Started using the business name Halcyon years ago when I was doing some freelance photography while stationed in Germany with the Army Signal Corps. Founded Halcyon360 Communications in 1982 after working in newspaper and magazine operations and the magazine pre-press business.
Rapid changes in the graphic arts industry caused me to realize that a large information gap had opened for manufacturers and distributors selling high-tech and high-ticket equipment. Managers and their sales forces, accustomed to normal sales cycles and selling to production-managers on an open purchase order (more like order-taking), suddenly had to sell to top management with formal proposals that showed an understanding of both the technology and the prospect’s needs.
To make things harder, the high-tech buying “window” was typically open for a period of between 90 and 180 days once every three years due to tax and depreciation rules. That meant finding the hot prospect, getting permission to make a proposal and then building the case for the sale in a short time frame.
High Impact Sales Techniques
I designed a complete sales training program for a leading maker of graphic arts imagesetters and scanners that included the technqiues of prospecting and qualifying big ticket prospects, conducting a needs analysis, preparing a proposal with an analysis of ROI, and making the proposal presentation. The result was “High-Impact Sales Techniques” ®, a powerful methodology that simplified high-performance sales techniques, and created a context for sales development.
One sales rep in his mid-50′s who had spent his career selling consumable graphic arts supplies and was afraid he couldn’t sell computerized publishing systems successfully closed his first capital equipment proposal, was able to retire early to his dream home in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Clients who adopted the methodology experienced increased closing rates of 20%, 50% and even more in the first year.
In recent years I have worked with clients in various industries who are seeking to automate the creation of their sales documents and proposals and tie them to a front-end sales force automation/CRM system such as SalesLogix, Salesforce.com or ACT!. I work with the products of The Sant Corporation, developers of the Sant Suite of proposal automation software.
Professional Affiliations:
- Association of Proposal Management Professionals
- Society for Technical Communication
