While it’s been a while since I wrote, I recently had an experience worth sharing. Last Thursday I was scheduled to meet with Rick Roberge. He was fighting through the traffic cause by Storrow Drive being closed. We were to be meeting in person, however we settled for meeting via phone.
As I spoke with Rick, the door to the conference room opened. At HubSpot, we’re infamous for having a shortage of meeting rooms. It was Mark Roberge and Jill Konrath entering the room. Of course I recognized her right away (holly crap that’s Jill Konrath!) and assumed they were in need of a room. Although in mid conversation with Rick, I stood to offer the room. I had no idea Rick was the mastermind behind this meeting until Mark told me Jill was there to meet with Rick and I.
For those of you not yet familiar with Jill’s work, she’s the author of SNAP Selling and Selling to Big Companies among other accomplishments. Anyone would jump at the opportunity to pick her well tenured sales brain. That’s just what I did. This is when I learned her expression "movers and shakers".
I asked Jill what is the number one thing she looks for when determining if she should spend her time with an influencer. She answered, “if they are a mover and a shaker”. In other words, does this person get shit done? Do they take initiative? Are they proactive instead of reactive? It’s true and brilliant in its simplicity.
Here are some questions to determine if your influencer is a mover and a shaker:
- What projects are you working on now? Who asked to work on those or how did they come about?
- What was the last project you started? How’d it end up?
- Who wants to make a change to the way you’re currently doing things?
- What was the last service you were involved purchasing? Why were you involved in that decision?
- When was the last time you initiated a change/purchase? Why did you initiate it?
- Tell me about your job role. Was that all in the job description or do you take on more responsibilities? If so, why?
- How did evaluating these types of solutions come about?
Any of the above questions would help you uncover if you have a mover and a shaker on your hands. Why is this so important? Time management as a rep is a required skill for success and survival. Jill mentioned most deals she works on will close. She was not bragging, merely demonstrating by identifying who to spend her time with, yields a much higher probability of purchase.
