This blog post is about three things:

1. Smarketing strategy #3
2. Content that captures the best prospects
3. How to SELL WITHOUT DISCOUNTING

In my last blog post I shared Smarketing Strategy #2 : Using a Won Sales Analysis™ – to identify what made you win your best customers so you can replicate your biggest successes.

If you did not read my last blog post below is a short video (4:49) that explains the Won Sales Analysis™.

Smarketing Strategy #3 – using the Situation, Target, Plan (STP) framework - is to tailor your content so it’s highly likely to be noticed by those who recently experienced the Trigger Events you identified during your Won Sales Analysis™.

Have you ever noticed that as soon as you buy a new car you see it all over the road or that when you or your wife get pregnant, you suddenly start seeing pregnant women everywhere?

This is called selective perception. The Trigger Events we experience change what we see. Every time we experience a Trigger Event a new version of selective perception is created. We begin to notice things that were always there. We just did not ‘see’ them.

Why is this important? By focusing your marketing on getting the attention of those who recently experienced a Trigger Event not only will your marketing be more likely to be ‘seen’, its more likely to resonate with the decision maker and cause them to act.

You get their attention by using words, visuals, or scenarios, that will make your marketing jump off of the page and get noticed by those readers who recently experience a Trigger Event and are most likely to become your customers.

The next time you craft a message, harness the power of Trigger Event Marketing™ to focus on the audience that recently experienced a Trigger Event. Remember to use a call to action so that when they see it, they will take that most important step to becoming your customer – phoning you.

Here are  few examples:

• Getting pregnant
• Getting a raise
• Getting engaged
• Getting a new job

If you are asking yourself why am I not using B2B examples, It’s because I have not been able to find any. If you know of any please comment on this blog post and provide a link to your example.

For me it’s always fun to find people who just ‘get it’.

The Trigger Event of me starting this blog post on using Trigger Events in marketing had me seeing blogs that talked about – you guessed it – using Trigger Events in marketing.

One article by Doug Kessler the Creative Director of a B2B Marketing Agency which says “Trigger Marketing … can be the most powerful Huskie in your B2B marketing dogsled” stood out from the rest.

Doug’s article provides some excellent insights and ideas on how to implement Trigger Event Marketing™.

Here is a link to his article B2B content marketing around Buying Triggers

While on the Velocity Partner’s website be sure to checked out their B2B Marketing Manifesto that talks about:

• 3 new realities of B2B Marketing
• The REAL B2B marketing challenge
• 5 B2B imperatives
• 6 B2B staples

P.S. They also have a B2B Content Marketing Workbook that I like.

Join us on September 13^th as thought leaders Mark Hunter, Craig Elias, and Steve Connolly share 3 Ways to Eliminate the Price Objection. (See the bios below.)

You don’t want to miss this FREE Online Event at 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM PDT | 2:00PM -3 :00PM EDT on Tuesday, September 13, 2011.

Register even if you can’t make the live event because all registrants will receive links to the recording and handout from the event.

Click the button or below to sign up now!

http://bit.ly/NoMoreDiscounting

Learn more about the 3 speakers below!

Mark Hunter, “The Sales Hunter,” helps B2B sales professionals close more high profit sales by identifying better prospects, building profitable long-term customer relationships, and negotiating mutually beneficial strategic partnerships.

Mark has conducted thousands of training programs to organizations like BP, Novartis, Northrop-Grumman, American Express, and Kawasaki. His book High Profit Selling is due out in December of this year

Steven Connolly is a 15 year veteran of B2B product management and is currently the Senior Product Manager responsible for the revolutionary new sales tool iSell.

Steven is a frequent presenter on sales topics such as using social media for increasing sales as well as best practices for prospecting and lead generation.

Craig Elias is the creator of Trigger Event Selling™ and author of the Bronze Medal winner of the Top Sales Books of 2010 “SHiFT!“ 

His knowledge of Trigger Events has resulted in a 20-year track record as a top sales performer, winning a $1,000,000 prize in a global billion dollar idea competition, having his last company chosen by Dow Jones as one of the 50 most promising companies in North America, and coverage on NBC, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal.

