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Welcome to the Confusion Games

COVID-19 has been a nightmare for science to communicate what’s going on. The fire hose of information from diverse sources with conflicting agendas feels like wearing roller skates on ice. While the CDC is the gold standard for pandemic science in the U.S., their communications have been atrociously confusing. The CDC shares what they know […]

Call it what it is: Healthy Cleaning

Today’s pandemic awareness is a good time to recognize what “cleaning” can be. And a good model to look at is the triple bottom line of People-Planet-Profit. While People-Planet-Profit has been around for decades, serving its three pillars is more of a challenge mid-pandemic for the cleaning industry. Wouldn’t this be a good time to […]

Beware of Gorging on Component Brands

There’s a trend among service suppliers to tout three, four, or even more component brands (aka ingredient brands) in their sales and marketing. These declarations show up in social media posts, web sites, and in sales proposals. For example, service suppliers may message something like: “Bobbsity Company is proud to announce we are now using […]

Square Pricing in a Round Hole

When B2B contractors respond to RFPs they often have to place their pricing into customers’ pricing models, e.g., spreadsheets or online forms with built-in formulas. Sounds easy; just follow the RFP’s directions, place numbers in boxes, and let the customers’ formulas produce the final, submitted bid price. Here’s the rub: Contractors have their own models […]

From the RFP Stack: How to Format Text-Only Responses

Welcome to the RFP stack. It’s the pile of customer requests for proposals that B2B contractors cue up by date to complete and submit by the RFP deadlines. And it can be daunting. For B2B contractors one of the biggest curveballs in their RFP stack – aside from daftly written ones – are the RFPs requiring responses in a […]

Hourly Wages by Any Other Name

For more than 400 years the often quoted “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet” implies that the name of a thing does not affect what it really is. However, that’s not true for hourly wages in general, now that the $15 US federal minimum […]

Pandemic Vacancies & Re-Occupancy Uncertainties

The road to reopening workplaces this year is rough. Building owners and managers certainly have their work cut out for them. So too their service contractors. The odds against a smooth and rapid reopening are daunting. Consider these variables: The percentage of people vaccinated? Can the vaccinated still spread the virus? What percentage of people […]

Best of Revenue-IQ Articles 2020

Well, 2020 didn’t turn out like anyone expected. Pre-pandemic, the world seemed more of the same but not so now. Nor in the coming months. For Revenue-IQ, 2020 articles fell into two buckets; Account Retention (before the pandemic), and then the pandemic. So, this year’s “Best of” will relist them just like that. Hoping 2021 […]

Ask Me Nicely – Complying with COVID Measures in Commercial Buildings

We may be midway through this pandemic but it will get worse before it gets better as infections surge in flu season; like one train wreck crashing on top of another. Mark Twain said, “There’s nothing common about sense.” And here in the USA, it is, unfortunately, proving true. Over the next two to three […]

Rebuilding Trust in the Built Environment

Building owners and managers are in an existential bind. They have trillions of dollars invested in the built environment, yet many occupants are concerned about returning indoors (55% of U.S. adults are “very” or “somewhat” scared they will contract COVID-19). While building owners and managers have always faced economic variations and seasonal fluctuations, the fear […]

Information Overload: “When and How to Reopen”?

I hope the re-open momentum doesn’t overwhelm good sense and science. It’s understandable to want to get back to work, worship, and events (and I really miss good restaurants). On LinkedIn, there’s a tsunami of information about when and how businesses, owners, and building managers should reopen. And reopen we must. And with intelligent plans […]

Runway to Reopen: What’s Yours?

