Smarketing, The UK and Networking

This blog post is about three things:

1. Seven Sales and Marketing alignment strategies
2. An upcoming trip to London, UK
3. Four podcasts on networking

In my last blog post I talked about my previous top 7 lists (Top 7 Sales 2.0 Tools, Top 7 Social Media Tools, & Top 7 Sales Mistakes) and that my next top seven list will be the Top 7 Sales & Marketing alignment (aka Smarketing) strategies.

Smarketing IS NOT about trying to get people’s attention and telling them what you want to say IT IS about getting the attention of the right people and telling them what they want to hear.

So the big questions are:

• Who are the right people
• What do they want to hear
• How do you get their attention

During my first sales job the General Manager, of what was back then called AMP of Canada, told a story of 10 people on bicycles racing toward their goals versus 10 people on a bicycle built for 10 racing towards a common goal. That was the moment I realized the power of creating alignment in anorganization.

Over the next seven months I will share my top seven sales and marketing alignment (aka Smarketing) strategies. I will be using a modified version of the STP process as the framework to help you and your team align your sales and marketing activities.

The STP process is a method to create a common understanding of where you are (the current Situation), get consensus on where you want to go (the desired Target) so that you can create alignment on how you are going to get there (the Plan).

Here is the current version of the STP template that I will be modifying.

The UK

I will be joining Nick Hewer of UK’s “The Apprentice” and Jonathan Farrington in London England to be part of OneSource’s UK product launch.

All attendees will be provided with a copy of my Trigger Event Selling book – SHiFT!

I will be in London from June 19^th through to June 25^th and staying at the Park Plaza County Hall (1 Addington Street) so if you would like to connect over beverage or food while I am there just text me (+1.403.874.2998), Skype me (Craig.Elias) or send me an email ([email protected]).

Event Details

Date: Wednesday June 22nd ²⁰¹¹

Location: Vinopolis, London’s City of Wine, No.1 Bank End, London, SE1 9BU

Time: 15:30 – 19:30

http://bit.ly/TriggerLaunchUK

Nick Hewer is Alan Sugar’s right-hand man on the UK version of The Apprentice. His facial expressions, born of wonderfully dry humour and a lifetime’s business experience, tell you exactly what he thinks of the contestants.
Nick’s speech will take audiences behind the scenes of “The Apprentice”, before turning into an extended question and answer session. With The Apprentice consistently topping the ratings, this is certainly not one to miss.

Craig Elias is the creator of Trigger Event Selling and the author of SHiFT! Harness The Trigger Events That Turn Prospects into Customers. His knowledge of Trigger Events has resulted in a 20 year track record as a top sales performer.

Jonathan Farrington is a globally recognised business coach, mentor, author and consultant, who has guided hundreds of companies and more than seventy thousand frontline sales professionals and sales leaders around the world towards optimum performance levels. He is Chairman of The JF Corporation and CEO of Top Sales Associates, based in London and Paris.