 All right. Well, good afternoon, everybody. I'm a minute early for starting, but there's a whole bunch of slides I want to go through. So I want to go through it quickly. And as you may notice during this presentation, there's a lot of text in it. And the reason why I put a lot of text in it so I can share it afterwards, so I can read it properly and learn from it, I hope. So I won't go through all the details on all the slides, but it's more like that I've set up the slides, not with just pictures only, which is really cool, but not really interesting to read afterwards. So that's why I've set up with a lot of text so you can read through it. And I hope this helps you and enables you, basically, to grow and foster your Drupal development. My name is Michel van Velde. I'm a regular speaker at DrupalCon. Today I'm going to tell a, well, it's a story, it's a presentation about is selling Drupal an art or a science? And I walk you through a lot of theory, which will, I hopefully, bring your minds boggling and stuff, and then you'll learn from it. A short introduction. As I said, Michel van Velde, I'm the founder of Wanshu, an advertising and digital agency. We're specialized in Drupal for over 11 years, working closely with Dries on UX, on the beginning of Drupal, it's really cool. And I've been a community member for 11 years and co-organizer of the Dutch Drupal community, the German Drupal community, and, well, Splash Awards and a lot more. That's one thing I want to tell you guys. I've come up with a new initiative, which I think is really exciting. Tomorrow we're going to have the world's first Drupal PR and marketing sprint. We all know code sprints, but tomorrow we're going to write PR and marketing material so which we can share all around the globe and beat the competition. It's never been done before. So I'm really excited. It's new. And so tomorrow afternoon, I hope I see some of you at the Drupal marketing and PR sprint. All right. Okay, so let's go into the presentation. Today is selling getting more and more important. Well, there's 10 factors that actually influence selling today. Basically, with the rise of the internet, there is more global competition. Yesterday I learned there's an agency from the UK now competing on the German market because the German company was basically looking for an agency and they were not only looking on the German market, they've been looking at a broader perspective in Europe. So the competition is getting bigger. For a salesperson, and I'm going to dive into the world of salespersons today, it's getting more difficult to reach decision makers. They are being harassed by emails and stuff and phone calls, and I get them as well every day, like, oh, I want to sell you something. So it's really difficult to get past the secretaries, you know, and what's also important is that selling has become more sophisticated. And why is that? Well, because of the internet, there's so much information that most of the time our buyers are already aware of a lot of product details. So it's really becoming more difficult. Prospects are also more skeptical. The economic crisis hasn't done us really well. There's less budgets available and there's more arguments on basically how to counter-measure your offer. All right, so I started the agency 11 years ago and I knew I needed an account team to basically grow the agency. And there's been a lot of hurdles, you know, and I'm going to be really open about this and you can talk to me afterwards about all the hurdles I've been taking. I want to share some with you because at first I looked at Drupal as basically a tool and I was trying to sell Drupal as a tool, as a CMS, but over the years I've learned that's not it. You know, we're not selling a product at all, but I was hiring product sellers, you know, that try to sell products. That didn't work out that well, I can tell you. I'm really honest about that. So I dove into the world of selling at the time and I've learned there's five selling skills which I'm going to share with you. Basically there's five types of persons you can identify within your organization and there's basically five skills and you have the hunter, you have the closer, you have the consultative seller, you have the qualifier and you have the farmer. And the question is who are you? And I can ask this question every one of you is selling every day. You know, you're selling your ideas, your dreams and you know, if you want to go out for the weekend with your wife or a husband, you know, you've got to sell that idea. So we're selling basically every day, you know, and every conversation, well most of the conversation is about selling something. So the question is who are you? So let's walk through them. So basically when you are a hunter, you're looking for prospects, you know, you have a desire to meet new clients, you know, and that's what you love, that's where the energy is, you know. So you prospect consistently, you get past those secretaries, which is really important, you know, ways how to do that, you know, and you get to the decision maker and that's where it ends, you know, because that's the thrill for the hunter, you know. And he receives plenty of introductions, he will prospect, he has no need for approval, he recovers