Tomorrow is officially back on the calendar. Businesses will dig out from sheltering in place. They’ll be coming from a feast of selling emergency services to essential businesses in the pandemic. Or from famine if they were serving non-essentials and shed headcount and waited behind shuttered doors. Yet while we are still in a scary […]

Service Contractors Ride the Rapids

As of April 3rd, 2020, it’s a cliché to say life and work will never be the same after COVID-19 but it’s still painfully true. For service contractors whose bulk of business is with non-essential companies, this pandemic is like trying to cross whitewater rapids at night. For service contractors working for essential businesses, it’s […]

6 New Normals of the Post-Pandemic

Let the inevitable coming of spring refresh and reinvigorate us from the winter of COVID-19 and help us retain the lessons learned to prevent the next pandemic. However, the New Normal isn’t here yet, this is still a no man’s land with a long horizon that’s changing the way we work. When will the pandemic emergency […]

Service Expectations Changed: Technology-Hype Warped ‘Em

We live and work in a culture and time swimming in new technologies, many of them little more than hyper-hyped optimism. Tech-hype has warped service expectations when B2B customers subconsciously expect new technologies to deliver on their marketing promises right now, today. This is especially true for lower-paid, labor-based services. Here new technologies are slowly […]

When does it Hurt Enough to Improve Account Retention?

Incumbent contractors in the B2B service world know winning the work is just the beginning: It’s the initial, necessary milestone in the lifetime of the contract and customer relationship. Because contractors live by the revenue and profit realized over time, one monthly invoice by invoice, account retention is king – if contractors don’t hold onto […]

Best of Revenue-IQ Articles 2019

The world changes and yet remains the same, with so much in business and B2B sales that’s clear in hindsight. If only we could benefit from that clarity before the painful events that teach us. Hopefully, these articles from 2019 can help you skip over some of the painful parts of learning. Wishing you and […]

One Simple, Stupid, Secret to Raising Win Rates

The B2B sales game is high-stakes, black-and-white when it comes to the short-term (won/loss), and complex when it comes to the long-term impacts of customers’ perceptions (credibility, trustworthiness, and viability). However, if all you want is the single sales metric of Win Rates (Wins/Bids) to skyrocket because maybe a year-end bonus is dependent on it […]

Do Customers Think Your Sales Proposals Are Good?

Your immediate answer may be “If we get the sale our proposals are good – if we don’t, they’re not.” For sales teams, that binary won/lost assessment works for the primary, singular purpose of sales proposals; to win deals. Yet sales proposals can affect customers beyond the one-and-only winner. There are secondary benefits to good […]

The Invasion of the Cleaning Robots is Here – Resistance is Futile

Autonomous cleaning, aka robotics or automation, has moved from innovation to full-fledged operations. The largest deployment is in cleaning environments with large floor areas, such as malls, colleges, and airports, which can be scrubbed or vacuumed by robots. In the near future, autonomous cleaning will serve even more environments, such as office restrooms and high […]

Sales Postmortems, Cats & Stove-Lids

A best practice in B2B sales is to hold postmortems; opportunities to find out what worked, what didn’t, and what could be better next time. And what sales team doesn’t want to get better? However, sales postmortems can lead down the wrong path if too much is read into them. Consider this 125-year old observation: […]

5 Danger Signals for Incumbent Suppliers

Being an incumbent supplier for a million-dollar plus service contract is a bittersweet thing. First, the Sweet As incumbent, your firm gets the revenue, profit, and prestige of a large deal – not to mention, sales reps get to keep their jobs, earn commissions and operational personnel gain continued employment, etc. Fine and good. Now, […]

Proposal Heroes Not Needed

You know who your proposal heroes are; they’re the bid managers and proposal writers who work round the clock and weekends to get their sales teams’ proposals in by the RFP deadlines.  Proposal heroes ARE needed when the timing of proposal work is mismanaged. Proposal heroes ARE NOT needed if you have a proposal methodology […]

What Species are B2B Clients?

