EXECUTIVE CONVERSATION PUBLISHES
NEW eBOOK: CLOUDY, WITH A CHANCE OF RAINMAKING
Outlines model for selling cloud solutions to business decision-makers
SEATTLE, WA – September 12, 2011. Executive Conversation, a global learning and sales consultancy, today released its latest eBook,
Cloudy, with a chance of Rainmaking.
“Cloudy was written as a guide to help organizations translate the value of their transformative technology into performance improving investments business buyers can understand,” said author Eric Beckman, EVP of Marketing and Strategy. “Those possessing the acumen to position cloud solutions as integral to their customer’s business — versus purely delivering cost savings — will reap rich rewards.”
Making the business translation
Adoption of cloud computing presents today’s sales professionals with one of the greatest opportunities in decades. However, translating technical solutions into business value pushes many sellers well out of their comfort zones. This is particularly true with cloud computing where value often hinges on fundamentally changing an account’s operating model.
Positioning the business value of any solution
While the eBook is primarily about selling technology to business decision-makers, it answers the questions:
- What drivers compel business decision-makers to invest in new technology?
- How can sales organizations ready themselves to align with those drivers?
Moving to the cloud is both a business and technical decision
Multiple stakeholders — executives, division heads, owners — get involved in cloud decision-making. These business decision-makers view cloud adoption through the same lens as any investment: how will it measurably improve performance? “We’re seeing a growing number of ‘no decision’ opportunities stuck in sales pipelines, continued Beckman. “Preventing those from becoming missed opportunities is the aim of this paper.”
Cloudy has 3 parts
- Part I looks at flaws in the prevailing way companies market and sell transformative technology. It reveals why these approaches are often incompatible with the buyer’s perspective and result in unnecessarily long sales cycles.
- Part II introduces a selling model grounded in the core reason organizations invest in anything: to improve performance. Be it profitability, cash flow, margins or social good, this model is designed to convey a solution’s ability to positively change an account’s business.
- Part III provides guidance for applying the concepts discussed in this paper to your accounts and opportunities. You’ll also find everything from an assessment to test your personal fluency, to a Twitter-ready summary to share this paper with others.
About Executive Conversation
Executive Conversation, Inc. works with sales organizations to build business acumen for effectively engaging and selling to customer executives. Customers around the world choose Executive Conversation for our demonstrated ability to deliver training solutions that help them achieve their business objectives. Our framework integrates learning, via online and face-to-face executive-led instruction; application, via performance simulations, engaging with our Consulting Executives, and on-the-job application plans; and measurement, via assessments to track skills development. Tailored for sales managers, account managers, channel managers, and those selling to public-sector organizations, our solutions are conveniently available in three ways: online executive-led workshops; online self-paced Know it Now learning; and face-to-face, executive-led workshops, which have been delivered in over 60 countries and are available in seven languages. Executive Conversation is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, with regional headquarters in London and Singapore.
Contact
Eric Beckman
Executive Conversation, Inc.
Executive Vice President of Marketing and Strategy
ericb@conversation.com
206.219.1447