from rejection, no, I'm not interested, okay, you win some, you lose some, you move on, the problem is he's not focusing on closing the deal, you know. But you need hunters if you want to basically address a new market, you know, and build a new market, so you need the hunters. But, you know, they're not really closing the stuff, you know, and you need that signature in the end, all right. So then, yeah, the closer, you know, he gets prospects, you know, he doesn't hunt, you know, he's just dying to get that signature, you know. He gets prospects who agree to make decisions and he gets to decision makers, you know, once he's in, you know, when there's a warm lead, you know, he will grab it, you know, and he won't let go because he wants to close the deal. So if you set up a marketing campaign and leads are pouring in, you know, then it's interesting to have a closer at your office. So definitely closing urgency, he controls his emotions, no need for approval, but he won't accept put-offs. No, no, he wants that deal, all right. So then you have the consultative seller, you know. That's the person if you want to sell a solution. Now, he asks really good questions and enough questions, you know. He's listening, listening the whole time, you know, and he uncovers basically the needs of the client. So he's not presenting at inappropriate time, you know. He learns why prospects would buy, no need for approval, he does not assume, you know. There's a lot of, you know, sellers out there that make assumptions, you know, really important not to do that. And this guy definitely controls his emotions and then with the qualifier, you know, he is, you know, he knows to unravel the budget, you know, he asks good questions, he knows what the budget is, he does not assume, he has also no need for approval, and the qualifier has a supportive CRM, Customer Relationship Management in place, you know, because he qualifies lead and he does that really properly. And then there's the pharma, you know. He also has closing urgency, but he won't, you know, find you any new leads, you know. So if you have, for example, a really large client, you know, if you work for, I don't know, for DHL or Coca-Cola or any other big firm, you know, he works on that client and he's farming, you know. He's getting new projects coming in every week or month. So he won't prospect, you know, he will not look for new clients. That's just not his thing. Now, this is where it becomes really difficult, you know, in what stage of your agency are you looking for what kind of person, you know, because in the beginning I was, okay, I was making a mistake that I was hiring product sellers, you know, but Drupal is not a product, so okay, so I need a consultative seller, but okay, do I need a closer, do I need a farmer, do I need a hunter, hey, I want to grow my agency. So finding the right person is the most difficult task there is because there's so many different kind of types of account manager or salespeople. So making the right choice at the right time is really important for the success of your company. So be aware of that. Okay, so then there is, in terms of sales, the maturity model. It's a model that's created by Holden, and I walk you through it. As you have, when you start the agency, you know, you are an emerging seller, then you can move on to a solution seller, compete seller and customer advisor. These are the stages you go through, you know, and I urge you to take this into account, think of where you are, you know, how mature you are already, because if Drupal, you know, we've all listened to Dries, you know, Dries told us that Drupal is evolving, you know, into other segments, is entering a more competitive market, you know, realize where you are with your agency in the maturity model in terms of sales. Okay, so let's have a look at the emerging and product seller. The emerging and product seller, you know, we hired them in the beginning, they worked out that well. They have conversations about products and services only, you know, yes, I got Drupal, I got these modules, and live with it, you know, this is what it is. But they're not listening really well, you know, they are not like the consultative sellers we're looking for right now, because they are trying to sell you a product. So we move over to the solution seller, that's basically stage two of the Holden model. The stage two sellers, they react to demand, but they elevate the conversation to bigger business issues, you know, they take a first step, and they try to learn what the problems are within the company. That's a stage two, and I think if you look at the average Drupal agency now, we've moved on from product sellers into solution sellers. But there's more stages, you know. Then you have stage three sellers, these are the people that actually understand all the political motives within the larger companies. They know how to deal with that, you know, they listen to the problems the company is facing, the political issues, and basically they compete through political support. And that's definitely a next level. You know, you must have a sense of urgency and a feeling that you need to understand basically the politics behind the companies you work for. And then, this is where we all want to