Focus

Connect with the world's leading business experts.

Get instant access to their expertise via world–class Q&A, Research, and Events.

Dave Brock

Follow Following Unfollow

President and CEO, Partners In EXCELLENCE

2342 points

Dave Brock is a recognized thought leader in sales, business, channel, alliance, partnering strategies and execution. He works with Global 1000 companies in helping them OutSell and OutPerform their competition.

Dave has held executive positions with IBM, Tektronix, Keithley Instruments ...

Dave Brock is a recognized thought leader in sales, business, channel, alliance, partnering strategies and execution. He works with Global 1000 companies in helping them OutSell and OutPerform their competition.

Dave has held executive positions with IBM, Tektronix, Keithley Instruments. He serves on the boards of early stage high technology companies, as well as several not for profit organziations and industry groups.

» read more » read less

WEB: PiE Website

Dave Brock asked a question

Feb. 8, 2012

How should senior executives be spending their time? Where do they have the greatest impact?

Sales Management

Dave Brock and 4 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Feb. 8, 2012

20 Years of Selling—A Discussion of Truth [2/3 @ 11 am]

I've been hearing a lot about social selling lately- do you see this becoming a main practice for sales reps?

Without meaning to be nasty, this question is kind of like asking, "Do you think the telephone is important for sales?" Social media represents a set of tools to understand and engage customers and prospects.
The key issue is really not social media, but "where ... more

Marketing Technology

Dave Brock and 1 other person answered this question

Feb. 6, 2012

Are your company's sales cycles growing longer or shorter? Why?

I understand Scott's view--but have a slightly different view. It may be colored by the clients we work with. In some sense sales cycles are getting longer--sales people are getting engaged earlier than they have traditionally, getting customers to consider ideas, new approaches. The customer ... more

Sales Management

Dave Brock and 3 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Feb. 6, 2012

20 Years of Selling—A Discussion of Truth [2/3 @ 11 am]

With so many channels, what is the most effective method to reach B2B prospects today (phone, Focus, Facebook, Twitter, etc.)?

Steven, Good question. Also I think you may have mistaken Pat's response. You do have to hang out where youra customer's hang out---but that's where they hang out for information about products and services you sell. So while many of us have FB accounts, that ... more

Marketing Technology

Dave Brock answered this question

Feb. 5, 2012

Can marketing deliver on its contribution to challenge sale success?

Great topic and questions Dean. I think you've captured one of the key issues organizations will have with Challenger. I've said before that Challenger is really a business strategy, not a solution selling strategy Without the support of product marketing/management, marketing, customer service, etc, the ... more

Dave Brock and 7 other people answered this question

Feb. 1, 2012

Have you made a sale using social media? Tell us your success stories!

Social media has been an important part of a number of sales, but has never been the exclusive component. We have a several tiered strategy to progressively increase the engagement with the prospect and ultimately find, qualify and sell a deal.
Places like Twitter, Linkedin ... more

Dave Brock and 4 other people answered this question

Feb. 1, 2012

What is the most effective way to secure a meeting with higher ups in a company?

Jake: I'm a little confused by the question, I think you want to introduce a new product that your company is launching to a high level executive and you are looking for advice on how to get the meeting. So I'll provide thoughts on that. ... more

Sales Strategies

Dave Brock and 2 other people answered this question

Feb. 1, 2012

Do strategic partnerships trump the sales process?

Dean, this is a really interesting set of topics. To a large degree I think this is an apples and oranges discussion. What strategic partnerships do, effective partnering and managing strategic partnerships is different than selling (and the inherent criticality for an effective sales process). ... more

Strategic Partnerships

Dave Brock recommends this answer by Dave Kurlan

Feb. 1, 2012

What are the most meaningless sales metrics you have seen?

The metrics must be those that drive results, but early enough in the sales process so that leadership can make mid-course corrections. I always dispised "attempts" or "dials" as metrics because they tend to be discouraging and demotivating.
Most important, the metrics don't need to ... more

Sales Management

Dave Brock and 3 other people answered this question

Feb. 1, 2012

Would you recommend having different support packages based upon customer's profit levels?

