Shop Talk Podcast #16 - Robert Wiesheu on Selling in Different Cultures

For this edition of the podcast, I'm delighted to spend some time with my friend Robert Wiesheu, one of the most interesting guys I know and someone who's spent more than a decade selling to customers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. As such, he has a great perspective on what it takes to successfully sell even if you don't look or sound like the people you're selling to.

Podcast file (18.2 MB, 15min51sec)

Highlights:

1'25" Challenges in selling into different regions
5'00" Preparing to sell in a country for the first time
6'10" Is there bias against a foreign salesperson?
7'25" What to think about when preparing a product for worldwide sales
9'10" Working with in-country agents


Theme music: "Up the Coast" from West Indian Girl's album 4th and Wall.

Tags:
podcast, sales, culture

Shop Talk Podcast #15 - Scilla Andreen on the changing indie film business

The latest podcast features a discussion with Scilla Andreen, co-founder and CEO of Indieflix, about the current state and future prospects of the independent film business.

Here's Scilla's official bio:

Scilla Andreen (Filmmaker, CEO & Co-Founder IndieFlix) producer, director and Emmy nominated costume designer Scilla has deep roots in the entertainment industry and is a popular speaker and tireless champion of independent film. Scilla along with producing partner Carlo Scandiuzzi created IndieFlix, an independent film distribution and discovery site founded on the principles of community, promotion, syndication and transparency. They also created indie-fest.com and are launching the Filmmaker First Initiative. IndieFlix believes Independent films can and will be profitable. You can find IndieFlix on the web at http://www.indieflix.com.

It was a great chat. You can download it here.

Highlights:

(00:50) About the US indie market

(02:20) Options to get indie films to their audiences

(06:20) Where does a filmmaker's advance go?

(09:13) What Indieflix does

(12:03) The many ways people access films and videos today

(13:00) About the "Bridge to Everywhere"

(15:35) What is a "hit" film for Indieflix?

(19:08) Promoting the filmmaker and the story behind the film

(19:33) Making meaningful recommendations for films members might like

(21:06) "If your film is worth stealing, it must be worth something"

(22:39) Looking ahead: the future of filmmaking and film distribution

(Theme music: "Nova" by Nomo, from its album Ghost Rock)

Scilla mentioned the challenge that exists for filmmakers to get clearances to use the music they choose for the film. Today's Wall Street Journal had an interesting article about this very subject: the settlement of a lawsuit between Yoko Ono and a documentary filmmaker over the use of 15 seconds of "Imagine."

Tags:
content, distribution, filesharing, film, movies, podcast, entrepreneurism

A meeting in Boston goes awry

From The Mistake Bank.

This happened to me some years ago, but the unpleasantness of the encounter still is fresh today. And aren't all great lessons like that?

You can download the podcast here (5 minutes).

Please consider rating and reviewing The Mistake Bank for the Forrester Groundswell awards by following this link.

narrative, mistakes, meetings, Mistake Bank, customer relationships, conflict, preparation

Shop Talk Podcast #14 - Jill Konrath on selling to big companies

I had a great time talking recently with Jill Konrath, author of "Selling to Big Companies." She had a lot to say about, among other things, how some tried and true sales techniques are outmoded. Jill's website is sellingtobigcompanies.com.

Download the podcast here (20 minutes, 27 seconds).

Segments:
0:00 Introduction
0:30 The difference between selling to big companies and to small ones
1:50 What's changed in selling in the past decade?
7:30 On follow-up
9:10 On "always be closing"
11:25 Using web2.0 technology to help make sales
15:20 Learning from mistakes

(Theme music: "Nova" by NOMO, from their album "Ghost Rock")
Tags:
sales, sales improvement, podcast, lead generation, web2.0

Minipodcast with Jill Konrath: "Mr. Prospect"

From The Mistake Bank:

As a young Xerox sales trainee, Jill Konrath learned her sales demonstration script perfectly... perhaps too perfectly.

"Mr. Prospect" - 2:56


You can learn more about Jill and her work at SellingToBigCompanies.com.

Related Post:
Jill Konrath Mistake Stories

Tags:
sales, narrative, presentation, Mistake Bank

Minipodcast with John Quelch: why is marketing seen as an unseemly profession?

During our earlier podcast with Harvard Business School Professor John Quelch, co-author with Katherine Jocz of "Greater Good: How Good Marketing Makes For Better Democracy" (Harvard Business Press, 2008), we went took a brief aside to talk about how the profession of marketing is viewed by others, and by marketers themselves.

John's answer was fascinating, and can be found here (right-click to download).

You can learn more about John Quelch's research and thinking on his blog.

Other resources:
Interview with John Quelch from Personal Branding Blog
My review of "Greater Good"

(Theme music: "Up the Coast," from West Indian Girl's latest album 4th and Wall.)

Mini-podcast: Listrak's Ross Kramer on not investing in sales and marketing

An audio story from The Mistake Bank.

When Ross Kramer started his first technology business, he focused on the technical side to the exclusion of sales and marketing. In retrospect, that was a mistake.

You can download the story here.

Biography:
Ross Kramer started his first company, a web hosting firm named Vertex Internet, in his Penn State dorm room in 1997. He quickly noticed the struggles his customers were having in communicating with their customers efficiently and effectively, so he started Listrak to help with their email marketing needs. Under Ross’ direction, both companies have grown into technologically-advanced companies that are leaders in their industries.

Listrak services clients such as Daimler Chrysler, Motorola, L’Oreal and the Islands of the Bahamas from its Lititz, PA headquarters. Listrak is a two-time winner of the Central Penn Business Journal’s Top Fifty Fastest Growing Companies and the 2005 Growth Company of the Year by the Technology Council of Central PA.

Tags:
learning, Mistake Bank, sales, marketing, technology, podcast, investment