As we move into Q4, and leadership teams begin thinking about budgeting and strategic planning for 2012, it’s an opportune time to take a close look at your business development team’s make-up and activities, and more specifically your sales process.  In my opinion the most valuable exercise you can perform this quarter is to map your product and/or service’s sales process to the buying decision process stages of your target audience(s).  The art of effective selling requires a well-choreographed set of moves.  If you try to jump or skip critical steps most likely you’ll stumble, sometimes irreparably.  People buy from people, but more importantly from people they trust.  There are many formulas out there that identify the stages of a buying decision, and the steps necessary to close the deal.  One of my personal favorites is The Action Selling Process by Duane Sparks.  I’m curious… What other sales process models are being used successfully by those in the industry?

This morning my computer was jammed with a slew of Referral Key invites.  I was totally confused.  It appeared as if a dozen or so individuals that I am LinkedIn with via the industry sent emails with the subject line "Are you taking on new clients?"  Although flattered, it seemed to good to be true. It was.

In a quest to find out more about these "invites" I searched online for more information.  I started by reading a post by Clair Diaz Ortiz What Is Referral Key? (My Referral Key Review. Free Steak Aplenty) http://clairediazortiz.com/what-is-referral-key/

Is anyone else in the industry getting these emails?  If so, please know that if you receive an invite and it says it's from me...don't open it.