Craig, it's an interesting question. I think it's good to differentiate levels of support by customer category. However, I' not sure that I would use the criteria you outline, it might create a shortsightedness about the potential value of a customer.
For example, I would ... more

Customer Service

Customer Experience

Customer Loyalty

Dave Brock recommends this answer by J M B

Jan. 26, 2012

How do you deal with "entitlement" in sales compensation plans?

In the school of hard knocks, my grandfather once told me, "I don't pay for time, I pay for performance." He was referring to my brokerage commission for a commercial property he owned that I was unable to sell before my listing agreement expired. It ... more

Sales Management

Dave Brock and 6 other people answered this question

Jan. 24, 2012

When training new sales reps, how important is it to showcase the successes of other reps?

Great question Lauren. Probably the reality is that we learn more from our peers than we tend to learn from a trainer. Sales people are always sharing stories, methods, ideas, and approaches. They are learnging from each other. Sometimes the natural competitive spirit kicks in--"If ... more

Sales Management

Dave Brock recommends this answer by Dave Kurlan

Jan. 24, 2012

How will technology continue to change the roll of the sales rep?

Technology won't so much change the role, as it will make sales reps more efficient. Sell and meet from the desktop rather than get on a plane or drive for 3 hours. Share samples, drawings, information live over the internet. Conduct a virtual sales call ... more

Lead Management

Dave Brock recommends this answer by Yuliya Karnaukh

Jan. 20, 2012

What is more important for a company: a well designed logo or a good chosen name?

I would say neither/nor. It does not really matter what the company's name is or the logo looks like unless it's something really abusing or highly unappropriated. IMHO what matters is how it positioned, branded and promoted later on. Plus how good of a product ... more

Branding & Identity

Dave Brock and 3 other people answered this question

Jan. 20, 2012

What three things are necessary to build a customer-centric business?

There are lots of important things that have been mentioned by others, but I think there are some preconditions to being really customer-centric:
1. It has to be part of your company's DNA--your culture and value system have to be built around customer centricity.
2. ... more

Customer Centric

Customer Centric Strategies

Marketing Strategies

Dave Brock and 4 other people answered this question

Jan. 20, 2012

What are the main tools you use to communicate with your customers?

Without meaning to be evasive, it's important to use the mix of tools appropriate for the situation, objective, customers (individuals and enterprises). Jim, outlines a number of alternatives depending on mass or one to one. We also have to look at how our customers like ... more

Customer Service

Dave Brock recommends this answer by Craig Rosenberg

Jan. 20, 2012

Given that drip marketing and nurturing is at the forefront at organizations, do salespeople need to be pushy? Prospects are raising their hand.

There is this conflict brewing being driven by the marketing blogo-media that somehow marketing will "handle everything" until the end when the buyer walks in the store and wants to buy your solution. Under this scenario dreamers feel like they can have this "never-never land" ... more

Future Selling Institute

Dave Brock and 4 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Jan. 19, 2012

Power of “Face-to-Face” in a Technology World [1/24 @ 11 am]

Do you eliminate candidates from positions that are not a match to their previous titles?

Bruce's response is outstanding. Before interviewing people, it's critical to be very clear about what you are looking for. Typically, these include work experience and past job responsibilities. If a person's job titles don't match, but in explaining the work experience it aligns with the ... more

Dave Brock and 1 other person answered this question at this roundtable

Jan. 18, 2012

FSI Sales Office Hours: Sales People Need To Be More Pushy! [1/19 @ 1 pm]

What about the philosophy of low-pressured selling? Does this 'pushy' approach make it obsolete?

Cale, great question--this concept of pushiness is often misunderstood. "Rationality, sincerity" are keys to being successfully "pushy." The notion I tend to think of in Pushiness is a continued and intense focus on the customer, what they are trying to achieve, and how to make ... more

Future Selling Institute

Dave Brock recommends this answer by Carlos Hidalgo

Jan. 17, 2012

Should salespeople drive marketing, or should marketing drive sales? Who should be at the wheel?

Fred: Great questions and great answer by David Brock. David once said something that I have used repeatedly regarding at what group is driving whom and that is that both marketing and sales need to align and drive around the customer. As he stated this ... more

Dave Brock and 1 other person answered this question at this roundtable

Jan. 17, 2012

Top Technology Marketers to Watch in 2012 [1/10 @ 1 pm]

Are there any innovations in the B2C world that the B2B realm can adopt for their uses?

