We had a great meetup on Monday night, Dan Levitt provided some great back-to-basics sales training around BAT methodology:
Behaviors
Attitudes
Techniques
The Media and Technology Collective
Friend of the CTSP meetup Rachelle Salem invited us to the Media and Technology trivia night this evening (January 25th) Contact me for a special discounted rate here. Their 2022 Golf Tournament was awesome.
Our group took a much needed break in December. The thinking in going ‘light’ at the end of the year is that many of us are very social and are thus, totally slammed with invited to holiday parties from Thanksgiving to New Years. Who needs another get-together, even if you get to see Bob in a Santa Suit?
UPCOMING CTSP EVENTS:
JANUARY:
Dan Levitt is a long-time member of our group and this is his third time presenting for the CTSP. Dan is presenting on Sandler Sales Methodology, the same sales school that I was taught at Oracle Corp. We’re really excited on this return visit. If you are up for it, we also do an informal HH across from Venture X co-working after the meetup January 23rd.
FEBRUARY:
We were approached by several CU Boulder Grad Students late last year. They were impressed with our programming and asked if we’d be interested in presenting at CU Boulder. We jumped on the opportunity.
This audience will be geared towards CU’s MBA and CS Graduate students, but all are welcome. Pizza by Cosmo’s!
We hope this is the start of an on-going collaboration with CU Boulder.
OTHER EVENTS COMING UP IN 2023:
The inspiration for our meetup and tech sales community, the CTA, has some great things coming up this year. Check them out:
JANUARY:
MAY:
The grand-daddy of all tech and sales events in Denver is the C-Level at Mile High event, this year taking place on May 11th. The registration link will be published soon. You do not want to miss this event. THere si no better place to connect with 50 IT Executives in one spot.
Our event page will be updated soon with a proper registration link. Please check back in March or so….
Jason August, Founder of ‘Denver Growth Hackers‘ and I are combing forces and will be running events together. They’ll be under our respective meetup banners, but the meetings will be one-in-the-same, taking place at the same place at the same time. Our first event is this Monday, January 10th. We have a fascinating story to share RE: “Personal branding colliding with national events.”
You only need to register for one or the other. It’s helpful to know how many are coming so we don’t over-budget on food & beverages.
What do you need to do to accomplish more in 2022? We will walk you through the steps you need to take to establish your personal brand and your story.
TOPICS: – Establish your own website – Managing Social Media – Scaling your brand
AGENDA:
5:30 to 6:00 the 1/2 hour social hour, pizza, salad, networking 6:00 to 6:15 Introductions around the room 6:15 to 7PM Feature Presentation 7:00 to 7:30 Q&A, more networking 7:30 Optional HH at Junction Bar –across the Plaza–
“Ask a Sales Pro”
I am soliciting your questions from either here or the meetup page for sales questions you may have. I hope this provides more frequent interactions among our community.
i.e. “How do I overcome this objection” or ‘Is this sales process viable?’, or “Is a prospect blowing smoke?” or “How do I manage expectations with my sales leadership?“
email: bob.mcneil@coloradotechnologysales.com
And yes, I had to buy readers earlier this year. 😛
Stephanie coaches a time management and life management methodology of getting more done, faster. It starts with the premise of setting shorter deadlines. When you have 12 month deadlines, it’s often not urgent enough to achieve immediate goals. Of course, there is a lot more to it than that.
We will be covering the ‘There’s more to it than that” part of the 12 week year on Monday, October 11th, 5:30 at Venture X Denver South. Sign up for this in-person event here:
5:30 to 6:00 Meet & Greet, Networking 6:00 to 6:45 Feature Presentation 6:45 to 7:30 Q&A, more networking. 7:30 to 8:00 Optional HH at http://www.junctionfoodanddrink.com/
Stephanie Shivar-Hogan has been coaching in the corporate world for more than two decades. With experience across multiple industries including finance, accounting, real estate, healthcare, insurance and marketing, she has partnered with Fortune 500 CEOs, front line leaders, corporate team members, entrepreneurs, and everyone in between.
Sales professionals who fully adopt this mindset can increase their sales 10X.
