I met Neil Rackham at a think tank we were both members of. When first introduced, we smiled at each other, but were both somewhat reticient to speak. After all, I had written about him in one of my books, and was wracking my brain to try to remember what it was a said about him. From the look on his face, it probably wasn’t terrific.
As fate would have it, we ended up being on a panel together called something like “Meet the Gurus.” Before the session the moderator had us all introduce ourselves to each other, and asked if any of us knew each other beforehand. Neil genially spoke up: “I know Sharon-Drew. She wrote a book that referenced me in a very unkind way.” Oops.
But then he smiled and his eyes twinkled mischievously. He is Neil, after all, and he’s got a wicked sense of humor. Not to mention that the small stuff never bothers him. But he sure gets the big stuff.
Neil and his partner Jason Jordan have a newish consulting company that specializes in helping sales teams be successful (at the solution-sale end of the spectrum. I’m hoping they will round out their tools and use Buying Facilitation™ to help buyers manage their off-line buying decisions). So simple, yet so challenging.
Here is a blurb from their site:
“Are you targeting the best Customers or market segments? Can your Channels reach these customers, and are they capable of selling your products? Are your Products or solutions configured to meet your customers’ needs? Do you have clear and compelling Value Propositions that will resonate with prospects?
“Whether you are launching new products or targeting new markets, we solve these riddles with thought-leading expertise and rigorous market research. We replace assumptions with data, intuition with analysis, and uncertainty with confidence to ensure that you have the right products, channels, and value propositions to sell to your most desired customers.”
In other words, at the sales end of the buying decision, their work with clients ranges “from full-scale channel strategy projects and complete sales force transformations to more contained projects that solve a specific problem facing a channel or sales manager.”
I know that most of my readers want to know about Buying Facilitation(R). But don’t forget that once the buyer recognizes all of the internal issues they need to manage, and how to help their Buying Decision Team address all of the elements that need to be handled so a new solution won’t cause internal disruption, they need to choose a solution. So there is still a place for sales.
And I can’t think of anyone better to help with strategy, metrics, understanding target markets, and managing Key Account strategies. Have a look at their site. Maybe you’ll be lucky enough to have Neil show up and give you that infamous twinkle. But if not, you’ll be doubly blessed to have Jason come in and roll up his sleeves and help you get the success you deserve.
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