Back in January I attended an AIMA (Atlanta Interactive Marketing Association) meeting where the topic of discussion was "alignment of sales and marketing organizations". John Neeson, one of the co-founders of Sirius Decisions (and a 12 year Gartner executive), was one of the panel members. After the event I was fortunate enough to meet and have a brief discussion with John where we had a real meeting of the minds. John connected me with Paul Shiman, who heads up the research for Sirius.
I am constantly in search of new insights from the best and brightest minds in the marketing and sales areas ... especially as it relates to high-level c-suite sales. My purpose is to verify, and continue to verify, what we, at Sales Builders, say in our marketing literature. Remember now, that the roots of Sirius go back to Gartner and some serious research (no pun intended .. yes it was ... hahaha).
Paul and I even almost said it in using the same wording:
If you are to gain access to the executive suite, they expect that you come to the table already aware of the issues they are facing in their industry and their role in that industry. They don't have the time, and will not take the time, to teach you. You cannot gain access by pitching your offering. You must approach the executive and constantly work with them from an empathic viewpoint ... from their seat.
If not, then, like the author of Mutual Respect, Bob Beck, says ... "you'll be thrown under the bus with the rest of the people that the executive perceives to be 'quota-carrying sales reps'."
Believe me, our conversations will continue ...
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