This blog post is about three things:

• The three best Trigger Events to watch for
• Golden sales strategies of top performers with Art Sobczak
• Selling to the C-Suite – My first of two podcasts with Steve Bistritz

This blog post is about three things:

1. The #4 Sales 2.0 Tool – Lattice Engines
2. The next two webinars – First one on January 25^th
3. Trigger Buzz #6 – Tonight: Customer retention

In my last blog post I gave what I think are the top 3 questions to ask a prospect when they complete a web form. E.g. a self-serve pricing form powered by my #5 Sales 2.0 tool EchoQuote.

That blog post was a personal learning ‘event’ – I now know that I should provide my answers to the questions asked each month not just solicit answers from the almost 6,500 readers of this blog.

So from this point forward, my blog post on the last Tuesday of the month will include my perspective on the question of the month.

Next Two Webinars

January 25^th (9:00AM PST | 12:00PM EST) is the next in a series of webinars with OneSource – the providers of iSell: The gold medal winner of the top Sales 2.0 tools of 2010. iSell by OneSource is my favourite supplier of Trigger Event alerts. One of the reasons it’s my favourite is that its’ more than an aggregator of news and social media information.  It also proactively monitors over 300,000 company web sites to see what has recently been added or removed. The second speaker will be finalized later this week.

February 8^th (9:00AM PST | 12:00PM EST) Lattice Engines will host a webinar with a special guest from the CRM industry and myself. This webinar will share insights on how to  effectively sell into the SMB Market.

I’m currently working on getting all future webinars listed at http://TriggerEventWebinars.com – which should be completed by this weekend.

Trigger Buzz #6 – Customer Retention

As a result of numerous requests, tonight’s Trigger Buzz will be focused on how to KEEP YOUR BEST CUSTOMERS.

What are the Trigger Events that cause customers to leave and what can organizations do to prevent or mitigate these Trigger Events in order to grow faster.

Follow TriggerBuzz on Twitter and once I follow you back you can submit your questions by sending a direct message to @TriggerBuzz

Details on TriggerBuzz and how it works can be found at http://ShiftSelling.com/TriggerBuzz.

Have an eventful week!

Craig

This blog post contains 3 items:

• Form fill follow-up strategies – The three best questions to ask
• 2011 webinar schedule – One every month of 2011
• Trigger Buzz #6 – Tuesday January 4th  @ 6:00PM Pacific

I received so much positive feedback from the webinars I did in the last half of 2010 that I am putting together a series of webinars for every month in 2011 (except July and August). The first webinar is scheduled for January 25th @ 9:00AM PST | 12:00PM EST. All other webinars will be scheduled for the 2nd Tuesday of the month at 9:00AM Pacific | 12:00PM Eastern.

Each webinar will feature a second presenter and a technology solution you can use to implement the insights shared by myself and the second speaker.

You can see the current schedule for January to June at http://TriggerEventWebinars.com

So far I have speakers and technologies for the January to June webinars. Please contact me by phone (+1.403.874.2998) , Skype (Craig.Elias) email (Craig.Elias@ShiftSelling.com) or this contact form if you have a speaker or a serice you would like to see included in the September – December webinars.

TriggerBuzz #6

Tuesday January 4th – from 9:00PM-9:30PM Eastern (6:00PM-6:30PM Pacific) is the sixth edition of TriggerBuzz.

Get your prospecting questions answered by following @TriggerBuzz on Twitter. To submit your questions, once I follow you back, you need to send a direct message to @TriggerBuzz.

Details and instructions can be found at ShiftSelling.com/TriggerBuzz

Have an eventful New Years Eve!

Craig

Next Tuesday is the second in a series of three no-charge webinars on how to harness the Trigger Events that TURN PROSPECTS INTO CUSTOMERS.

The webinar is being held from 10-11AM Pacific (1-2PM Eastern) this coming Tuesday – August 10th. Here is the link to register for  this Tuesday’s webinar.

The last in the series – 5 Keys to Accelerating Sales with Industry Sales Triggers – will be held from 10-11AM Pacific (1-2PM Eastern) on Tuesday September 14th. Here is the link to register for both webinars.

I’m still holidaying in Ontario’s cottage country so I won’t start blogging on my next topic “The Top Seven Sales 2.0 Tools” until the first Tuesday of September. In the meantime here are couple of articles on the importance of Trigger Events by Kendra Lee & Jack Vincent:

• Using Triggering Events to Grab Sales Prospects’ Attention
• Make a “Cold Call” Warmer – The Triggering Event

Have an eventful August!