NOTE FROM BOB: Since meeting with Stephanie and reading her book, I’ve dramatically accelerated accomplishments in 2021 in several areas of my life. This is nothing short of life changing:
1. Financial Goals (got back on track with tax planning, financial planning, etc.) 2. Career Goals (got interviewing and changed jobs) 3. Personal Relationships (you have to show up to get any of these details) 4. Travel (took several weeks off between jobs to hit some road trip / bucket list items across 9 states) 5. Fitness Goals (re-tooled my gym routine with a personal trainer & dropping the other Covid 19…meaning: that 19 .lbs)
More about Stephanie:
Working with and for large organizations like Merrill Lynch, AIG (Formerly Chartis), Northwestern Mutual, and Pulte Homes, Stephanie has first-hand knowledge of what success looks like in the results-oriented workplace. Her instructional philosophy is built around client-centered coaching that helps individuals to gain clarity and achieve desired outcomes by creating sustainable steps toward personal goals and dreams. Stephanie founded Gallantry Coaching and Consulting to pursue her passion around helping executives and teams reach their greatest potential.
Stephanie is a third-generation, native Coloradoan who lives outside of Denver with her husband and four children. She enjoys taking advantage of the beautiful Colorado landscape, skiing, and traveling with her family. Contact Stephanie directly at stephanie@gallantrycc.com
There will be a free drawing for a copy of the book & more copies will be available for purchase that night.
Salad, Pizza, beer, wine, sparkling water and other beverages will be available from Pete’s a Pie. See you there!
In September 2021 we were able to try all the specialty pies and Caesar salad from Pete’s a Pie in nearby Junction Food Hall. Great food and great service from Joel Mehr.
Well, what a long, strange trip it has been! We adapted and dealt with the COVD crisis as best we could, some better than others. Fortunately, we’re coming out of the pandemic, albeit with vaccine skeptics enabling new variants to dog us for the foreseeable future.
What I noticed was about the May / June timeframe, once a lot of started getting vaccinated and lockdowns came to an end, was that my phone / email / social media al burst back to life with recruiter calls & interview requests. Did you see that, too?
I started talking to my fellow event organizers around this time about getting some in-person stuff happening again. The consensus on that was that August was a good time for fully vaccinated people to start hanging out in-person. Thus, our August 2nd event was like a breath of fresh air, it felt as if we were all being released from a locked basement after 18 months. The meetup was in the beautiful Venture-X Five Points co-working space on Welton Street.
Melanie Williams did a fantastic job hosting and Jennifer Bilger presented an amazing, fun networking exercise for the attendees. Jennifer showed all of us, with a card game, how to get far more out of a networking event than anyone thought possible. I recommend her coaching to anyone looking to expand their business.
This brings us to our September Event.
The Sales Recruiter Panel Discussion has become our meetup’s signature event.
These Recruiting Professionals can and have placed candidates they connected with at our past events. Companies are making up for lost time in their hiring, and those of you who were waiting things out, well, this is your time to make a move.
As always, Pizza, Salad, beer, wine and other beverages will be served.
• What to bring $5 donation per person is suggested. If anyone wants to contribute to the Pizza Fund but didn’t have small bills with you, I can always accept PayPal to robertmcneil00@gmail.com or you can Venmo to 4152657434
AGENDA: 5:30 to 6:00 Meet & Greet, Networking 6:00 to 7:00 Panel Discussion 7:00 to 7:30 Q&A 7:30 Optional HH at Junction Bar
One of the best events I have ever had. I am employing the video chat feature to reach out to a new book of leads this week. I’ll be taking August off, but please do attend the Virtual C-Level later this month.
Check out the replay of the July Webinar here.
Some additional notes from the preso, i.e. other resources shared:
We had a great webinar last week. Here are the notes from the event:
• Small companies are in a hiring freeze, but there are exceptions…just ask Jordan. • Large companies are hiring, but this needs to be qualified: Is the req. for real? Are they actually hiring for the position? “Actively interviewing”…or not. Some companies have lots of posted requisitions but are only hiring for a small % of them.
HOW TO JOB HUNT –
Find the req.
Have a contact of yours who works at your target company submit the resume. Send them the req. # and your current email and a cover letter to submit on your behalf.
Follow up
Find out from your contact if the req. is for real
More follow up – you’re in sales and you’re selling your sales talent, after all.