Ask any group of B2B sales reps this question and at first there will be a stunned silence. Repeat the question and there may be one or two adventurous souls who offer a joke as an answer. But typically there’s only that empty void, that silence. Of course the answer is Homo sapiens. Humans. You. […]

Best of Revenue-IQ Articles 2018

End of year always has some look back and 2018 was fast and furious, wasn’t it? I’m tired of saying “Change is the only constant,” or “This is the new normal.” The world will never be static, nor the technology that disrupts. Hey, living requires CONSTANT LEARNING. But you’ve only got so much time — […]

Time to Sweat the Small Stuff: Part 3 — A Final 3 Minor Presentation Failures that Keep you from Winning Sales

Here are the final three of nine minor presentation failures that kill sales teams and lose contracts. And although they may seem overly simplistic, it’s important to recognize their lethality. Like the first six failures before them, any one of these by themselves may not lose a sale. But sales teams rarely know which of […]

Time to Sweat the Small Stuff: Part 2 — More Minor Presentation Failures that lose Sales

You know it’s time to sweat the small stuff when your sales team is walking into the in-person presentation for a large dollar contract. Better do the fine tuning beforehand because winging it in front of evaluators won’t cut it. If you missed the first set of fatal but minor presentation failures, they’re here. This is […]

Time to Sweat the Small Stuff: Part 1 — Minor Failures that Condemn Sales Presentations to 2nd Place

Having recently worked with procurement on a multi-million dollar outsourced contract, it was fascinating to see sales teams’ minor failures have an oversized impact on evaluators’ decisions. So here are the first three of nine failures that made a difference (the remaining six will come in following posts). There is a time to sweat the […]

Subtext is the Tricky Part of Sales Intel

AUTHOR’S NOTE:  This article, and my strength is talking to people who are already committed to selling large B2B service contracts, and I want to take them further. Therefore this article may not be suited for beginners but it won’t hurt them either. To win large B2B service contracts, sales reps propose customer solutions. Those proposals are […]

In Search of Sales Subtext

To win more complex B2B sales, change the phrase “it’s the economy, stupid” —to— “it’s the sales subtext, stupid.” The altered phrase will remind sales reps to dig deeper to understand customers’ businesses before they rush the pre-packaged obvious in front of them. Hopefully, “it’s the sales subtext, stupid” activates sales thinking rather than insult. […]

Best of Revenue-IQ Articles 2017

2017. “May you live in interesting times“. It is 2017. The year is true. The expression is not. It’s known as an English translation of a Chinese curse, but it’s not from China, nor is it a curse. And the words themselves are not the blessing they first appear to be. The expression’s true meaning […]

When Perfect isn’t Good Enough

If you’re an incumbent supplier for a large service contract, you know the deck is stacked against you. Experienced suppliers, those who’ve been around for more than one iPhone release, should be aware of many factors that influence and determine contract retention. And the truth is the last factor on that list is the incumbent’s […]

Major Pursuit of Large Service Contracts

Timing is everything in pursuit of major service contracts. Sales reps (as bidders) typically wait for the RFP to be released to begin their proposal work. Typical Bidder’s Proposal Work to Procurement’s Timeline However, sales reps are better served if they “Stand in the future and look backwards.” Doing this presents them with a more […]

Know Your Destination First when Selling Facility Service Contracts

“If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.” – Yogi Berra (1925 – 2015) Major Pursuit of Large Service Contracts Selling facility service contracts often gets balled up with the marketing of those services. And when a contract is worth millions of dollars, well, that’s about as major as it […]

Hierarchy of Proposal Persuasiveness

What do customers need from sales proposals? If sales teams had that answer, they’d be as happy as cats in new mown hay fields because win ratios would sky rocket, commissions would be paid in buckets, and managers would approve more time off. The place to begin understanding proposal needs, from the customer’s perspective, would […]

You Sell a Customized Solution, Really?

How many B2B sales reps say they DON’T sell solutions? None. We all claim it. Almost every modern sales methodology is based on consultative selling: “Please customer, cough and tell me where it hurts.” But to do that, reps must dig into their customers’ situations; to understand their needs-wants-desires, and/or their unknown needs-wants-desires. Then customize a solution […]

Sales Proposals should be like a Lamborghini: Beauty + Performance that Wins

When meeting customers, you make the effort to look good personally (no bed head); to dress neatly in appropriate clothing (matching customers’ cultural dress code); You show up for appointments on time, and know something about the customer you’re about to meet; Your business cards and leave-behind marketing materials present your firm professionally; You work with your […]

