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Choosing Your Sponsor Wisely for Sales Success

Choosing your sponsor wisely is even more important than I thought.

After 20+ years in the field I didn't expect to be surprised by anything in sales and project management. Peter Taylor's The Lazy Project Manager (not an affiliate link) has changed that.

The opening chapters of Peter's book have impressed upon me the significance of choosing your sponsor with care.

The question is not: "Can I make the sale?" It's: "How can I rig the game for success once we've made the sale?"

If you're a Hit And Run-type salesperson, I've probably lost you. But you'll find out quickly enough... throwing the ball down the field to the implementation team, without having set up the conditions for success, is a game plan for failure. The project team in charge of installing the solution may well improvise their way to a win but you sure have made it hard for them.

For those who care that what you sold is what gets delivered... Peter Taylor has described this key strategic element of the sale and execution in a way I haven't seen done before.

choosing your sponsor sales project management design
(Image by rawpixel from Pixabay)

The Impact Of Choosing Your Sponsor With Care

Whether we're in an academic setting and finding the right sponsor for our smallsat development project...

...or seeking the "buyer behind the buyer" who is the real executive customer up the food chain...

...having the right sponsor in place means the difference between having the support we need to achieve change -- or the unpleasant discovery that the project is doomed to fail (check out those percentages) because it lacks both intent and resources.

I spent most of 2016 working with a change management expert who only dealt with tech firms of 1000+ staff.

I saw how important getting the right sponsor in place was then, but my eyes and brain were focused more on operational issues of managing change. Looking back, he did a good job of what Peter Taylor recommends... and the results of his projects testified to his deliberate efforts up front.

Go get Peter's book. It'll chance the way you view sales as well as project management, and your success rates will rise if you implement his recommendations.

>> Jason Kanigan is a business strategist. Book a time to talk with Jason about your situation by clicking here. <<

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Chronic Marketer by Brad Gosse – Review by Jason Kanigan

Chronic Marketer by Brad GosseChronic Marketer by Brad Gosse is foremost the personal story of how this internet marketer built his business.

Nothing beats a "How To" that's a real life story. Too many internet marketers' books are theoretical, how things 'should' work: Brad's shares how things actually worked for him.

Your path may not be the one he took. You may even be turned off by his path. That's no problem--if you don't like Brad or his story, you're free to leave.

In fact, he makes a point of saying it's OK to anger more than 50% of your audience if you are an online marketer...because it's the vocal, loyal minority you want...not the bland, uncaring majority.

Four Key Takeaways from Chronic Marketer by Brad Gosse

Brad Gosse and I, it turns out, agree on many things. Chronic Marketer is a book for IM newbies and they need this information. Here are four critical points we agree upon:

Get out there and DO to learn

To develop true expertise, you need to try, fail, and learn--not just read it in a book or hear it on a webinar. Test--even if you're only investing a few dollars--to discover what works and what doesn't for you.

Stay away from Chamber of Commerce and local networking events

Successful business owners are not out at networking events. They are in their offices, making decisions. Local networking events are filled with broke business owners trying to sell (badly) to everyone else...they cannot buy from you.

You can scale your content, but you can't scale yourself

Brad talks about the Freelancer-Producer-Director progression. These are important phases and distinctions, and if all you've done is be stuck in the Freelancer phase for years, it's time to take a different point of view and direction in your business.

Train people on how to deal with you

Letting people walk all over you is not okay. As I share in my Sales On Fire training, you can teach people how to work with you by using a strong Up Front Contract. This lets them know what behavior is acceptable and what isn't. And as Brad points out, it's perfectly fine to fire customers when they're out of line.

Video Review of Chronic Marketer by Brad Gosse

Here's a quick video run-through of my review.

Chronic Marketer is available on Amazon.

>> Jason Kanigan is a business development expert. Want to work with Jason? Click here to apply. Don't miss the latest post here at salestactics.org--subscribe by email or Follow us on Twitter! <<

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How To Quit Working: Book Review

How To Quit Working on Amazon/Kindle (non-affiliate link)How To Quit Working: A Simple Plan to Leave Your Job for a Life of Freedom is the number one business book I recommend. Whether you're thinking about making the leap from corporate drone to self-employed owner or realize you need to update your entire business model, How To Quit Working by Jeff Steinmann will give you a detailed road map and action plan.

Have you ever said to yourself, "I want to quit my job and start my own business but I don’t know where to start. What if I don't make any money? What if nobody will buy from me? What if I fail?" These worries are the reason 80% of Americans work jobs they don't like.

With this disturbing statement, Jeff begins his instruction manual on building the ideal business lifestyle for you. This isn't a fluff book. It took a long time for Jeff to make the leap himself, and so he understands exactly what you're going through. All the inaction, all the worries, and all the questioning. All answered herein.

Something I see commonly in the SaaS industry is people jumping into business by creating a product. The business owner typically originated the idea for this product. Fatal mistake? They didn't check to see if it was what the marketplace wanted. Conclusion: FAIL.

If you read Jeff's book and do what it instructs, you'll never have this problem. What you provide will be what the market wants. They'll tell you so!

Since positive feedback and making some money are so important in those early months, How To Quit Working concentrates on getting you fast results.

How To Quit Working: My Review

I haven't found any other book that explains what to do to set up a successful business so well as Jeff's. And that's why it's the top business book I have consistently recommended since I found it over a year ago.

"Most of what you've been taught about business is a lie," says Jeff...and he's right. Take the blinders off and get How To Quit Working.

You can also follow Jeff's podcast and join his Facebook group for startup entrepreneurs.

>> Jason Kanigan is a business development expert. Jeff Steinmann is a business consultant and contributor to the Huffington Post. Was this information useful to you? Please Like or Share to let us know. And if you have a question about How To Quit Working, or a review of your own, send us a Comment below! <<