Dale King: Today, I'm interviewing author, leading-edge sales strategist and business advisor, Jill Konrath. Jill is the author of the instant sales classic, and highly-acclaimed "Selling to Big Companies." It's been an Amazon Top 25 seller since it came out over two years ago.
Hello Jill, how are you?
Jill Konrath: Great, Dale. Thanks for inviting me to be a part of this.
Dale King: You're quite welcome. Jill, I've read your bio, and it's quite impressive. Would you mind explaining to my readers exactly how you got started with your career?
Jill Konrath: I actually began my career as a high school teacher. But after 4.5 years, it clearly wasn't the right job for me. I ended up leaving and got a job at Xerox selling copiers door-to-door.
I had a lot of success in my first few years and was fast-tracked into sales management. But my passion was really with sales, so I left Xerox to go sell
technology.
I did that for a few years, then started my own consulting business, which initially was focused on new product launches.
But now, it's morphed and I'm primarily working with sales organizations to help their salespeople get their foot in the door of corporate clients.
Dale King: Jill, tell my readers how and when you got started marketing your products on the Internet.
Jill Konrath: About 5 years ago I volunteered to help a small magazine serving the entrepreneurial community. It was supposed to be a small project, but I became enamored with this vital segment of the economy. Coming from the corporate world, it was a breath of fresh air.
In working with them, I discovered that 75% of small businesses close their doors because the owners were working too darn hard for the amount of money
coming in the door.
Coming from a sales background, it was obvious to me that many of these owners lacked the requisite skills to be successful in this area. And, if you can't land corporate clients, you're constantly living on the edge.
I kept asking myself, "How can I help these people?" I couldn't do one-on-one consulting with them, because they were living on the edge and
didn't have the money to pay me. After about 3 months of constantly thinking about this, I finally realized that the internet was the answer.
By creating a website called "Selling to Big Companies", I could make my knowledge & expertise available in bite-sized, affordable chunks that they
could buy/download when they needed it.
So I dug in and started writing. The rest is history.
Dale King: How did the book writing come about?
Jill Konrath: While I was developing the Selling to Big Companies site, my own consulting business took a big hit. My interest was elsewhere, so I didn't pursue any new clients.
When I finally was ready to get back to my "real work", suddenly my prospecting calls were all rolled to voicemail and no one called me back. I couldn't get my foot in the door. It about drove me nuts.
Finally I threw myself into solving this challenge: What did it take to capture the attention of a corporate decision maker today? It took me about
a year to create a replicable model that anyone could implement.
Once I knew what to do, I realized that I needed to write a book about it. I got hooked up with a publisher virtually overnight.
Dale King: Jill, we've talked about this and I know you don't consider yourself an internet marketer per se, but from your viewpoint, how is marketing on the internet different now, as opposed to when you first got started online?
Jill Konrath: One of the keys to success in internet marketing is having a good database. Initially, my ezine subscriber base grew rapidly because there weren't a lot of people writing about selling to big companies.
Today, everyone writes. There is so much more competition, so it's tough to keep the list growing.
Even though I am now an internationally recognized sales strategist, the growth rate of my list has slowed significantly.
Plus, people spend less time on your communications. You have to really write well to keep them engaged with you.
My product mix has changed too. I used to do ebooks. Now, I'm primarily focused on teleseminars. I'm also doing a lot more collaboration with others. It's too hard to "go it alone" out there. Hooking up with good
people is important for all of us.
The biggest thing that my internet site is doing for me though is not the product sales - although it's a good revenue stream.
More importantly, my customers find me on line. They check out my site (articles, ebooks, podcasts), then hire me to speak to their sales organization or do consulting with them.
Dale King: How important has goal-setting been to your overall success?
Jill Konrath: I am a terrible goal setter. I simply set my intentions and keep moving in the direction I want to go.
Dale King: How important has reading been to your overall success?
Jill Konrath: Since I was young, I have suffered from Addictive Reading Disorder. I am a consumate learner. When I decided to tackle the online world, I threw myself into it. I read ezines, white papers, articles on a range of topics that I wanted to better understand. I listened to podcasts, teleseminars, webinars and more. I was a voracious reader of anything related to online marketing.
Dale King: If you could recommend one book that my readers should read, what would it be?
Jill Konrath: Selling to Big Companies! Because if you can land some decent sized corporate clients, you're not constantly worried about the financials.
It's been an Amazon Top 25 sales book since it came out over two years ago. It has 46 reviews, nearly all five star. People write me all the time and tell me about the new customers they've landed because of what they learned.
Dale King: What person or persons have influenced you the most in your lifetime, and how?
Jill Konrath: My father. First of all, he's a good man. His family is important to him. He's thoughtful, modest and real. So I got a good solid foundation from him - and my mother too. They're both like that.
But my father influenced me most professionally. He's an engineer who developed numerous technologies and products for 3M, a company he worked
with for over 45 years. As a young man, his talent put him on the fast track in the organization.
While he initially "moved up," he quickly realized that his real passion in life was creativity & design. He left the management track and went back into engineering, which he loved. As his experience grew, he was given tougher & more complex challenges to work on. Work was always fun for him, never a chore.
Through his example, I learned that it's most important to follow my interests and passions. That way I can love what I'm doing, make an even
bigger contribution and earn good money.
Dale King: If you could give my readers one piece of advice, what would it be?
Jill Konrath: Do what you love. But that's where many people struggle. They don't know what it is. I always tell people to pay attention to what they're
interested in.
If they're online, what are they reading? If they buy books, what subjects are they exploring? If they volunteer for extra projects at work, what's the
common denominator? If they do way more on a work project than was expected/necessary, what pulled them so deep into the subject.
These are all indicators of our talents and interests. Follow them. That's where you'll find the greatest satisfaction & joy in life.
Dale King: Thank you very much, Jill. I appreciate you taking the time to do this interview.
Jill Konrath: Truly my pleasure. Your questions made me think!
Jill's website: http://www.sellingtobigcompanies.com
Jill's blog: http://www.sellingtobigcompanies.blogs.com/
This interview is the exclusive property of Jill Konrath. It may not be republished in any format - period.
