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Would you make this investment?
- 2% chance of making money
- 98% chance of losing money
- The longer you invest, the worse your rate of return
Crazy? Not at all. I bet you probably make this lousy investment yourself.
To see what it is, read on....
Mike S.
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We Do Make Bad Investments
It's called Casino Gambling. 82 Million people a year in the USA make this investment every year.. Total casino spending was $71B last year, a business seven times greater than all the Hollywood movies put together.
I'm not interested in the question of why people spend money at casinos. We all recognize it can be fun and exciting. Most people can afford to lose a few hundred or thousand bucks, and it's a form of entertainment.
You could flush dollar bills down the toilet for an entire night, and still come out ahead of most casino gamblers.
We Don't Make Good Investments
I'm interested in the opposite question: Why do people waste money on bad investments, but NOT spend money on great investments?
Many, if not most IT purchases offer a great return on investment. Faster networks, better security, time-saving applications, better integrations, faster communications, better access to information, and so on. Most IT investments, when implemented properly, offer a great return on the money invested.
If the ROI is so great, why do customers put off decisions and do nothing at all? That's not just aggravating and costly, it's irrational!
Where the Real Expense is
Surprisingly, the biggest expense in most organizations is  not their technology, but their people. The total IT market in the USA is nearly $1 Trillion per year, and the total compensation for all 125 Million workers in the USA is close to $9 Trillion.
You would think smart executives  would do EVERYTHING in their power to maximize the productivity of their biggest expense. Instead, they pretend to be busy, duck your calls and give you excuses why they can't move forward.
It's the Salesperson's Fault
So why do customers spend on a bad ROI and not spend on a great ROI? The sales approach is often to blame.
Many salespeople are busy blathering about how wonderful they are. Then, they regurgitate a mind-numbing list of meaningless facts and claims.
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"You've Been in Business 17 years and employ
12 Engineers? How Fascinating...."
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If salespeople sold sushi, they would describe cold, dead fish, and how these fish were colder and deader than any of the competitor's.
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Here's How IT Salespeople make Sushi look
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Many IT salespeople love to blather about how wonderful their service is, and how many awards their company has won. You almost never hear how these technologies will transform the company's workplace and turbo-charge profits. If only salespeople could sell like the casinos do:
Sell Like the Casinos
Casino's don't talk about the horrible reality of their product. They focus on the fun, the positives:
- "All the star-studded fun you can handle!"
- "Fabulous Dining & Endless Nightlife!"
- "Over 2,000 of the hottest slots!"
- "Over 300,000 square feet of excitement & action"
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Here's How Casinos Make Cold, Dead Fish Look
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To get those non-committal customers to take action, take a page from the Casino industry. Stop selling cold, dead fish and start focusing on the fun, the excitement, the transformation. As the old advertising line goes "Sell the Sizzle, not the Steak"
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WEBINARS
Sales Webcast
Proposals that Win
"How to Turn a Tool
into a Weapon"
with Don Barrett & CorsPro
Sales Webcast
The Art of the 10,000 End Point Sale
with Special Guest
Jeff Neil
Wednesday, July 20
12 Disruptive Forces Shaping the IT Industry
Wednesday, Sep 26
12:00 Noon
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UPCOMING EVENTS
ShoreTel
CEO Peer Group
Traction in Your Business
Philadelphia, PA
September 28-29
Ingram Micro VTN Mastermind
Sales Leadership
Freeport, ME
October 12-13
Trans4mers Sales Leadership Group
Sales Compensation
HTG UC Peer Group
Member Kickoff
Orlando, FL
November 2-4
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Here is your chance to see if you are as smart as you think you are.
Think of a difficult or impossible Sales Management problem. Enter it into the question box below.
Mike will provide deep insight into your dilema, based on his 25 years of Sales Management experience. Or not. It depends on how silly the question is. E-Mail Mike at:
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If you've made it this far, thanks for reading. If you are just looking for the "unsubscribe" option, it's below.
"Carpe Dinero" = Seize the Money.
Sincerely,
Mike Schmidtmann
(703) 408-9103
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Feel free to SWIPE* any ideas you find useful, and "pay it forward!
*Steal With Integrity, Purpose and Enthusiasm"
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