Thoughts from Kevin on Vanilla Ice Cream!

Last Friday's blog titled "We're Just Selling Vanilla Ice Cream" emphasized the criticality of total focus in these final weeks of the year to delivering the simplicity of the exact and very direct business value that we're bringing to our customers and to avoid getting off focus and slowing down the sale.   "The Vanilla Idea" came from my friend and fellow board member Kevin Greene, a superb salesguy and the CEO of Tassat Group.   Kevin followed up with me after reading last Friday's blog, and I thought that it would be helpful for a couple of minutes this morning to consider his practical hands-on experience of what it takes to sell right now.  

With 40 selling Days left, success is all about focus!

1. Deliver a value proposition that delivers value at a profit to a large market.

2. That's why vanilla far outsells anything else-it's simple and inexpensive to sell.

3. Find the right buyers.  If the prospect is not interested in vanilla ice cream, move on.

4. If you can easily add sprinkles or even dip it in chocolate, go ahead, but it's still vanilla.

5. If you are going to add those sprinkles or dip it in chocolate, get paid for it.

6. If no one likes your vanilla, you have the wrong flavor or you're in the wrong business

7. Do not pretend that a more exotic, complex flavor will sell better.  

8.  Complexity in your message makes everything more difficult to sell.

9.  Smaller less profitable markets are not good places to be.

10. Dogged repetition works: it takes 21 times for a message to sink in.

Solid words of success from a sales warrior who remains on the competitive edge!

HAVE A GREAT SALES DAY TODAY! 

• Protect your time for these 40 days!
• Simplify your message & be direct! .
• Focus not on the product or the science, but on the value you deliver.

2023 SALES PLANNING 

Check out our updated sales productivity site page.  Just page down to get our 2023 edition of 
Writing the Winning Sales Plan for 2023. 

Or you can just email me, and I'll send you a free copy.  I plan on beginning the 2024 update this weekend, so if you have ideas or just want to write, let me know.      

www.derbymanagement.com  
Derby Entrepreneurship Center@Tufts.