Don’t Do These 5 Dumb Things in Sales Presentations

Often times knowing what not to do is as helpful as being told what to do. Think about it. If you avoid the “not to dos” you’re that much ahead of the game, and closer to winning. So here are five big things not to do in sales presentations. They’re listed in reverse order, and remember, please […]

Where to Find What B2B Customers are Buying

B2B customers only buy what helps them achieve their: Business goals (corporate & departmental); Regulatory requirements; Social responsibilities; And/or personal ambitions. End of story. So imagine a sales rep who doesn’t know most, if not all of the above? Imagine that rep trying to design a solution, present it to a customer, and then justify […]

30 Reasons Why B2B Customers Didn’t Buy + X to the Nth Permutations

It can get a bit old hearing B2B sales reps discuss why customers bought or didn’t buy. I’m speaking about outsourced services in general, where sales reps compete for large contracts bid every few years. Where customers are inured to the bunkum of “smoke and mirror” proposals and dog their way through short-list “dog and […]

Lowest Price, Technically Acceptable purchasing is a Toxic Leak

“Lowest Price, Technically Acceptable (LPTA)” is a US government purchasing strategy that has leaked its way into where it doesn’t belong; buying complex services and/or products in the private sector. And like toxic waste, it’s difficult to avoid contamination once it spreads. First, LPTA has its place: It’s meant to get the US government best […]

Best of 2016

2016 was certainly an “interesting” year here in the U.S. with the unexpected election results, and 2017 will bring more “interestingness” in the upcoming political changes and uncertainty. However, 2016 is our 8th Best of the Year roundup. And as always, I hope your year, personally and professionally, was joyous, healthy and full of engaging challenges. […]

How to Hack Storytelling for Non-Raconteurs

Storytelling is marketing’s latest mantra to engage prospects and convert customers. And who’d have guessed that for the last 100 years sales reps have been doing just that. For B2B sales, success comes down to who tells the best story: And not just the best side splitting, drinks at the bar yarn but also business stories with vulnerabilities, threats, and successes.

6 Time Zones in Pursuit of a Major Sale

A major pursuit in B2B sales is the process of hunting a whale of a contract. Hunting those large dollar, multi-year, behemoths is dictated by a calendar. And that calendar is further divided up into smaller time zones. And yet many sales reps work on major pursuits as if they can miraculously bend nature and change the calendar.

Isn’t it Wonderful When Presentations are Conversations?

If you ask 100 B2B sales reps how they feel about making presentations the vast majority will likely say they love giving them. Ask 100 customers how they feel about sitting through those presentations and they’ll likely say they hate them. Why the gap? Being “talked at” versus “talking with” — monolog versus conversation. This disconnect comes from sales reps’: Out-dated […]

Messaging Insights from Jacques Pepin and Gary Vaynerchuk

Duration and place. If you want to get B2B marketing messaging right, pay attention to these two factors. Duration Jacques Pépin, a French chef and television personality best known for his cooking shows on PBS, said when cooking meat it’s best to either cook at a very high heat for 30 seconds, or at a low heat for […]

The Most Powerful Insight for B2B Marketing

B2B marketers constantly dig in to understand how customers think, judge, and determine what’s important to them. All this to create better messages and engagement. They pull qualitative insights from “Voice of the Customer” (VoC) and Focus Group interviews, and draw quantitative data from web analytics, Net Promoter Scores (NPS), and customer satisfaction (CSAT) surveys. However, these techniques don’t provide great insights into what drove customers […]

5 Reasons Why Customers Hate to Read Your Sales Proposals

There’s one moment of truth in every large B2B complex sale: when a proposal is submitted to an RFP (Request for Proposal). Until then, customers haven’t evaluated, decided, or bought anything. Up to that point, it’s only sales’ hopes and customers’ explorations. So when that moment of truth comes, why do customers have a hard time evaluating proposals? Because many (most?) […]

Death in the Last Mile and Final Yards of Biz Dev

Figuratively speaking, new business development for B2B can take hundreds of miles and several years to produce sales. It can take even longer and farther for large sales. And whatever the biz dev road, before reaching the destination – there is always that Last Mile before you get there. Fail to cross that distance and you get […]