If you con’t have a contact at a target company, make some. (Details on how to do that below)
Video Interviewing – you are still making an impression…visually, personalty, body language, etc. o Wear a suit and tie o Check your backdrop, design it, change it, look at TV correspondents’ backdrops on the news and take notes from them – i.e. bookcases instead of a TV behind you. o Have the camera level with your eyes o Keep your video conferencing software updated. (Zoom AND Webex AND MS Teams, AND Blue Jeans AND GoToMeeting…test out the software ahead of each video interview. Nothing will derail an interview faster than a video app that needs updates 3 minutes before it’s suppose to go live, like extensions that needed to be added to your browser. o Lighting – be front lit, lots of light. Having light behind you will produce a silhouette that will produce a horrible image. o You may need to exaggerate body language, hand motions, facial expressions.
These are useful so you can be found, rather than find roles out there.
OTHER NOTES
Physical Fitness. – do not neglect your health during a job hunt. All the worlds health advise, I am convinced, boils down to “Eat right & exercise” A lot of us have bad habits to deal with stress and over-work. So, get outside once a day at least, walk a mile, go on an evening hike, return to your gym, if you can do so safely.
Never stop networking. Make it a habit to reach out to a few people (at target companies) per day on LinkedIn. Have a few canned outgoing messages like: “Hi __, I’d like to join your network as a fellow ____ alum in the tech sector.” or “Hi _, I’d like to connect with you as I am looking at sales roles in ______. Do you have time for a call later this week or next week? Thank you!”
We had a great webinar last week. Here are the notes from the event:
• Small companies are in a hiring freeze, but there are exceptions…just ask Jordan. • Large companies are hiring, but this needs to be qualified: Is the req. for real? Are they actually hiring for the position? “Actively interviewing”…or not. Some companies have lots of posted requisitions but are only hiring for a small % of them.
HOW TO JOB HUNT –
Find the req.
Have a contact of yours who works at your target company submit the resume. Send them the req. # and your current email and a cover letter to submit on your behalf.
Follow up
Find out from your contact if the req. is for real
More follow up – you’re in sales and you’re selling your sales talent, after all.
If you con’t have a contact at a target company, make some. (Details on how to do that below)
Video Interviewing – you are still making an impression…visually, personalty, body language, etc. o Wear a suit and tie o Check your backdrop, design it, change it, look at TV correspondents’ backdrops on the news and take notes from them – i.e. bookcases instead of a TV behind you. o Have the camera level with your eyes o Keep your video conferencing software updated. (Zoom AND Webex AND MS Teams, AND Blue Jeans AND GoToMeeting…test out the software ahead of each video interview. Nothing will derail an interview faster than a video app that needs updates 3 minutes before it’s suppose to go live, like extensions that needed to be added to your browser. o Lighting – be front lit, lots of light. Having light behind you will produce a silhouette that will produce a horrible image. o You may need to exaggerate body language, hand motions, facial expressions.
These are useful so you can be found, rather than find roles out there.
OTHER NOTES
Physical Fitness. – do not neglect your health during a job hunt. All the worlds health advise, I am convinced, boils down to “Eat right & exercise” A lot of us have bad habits to deal with stress and over-work. So, get outside once a day at least, walk a mile, go on an evening hike, return to your gym, if you can do so safely.
Never stop networking. Make it a habit to reach out to a few people (at target companies) per day on LinkedIn. Have a few canned outgoing messages like: “Hi __, I’d like to join your network as a fellow ____ alum in the tech sector.” or “Hi _, I’d like to connect with you as I am looking at sales roles in ______. Do you have time for a call later this week or next week? Thank you!”
It’s going to be a while before we go back to in-person events. To maintain sales & to keep expanding & maintaining our business networks, on-line & virtual events are going to be the way to go for now.
There are some great things happening on line, I’ve attended several webinars on how to cope with the impact that COVID-19 is having on business. Here is a run-down of some events that may be of value to us tech sales pros:
AWS Innovate Online Conference is designed for executives and IT professionals looking to leverage the AWS Cloud to build and innovate at scale. Hear the very latest in cloud vision during the keynote by Glenn Gore, Chief Architect, AWS, and the closing by Olivier Klein, Head of Emerging Technologies, AWS, and Dean Samuels, Solution Architect Manager, AWS. Take the opportunity to dive deep into any of the 80+ business and technical sessions delivered by AWS experts. This free online conference is designed to inspire you; educate you with respect to AWS services; and help you develop the skills to design, deploy, and operate infrastructure and applications.