be, let me assure you that, you want to become the customer advisor. This is basically a trusted, you have to become a trusted person within the company, you know, and they create demand by establishing a cultural value for what they're selling, you know, and they actually generate business value. So they're talking about how with a new business model we can, in combination with, for example, Drupal, help you as an agency, help you as a company. So this is interesting, this is where you should go to. So basically there are several stages, the customers becoming bigger, and in terms of competitiveness, you know, I would definitely, if there's a strategy behind your company, you know, become a stage four seller. All right. So now we've identified the types of salespeople, we've identified the maturity model of your company. Let's move on in going down into the meetings they have, you know, and this has become really interesting. So let's say you've, as an account manager, you've passed the secretary, which is always the most difficult step, then you're talking to the CEO and basically you want to talk to them and basically make sure that everything you're telling, you know, actually reaches them. There are, and I urge you to read a book by Robert Kiel Dini, and I'll be sharing this presentation afterwards so you don't have to write it down. Robert Kiel Dini, he's written a brilliant book about influence and how you all are influenced every day in making decisions. So if your account manager knows, you know, the facts, you know, and all the details of it and how he is influenced, you know, you know, he can have a more constructive conversation with his client. So is selling, is it an art or a science? Is selling Drupal an art or a science? I'll come to that later, but I have an idea on that one. Okay, so let's go back to influence. Influence is basically, it's essential to selling because information alone, you know, that's what the product seller does, you know, product seller comes up, you know, here's my brochure, you know, this is what Drupal can do. That's not what persuades a person on the other side to actually buy from you, no. It's how that information is presented. So you're all sales guy, or whether you are yourself selling Drupal, you know, you should look at it, okay, how am I presenting this? Yeah, that's really important. Because survey show, and this is basically examined by the buying behaviors of 100,000 prospects, that has revealed that often a decision to purchase is based on, not on the features, but basically upon the salesperson, you know. And that's all about gaining trust. You know, trust that is the trigger is not the product, it's trust. And how do you gain trust, you know, and when you read the book about influence, you know, you read, you know, how you as a person are being influenced and you can influence. And the model by Robert Chiodini goes in, and this is an English word, I have never learned to pronounce properly, reciprocity, I think it is, is it, yeah? All right, excellent, thank you. I help you, you help me, consistency, you know, are you being consistent? Can you agree upon consensus? Liking really important, you know, the liking factor within this is really, really important. Are you being an authority? You know, being an authority helps you get the deal. You know, I always tell my people, you know, get on stage, you know, why basically people with authority are on stage. That's it, you know, and people like to buy from people with an authority. That's it. So I'm sharing this information with you and I hope to see you all next year on stage when we organize a new Drupalcon. So become an authority. Scarcity, you know, yeah, okay, we have limited amount of resources. If you want the deal, you know, you got to sign really quickly. It's little things that can help you closing the deal. And these principles are measurable, repeatable. So read the book, read the book influence. It changed my life, you know, if I'm really looking different at communication and marketing, it's definitely worth the read. Okay, I've done a negotiation course and that changed my life as well. And as many of you know, I always want to share all the knowledge I have. And the interesting bit is, and I didn't know that, that every conversation you have follows a model. And if you don't follow that model, you're in trouble. You know, conversations don't work well. Yeah, I'm going to walk you through that model and I thought it was scary at the time. It's like, okay, are we programmed like this as a person? You know, is every conversation going like this? Yes, it is. And I walk you through it and it's really interesting. The model is about negotiation phases, but I've learned it's basically every conversation goes like that. Okay, so we have four negotiation phases. And it's basically, you have a starting phase. You have an offering phase, you have a diagnose phase, and you have a closing phase. And you have to walk through them in every negotiation in this order. I can tell you a little story. You know, there's a sales guy who really wanted to work with me, you know, and he came up to me every time, hello, Mike, when are we going to do business? I'm like, well, never. He said, why? He said, you know, when you approach