Summary: A rich mix of the traditional and the cutting edge. That's the most vivid impression I have of our conversation with Dave Brock, the founder and principle of Partners In Excellence. We started off talking about sales process. Dave believes that a well-defined process is the absolute cornerstone of sales performance and sales performance management. Lack of one causes losing track of the fundamentals, with sales pros doing nothing more than "taking an aimless, purposeless walk." Even worse it leads to "looking for the miracle cure." Something that magically causes problems to disappear and makes sales skyrocket. "Laying out a sales process isn't rocket science," he says. "Give me a half dozen of the top performers and the top two laziest people who also make their numbers and lock us in a room for a day." That "laziest people" comment really hit home for me. The apparently lazy rep simply must know some things that nobody else knows. An intriguing and obviously true statement! Dave then went on to talk about CRM, and how way too often it gets implemented to increase management reporting and control. "What's in it for the sales rep?" Implementing a CRM with that in mind leads to tactical efficiency and effectiveness; to consistent replication of the selling strategies that work. That's when Brock switched gears and began discussing the critical nature of digital tools. How does he keep up with making a personalized contact with 1,000 people every quarter? And a less personal contact with 6,000 more? And maintaining some form of "visibility" with 10,000 more? The telephone, LinkedIn, Twitter, e-newsletters and a blog. "Digital tools and a digital footprint are absolutely critical," he firmly states. Yes, you need to establish what's best for you, but if you're not using at least LinkedIn - especially your profile and groups - he feels you're ignoring a simple way of having a huge impact. He also talked about how blogging is therapeutic and that Twitter is amazingly effective at creating a large of number of quick, two-way communications. "Digital media has completely changed our prospecting and demand generation." "Digital content is a critical element of our strategy, " he asserts. "If you're not using it, you're in the stone ages and we all know what happened to the dinosaurs." There are many more compelling insights and tips in this interview. You'll end up listening to it twice! ### If you enjoyed this show, and want to learn from more sales leaders like this one, subscribe to our podcast on iTunes here. It would be greatly appreciated if you would leave a customer review – and a positive rating – too!