This is a great question Nicholas--though it's hard to answer with a lot of specifics since much is situation dependent. I think B2B folks tend to miss a lot of opportunity by not looking at things that B2C does and adapting them to their markets/businesses ... more

Dave Brock answered this question

Jan. 17, 2012

What are the pit-falls for an Open ended Sales performance?

Interesting premise Soumik, I'm not sure I agree. A couple of thoughts: In reality, I seldom see the compensation and goal setting plans as an inhibitor to selling as much as you possibly can--with no limit to top end performance.
There are several reasons---capped compensation ... more

Sales Enablement Tactics

Following 3 Topics

Sales Management

Following 43 People

Followed by 351 People

Knowledgeable in 144 Topics

#2 of 1982

Sales Management

#1 of 460

#28 of 2755

Human Resources

#22 of 1382

#2 of 208

#3 of 193

General Management

#32 of 1194

#39 of 1211

#5 of 418

Customer Service

#25 of 741

#24 of 813

Sales Enablement

#5 of 140

#2 of 102

#26 of 619

#2 of 54

#18 of 249

#79 of 1411

#3 of 111

#16 of 340

Sales Strategies

#2 of 83

#7 of 127

Customer Experience Management

#5 of 101

#5 of 99

#24 of 302

#34 of 338

#22 of 314

#3 of 20

Sales Performance

#3 of 25

#20 of 223

Work Life Balance

#3 of 51

Social Media Marketing

#20 of 313

#2 of 46

#2 of 29

#2 of 20

#5 of 35

Decision Makers

#1 of 25

Lead Management

#29 of 223

Information Technology

#310 of 2263

#26 of 391

#19 of 188

#62 of 457

Public Relations

#20 of 155

#2 of 47

#14 of 124

#6 of 40

#5 of 64

Business Development

#2 of 38

Sales Enablement Tools

#4 of 30

#13 of 117

Sales Operations

#9 of 65

#41 of 257

Marketing Automation

#110 of 497

#17 of 112

#2 of 42

Enterprise Software

#12 of 83

#6 of 40

#6 of 30

#97 of 424

#196 of 703

#5 of 24

#16 of 97

Talent Management

#101 of 424

Content Marketing

#64 of 202

#15 of 62

Marketing Automation Strategy

#8 of 51

#8 of 37

#14 of 85

#126 of 496

#26 of 128

#6 of 29

Sales Professionals

#2 of 20

#148 of 437

#5 of 25

#21 of 100

#14 of 66

#4 of 29

#14 of 27

#35 of 140

#99 of 291

Product Development

#21 of 72

Time Management

#4 of 33

#14 of 37

#47 of 98

#12 of 34

#20 of 42

#45 of 130

Marketing Management

#7 of 32

#9 of 26

Market Research

#52 of 205

Motivate Salespeople

#5 of 20

Telemarketing Reps

#9 of 34

#18 of 40

Marketing Funnel

#12 of 33

Sales Training Techniques

#25 of 41

#12 of 35

#12 of 31

#36 of 89

#18 of 70

Sales and Marketing Alignment

#47 of 123

#7 of 22

Direct Marketing

#16 of 41

#97 of 252

#14 of 48

Cloud Computing

#196 of 401

#8 of 22

#9 of 24

#62 of 85

Project Management

#171 of 244

#13 of 22

#21 of 41

#22 of 32

Demand Generation

#121 of 158

#8 of 25

#30 of 38

#128 of 180

#68 of 117

#16 of 21

Venture Capital

#49 of 70

Marketing Strategy

#106 of 135

#33 of 44

#115 of 168

#13 of 20

#27 of 39

B2B Social Media

#44 of 51

Hiring Strategies

#13 of 22

Training and Development

#18 of 24

Employee Relations

#20 of 32

Team Leadership

#31 of 53

#35 of 41

#40 of 67

Inside Sales Management

#16 of 23

#173 of 211

Sales Presentation

#21 of 22

Sales Training/development

#26 of 30

#27 of 57

Company Culture

#70 of 137

Influencer Marketing

#23 of 32

#12 of 25

Demand Generation Strategy

#22 of 31

#20 of 64

#13 of 20

#19 of 28

#57 of 60

#149 of 166