If I love you a lot, and demonstrate that to you clearly through my actions, then I think it is only fair that you love me back. If you don’t want to love me back, or if for some reason you feel you can’t, we would probably both be better off if you would be…
7 Key Principles of Enduring Executive Sponsor Programs
Those that occupy that rarified space of ‘best-in-class’ sales transformation programs deliver exceptional value to their companies. Without exception, the leader driving the change is passionate, charismatic, dedicated to the cause, and the guiding light for the rest of the participants in the program. One such leader is Glenn Davis, a senior executive in the…
Minimum Viable Customer (or why your MVP sucks)
I took last month off from writing. A month is a long time for me not to post anything – but it was time for me to read more than write, to focus solely on learning from others, and take some time to observe, assimilate and extrapolate on some thoughts that have been going around…
The 5 Foundational Elements of an Executive Sponsor Program
This is an extract from the Executive Sponsor Program section of my book: Digital Sales Transformation in a Customer First World. Executive customer visits are often clumsy attempts to close a deal that the account manager has not been able to close on their own. These types of meetings often do more harm than good; the…
The Challenge in Creating an Executive Sponsor Program
In a previous post I have written about the value of an Executive Sponsor Program. The benefits are clear; but it is not always straightforward to embed it in an organization. For an Executive Sponsor Program to work, it must first of all be a program: a series of strategically crafted objectives, activities and measures,…
The Case for the Executive Sponsor
I too have heard the horror stories. The senior executive arrives to join the ‘closing call’. Because she is not well prepared she sends the deal sideways. Or because there are no agreed rules of engagement she overrides the salesperson’s pricing strategy during the meeting. Everyone’s credibility suffers. I’ve seen this happen too many times. Sales…