Dave Williamson
In the Field
Selling Internationally - Know the Local Business Culture, Part 1
A multi part blog looking at factors to consider in "going global"...
Dave Williamson
In the Field
What happened in Ottawa?
In a week where another nail seems to have gone into the Nortel coffin (or at best a dismantling continues to progress), amid a set of less than impressive 3 rd quarter results and dismal news from local companies, and with a dismal start to the season for the Senators, I am left to ponder what has happened to the big town/small city that I’ve called home for most of the last 20-something years…
Dave Williamson
In the Field
Sales Process, Methods, Trainers and Evangelists - Buyer Beware
There are a vast array of sales processes, methods and books on the market place. There are also numerous evangelists and trainers ready to provide their sales expertise to organizations for a fee. However, just because you need to mature your Sales approach and Sales team, and bring onboard more rigorous processes and procedures, is this really the right way to go?
Dave Williamson
In the Field
Internal Conflict and Tension - Good or Bad?
Sales teams have a way of creating conflict and tension within an organization. I don’t think I’ve walked into a single Sales management position in my career without inheriting a tense situation with one department or another in the organization, or an apprehensive peer who is in fear of the Sales VP. And I have certainly watched my share of conflict and tension develop within the organization. So how much internal conflict and tension is healthy, where is it healthy and in what form, and why does this happen?
Dave Williamson
In the Field
The Art and Science of a Sales Forecast
If you read one of my earlier blogs about the Buying Cycle, you’ll understand that I view there is a part of selling that is in the hands of the Buyer, and that’s a hard thing to forecast and predict - especially in a receding economy where buyers can go ducking for cover. However it is still a necessity for all businesses to attempt to put some science into the Sales forecast and make it as predictable as possible…
Dave Williamson
In the Field
Hiring Sales People - Finding Gems and Weeding Out Bad Apples
Having participated in the interviewing of hundreds, hiring of dozens, and firing of quite a few Sales people over the years, I’ve certainly seen my share of gems and bad apples. In this blog I wanted to share a few of my experiences that may perhaps guide you on your next Sales hire.
Dave Williamson
In the Field
Sales Compensation - It really does guide behaviour
Compensation can be one of the hardest things to tune and get right in a Sales organization. I’ve seen a wide variety of compensation schemes through my career, and have sat on a compensation committee in a larger company that I worked for (where we did a very comprehensive survey of the way things were done elsewhere in the industry). There are far too many variants to even being to elaborate on them all here, but I will try to touch on a few key things from my perspective…
Dave Williamson
In the Field
The 6 Habits of a Successful Salesperson - Part 2
Last time I talked about 3 of the6 habits that I have observed in successful Salespeople. They were being Highly Organized, being Pessimistic, and that they have a Win As a Team, Never Lose Alone Attitude. Now for the other 3…
Dave Williamson
In the Field
The 6 Habits of a Successful Salesperson - Part 1
There has been much attention given over the years to Stephen Covey’s “7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. And certainly all of those things are applicable to Salespeople. However over the years I have come to see patterns that lead me to believe there are 6 key ingredients to being successful in a Sales role - be it account management, inside sales, territory sales, technical pre-sales, or sales management…
Dave Williamson
In the Field
The Lead Customer Dilemma. How did we get here?
Every startup or early stage company needs a lead customer to build market credibility. We do a lot for that first customer - special pricing, preferential access within our organization, product customizations, free services… All in exchange for that golden first customer reference.