Tibor Shanto and I will be revealing the secrets of Trigger Event Selling^â„¢ during a three part no-charge webinar series. Why three webinars you ask?

We are doing three webinars so:

• You can consume more content without feeling like you are drinking from a fire hose
• You can learn to crawl, before we ask you to walk, and then challenge you to run
• We can give more examples so you can see that no matter what you sell, who you sell it to, or where you sell, Trigger Events are highly relevant to becoming and staying a top sales performer

During the series we’ll show you how to:

- Exploit Untapped Opportunities: 3 Strategies for Using Executive Sales Triggers
- Land Your Target: 4 Ways to Win More Deals Using Company-Based Sales Triggers
- Shorten Your Sales Cycles: 5 Keys to Accelerating Sales with Industry Sales Triggers

Each webinar will share the secrets of Trigger Event Sellingâ„¢ and show you tools you can use to get started right away.

The webinars are held from 10-11AM Pacific (1-2PM Eastern) on the 2nd Tuesday of July, August, and September (July 13, August 10, September 14)

The link to learn about and register for all three webinars is http://TriggerEventWebinars.com

The link to register for just the first one is http://TriggerWebinar.com

Contact me by phone (+1.403.874.2998), Skype (Craig.Elias) or email (Craig.Elias@ShiftSelling.com) if you have ANY questions.

P.S. For those of you who don’t know Tibor Shanto he is the co-author of my Trigger Event Selling™ book called SHiFT! Harness The Trigger Events That TURN PREOSPECTS INTO CUSTOMERS that will be available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble,and  Chapters by early August.

This blog post is about three things:

• My Trigger Event Sellingâ„¢ session at the Sales 2.0 Conference in Boston on June 28^th
• The upcoming book launch for the Trigger Event Sellingâ„¢ book SHiFT!
• A three-part,  no-charge, webinar series on how to harness Trigger Events to turn prospects into customers

Boston

I will be speaking at the Sales 2.0 Conference East on June 28^th in the Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel.

I speak from 3:15 to 4:15 on how to Find Hidden Opportunities & Shorten Sales Cycles by Harnessing Triggers Events.

During that session I will:

1. Detail some of my latest Trigger Event Sellingâ„¢ strategies
2. Provide information on a number of creative Trigger Event alert options
3. Give away 80 copies of the preview version of my upcoming Trigger Event Sellingâ„¢ book SHiFT! Harness The Trigger Events That TURN PROSPECTS INTO CUSTOMERS
4. Share information of my upcoming three-part,  no-charge, webinar series with Tibor Shanto, the co-author of my book.

Call or text my cell phone number (+1.403.874.2998) if you are attending the Sales 2.0 Conference and would like to connect in person at the conference.

Book Launch

Now that my Trigger Event book SHiFT! has gone through the final approval processes with the publisher and the logistics company, it should be added to all the major online and offline book stores by late August or early September.

With endorsements from Steven M.R. Covey, Keith Ferrazzi, Dr. Ivan Misner, Gerhard Gschwandtner, Tim Draper we look forward to helping forward thinking sales and marketing professionals grow sales faster by harnessing Trigger Events to get in front of highly motivated decision makers at EXACTLY the right time.

Not wanting to wait until September to launch the book, 80 copies of the preview version of the book will be available to participants of the Trigger Event session at the Sales 2.0 Conference in Boston and the first five people who call and share a success story about how they used Trigger Events to close a big sale. If you get my voice mail be sure to leave a message.

Three Part Webinar Series

On Tuesday July 13^th Tibor Shanto and I will be delivering the first of three webinars (one each on the three major types of Business-To-Business Trigger Events).

The first webinar “Exploiting Untapped Opportunities: 3 Strategies for Using Executive Sales Triggers” will share insights into the many Business-To-Business sales opportunities created by a single executive change and discuss unique strategies to gain an unfair advantage over your competition when executive changes happen.

Each one-hour webinar starts at 1:00PM Eastern / 10:00AM Pacific on the 2nd Tuesday of every month – July 13^th, August 10^th, September 14^th.

Stay tuned for registration links for the other two on webinars.