me, you're not setting the atmosphere for us to have a proper conversation. As you know, you're a sales guy, please come up to me and say, hello, Mike, how are you doing? That's basically phase one. It's a starting phase. You have to create an atmosphere where everybody's comfortable. And when I come home and tell my wife, hey, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. She'd be like, what? How are you doing? How was your day? And then I can tell my story, you know, if I don't do it, she'll be overwhelmed me being like, okay, there's a lot of information coming my way straight away. Always create the atmosphere, even when you're at a client or telling to your wife or husband or whatever. It's really important. So that's basically a negotiation climate you have to create. And I'm telling you about pooling and pushing. Don't push too much information in that time. But create an atmosphere where you listen. We're talking about listening, consultative selling. So then we move over to the offering phase. And this is the phase in which you get to make your position known. Okay, we've said, and this is really interesting. You're talking, hey, how are you doing? You're talking about the weather. You're talking about the kitchen, things that, you know, are personal, his personal interests or anything. And then you have to make a bridge. And that bridging thing is sometimes an awkward time. Okay, so now, okay, well, it's good to know you, and then you had a great weekend. And, okay, today we are here for negotiating, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And basically it's good to have an agenda prepared. And then you have to set your marker. It's really interesting. It says, okay, I want to sell it for you for like 100K. That's setting the marker. The other guy says, sorry mate, got budget of 60. That's on the other end, you know. And then you basically, in this phase, in the offering phase, you make your position known on where you are, what your end goal is. And then you can start negotiating. You know. And believe me, you're never on the same position. It's always giving and taking. Because it's a miracle if you come in and say, yeah, 100K, cool. Done deal. So it's always a negotiation phase. All right. So basically you're listening to his position. What do you want? And then you're telling your position. And then you can start talking about arguments. You're listening to arguments and you repeat them. Am I listening correctly that you are stating, I want this, this, and this? Yes, that's true. So you know and you uncover all the arguments for his position. And you tell him yours. Sometimes you leave some arguments behind for a later stage. And you have to be tactical about that one. Okay. So then you go into the diagnose phase. It's basically you have to build trust in this time. And you don't ask questions just to drive your dream. And it's a critical phase because you repeat what the clients needs are. You basically make sure you're on the same page. But you also state your position. And this is part of the whole deal. It's really important you do that. If you don't do that and you just jump straight to negotiation, you know, you might come in a position where your client doesn't feel hurt. You know, and if he doesn't feel hurt there's a lack of trust. And if there's lack of trust, forget the deal. So it's about listening. Okay. Then you come into the closing phase. This is where it gets excited, you know. This is where the negotiation is being finalized. You negotiate and it's about giving and taking. Okay. Suppose you have 60K but I'm offering it for 100K. Okay. We can move to 80. But this is where you chip in. It says, okay, but I can give you less. You know, I don't know. We skip the block or we skip the, I don't know, which part of the CMS you're trying to build. You know what I mean? So this is negotiating. You want less, you have less money, I can offer you less. And then you have to come to a solution. And when you've reached the deal don't jump up and say, no, as you've created the atmosphere and you went from a, you know, well well, how do you say it, a well-prepared atmosphere in the beginning. You go into the negotiation phase and that can be sometimes a tough, really tough negotiation, you know. And emotions are heating up, you know. And if it's not working really well, you can take a break and stuff and finally reach the negotiation deal. You have your deal set up. You repeat, okay, did we conclude this? Yes, yes, yes. Okay. Well, I'm really happy that we've reached the deal. So, and then you start talking about you're starting chit-chatting again. And I urge you to start, you know, how to say it, listening now to conversations and see how that flow goes. Now, at the end, there's always a chit-chat phase again and then you create an atmosphere where everybody's happy again and you leave the room in a very happy state. Really important to go through that deal. Never jump up, run away and that's it. No, always ended with a chit-chat phase. It's quite scary, you know, if you know this, you know, and you see it happening over and over and over again every day. But that's why we communicate with each other. So, if you break the rules, if you don't set the standard like this, there will