Sell yourself first, your company second, and your products third: Madlibs with Lori Richardson

Sell yourself first, your company second, and your products third: Madlibs with Lori Richardson:

from The Funnelholic by Craig Rosenberg


Lori Richardson is a versatile sales, inside sales, and online marketing resource. You probably have seen her more and more out there as her content seems to have been proliferating recently. She is someone everyone should follow and if you have a question, I bet she answers it. (She helped me get my “meet the funnelholic” pop up loaded for example). I know you will enjoy her Madlibs — now read away!

1. The b2b buyer is way too busy to waste time listening to bland messaging, something that is still very rampant.


2. The biggest innovation in sales is not created yet – nothing earth-shattering is new so far compared to what will happen with big and little data combining with social and mobile.
3. The coolest thing happening in b2b sales is the social insight that is coming into CRM systems and in daily emails
4. My favorite Sales 2.0 technology is hard to name, since I use about 15 tools. Anything that shares insight and especially if a whole sales team has access to shared knowledge.
5. My favorite sales book is S.N.A.P. Selling – clear, helpful strategies for crazy busy buyers – it’s a must-read.
6. My favorite social media site is the combo of Twitter and LinkedIn – where many of our leads come through
7. Social selling is as over-hyped as SEO used to be. Many of us have always been social and value-added, now there are new tools to help with that.
8. I use Linkedin to train sales professionals on ways to grow their own visibility. Years ago I was taught to always sell yourself first, your comapny second, and your products third – a smart sales rep can build their brand this way. Plus great tool for insight on buyers and customers.
9. Cold calling is misunderstood – just get rid of the “cold” and change that to “warm” and start picking up the phone instead of hiding behind your computer. Having good phone conversations with potential buyers, customers, and referral partners is unmatched- and quick, too.
10. In b2b, the idea of a funnel is always morphing. We now have waterfalls and other ways to explain how marketing and sales are working together to create an environment for buyers to buy.
11. The first thing every sales person should do is align their attitude with one of a big mindset and abundance – think of problems as puzzles to solve today, and be interested in serving others. Then start working with all those tech and social tools you have.
12. Voicemail is something that can STILL be effective when blended with other strategies to reach buyers.
13. The biggest mistake sales people make is that they hear something and think it’s true rather than doing their own A-B type of testing in their market with their environment.
14. The biggest myth in sales is that a certain subset of individuals does it – everyone sells!
15. My most forgettable sales experience was when two of the four people I was presenting to fell asleep (granted, it was right after lunch!). I was in my early 20′s, new at selling, and was mortified, but they DID buy – probably out of guilt.
16. The hardest part of selling is keeping momentum going – focusing too much on one opportunity and not building up more sales opportunities to keep things rolling.
17. In 2015, sales will be even more amazing – I have no idea how, but love the profession and embrace change
18. My favorite sales saying is “never confuse activity with accomplishment” – Zig Ziglar
19. Over the next couple years in sales, women sales experts will have more speaking slots at conferences and more helpful books published
20. Madlibs with the Funnelholic is making my brain work extra hard.

Lori trains, coaches, and consults with leaders of mid-market technology and distribution companies on the front lines. She also blogs for technology brands on topics of B2B selling. Find her @scoremoresales or at www.scoremoresales.com