If You Don't Take Action, You Won't Get Results In this episode of the Sales Gravy Podcast, Jeb Blount and David Newman, author of Do It! Marketing and Do It! Selling, discuss exactly how to connect and engage with decision makers and avoid the "middle management trap". One of the most effective approaches that salespeople can leverage to close bigger deals is using interviews as a sales strategy to gather intelligence, build relationships, and connect with high-level decision makers. Through asking penetrating questions and providing valuable resources, consultants and salespeople can establish themselves as experts and earn the right to have pivotal conversations with their top prospects. Strategic planning and research are paramount for sales and marketing professionals, including targeting a specific market, establishing credibility, using interviews as a prospecting channel, and planning for the future. Target a specific market instead of trying to target everyone. Determine where to publish, speak, network, post, and participate in blogs, portals, forums, and communities to reach this audience. Establish credibility in one industry before expanding into others. This requires deep-dive research on market forces, disruption, and compliance regulations. When you track where the money is going, you can prepare for unexpected events and pivot when necessary. Using interviews as a prospecting channel to gather intelligence, build relationships, and connect with high-level decision makers. focusing on providing value rather than seeking approval or sounding smart during conversations with economic buyers. To plan for the future, dedicate time to strategic planning based on research, conversations, and feedback from past clients. It's important to always have a plan B in place and be ready to shift gears and change direction when necessary. By focusing on specific markets, establishing credibility, and using interviews as a prospecting channel, professionals can connect with high-level decision makers and achieve their business goals. To Sell, You Have to Take Action As a sales professional, you face a simple choice. Stay put or go out and do something. Believing that "if you build it, they will come" is a fallacy. Planning is essential, but without conversations, it won't lead to success. It's time to take action and start having those conversations. Shake hands and create familiarity with your voice, face, and message. This way, when people see you, they will recognize you and remember your message. This is where serendipity happens. The key message of David's new book, Do It! Selling is that without action, there will be no results. Leads do not come out of the blue. Sometimes these leads may seem serendipitous, but they actually result from the actions you take to create an environment conducive to generating leads. If you consistently put in effort, the universe has a way of rewarding you, but it won't reward you for simply waiting for success to come to you. Waiting around for leads to come to you is a reactive approach. Instead, you need to be proactive and actively seek fresh targets on a regular basis. The 3 PR Game Plan: Personalized, Professional, Public Relations For those who are a bit reluctant to sell, David presents a new definition for sales: 'Are you sending enough invitations to a conversation with enough of the right people about how you can help them?' This conversation may not always lead to a commercial relationship, but results in an introduction or referral. Sometimes, the person may not be the right fit at the moment, but they may come back in the future with an opportunity to work together. Therefore, it's important to put fresh prospects on your radar daily by sending enough invitations to a conversation with real people whom you can help, with the intention of opening a conversation and seeing where it goes. Enter the Three P. R. Game Plan,