2. April 22: Startup Grind Doug Thorner and Sabina Zolot throw some great events. One is coming up on the 22nd.
4. The great people at Built In Colorado have great events listings.
Chris Kelly co-founded a multi-million dollar business in 2009 during the “Great Recession,” and is in the midst of launching another new venture now that we’re back in turbulent times.
On this live and interactive online event we’ll discuss how entrepreneurs can analyze our current economic situation and strategize to build businesses for the future.
5. Ramp Up Remote: How to Build Community + Culture in Distributed Teams
ORGANIZED BY GENERAL ASSEMBLY APR 9 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM Founders Networking
As we all watch the evolving COVID-19 situation, companies around the world have rolled out mandatory remote work to reduce the risk. For many years, people have predicted the rise of technology would allow jobs to become more distant from the office. Is this a revolution and a glimpse into the future of work or just an emergency move?
In partnership with Hypergiant Industries and Salt Recruitment, join us for a virtual panel discussion on the Ramp Up Remote: How to Build Community + Culture in Distributed Teams. We invite you to come and learn how businesses are working to build and nurture a new remote-work culture that can outlast the coronavirus outbreak.
This event will be hosted online (Livestream) due to safety considerations, please check out the “Preparation” section on the bottom of this page. Registered participants will be notified in advance of this program with information on how to log in to the event.
*Please note that by RSVPing to this event you are agreeing to receive communications from our partners.
This event will include a Fireside Chat, Virtual Networking Rooms, and the ability to chat 1-on-1 with someone..
The Fireside Chat will be with Rob Krecak, who will be chatting with us about how we can better utilize our tech without becoming addicted..
During a time like this, we may be more invested into our phones and electronics.. Is that a good thing? Are we becoming more addicted to ever little ping and notification on our phone?
Let’s chat about some ways to keep our focus and sanity during this quarantine.
The event is Thursday, April 16th, from 6-7:00pm (with networking after 7pm).
Many of us sales professionals have had a big hole punched in our pipelines & forecasts over the past couple of weeks. So, what to do about it?
Having an issue like this is one thing, however, those among us fortunate enough to work for seasoned sales leadership will have an opportunity to do something about it. The word ‘responsible’ is a combo of the words ‘response’ and ‘able’, able to respond, over merely flinching and reacting. Our sales tactics and strategies need to be adapted, we need to respond to this crisis with a plan going forward. Having an issue shouldn’t be an issue as long as you are pro-active and responsible about presenting a plan to resolve this situation.
For those of you under extra pressure, get a plan together and work that plan with your sales leadership. Do this ASAP. Work the plan, adjust the plan and keep working the plan.
TACTICS:
I’ve been sitting in on a few webinars on how to sell remotely, how to sell during this crisis. Some point to this being a great time to get back to basic cold prospecting. Get your prospects cell phone numbers and reach out to them. Some people are craving some real contact over email or text.
SOCIAL SELLING:
If you can identify the right prospects to reach out to, pro-actively send them LinkedIn invites with a short, but thoughtful intro line that will encourage them to respond. LinkedIn caps your open invites to 3000 at a time, so use them! Your LinkedIn network won’t tap out until you hit 30,000 contacts.
Strategically, your outreach and messaging needs to adjust.
Think like a CFO – think about how do you affect the ROI.
Acknowledge times are tough.
Go through whole pipeline and re-qualify EVERYTHING.
Have another discovery call.
Lead with Empathy “Sounds like a stressful time for you?”
Lead the call – if there is noise, call it out and mute it
I know not everyone will agree with that specific methodology, but I find it useful in the tech sector, where we often find ourselves presenting IT executives with new ideas and ways of doing things.
TIPS ON VIDEOCONFERENCING:
Dress well for Zoom sessions
Camera ON and at eye level
Have the room light in front of you, not behind you, use natural light if possible.
The Economist half-jokingly said that you should have your home office backdrop include bookshelves or wall hangings, not your TV as the size of your home TV is in inverse proportion to your social standing.
MODIFY YOUR CONNECT QUESTIONS – how has the virus / quarantine affected….
Buyer
Company
Marketplace
Industry
“Hey, how are things, everyone there holding up?”
So, lets get back to basics, call your prospects cell phones, acknowledge we are in some strange days and quickly move into business. Set in-person meetings for 90+ days out but start the sales conversations today.
Colorado Technology Sales 