Have an Eventful week!

Craig

Congratulations to the winner of $1,500 worth of Trigger Event services – Artem Brazgovsky. Artem won when his answer to the question related to the #4 Mistake Sales People Make received the most votes. Take a look at the post as over 20 different people provided insights and ideas on how to become a decision maker’s Emotional Favourite and get called first when a Trigger Event puts them into the Window of Dissatisfaction.

Stay tuned next week as I make available $1,500 worth of Trigger Event services to the person with the most votes for their answer a question that is related to The #3 Mistake Sales People make.

Till then, here is the link to a FREE Trigger Event Webinar being sponsored by sponsored by Dow Jones the providers of SalesWorks and G2. The webinar goes from 12:00-12:45 Eastern (9:00-9:45 Pacific) on Tuesday, February 17^th.

The webinar features Frank Filippo the Executive Director of Product Management at Dow Jones, Craig Elias the creator of Trigger Event Sellingâ„¢, and is being hosted by the President of Trinity Marketing, Tuck Mixon.

Registrants have the chance to win over $3,000 in prizes and are eligible for a free trial of Dow Jones’ G2.

The recording of the webinar will also be made available to those who register for this no-charge webinar.

Contact me by phone (+1.403.874.2998), Skype (Craig.Elias) or by using the contact form on this site if you have ANY questions.

Have an EVENTFUL week!

Craig

Update: The link to the recording and the handout for this webinar “Timing: The Silver Bullet in Sales” will be emailed to you when you download the ‘Won Sales Analysis” template and instructions.

Join 1,000+ entrepreneurs, business leaders, and sales & marketing professionals at 10:00AM (Pacific) on September 17^th for a no-charge webinar being hosted by JigSaw. During this 30 minute webinar I will prove that there is a Silver Bullet in sales.

Webinar Details -There is a Silver Bullet in Sales

For years you’ve been told that there is no such thing as a silver bullet in sales.

But there is. It’s called timing – getting in front of the right person at EXACTLY the right time.

When you have the right timing the sale almost happens by itself – No challenges getting to the decision maker, understanding their dissatisfaction, presenting a solution, or closing the sale.

In this 30 minute webinar Craig Elias will show you how events that trigger the buying process – Trigger Events – convert someone who never would have bought from you yesterday, into someone highly likely to become your customer today.

When you leverage Trigger Events to get in front of highly motivated, buyers before your competition you dramatically:

• Increase your close ratios
• Shorten your sales cycles
• Sell at higher prices

This no-charge webinar will show you the secrets of getting to decision makers at EXACTLY the right time by:

1. Identifying what the right timing is
2. Learning how to get the right timing
3. Understanding what to do when you do have the right timing

You’ll also learn:

• The three types of Trigger Events that create highly motivated buyers
• The specific Trigger Events that create highly motivated buyers for what you sell

Register even if you can’t make the live webinar so you receive the recording of the webinar and a chance to win $1,500 worth of my time.

P.S. On September 2^nd the winners of the four tickets for the Art of Sales happening in Calgary on September 25^th – Terry Tudor (1 ticket), Tammy Dowd (1 ticket), and Kae Shoommugum (2 tickets) – were notified by email as were the rest of the over 120 who entered their name in the draw.

Jed (a hypothetical salesperson) keeps getting what sound like positive buying signals with his prospecting calls. Somehow, though, he’s not getting very far.

“People tell me to call back in two months, four months, six months, when they will be looking at this problem” he says, perplexed. “When I call back, I get people telling me how glad they are that I called … but my close ratio is low, and my sales cycles are way too long. What’s going on?”

In response, I would give Jed the following advice.

“Jed, when you cold call someone in an attempt to sell them something, you’re interrupting that person’s day. The dominant instinct is always going to be for that person to find any reason to get off the phone and get back to what they were doing before you interrupted them.

“Your goal has to be to maintain your poise and get past that first fifteen to thirty seconds of the initial call … which is always going to be a little bumpy.

“BUT — the reason you’re riding out those first fifteen to thirty seconds is not so you can try to turn the person into a short term prospect on the spot!

“Actually, you’re trying to discover if this person has experienced a Trigger Event. If there has been such an event you want to find out what it was and when it happened. The Trigger Event could have taken place quite a while ago, it could have happened only recently, or it could still be on the horizon.