be frustration because people are programmed to communicate like this. It's scary, but it's true. Okay, so now we've learned on how to communicate. We know what kind of salesperson we have in-house or who you are and what kind of things you still have to learn to become really good. Then it comes down to driving the business forward. And that's, I'm talking now about sales funnel management. Who knows about sales funnel management? Who knows what it is? Okay, there's not a lot of hands. All right, cool. Now I'm going to teach you something and that's what I really like. All right. Okay, so imagine, you know, you want to prospect, you want to hunt new prospects because you want to build your company and you need new clients, you know, and the telephone because your marketing campaign didn't work out as well, the telephone doesn't ring. Okay, shit, now what? I want to grow my company. How to do that? Okay, so you can start prospecting and you have to be aware that it's all about a funnel and first you have to create awareness that's basically the marketing campaign, you know, hi, here we are and this is the products we're offering and this is how we can help your company foster and grow. Okay, cool. So let's say, I don't know, I'm going to do the details later on about the numbers. So after awareness, you can create leads. But leads, you know, this is where the hunter becomes really happy. Yeah, we've got 100 leads. And I always tell the hunters, it's great you've got 100 leads, man, but I don't have a signature. You know, but we've got 100 leads. I know but no signature. So then you have to move them on from leads to prospects. And that's basically you've basically given them an offer and they become a prospect. So you know how big your pipeline is. Because if I send out like 10 prospects of 100K, I know how big my pipeline is and I can then start managing the amount of people you know, I should hire to basically fulfill those needs. Because I know for a fact that out of the 10 offers that I send out, I won't get them all. And if I get them all, I'm pretty much I can't say that. I'm well-bugged. So then you move into the sales phase and you see you need a lot of awareness, you lead a lot of leads and you move into sales. So then you look at some numbers. Okay, so let's say we have 13 deals qualified on average. And we know that from those 13 deals qualified we can have 10 meetings. This is where the hunter is really happy. We got a meeting. Okay, cool. And then we move over and then we know that from the meetings held, that's a 50% chance you'll get a proposal sent. So from 10, you go from 13 deals to 10 deals to 5 proposals sent and then about 50% let's say 3, the terms are accepted. And there's negotiation about the terms as well and it ends you up with 1 deal 1. Imagine if you want 20 clients how many qualified leads do you need? That's a lot. This cares the hmm, do I have to close it up? All right, I'm nearly finished. Yeah, I want to deal. Yeah. All right. So I'm closing out. Thank you. All right. So how do you do this? How do you manage this? I'm going fast-forward now. You do this in your CRM. You need a customer-relation management system for that. Set it up. They're open source for a version of that. That's for a strategic person. It's to data to identify target customers, operational CRM, collaborative CRM and analytics. Okay, strategies. There's a lot of Drupal strategies. I'm going really fast-forward now to bear with me. All right, Drupal gives you the opportunity to take a look at some of the real-time sales strategies. And it depends on your mission and vision for your company. You can do a price strategy. I want to be the lowest price in the market. I wouldn't suggest that, but people do it. You can have a product strategy, product type Drupal installation and make a product out of it and turn it into a niche market. Really interesting. You can have a differentiation strategy. Two weeks and hosting and more of that to become different than your competitors. And you can have the solution strategy. And I can give you one example really quickly. 30 seconds of example. Okay. I was working for DHL. I knew my competition was in there at a price strategy and I was listening to the guy. He said, what is your problem? Well, you know, we need efficiency, you know. And then I asked him, you have to make an investment in this website. Is there a business model behind it? Like a business model? Yeah, like a business proposition. He says, no. So I went back to the office, started thinking, okay, how can I help DHL? And I knew DHL sending packages. And I came up with the idea. Okay, let's, if we generate a website that can have 5% less calls within the call center by offering a state of the art FAQ the guy was saving thousands of euros every day with an investment of 30K offering 200K in savings, the deal was done. And he said, you know, I'm not going to sell the business. He never negotiated about the price and we got the deal and we are a long-term client of them. Okay, I really got to stop now. So my conclusion is, all right, selling is a form of art and a science as I probably have mentioned and do not sell Drupal, understand the business, understand the problem, understand the business case and find me at the...