browsing will only make it harder. Thankfully, retargeting through ads is still possible. Many marketers are turning to services like Google’s Customer Match, or Facebook’s Custom Audiences. These solutions use a custom audience list that businesses create with first-party data and match that list to users on the ad platform. That way, companies can deliver personalized ads to customers based on first-party data to create an ad funnel. 3. Focus On Email And Text Message Marketing Email and text message marketing are two of the most valuable first-party data sources. Through these marketing channels, you can target specific customers and segments. For example, you can divide your email list by location and send out location-specific promotions to customers. According to research by eMarketer, most consumers prefer personalized emails based on behaviors like purchase history. Then, you can track which customers open emails and text messages and how they respond to the content. This data will allow you to customize marketing to current customers based on behaviors, like how they respond to certain promotions. 4. Work With Brand Ambassadors And Influencers Brand ambassadors and influencers will likely play a crucial role in 2023 as companies continue to find creative ways to reach their target audiences without the help of cookies and data-tracking tools. In 2022, more than 75% of brand marketers planned to budget for influencer marketing. You can choose an influencer with a niche audience to help you reach your target market. Brand ambassadors and influencers promote businesses more personally than a traditional ad that pops up on someone’s social media feed. Brand ambassadors are friendly and familiar faces offering product recommendations, which boosts your brand’s authenticity. Prepare Your Business For Change Digital marketing is changing. Is your business ready to change with it? Gear up for 2023 with strategies that will equip you with first-party data and prepare you to reach your customers in new ways. Forbes Agency Council is an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. Do I qualify? Follow me on LinkedIn. Check out my website. Drew Urquhart Drew Urquhart CEO/Founder – Banch Marketing. Read Drew Urquhart’s full executive profile here. Editorial Standards Print Reprints & Permissions I think a skill that has helped me succeed Play Unmute Current Time 0:16 / Duration 1:07 Share Captions Fullscreen MORE FROM FORBES Dec 23, 2022,01:29pm EST Holiday Train Brings Hope And Support To Children Caught In Ukraine War Dec 23, 2022,07:45am EST Digital Marketing In 2023: What To Expect And How To Excel Dec 23, 2022,07:45am EST Get Loud, Not Quiet: The Importance Of Employee Engagement For Mitigating Quiet Quitting And Firing Dec 23, 2022,07:30am EST Do Less And Make More: The Power Of Investing In High-Quality Leadership Dec 23, 2022,07:30am EST Consider These Key Questions To Gain Access To The C-Suite In An Economic Downturn Dec 23, 2022,07:30am EST The Opportunity In Mobile Gaming For App Marketers (And How To Leverage It) Dec 23, 2022,07:15am EST Advertising On Social Media: TikTok Versus Instagram FORBESLEADERSHIP 3 Things 2022 Taught Us About Sales Forbes Business Development Council Julie ThomasForbes Councils Member Forbes Business Development CouncilCOUNCIL POST| Membership (Fee-Based) Dec 23, 2022,07:45am EST President & CEO of ValueSelling Associates and a noted speaker, author and consultant. Brainstorming GETTY Selling in 2022 has been hard. Many external factors are erecting barriers to winning new opportunities, including the ongoing effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the conflict in Ukraine, inflation in nearly every sector of the marketplace, talk of recession, the energy crisis, the food crisis and, oh yeah, supply chain disruptions. In this unpredictable economic environment, decision makers and companies become risk-averse. Buyers do not want to change because change is risk. A buyer might not be happy with a current supplier, but it’s better to stay with the devil you know than the devil you don’t. PROMOTED All this uncertainty makes it difficult to drive predictable sales results—and yet, there are reasons to be hopeful. Let’s look at the top three challenges we’ve faced in 2022—and how to overcome them. 1. Seller burnout is at an all-time high. In a recent Gartner survey of over 900 B2B sellers, 89% reported feeling burned out. Sellers are losing their drive because they’re frustrated with not making progress or getting results. MORE FOR YOU Why The Rock’s Social Media Muscle Made Him Hollywood’s Highest-Paid Actor Erik Ten Hag Admits He Is Under Pressure To Finish In The Top Four With Manchester United Holiday Train Brings Hope And Support To Children Caught In Ukraine War What can sales leaders do? Home in on the human side of sales management. Provide coaching and career development opportunities so your reps don’t feel like a cog in a machine. Work to show them that they see a future with your organization. Leaders can also take the time to learn what’s important to each individual team member and understand how to motivate them. Celebrating the small wins of scheduling appointments and adding new opportunities to the pipeline can make a big difference. 2. There is strong desire for sales efficiency and tech tools. Given the high seller burnout rate, sales leaders have become hyper-focused on chasing efficiency—taking the mundane tasks off the seller’s plate—because it’s low-hanging fruit. Sales reps want to be talking to clients and prospects and creating opportunities that they can ultimately close and win. They often complain about being burdened with non-value-added administrative tasks. I hear it from my sales reps all the time: “You didn’t hire me to do data entry. You hired me to talk to people.” While technology can make sales reps more efficient by automating routine tasks, amplifying messages, and accelerating the time it takes for a buyer to make a purchase, it does not necessarily make them more effective. With that in mind, let’s explore the difference between sales efficiency and sales effectiveness. 3. A strong sales training program should focus on developing the right skills to improve sales effectiveness. Sales effectiveness is about human behavior. It’s about having the skills, competencies and planning necessary for making a strong case to prospective buyers. Think of the difference between efficiency and effectiveness in the game of golf. To be an efficient golfer, you can leverage assistance from a cart, a caddy to understand the course and the clubs and a device that measures the distance to the pin. To be an effective golfer, you must build your own skills and swing the club yourself to get the ball in the hole. Sales training can play an important role in the solution to sales effectiveness and overcoming seller drag. As a disclosure, my company ValueSelling Associates is a provider of sales training solutions. When building a sales training program, leaders should consider seeking solutions that are capable of changing behaviors by empowering sales professionals with the right sales skills for each stage of the sales cycle. Two of the most critical skills that teams should seek to build upon in their sales training are the credibility and trustworthiness necessary to engage effectively with prospects. Asking good questions and active listening are crucial skills for prospecting and qualifying leads. In addition, maintaining rapport with buyers is critical both during negotiations and when closing deals. Nobody wants an efficient but ineffective sales team. In only addressing efficiency, you run the risk of accelerating or amplifying poor execution in the field. When a sales rep finally secures that hard-to-get appointment, you must ensure they also have the fundamental behaviors down. Showing up prepared with the right skills to add value to the buyer can help nurture the conversation and help move it to the next step in the sales process every time. After all, human connection is at the center of sales from both the seller’s and buyer’s perspectives. Leaders who invest in the right mix of tools to enable efficiency and the right skills to be effective will engage and motivate employees—and help them to build the long-term relationships that drive sales results in an unpredictable environment. Forbes Business Development Council is an invitation-only community for sales and biz dev executives. Do I qualify? Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website.