“These Trigger Events typically fall into one of three categories:

1. Bad Experience: The buyer has a bad experience with a product/service, with people, or with a provider. For instance, there may have been a product/service change that creates dissatisfaction.
2. Change / Transition: The buyer has a change or transition in people, places, or priorities. For instance, there may have been a change in the buyer at an account.
3. Awareness: The buyer becomes aware of the need to change for legal, risk-avoidance, or economic reasons. For instance: The person may have a new understanding that buying from someone like you is less risky than continuing to buy the existing solution.

“During the first minute of your call, use the opportunity to understand which of the following three buying modes the buyer is in:

“Status Quo: The buyer is completely happy with what he or she currently has. There has not been a Trigger Event in the recent past, but there may be one on the horizon. You may think this person is a waste of time and may want to move on to the next person on your list. Actually, if this person has money, authority, and influence, this is a great long-term opportunity. A strategy for this type of call is to start the relationship building process. I would also suggest that you check back in on a monthly basis to see if a Trigger Event has recently happened.

“Searching For Alternatives: This person is unhappy with what he or she has, has spoken to several suppliers, and probably already has a favorite. A Trigger Event took place a while ago, and they’ve already taken action on it. You may think that this is a short-term opportunity … because the buyer is actively talking to a number of potential suppliers. This is in fact probably a medium term opportunity … because it is highly likely this buyer already has a first choice! Selling to buyers under these conditions typically results in a lower close ratio and a longer sales cycle – exactly the problem that you are experiencing. A strategy for this type of call is to position yourself as the buyer’s number-two choice — so you get called first if the buyer’s current favorite falters. You should check back every other week to see where you stand.

“Window of Dissatisfaction: A Trigger Event has recently taken place and this buyer knows that what they are currently using is no longer sufficient, but has not done anything about it yet. Because they tell you to call back in two months, four months, or six months you make a note to do that and move on to the next person on your list. Wrong answer! This is actually a short term opportunity, because the buyer is not talking to your competition — yet. When you call back a few months later, even if you call a few weeks early thinking it will give you and edge, it’s very likely they will already be talking to your competition. The strategy for this type of call is to identify the business opportunity and pursue it immediately — with as much happening on this initial call as possible and future contact taking place in the very near future. You must find a way to push a little bit and learn more about the Trigger Event, then try to set a near-term course of action.

“As it stands, Jed, you are focusing on those people who are already talking to your competition … and missing the biggest opportunities: those buyers in the Window of Dissatisfaction, who recently experienced a Trigger Event and have not started talking to your competition. That’s why your numbers are as bad as they are; that’s also why your sales cycles are so long.

“Jed, you need to do a better job of ‘staying on your feet’ for the first thirty seconds or so of the call — long enough to ask a couple of questions that will help you learn whether the person has:

• Not experienced a Trigger Event in a long time
• Experienced a Trigger Event a while ago and already doing something about it
• Recently experienced a Trigger Event and has done nothing about it –– yet

“Once you learn if, and when, a buyer has experienced a Trigger Event you can apply the appropriate strategy. When you do that, and focus FIRST on those people in the Window of Dissatisfaction, who recently experienced a Trigger Event and have done nothing about it yet, you will have a much higher close ratio … and you’ll have much shorter sales cycles!”

Other Trigger Event Resources to Consider

I scour the Internet searching for ideas, resources, articles, and success stories about leveraging Trigger Events to outsell the competition. This time I want to share with a resource over at Customer Think titled Seeing Through the ‘Window of Discontent’.

I encourage you to get together with others and brainstorm on ways to capitalize on Trigger Events to outsell your competition. Contact me when you have ideas, resources, or success stories about leveraging Trigger Events that you want to share with the over 2,700 entrepreneurs, business leaders, and sales and marketing professionals who subscribe to this blog.

This week’s winner of a no-charge webinar for 20 people is Steve Duncan. Since I don’t contact the winners, if you know Steve Duncan let him know he has won a custom webinar on Trigger Events for 20 people and that you would like to be one of the twenty participants. He has until 5:00PM Mountain time on Friday July 11th to collect his prize.

If you want to chance to win in the future you need to subscribe to the Trigger Event blog via email.

Have an eventful week!

Craig